Glitterboy2098's Phaseworld Tech Manual

[KLM]

Teleportation? Magic only.

A single person is just too much information to transform into any kind of energy medium, even if you could map out every atom in their being.

Matter-energy-matter conversion based teleportation
is out of question, blame Heisenberg.

However, this does not rule out timespace-fold based teleportation.

All in all, magic and phase tech in the 3G.

Adios
KLM

[glitterboy2098]

Glitterboy have you documented things like home-brew technology or more to the point, things like home-brew elements things like "unobtanium" and so forth ?

(sorry I haven't looked at this thread in a while, nor am I going to review all 12+ pages without asking first)

those are things I'd like to hear about, if you've got time.

i've documented a few Homebrew items, but mostly just ones that are logical extensions of the existing canon tech.

i have some others i may do eventually, but i want to get as much canon stuff done as possible.

if you don't want to dig through the pages here, you can go to the one at Nexus Nine, which has fewer comments and debates. it lack some of the non-article explanations, but hopefully i can work some of them into future articles.


as for unobtanium, thats technically a generic term for any material that does not exist. generally applied to whatever 'miracle' material a setting needs, like trek's Dilithium, Stargates Naquadah, X-men's Adamantium.

handwavium is similar, but usually refers to giving existing materials new unique properties. like battletech using Germanium as part of a FTL drive.

[Greyaxe]

I think you just proved Gardins point Darkmax

[Esckey]

Just a bump, nothing more. For now at least

[Esckey]

Now that I ahve time I can re-bump this thread(didn't want it to lose it)

I would like to see some of Glitterboys(and other people of the boards) ideas: for computers(quatum computers?), AI(to a lesser extent borgs), sigularity missiles(TGE thingy), alternative powersources, and timetravel.

[Aramanthus]

Yes, anything new? I'm sorry it has been a very hectic past few days.

[Aramanthus]

I'm looking forward to seeing GB2099 new material!

[Aramanthus]

I hope not his prespective on tech is always worth seeing new stuff on.

[glitterboy2098]

he hasn't been here in a while. I think this thread is a goner.

i've had other things i've needed to do. class, work, ect.

i'll see what i can do to get another installment in.

i think the next one on the list is AUGG FTL.

[Aramanthus]

Ahh that old nemisis, school work! That can always be a pain, especially at this time of year.

[glitterboy2098]

Episode 6: Power Plants
no matter what the drive or systems, all spaceships need something to generate power, generally electrical. this power is required to run computers, life support, and any weapons, exotic drives, defenses, ect.

if you are in primitive space capsules or spaceplanes (like the Apollo/Orion capsule or the Space Shuttle), you can get by on batteries, solar panels or RTG's, Radio-electric thermal generators. RTG's generate power by converting heat directly to electrical power via the seebeck effect, little more than two wires of different composition joined at both ends and heated. the heat, in this case, being provided by the natural decay of a radioactive material, typically plutonium 238, a type of plutonium that cannot be used to generate an atomic explosion. they generate very little power (1-2 megawatts at most), which is sufficient for space probes and simple space craft that can be built using 20th century technology.
RTG's are currently used by NASA and other agencies when sending probes to locations beyond mars, where solar panels would not provide enough power.

more powerful, and the next logical step, is atomic power, or nuclear reactors. these use rods or pellets of uranium or plutonium in a reactor, in a controlled fission chain reaction that generates large amounts of heat. the cooling system that regulates the reaction absorbs the heat and runs through turbines that turn generators, which produce massive amounts of electrical power. Nuclear power has a few drawbacks however. first, it is bulky, particularly the early versions. second, the reaction requires careful moderation to prevent a meltdown, which at best would damage the reactor, and at worst could release large amounts of radioactive material into the surrounding area as well.it also contains many moving parts and requires continual maintenance to ensure no malfunctions in any of the parts.

next is fusion power. Fusion power generates the most power by mass of all the conventional plants. it runs on hydrogen and it's isotopes, which can be obtained from Water, and are the most common element in the universe. generally the first viable starships of a race will be fusion powered, although that is not a constant.
fusion power is cleaner and safer than nuclear power, because the fusion reaction creates only helium and a small amount of radiation, and should it become imbalanced, overloaded, or damaged, the reactor merely shuts down, all fusion stopping.


now we diverge into more exotic drives.

