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Warp Core
Innehåll |
The Core
Redigera
All ships capable of travelling between stars have a warp core located somewhere in the ship. Its one of the most expensive parts of a ship and is thus highly cared for as even a single mistake can cost the crew of the ship their lives as their atoms are spread across the galaxy.
PhysicsRedigera
A warp core is a piece of solid matter that has been excited to the point of it existing both in our quantum reality and the upper reality which is used to warp ships. The warp core then extends this field around the ship and thus forms a warp field. The core then propels the ship forward through creating a forward force inside the warp field (or warp bubble as its often called).
The amount of energy required to create a warp field is incredibly high and most modern power plants relies on fusion of matter and antimater to create the necessary energy to warp. This fusion of matter creates enough energy that when imparted into a material that can absorb it, the material is powered enough to generate an increasingly stable energy field which exists outside our space. It's this field that extends around the ship (or rather, is created around the ship) and lifts the limits of the world. If the field would be 100% outside our universe, the atoms would split because in the other quantum reality, there are no forces who keeps the atoms together.
You could claim, as a simplification, that a ship's warp engine 'lifts' the ship up from our universe halfway to another and thus allows it to exist in both realities at once (in truth, only the gravity of the ship as well as a tachyon stream exists in the hard space that is our universe). As long as the warp field connects to both realities the ship will be able to travel at faster than light speeds unhindered by our universal laws that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light, thus ignoring the mass build up.
GravityRedigera
One of the few detectable signs of a ship in warp is the fact that the gravitational coefficient still applies to hard space even if a ship is in warp. This is thought to be because gravitrons still connects the ship to hard space. Thus,
StealthRedigera
It is entirely possible to warp without having any propulsion forward and thus 'lie in wait' inside the warp. While not perfect, this could act as a stealth method, especially if being close to an object of large mass (which in turn makes it increasingly difficult to enter warp). The warp signature can still be detected (although at a -2 penalty) by most basic sensors of TL 9+.
InterferenceRedigera
Major sources of gravity can interfere with a Warp drive, possible even forcing a ship out of warp prematurely (hence the importance of not navigating to close to stars). Other warp fields, especially larger ones, can also interfer witha ships warp field and thus destabilize the lesser field. It's, at least theoretically, possible to match two ship's warp fields so that they can exist in the same part of the warp at the same time and thus interact with each other, but it has never been tried or confirmed by Terrans.
The frequency of a Warp field can be calculated using the following formula: (TONNAGE * WARPSPEED) / (WARPDRIVEFREQUENCY * FIELDSTABILITY)
Theoretically, if two not matching fields interact, the lesser field (or the most unstable one if the frequencies are close enough) will collapse.
GravityRedigera
While there are plenty of things that can interfere with a warp drive, the largest error factor comes from gravity which is generated by mass. Gravity imposes a difficulty for the warp field to fully stabilize as the propulsion part of the engine wants to take the path of least resistance, i.e. towards the object with the largest mass.
This pull can be calculated with the following formula:
M * W < sup > 2 < / sup > / U
Were U is the frequency of the warp field and the W is equal to the warp speed which the ship runs at.
if the distance to another object is less than short distance, apply the following penalty to any Jump check (note that you add mass together if there are several heavy objects near the ship):
Mass DM x1-x2 -1 x2-x5 -2 x6-x10 -3 x11-x50 -4 x51+ -10
DistortionRedigera
A ship will distort the space around it as the warp field forces it out of our universe. This distortion will be worst just after entering warp and just before leaving warp. Strong fields can actually damage and destroy real space objects.
HistoryRedigera
The first warp drive was tested in 2273, just before the great buildup of tension that would result in the Terran Civil War of the 24th century. The first ship to enter warp was not only completely destroyed, but the first pilot was also killed instantly as the first warp didn't take time into account when designating the coordinates for the powering down of the warp field, leading to a crash into the moon.
This wasn't corrected until the second launch in 2275 after several attempts had lead scientists into discovering the field time variable. The second launch was successful (although it would've destroyed the ship had they aimed for the moon).
The third real warp trip was between Earth and Mars at a speed that could be compared to Warp 0.001, using a light fusion engine driven by hydrogen.
Rules and dataRedigera
Whenever a new warp engine is installed (or the current one is heavily damaged) roll once for Field, Propulsion and Output. This roll designates the stability of the drive and how it handles under certain situations. This can't be noticed at first though as it takes roughly 2-12 jumps to nail down the personality of the drive and having a "bad" is non-refundable.
FieldRedigera
The field of a warp drive measures how stable the field is under normal circumstances. A failed field leads to immediate exit of our warp and also potentially to a lethal situation. Roll 2d6-2 plus the DM of the warp drives stability. If the roll fails, the ship is disintegrated and all aboard are killed. if successful, the drive manages to handle the situation and the ship drops out from warp with only 1d6-1 hits of 3d6 damage each.
