I wanted to start a thread that discusses the technology of this setting, outside of the context of rules.  This setting is a custom setting that I have come up with, that combines pre-existing ideas with some original ones.  I guess the closest analogs would be Mass Effect or Battlestar Galactica (I haven't seen the new one yet, though)  NOTE THAT NOT EVERYTHING HERE NEEDS TO BE READ, BUT EXISTS AS A REFERENCE.


[DRIVE TECHNOLOGY]

Humanity has discovered ways to change the shape of space-time in the immediate area.  For sub-light travel, this means that gravity-drives can "slope" nearby space to create a gravity well that the ship can "fall" into.  By constantly moving the "slope" ahead of the ship, or to the sides, the ship can maneuver about a solar system for far less fuel than chemical reaction (aka rocket) technology could.  Heat is still produced, and there is some particulate exhaust.

The "Jump" or "Warp" drive is the badass FTL version of the grav-drive.  Technically it should be called a "Gravitationally-Induced Soliton Space-Wave" drive, but that wasn't very catchy.  What the Jump drive does is create a massive Soliton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soliton) all at once in the space around the ship, creating a small pocket of "smooth space" that travels at the phase velocity of the soliton wavefront.  (this might sound like technobabble, but it's actually all terminologically correct, provided we could manipulate space in that way)

A small amount of energy is need to maintain the wave once created, and the direction of motion can be changed (with some difficulty) while in transit.  Traditionally, ships "jump" as a group, and share the same pocket of smooth space; ships are capable of inserting themselves into an existing pocket, but this is not standard procedure.

Because the jump drive requires precise manipulation of nearby space, it will not function near a significant gravity well, such as a star or planet.  If such an object is intercepted, the soliton wave will collapse and the ship(s) will drop into normal space unharmed.  If an object with an insignificant gravity well (an asteroid, another ship) would be intersected, no collision will occur.  Because the drive is warping space around it, the stationary vessel will be "moved aside" by the wave imperceptibly.  That is, the stationary vessel will feel no net effect from the passing ship, and would not notice its passing if its sensors were not on.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:21, Tue 08 May 2012.

[STARSHIP WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY]

The most cost-effective way to kill a dude is still a bullet, either chemically-propelled (K-Cannons) or electromagnetically-propelled (Railguns).

Missiles are effective at long range, since they can outsmart many defenses - although they can be jammed or outsmarted themselves.

Beam Weapons have just started to see main-stream use.  They fire a coherent beam of photons and charged particles at relativistic speeds.  Advantages include great penetration depth (the particles are smaller than the atomic spacing of solids) and great damage (since the beam interact on the atomic scale).  Disadvantages include cost and power requirements.

Nuclear Missiles are still a force to be contended with, as you don't have to hit a target to still be effective.  When detonated in an atmosphere, the resulting shockwave and radioactive fallout is devastating.  Nuclear weapons are under strict government control.

Ortillery ("ORbital arTILLERY") is the art of precisely dropping a tungsten stake the size of a telephone pole on a planetary target.  Damage is often comparable to a small nuclear weapon, but without the radioactive fallout.  Ortillery is considered to be the most effective method for subjugating a ground-based target.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:03, Tue 08 May 2012.

[PERSONAL-SCALE WEAPONS TECHNOLOGY]

Guns:  Common personal weapons are similar to modern weapons.  Bullets are more efficient, and military-issue weapons operate in most environments.  Submachineguns are commonly issued to ship-board or away-team parties, while Assault Rifles are issued to dedicated combat or ground-based forces.  Shotguns are common on civilian vessels, as they tend not to penetrate unarmored starship hulls (however, care must be taken with the large amount of noise generated in a small space).  Pistols of varying calibres are still in common use.

Acceleration Assault Rifles (ACC-ARs) fire low-velocity bullets with rocket assists.  These weapons are useful in micro-g combat situations, when solid footing is unavailable.

Gauss Rifles are basically man-portable railguns, about the size of a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.  They are very effective against armored targets.

Personal Armor is efficient and close-fitting (ala Mass Effect).  Standard away-mission gear includes light armor that can be pressurized, and protects against most environments and natural threats, while providing a relatively minor restriction on movement.  Heavier versions offer effective defense against personal-scale weapons, but are bulkier and exponentially more expensive.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:02, Tue 08 May 2012.

[BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE]

Due to the potential for viruses to evolve quickly and independently on multiple worlds, most space travelers have nanobots injected into their bloodstream and tissues.  These nanobots represent a semi-intelligent immune system boost, and can, in some instances, prolong the rescue period after significant injury.  They can not regenerate tissues and bone without external aid.

Due to (legitimate) concerns about potential malfunctions, nano-bots are not completely capable of acting independently.  They do provide up-to-the-minute details about a person's internal health, and can quickly alert physicians to the presence of unknown organisms or chemicals.  A physician will then "load" a program (either wirelessly, intravenously, or via pill) that will give the nano-bots temporary freedom to address the situation appropriately.  This is often in conjunction with medication.