Antimatter powerplants are the most common system in the three galaxies, and for good reason. antimatter, sometimes known as contraterrene matter, is matter that has an opposite charge than normal matter, but identical mass. for example, a positron is the counterpart of an electron. both have the same mass and spin and other values, but an electron is negative and a positron positive.
what makes antimatter so useful as a power plant is what happens when matter and antimatter come into contact. they annihilate each other, in a total matter to energy conversion. most of this is released as gamma ray photons. but the reaction also generates a lot of heat, which can be used to generate electrical power.
for reactionless drives, which generally require alot of power to operate, antimatter power is the most effective means to supply that power. fusion power may not provide sufficient power, while more advanced power supplies might not be technologically feasible.
antimatter has severe drawbacks however. first, antimatter will react with any matter it contacts, regardless of type, form, or element. the only way to store antimatter is in magnetic traps (or gravitic, in phaseworld). these containment systems must be active, because a passive field can never contain antimatter for long. only active fields have the strength and shape to hold antimatter.
second, should containment be lost, the antimatter will react with the matter of the ship itself, causing a massive reaction. a few grams of antimatter will produce an explosion several kilotons in yield. kilograms will yield megatons. and the typical starship will be carrying a few tons (fighters/shuttles) to kilotons (starships) of antimatter. these levels can destroy entire continents or even entire planets. should containment fail for any reason on a planet, massive destruction ensues.



the other alternative is Singularity powerplants. these use a quantum blackhole to generate power. the black hole itself does not make power. but as matter (any matter) falls into it's event horizon, X-rays are produced, which generate a plasma which is contained within the magnetic field of the singularity. usually this constrains it to the accretion disk. but if the singularity is spinning, it's magnetic field directs it away out of the poles, creating a pair of Gas jets. in a singularity powerplant, matter is fed into a singularity, and the gas jets are trapped, which provide power. singularity power is not as efficient as antimatter, but far more effective than fusion or nuclear.
singularity power has it's problems as well. first, black holes are very massive. big black holes are smaller than planets but have a mass 10x or greater than our sun. quantum singularities would be smaller than an atom, but still mass millions of tons. singularities also have immense gravity. to use a singularity as a power plant, one would need to negate gravity to a degree, to keep the ship itself from being sucked into the event horizon. any failure and the ship would implode in onto the powerplant. (which would be a rather dramatic way to describe a space battle. ships getting destroyed and just 'vanishing' without an explosion as the blackhole sucks it up..leaving a black hole floating around in space as a hazard)
third, singularities are not common. natural singularities tend to be massive objects created from stars, useless for power generating. quantum singularities are not natural, and would have to be created. if made with too little mass, it would immediately fail, releasing all of it's energy in one massive explosion. (the principle behind the TGE's singularity cruise missiles).

rarely seen, and almost impossible to obtain, is the Conversion plant, which takes matter and converts it directly to energy. it can provide as much power as an antimatter powerplant, but safer and requiring less fuel. because it converts regular matter directly to energy, there is no containment issue for fuel (indeed, typically it would be fed off solid blocks of high density materials.



most powerful of all, but almost unheard of in the 3 galaxies, is Zero Point Energy. this draws energy from space itself, and would provide theoretically infinite power. in practise, the amount of power you can draw on would be limited by materials however. a ZPE powered starship using a CG drive would be able to travel at rates approaching the speed of light in normal space, and in FTL would be capable of hundreds or even thousands of light years per hour. no known race, past or present has such a powerplant. and any race with access to this technology would be impossible to overlook.



lastly i will mention the most difficult powerplants to describe. the 'fiat' powerplants. these are systems that cannot be easily described technically, but are important to their setting, with behaviors and performance out of line with what would be considered normal physics. they rely on GM fiat, the whim of the GM or writer, to exist, thus the name. examples of this would be Robotech's Protoculture, Stargates Naquada, Neutrino reactors, and the like.

[glitterboy2098]

then you'll have to post in HU Forum.

