Originally posted by Yaskoydray:
Hi folks!
Assuming one wishes to insert jump gate tech into your Traveller game...
1) Do you need a gate at both ends of the jump?
2) Do you set a size limit? Perhaps based on tech level? (The 's in the details--but the general concept needs to be clarified first I think.)
3) Are there time and/or distance advantages to jump gate travel vs regular jumps? And to what degree?
4) Jump gate security; wouldn't such a device foster concern over its safe and secure use? Wouldn't jump gates need naval protection? (Lots of fodder for military/political/strategic campaigns I think!)
5) I like the 80/20 "formula"--but does this mean just a regular jump vessel benefits from the 80% savings to fuel consumption? Or only specifically designed vessels use the gates? Or both?
6) And a wilder tangent: are the gates designed by high tech worlds a primitive precursor to stuff the Ancients had? (This assumes current gates are primitive while ancient more powerful gates lurk in obscure locations in space...) Or are the gates purely Ancient tech (which removes some of the tech calculations in favour of some simpler referee "handwaving")?
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1)***Unless you use Weber verse naturally occurring wormholes, yes Imho. Even B5 does this.
2)See my above postings. (yes). Tech defines parsecs plumbed. Size and cost reflects what the system/ polity/ pocket empire is willing to spend.
3)yes, parsecs plumbed = minutes!(so a seven parsec TL-10 gate takes seven minutes end to end). IYTU, you can alter that, of course. to say, 10 minutes/parsec; 1hr/parsec/ whatever. Its an altenate to Jump technology. Even at a thirty parsec leap( at say..30hrs) thats shorter than the 6.5 days of J-space! Revenues raised by traffic help maintain the gates/ and are $$$ in the powers that be running/ holding them.
4)I should say so. B-5 guarded her end. Weber's universe has Manticoran navy bases and Manty-SPA monitoring traffic/ security etc, collecting passage fees.
5) was someone elses idea. I''ll let them answr that (tho its a good one)!
6)IMTU, the Geonee inspired gates were copied from Ancient Tech. Their Gates are limited in size. They had figured out to do the same thing, retro active engineering wise-it was just bigger (ie, 20ktn gate machinery to do what TL-20 did at 10ktns).
So when they repaired the non working gate at their end in massilia-they made it larger than it had been, as they had at best, some TL-16 remnant stuff to work with, and TL-12 from the main world of Shiwonee.
In the time versus distance thing. yes, it allows for NJ ships to "travel" as we call it in traveller..but:
Only on the proscribed routes of paired gates!
A jump shuttle/ pod/ frame is still utilized for any other off gate travel..
my .000000125Mcr. worth grandfather Y