Common illnesses an variations thereof, such as influenza, common cold, and bacterial infections are included in the nano-bots programming.

More sophisticated nano-bots do exist, some of which are capable of accelerating healing.  Do to the potential for programming mistakes, individuals with these nano-bot systems must be closely monitored, and the expense involved means that they are usually reserved for special forces or individuals with severe medical problems.

Regeneration of lost limbs and/or organs is a slow, but doable, process.  The missing body part is "grown" from the cloned cells of the individual, while the patient is kept on life-support if necessary.  The body parts are then surgically attached.

[FUEL AND ENERGY]

Humanity uses cheap, clean, efficient fusion power.  This requires a supply of hydrogen, which can either be scooped directly from a gas giant, collected from the solar winds of a star, harvested from the solar wind trapped in rocky planet/moon surfaces, or electrolyzed from water.

Fusion power plants rarely explode when damaged.  If damage does occur, the fusing plasma usually cools below the fusing temperature too quickly to cause a catastrophe.  Fusion power generators can be purposefully overloaded, or overload if not maintained properly, but there are several safeguards in place to prevent this from happening.

[COMPUTING]

Humanity now uses Psuedo-Quantum Computers for most of its computational needs.  Mankind has so far been unable to produce a "true" quantum computer, however, advances in quantum mechanics have allowed for faster, cooler, more efficient, highly parallelized CPUS.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is still a far cry from equalling the complexity of human thought, although advances have resulted in sophisticated programs capable of automating most tasks.  Even the most advanced AIs are prone to mistakes, and they can often be fooled by human operators.  Standard practice is to pair automation programs with human "handlers" who can take over if the software fails.

AI Avatars are among the most sophisticated AIs that mankind can produce.  Avatars are capable of controlling a ship, and assisting the crew in ship operations.  An Avatar is designed in conjunction with the ship or facility that it is to be installed on, and is fed numerous simulated scenarios in a simulated environment in order to work out major bugs.  The interface for an Avatar is usually custom-ordered, ranging from simple visual interfaces to holograms or a rudimentary human-like robot.

A "warp bubble" represents a location of stable equilibrium within the soloton wave, so things generally don't fall out of the bubble.

If something is intentionally thrown out of the bubble, it returns to "normal" space with the same velocity it have before entering FTL.  If the object is thrown ahead, the warp bubble wil usually "push around" the object - the object and those in the bubble will feel no effect.

[Note:  I'm deleting posts here once they are answered, to keep this thread readable]
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:47, Fri 01 June 2012.

[THE KEPADE]

The Kepade were the first intelligent species that Humanity came in contact with.  Initial contacts were peaceful, but confusing - their language was difficult, and seemingly inconsistent.  "Face-to-face" contact didn't occur until during the war.

At first, we thought that the Kepade were the race that began the assault on Humanity.  Only later did we learn that the Kepade were simply the slaves of a more advanced race, the Zura.  Not all Kepade serve the Zura, however:  reports indicate that the Kepade are a disparate race, consisting of nomads, refugees, corsairs, colonists, and slaves to the Zura.  There are no signs of a central Kepade government - they appear to be a conquered race.

Biologically, the Kepade are humanoid, standing about 2 meters high with dark skin and thick, black hair.  They appear similar to tall, hairy humans, shaving or decorating themselves according to cultural patterns.  Their bodies are strong and resilient, but not much else is known.

The Kepade have widely ranging technological capabilities.  On average, they are equal to Humanity, but scavengers and pirates have been known to have worse tech, while slave-soldiers have tech that betters the Alliance's.

The Kepade language has been partially deciphered, and contact with non-slaves has been sporadic and uncommon.

Of all the odds, we were surprised that our first contact was with a mammalian race very similar to our own in biology and technology;  to our horror, they were conquered and subjugated by another species...
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:41, Fri 01 June 2012.

[THE ZURA]

It wasn't until a few years into the war that we learned that our true assailants were the Zura.  No Zura has ever been captured by Humanity - they serve as commanders of Kepade slave-ships and as crew on the most advanced vessels.  They prefer suicide or self-destruction to capture.

Most information about the Zura comes from humans who escaped capture during the war.  They appear to be short (~1 meter), thin, hairless creatures with green-grey skin.  They do not appear to be reptilian or mammalian - it is thought that they have no Earthly analog, being truly "alien."  They reportedly operate in mechanical suits that greatly enhance their strength, speed and resilience.

Zura technology has been said to be "2 steps above" ours - we don't yet have the technology to reverse engineer their technology.  Their ships are vastly more powerful than ours, and often deploy what appears to be a radiation weapon:  It seems to ignore our armor, and directly kills crew and damages internal systems.  Human Field technology appears to be at least partially effective against these attacks.

The Zura tend to build moderately-sized, medium-speed ships with powerful main weapons.  They do not appear to use fighters;  Alliance fighters were therefore effective in dispersing Zura weapons fire.

No true Zura ship has been successfully boarded, although a few Kepade slave-ships have been.

Their motives for attacking humanity are unclear, but now that their attacks have ceased, the Alliance is worried about other things...