AU stuff can be used in phaseworld, in fact i'd use it over the MiO stuff for non CG ships.
plus, i posted robotech stuff here, so AU stuff shouldn't be a problem. i'll likely also cover some MiO stuff as well. (mostly the traction drive, i think..)

[Aramanthus]

That was a cool new entry GB! Thanks for sharing that!

[Aramanthus]

I know I should do that too! It's good stuf!

[Aramanthus]

Looks fine to me!

[Aramanthus]

Ahh I understand!

[glitterboy2098]

customization

like what?

keep in mind that i'm trying to respect science as best as i can, while keeping the feel of the Star wars/star trek/babylon 5 'space opera' style.
i'm even keeping quiet on certain aspects of laws of physics, much like movies. (you'd be surprised how many movies ignore some implications of the laws of thermodynamics, for example.. or of motion..)

[glitterboy2098]

(you'd be surprised how many movies ignore some implications of the laws of thermodynamics, for example.. or of motion..)

my favorites are Trek's "shoot the engines and spaceship stops moving" or Trek's "pull over we've got you cordoned off like a car on a traffic stop"

actually, trek has never shown ships stopping in space because their drives get hit (unlike others). however, they rarely make mention of the fact that a damaged ship is still moving. trek's crime is of ommission, a failure to indicate otherwise.


i was thinking of the lack of bloody big radiators or the tendancy for movie ships to move like fighter planes in an atmosphere.

[Aramanthus]

That was always my big complaint about ST too. That was something B5 generally took into account.

[Aramanthus]

I guess that why some say "to each his own." Anyway back to more of GB's stuff!

[Aramanthus]

I'm not going to let this thread slip away!

[Aramanthus]

And I can be patient for his stuff! He should be going thru his finals or just finished with them at this time.

[glitterboy2098]

finals are finished, now in intersession. i'm just restricted in computer use ATM.
plus, most of my game books are in storage, so it might be a few weeks before i can post anything.

i'm using the time to work on rifter articles and a book i'm writing, which don't require much in the way of cross reference with palladium canon.

[Aramanthus]

Take your time GB. I'm going away this weekend to both visit my family and go to a SciFi Con in Des Moines, IA.

[KLM]

"Forget everything about cyborgs. Everything" - Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0.

Adios
KLM

[Greyaxe]

Hey GlitterBoy2098, check out this scan from Cyberpunk

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m309 ... 020002.jpg

it's an Optishield, which is basically a set of mirrorshades with anti-dazzle built in and gas protection (tear gas, acid etc).

it's anchored to the person's eyes.

would you could this as an cybernetic/bionic implant for Rifts/Phase World ?

Definatly, as a matter of fact Most of the cyberpunk cybernetics would be available on Phase world.

[KLM]

Well, after the canonised psilite technology, I really
do not think that cybernetics HAVE to dampen
psi/magic.

Just ask the Great Buckethead Gawd from a galaxy far
far away, if you think otherwise.

Adios
KLM

[glitterboy2098]

Well, after the canonised psilite technology, I really
do not think that cybernetics HAVE to dampen
psi/magic.

Just ask the Great Buckethead Gawd from a galaxy far
far away, if you think otherwise.

Adios
KLM

psionics are tied to the brain and nervous system in organics, so anything that disrupts the nervous system or brain, like sticking wires into it for bionics/cybernetics, will mess it up. with magic and PPE, it's a case of the metal and ceramic disrupting the PPE chanelling. even Bio-systems would have enough to screw it up.

[taalismn]

But psylite crystals tend to AMPLIFY existing psionic abilities, so if a cyborg didn't completely lose his psionic abilities, a psylite focus or lense should help bring his abilities(those that remain) up to something like his old levels...
Sure, it's a crutch, and lacks the growth potential of natural psionics(it really can't instill the ex-psychic with new psionics unless the crystal is somehow 'programmed', and powers don't improve with time and experience, but it's better than nothing) but it might help deal with some of those post-cyborgization blues....

Phase-Cyborgs, however...that's getting into something else...

[KLM]

Well, after the canonised psilite technology, I really
do not think that cybernetics HAVE to dampen
psi/magic.

Just ask the Great Buckethead Gawd from a galaxy far
far away, if you think otherwise.

