Jump networks and the actual position of their destinations.

5 thoughts on “Jump networks and the actual position of their destinations.”

1. Sub

2. I went with the Traveller style map where proximity mattered as a traditional solution that most old school gamers would recognize, but something like a Diaspora cluster maps would also work.

3. When writing the Jump Point section, I left that intentionally vague because hey people can go which way they prefer.

   I personally ascribe to the idea that Jumps don’t obey “real” proximity, obeying instead the inscrutable laws of Jump Space. That said, it’s visually easier to map out linked systems like a molecular structure. Their actual proximity to each other on a galactic scale doesn’t really matter, since there’s no way you could travel between them without Jumping.

4. No spacial relationship – jumplines form between stars with similar energy outputs.

   I love the Cluster creation from Diaspora, which is in the free SRD. Such a fun mini-game that gets the group excited about the setting.

5. Always been a fan of a triple layered system;

   Three competing types of interstellar drive technology.

   That is;

   Type OMG

   Optimized Material Gobblers consume massive amounts of mass to create energy, which is then expelled to create reactionary thrust. This is not unlike the Flight Actualized Reaction Technologies used by small cultures to hop around inside their tiny atmospheric realms. But as it turns out, even large cultures find these Mass FARTs useful for such OMG SLOW (Sub-Liminally Optimized Whale) ships. The disadvantages are that such SLOW ships burn through enormous amounts of stuff in order to get anywhere interesting, and have to avoid a lot of interesting things that may be blocking direct travel routes. The advantages are such that, even though these ships are employing OMG SLOW FARTs over immensely long distances… they are still capable of being more reliable and faster than other drive types. It isn’t uncommon to pack lots of extra refrigeration space on these ships, to hold provisions for very long working vacations… because these ships are so popular, entire cities worth of crew and passengers will want to come along for the ride!

   Type H-D

   Hyper-spacial Distortion is a method for ripping the universe a new astronomical hole, and diving into it… while screaming to everything you hold sacred, that this abjectly idiotic act of madness must get you close to where you want to be, with physical properties, mental acuity, and the very essence of your loci-focused presence, still intact. One common design would be to chase a rabbit through the hole, sometimes using more conventional FARTs, then blow it up once you are ready to fall out… no, wait, fall back in…  no that’s not quite right, either… steer left, and jink right… ok look… hyper-spacial directions are squiggly, and you can’t really point at them… you can only point over, under, around, into, out of, and through them… it’s the art of throwing yourself at an abject nothing that exists nowhere, and not missing… but Surreal Maths says it works, with repetitive citations from the cosmos itself to back the claims… so… sure… it’s safe to jump out of reality and pray to The-ever-loving Cosmos you end up where you wanted to be. Disadvantages are, while you can go anywhere… you can end up anywhere… including someplace you really ought not go… and despite this, it is only reliable over shorter distances and in areas where you are less likely to collide with some anomalously dense ISM (Interstellar Spectral Music) that is capable of making the crew awfully sick of hearing the playlist stuck on repeat, or causes vibrations at frequencies that drive the very molecular core of the ship in different directions. Advantages are, freedom to pick a vector and jump down the rabbit hole, and sometimes you can even find naturally occurring wild rabbit holes to jump into.

   (thank you for flying AFV [Altair-Fromalhault-Vega] Spacelines, proudly serving the 10 parsec Sirius-Centaurian Fluff of the Local Procyon Bubble Loop.)

   Type G-TF-O

   Gated Transit-Field Openings are links between distant locations, sometimes only going in one direction, and may or may-not be artificially stabilized by an Imperial sanctioned Cargo Trafficking Ring on an established Culture Transit Route. Disadvantages are, you can only go where you are allowed to go, when you are allowed to go there — because attempting to jump through a ring unprepared, makes you look like a buffoon. Advantages are… incredibly safe, hypoallergenic, nontoxic, and nigh-instantaneous.

   (please maintain formation until CRT scans of all ships awaiting transit have completed;- failure to do so will make you’re crew look like a ship of buffoons in front of all other ship crews, and the fully armed and operational Cargo Trafficking Ring… is quite capable of deterring waffling-wee-boo annoyances.)

   Ok, so this is more of a spectrum with a midpoint… a range of probabilities arranged on a cubed matrix created by some borg named third-of-nine, with important elements, such as:- safety, reliability, and freedom… or was that speed, distance, and cost?

   idk… probably forgetting a few… it doesn’t matter… leave all that to the professional geeks and bean counters, a ship captain has other things to worry about than how the tapestry of quantum entities put on pants in the morning.

   I don’t see why regular distance mapping methods would be difficult, it’s merely a matter of scales. And we’ve this nice resource of archived examples, purportedly provided at tax-payer expenses.

   http://quasargroupconsulting.com/Universe/Miky-Way_map_120pc.gif

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