DataNet

[rgrove0172]

I invision a 2300 AD, interstellar data net, continously updated by couriers contracting commercial vehicles as they make their runs. Who would run such an enterprise? Where would the hub be located? How would it be regulated?

Ideas?

 

[McPerth]

I guess such services would be done by courrier drones as told in the thread about communications in 2300AD (some of those threads are now intermingling to the point that is difficult to follow them knowing which post is in which thread ), and probably would be run by some kind of (probably state run) postal service.

 

[rgrove0172]

Apologies to all, its my posts that are becoming confusing. Im unsure when to keep plugging a thread along or start fresh to get a consensus on a given topic.

 

[McPerth]

You're more optimistic than myslef if you hope to reach a consensus .

What you will get here is some oppinions that will make you think from other points of view and help you to reach your own conclusions to apply to your game, and that's quite a lot, IMHO.

 

[rgrove0172]

Heres a blurb Id like our opinion on.

The “Universelle Donnees de la Bibliotheque” or the Univeral Data Library (UBD) is a massive undertaking by a French backed academic institute to gather, maintain, regulate and distribute a repository of catalogued information throughout known space. Headquartered at Nouvelle Provence on Tirane, the UBD holds offices on a number of worlds on each of the colonial arms and dispatches a fleet of automated courier pods to facilitate regular library maintenance and updates. UBD satellites can be found in all but the most remote of systems, broadcasting their most recent updates to licensed receivers. The UBD also contracts commercial vessels to carry and upload compressed data bursts as they reach their destinations to facilitate specific library revisions. Together these methods attempt to keep humanity up to date and consistent in the dissemination of a data base measuring in the millions of terabytes.

 

[aramis]

One problem with couriers trying to contact other ships at hyperlight pseudovelocities - you cannot.

Aspect	issue
Head-on	by the time you detect with the sensors, you've passed it and your radio cannot catch up.
Ahead of target on parallel	they can see you, but not you them. You will never know they are there.
Tailing Target	You can detect them, but your radios cannot reach them.
Abeam of Target	You cannot see their current position, only a position behind their current. You might be able to pull in front of them if you are even marginally faster, signal, and drop behind to await response.

 

[rgrove0172]

They are considered to be "in system" where FTL isnt a possibility. (typically in orbit)

 

[McPerth]

In any case, time lag would have several interesting effects:

Just to show a minor effect, let's imagine you are here (at Earth) and I am at Tirane. Let's say the courrier drones take 12 hours to go from Earth to Tirane, and there are three such drones active at any moment, giving upgrades for the net every 8 hours*.

When your posts reach me, they are 12-20 hours old, and every 8 hours I receive a batch of new posts from CotI to read and (if I'm interested enough on them) answer them. Also I have doubts I could be a moderator (unless there were enough members on Tirane to merit one), as any posts I moderate, report or warn will probably have been when my answer reached Earth (about 24-36 hours after they were posted).

*see also http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showpost.php?p=426578&postcount=43

 

[whartung]

They are considered to be "in system" where FTL isnt a possibility. (typically in orbit)

Well the premise there is that there is some facility waiting to accept a download, and if you need to be "parked" for that to happen, then so be it.

If the receiver is sunlight, and the transmitter is pseudo-hyperlight, can the transmitter still transmit (in mini-bursts or whatever) to the receiver?

In X-Boat parlance, they can start broadcasting as soon as they arrive in system, not so sure about a courier once it gets "close". Or is it simply a waste of time since the ship will just be there far before the outer transmission arrive, so you may as well wait until you're close and can dump locally.

 

[rgrove0172]

I was considering commercial vessels that would be entering orbit, to offload or what have you.

 

[aramis]

Well the premise there is that there is some facility waiting to accept a download, and if you need to be "parked" for that to happen, then so be it.

If the receiver is sunlight, and the transmitter is pseudo-hyperlight, can the transmitter still transmit (in mini-bursts or whatever) to the receiver?

In X-Boat parlance, they can start broadcasting as soon as they arrive in system, not so sure about a courier once it gets "close". Or is it simply a waste of time since the ship will just be there far before the outer transmission arrive, so you may as well wait until you're close and can dump locally.

A ship can transmit while at FTL... but will outrun the signal.

When close enough to drop to sublight pseudovelocities, there will still be some apparent shifting, and depending upon the exact nature of the stutterwarp, may render incoming/outgoing signals scambled.

IM2300U, stutterwarp operates in a terrahertz frequency, so slowe frequency regimes will be intelligible, but compressed.

 

[rgrove0172]

Hmm, really never considered the effect of stutterwarp speeds on communication signals. It might be kind of cool to require stutterwarp vessels to halt to recieve and transmit, even if for only a few minutes.