Adios
KLM

psionics are tied to the brain and nervous system in organics, so anything that disrupts the nervous system or brain, like sticking wires into it for bionics/cybernetics, will mess it up. with magic and PPE, it's a case of the metal and ceramic disrupting the PPE chanelling. even Bio-systems would have enough to screw it up.

Implant DO effect psionic ability, I agree. Just ask any
MoM conversion subject.

Also... Many magic artifacts, from the simplest
wands to the most powerfull rune items are made
of metal, yet they chanell PPE fine, thank you.

It "just" takes a great deal of knowledge both
as a cybersurgeon and as a mystic (not in the OCC
sense) to create an implant or prosthetic which
actually enhances (or even "awakens") the subject's
potential.

And of course, there are the side effects...

Adios
KLM

[Aramanthus]

That's a very interesting idea Taalismn!

[Aramanthus]

The last one he wrote about on this thread.

[Aramanthus]

I was hoping there'd be some more developments here over the weekend.

[Daikuma]

Sorry to Necropost, but I vote this get stickied!

[Aramanthus]

I agree it should be stickied!

[glitterboy2098]

not a true update, but a neat tidbit i found cruising other space game boards.

Ken Burnside, the genius behind Attack Vector Tactical and the Saganami Island Tactical Simulator, used this analogy to describe thermal tracking in space.

Think of it like this:

Imagine a blowtorch. Pretty hot, pretty bright.

Got that fixed in your mind?

OK. Now, imagine the same blowtorch out on the Ross Ice Shelf in the dead of the Antarctic winter on a perfectly clear, moonless night.

Seems like it'd stick out, yes?

OK, now, you're looking for it with good night vision goggles that will pick up anything that's significantly warmer than -40C.

Seems pretty hard to hide, yes?

OK, now, imagine that, instead of comparing that temperature difference from a measly blowtorch over nice, balmy Antarctic Sea Ice, you've dialed it up past 11, and broken the knob somewhere.

Oh, and you have radio tracking collars on every penguin, the penguins only move at about 3 feet per month, and don't have blowtorches, so it's hard to confuse the blowtorch with a penguin.

And you have several months to notice that blowtorch out there moving in ways that are decidedly un-penguinlike.

Now, here's the kicker...that blowtorch isn't the drive. It's JUST the reactor system on the ship and the heat dissipation system.

If the drive were on, you'd be wondering why you were seeing nuke flashes several times per second.....

this analogy holds true for phase world. a CG drives on fighters and starships use high-strength powerplants. high strength means high heat, which means very visible. actually turning on the drive draws more power, increasing your visibility futher. not as bad as the fusion drives in AV:T, but imagine if that blow torch suddenly turns into a forge and starts zipping along at a high pace...

and since the laws of thermodynamics are :you can't win, you can't break even, you can't get out of the game, hiding heat is impossible.

which is why the "stealth" systems i described only "disguise" heat, and don't get rid of it.

in other news, i'm thinking about trying to get this thread going again with some new material, i think my next bit was Aliens unlimited FTL followed by jump drives, correct?

[Aramanthus]

I remember reading that from Ken. Interesting GB I didn't know you posted over there too.

[glitterboy2098]

I remember reading that from Ken. Interesting GB I didn't know you posted over there too.

i don't. but i love to go over there and read the discussions. the players of AV:T and SITS have generated some pretty neat discussions of hard scifi space travel related stuff, and some of the weapon concepts they come up with are cool.

[Aramanthus]

Then come on in and join us over there GB. You would another level to those conversations!

[glitterboy2098]

yeah, a lower level.

remember, i'm just a talented amateur. up against Ken and Winchell Chung i'm nothing. (having discussed stuff with them over at Starship Combat News.
i'm more of a historian, space science is just an interest.
i don't play AV:T or SITS, so i don't even have cultural and historical data to contribute.

since phase world only needs Star Trek levels of scientific accuracy (though i try for as much as possible), i can do a decent job here.

[Aramanthus]

Ah you'd do all right over there. You are more than smart enough! Don't be so modest.

