Re: OOC Discussion 1
In reply to Andre Klanktonne (msg # 284):
No, tech is actually more primitive than you see in Star Wars and Star Trek. We just used pragmatic and ingenious ways of applying it that recreate our needs. Tech is more cyberpunk in space, less Star Wars/Star Trek.
Artificial Gravity (Artgrav): Most ships and space stations are cylindrical and use spin to provide artgrav. It's cheap and easy and for health reasons most living creatures need to spend more time with grav than without. It's turned off during docking and maintenance/repair procedures or when entering atmo. But it's not a magical or super advanced energy field. It's centrifugal force.
Blaster Weapons: Literally firing small bullets filled with plasma that explode on impact. Because the bullet is fragile and melts during this process, you effectively deal fire damage instead of piercing. But it's not true "blaster" or "phaser" tech from Star Wars or Star Trek. Laser weapons also exist but they're unreliable because the beams just catch things on fire like a flame thrower but don't pierce metal. They just superheat metal. Lasers are not exactly the most effective weapons except in certain circumstances.
Fuel: Ships have both battery cores and fuel supplies as having both is still more efficient (and safe) in long distances than relying on only one. EMPs are still dangerous if your ship cargo bay is open at the time you're hit. And EMPs can still take out your sensors even if you're closed up and your outer hull is protecting you. Recharging and refueling is still a thing. No warp core Star Trek forever batteries. We have NEAR forever batteries for small stuff, but ships require a lot of power. You also have to refill oxygen as there is no perfect oxygen cycling. It's VERY efficient but not perfect. You also still eat, sleep, and drink.
Holograms: Only slightly more advanced than holograms we have today. The special cameras and lenses detect the air contents and wind movements allowing it to display the hologram juuuuust right and provide the same quality of projection in mid air as you'd normally get with a back screen and fog. As long as nothing is meddling with the environment (violent movement, wind, people running through the hologram, the camera jostling or moving) holograms can fool the naked eye but not the nose or touch. But even a little mess up and anyone can tell. You can walk right through a hologram, and even grab the projector and block it's light displays.
Medicine: Cloning body parts is a new thing that's very expensive. Cybernetics are cheaper and some people prefer them. Diseases and poisons are still dangerous, so regular inoculations, check-ups, and anti-rad treatments are a thing for space travelers. They cannot bring people back from the dead unless you were frozen just right. And even then, there's a defrost process that has to be done very carefully or you're still dead. Cryosleep is very useful but still dangerous process that can kill you if done improperly. People who can afford it generally live 100 years but middle class people have about the same lifespans of today and poor people half that. More tech but also more dangers/scarcity.
Shields: Shields are just magnetic fields projected by array on the outside of your ship to deflect ferrous debris and thrusters to deflect slow debris. True shields that block anything (air, lasers, radiation, etc.) have not been invented yet so radiation outside is still a very real threat if your hull can't take it or if you need repairs in a dangerous area. Flying close to a star or even a planetoid without a designated/designed safe landing zone is still a big no no.
Honestly, if big scifi buffs took a look at Starslinger tech, they'd be like: Wow, your humans really are the hillbillies of the galaxy slapping that together and willingly blasting off into space like that.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:05, Wed 21 Feb.