PropulsionRedigera
While the field value measures the stability of the warp field, the Propulsion value measures just how well a ship drives in the direction designated by the navigator. An unstable Propulsion may lead to misjumps and wrong directions.
OutputRedigera
Field and Propulsion handles finess... Output handles pure power of the warp drive. Output is also the potential of the warp drive and measures just how much one can tweak and improve the engine without severe consequences. An unstable output may lead to the ship dropping out of warp unexpectedly (possible with damage) and not travelling as fast as intended.
TypesRedigera
Roll for Field, Propulsion and Output. Base values are +0 for other and 4+ for stability.
Roll -4 to 6 Unstable -2 to all DMs 7 to 12 Stable No modifier 14+ Very Stable +1 to all DMs
Type Modifiers Unstable -2 to all DMs Stable None Very Stable +1 to all DMs
Max Warp: Max warp is a special value that is attributed to each engine. It modifies the warp speed of a given ship with its engine in it. Multiply the warp factor by this value when running the motor. It's written x/y/z, were x is the max warp that it can perform at within the standard limits set by the producer. The second value, the y, is the max warp that the engine can perform at normaly. the third value, the z, is the max warp it can perform at theoretically. Passing this limit is nigh impossible, as there's to little output from the warp engine. Going above the first value will result in loss of warranty.
Mark 1Redigera
Stability DM: +4
Max Warp: 1
Warp Modifier: 0.75/1.0/1.0
Other: Output -1
Cost: -5%
The first Warp 1 engine that were released for commercial usage. Still fairly popular due to its low price. It is well known for its stability, altough its completly impossible to trim it without a volatile reduction of the fields stability.
Mark 2Redigera
Stability DM: +4
Max Warp: 1
Warp Modifier: 1.0/1.25/1.5
Other: None
Cost: +0%
Todays most popular engine and the one most new ships are built with. It has a better cooling system and thus allows for a far more stable field than the previous mark 1 engine. Its one weakness is that its not as stable as the Mark 1 engine.
Mark 3Redigera
Stability DM: +5
Max Warp: 2
Warp Modifier: 1.0/1.5/1.75
DM: Field -1, Propulsion +1, Output +3
Cost: +20%
If you want something expensive, you use the Mark 3 engine. It has higher power and a far better output than the previous two versions. It's considered to be the Sports car engine for most ships, altough its known to develop instabilities after being used for long periods of time.
ChekoswkyRedigera
Stability DM: +0
Max Warp: 1
Warp Modifier: 0.5/1.0/1.25
DM: Field -1, Propulsion -1, Output -2
Cost: -40%
An old russian design which isn't used anymore but that can be found in various scrapyards around the Terran Democracy and the Merchant Dominion. Few are those who dare to risk use such an engine on a larger ship.
ProducersRedigera
The Mark Hallenberg (The MB)Redigera
DM: Field +1, Output -1
Cost: +0%
Probably the largest corporation producing warp engines, the Mark Hallenberg engine is considered to be the best for commercial flight. They are very stable, yet possible to trim to increase output or speed. Most commercial flight cruisers are outfitted with Mark Hallenberg Engines.
EndoExRedigera
DM: Field -1, Output -2
Cost: -30%
Originally a Korean production company dealing in delivery, EndoEx developed their own budget warp engine just over 100 years ago and they have steadily increased their production since then. While unrealiable, the EndoEx engine is cheap and has the same propulsion as other engines of its type. Many small crafts use EndoEx engines as they are small and easy to fit into any ship.
General MotorsRedigera
DM: Output +1
Cost: +10%
Still alive and kicking, the General Motors company has left the automobile industry for the Warp Engine industry (which saved their company back in the 23rd century). Many people prefer a GM engine in their ship as it has no drawbacks except a higher cost.
Valkyrie ProductionsRedigera
A Scandinavian company that was founded just a dozen years ago that has quickly risen to become the elite of Warp engines. Famous for their high performance and high reliability engines, Valkyrie produces luxury engines as well as less powerful ones. Their Mark 3 engine is considered to be the best on the market.
ValkyraRedigera
DM: Field +1, Propulsion +1, Output +2
Cost: +40%
The first Valkyrie engine. It's still considered to be one of the best, especially considering how stable it is.
MjölnerRedigera
DM: Field +3, Propulsion +3, Output +3
Cost: +90%
Considered to be the 'top of the line' of experimental drives, the Mjölner drive is currently in development. if successful, the drive will change the way that most warp engines work.
Kuàisù mǎdáRedigera
Kuàisù mǎdáRedigera
DM: Field +2, Propulsion -3, Output -1
Cost: -20%
From the start a Japanese company who Kuàisù mǎdá bought to have a traditional Chinese warp engine producer. While rather famous for their engines in China, they aren't especially quick on breaking out new models. They do not produce mark 2 or mark 3.