[glitterboy2098]

Episode 7: AUGG and FTL
one of the simplist and fairly common alternative FTL drives in the three galaxies is actually found in the Aliens Unlimited Galaxy Guide.

the AU FTL is a "tachyonic space" FTL drive. Tachyons are particles that naturally move faster than light.Tachyonic space is the subset of our universe where tachyons exist. in tachyonic space, the slowest anything can move is the speed of light.

Tachyonic 'drives' are really just a "blackbox" which generates a field to translate a ship into tachyonic space. there the normal drives of the ship, or it's momentum from said drives, results in comparitively faster than light speeds.

there are two big drawbacks to this drive. first is speed. FTL rates achieved through tachyonic space are slow compared to Foldspace or the CG drive's FTL field. very slow. tachyonic travel is generally refered to using factors, each roughly equal to a multiple of lightspeed. so factor 1 = lightspeed, factor 2 = 2x lightspeed, and so on. for comparison, 1 lightyear per hour is equal to 8766 factors. most races using tachyonic drives rarely get past 50 factors before obtaining CG drives, fold drives, or other faster FTL methods. while Tachyonic drives are fairly simple to develop and use, taking months to yyears to travel to the nearest stars does not allow for expansive star nations, and exploring beyond a sector or so from your homeworld can take decades or centuries!

the second drawback is the nature of tachyonic space. there is no natural matter in tachyonic space. only a black void of high energy quantum particles. everthing is moving too fast for particles to combine to form subatomic particles, much less atoms, molecules, or stellar bodies. the "blackbox" that allows the ship to reach tachyonic space also generates a field that protects the ship from flying apart in a matter to energy conversion apon reaching the odd realm. if that black box fails, the ship will be lost in an instant as it's matter dissociates. generally ships carry multiple backups and the "black box" devices are generally heavily overbuilt with redundant circuts and systems to begin with.

this field is what keeps ships limited in FTL speed. the more advanced the technology, the stronger the field can be, which allows the ship to travel faster (faster = more energy = more likely to dissociate). pushing a ship beyond it's rated Factor speed is dangerous, as it runs the risk of the field failing to provide sufficent protection.

as said above, tachyonic space is a dark void. there is little light (it quickly runs up the EM scale into X-rays, gamma rays and so on), except over short distances. ships are wreathed in an aura of crackling blue, Cherkonov radation caused by the high energy particles of the realm hitting the field of the ship and getting slowed down. this aura appears blueshifted in front and redshifted behind, especially when viewing other ships/objects travelling through the realm.

navigation is easy in tachyonic space. while there is no matter, the gravitational effects of matter in our own frame of referance effect tachyonic space. navigators use the gravity wells of planets and stars as markers and waypoints to find their way. care must be taken not to get too close to these gravity wells, as the gravity of stars and planets can drag a ship suddenly out of tachyonic space, and the sudden decelleration can have dangerous effects on the crew and ship. likewise, it is impossible to enter tachyonic space too close to a gravity well.

note: the term "black box" is used here as a tongue in cheek alternative to trying to define what is basically pure handwave. i leave it to the Gm if they want their Tachyon FTL modules to be literal black boxes...would be a nifty way to present the engine room to players though. "you find a cramped room filled with dials, screens, valves, and keyboards, all displaying readouts from the fusion drive/powerplant. and in the center of the rear wall, bolted to the wall, is a black box with some wires and cords coming out of it. a sign taped to the wall beside carrying the words 'warning: do not move"

[Aramanthus]

Cool concept GB! I like it! It's a cool write up!

[glitterboy2098]

actually i've been tempted to revise and update this into a rifter article, written from a quasi-in-character perspective. i'd probably have to leave out the bit about AUGG FTL and most of the robotech technology, just because much of it isn't officially in phase world. (but it can appear, and it makes such good source material, so i included it here)

i'll have to see what Carl and Braden include in their upcoming books, i get the feeling i'll have some changes to make due to expanded canon

something to consider once my current project gets closer to completion.

[Aramanthus]

Another Rifter article GB! Sounds great! I'm sure all of us here would love to see that in print.

[glitterboy2098]

don't get too excited, i have a current project that will take a bit to finish, and i really shouldn't redirect efforts more than i have already for classes and work.

[Aramanthus]

Take your time, we can wait for an article that has been perfected.