Hey all!

Today’s topic will further explore the subjects of fleet movement, FTL-travel and the general wonders one might happen upon when ripping holes through subspace. As the writing of this is a bit sudden the dev diary came out late today, our apologies!
The galaxy is a pretty huge place and to get anywhere in a timely manner you’ll want to travel faster than the speed of light, or use FTL-travel for short. Stellaris will have three methods of FTL that players can use; Warp, Hyperlanes and Wormholes. They all have distinct advantages and disadvantages when it comes to the strategic movement of ships and fleets causing expansion paths, diplomacy and wars to be quite different depending on the method used.

Warp
Warp requires each ship in the fleet to be equipped with a Warp Drive. These are quite costly to build and cause a major drain on each ship’s available power, but allows unconstrained travel to any system within range. When travelling to a system outside the range of a single warp-jump, the fleet has to make a sequence of jumps through a number of systems. Any jump puts a considerable strain on a ship’s Warp Drive, causing the fleet to not be able to jump again for a short while after arrival. While this can be reduced by more advanced technology, it does remain a weak point throughout the game for any species using this method.
Fleets using Warp Drives to travel will need to do so at the edge of a system to lessen the gravitational pull of the local star. This in combination with the fact that warp-jumps have the slowest FTL-speed of the three methods means that the arrival point of an incoming warp-fleet can be identified, and possibly ambushed. The cost of freedom is potentially high!

Wormhole
Some species have decided to sidestep this whole business of blasting through the void at ludicrous speed. They prefer to open up a temporary wormhole that a fleet may use to instantly travel to a distant system. These wormholes can only be generated by a Wormhole Station, a type of space station that can only be constructed on the outer edge of a system. Any fleet wanting to travel will have to use the Wormhole Station as a connecting point, passing through it whenever they leave the system. The station may only generate a single wormhole at a time, forcing all ships and fleets to wait while one is being prepared. The larger the fleet, the longer it takes for the Wormhole Station to be ready. The wormhole generated does allow two-way travel, but will collapse almost instantly after sending a fleet through.
Constructing and maintaining an efficient network of Wormhole Stations is vital to any species using wormholes, as it will allow sending huge fleets from one part of the galaxy to another in very short time. It also allows striking deep inside enemy territory with little warning. This great strength can also be a great weakness, as fleets are left with no means of further offense or retreat should the network be disabled through covert attacks by enemy strike-fleets.

Hyperdrive
The galaxy in Stellaris has a hidden network of hyperlanes connecting the systems, only visible for those who know where to look. Ships that are equipped with a Hyperdrive can access these lanes and use them to traverse the galaxy at incredible speed. They are however bound by the preexisting network, and has to path through each system connecting their current location and target. Galactic voids lacking systems are in effect huge movement-blockers for any species using hyperlanes, having few systems allowing possible crossings. An enemy could potentially fortify these vital systems should they become aware of their existence, creating strategic choke-points. As the hyperlanes exist in subspace, fleets may access them from anywhere within a system and does not have to travel from the gravitational edge as Warp Drives and Wormhole Stations do. As such, catching a fleet using hyperlanes can be tricky. Correctly identifying the paths to intercept and interrupt their somewhat long charge-up is probably your best bet.

All methods of FTL-travel can be improved by researching more advanced technologies. While their exact effects differ some they all improve the speed, range, efficiency or cooldown of FTL-travel. However, being able to casually bend time and space with increased power does not necessarily mean using it with more responsibility. As additional species bend the laws of physics to send larger and larger fleets through the galaxy, there is always the risk of something, or someone, noticing...

Next week we’ll talk more about the different species in the galaxy. Look forward to it!

 

[Wing_008]

So far all Paradox GSGs allowed custom names for units and fleets.

that would be great like in EU4, i hate for my flagship to be named tak-tak

 

[Sinep Valiris]

I'm more interested in whether or not you can rename planets.

 

[TheDungen]

Look I'm not saying there could be power requirements for longer distance wormholes, but I don't see anything pointing towards that there would be.

Wormhole theory is so far outside your field, you would need a Stargate to get there.



Yes. Never heard of it. Political movie. Which one?

There is no field of wormhole theory, wormholes like alternate realities and timetravel can be approached from several diffrent fields of science. Since it's still just a theoretical construct there are several models for it, I have as of yet never heard of a one that suggests it would be limited in range. As I said earlier it would seem to negate the very diffinition of the phenomenon.

And I have no idea what politcal movie you are refering to.

What about adding a fourth FTL type: Space Folding Drives (Jump Drives), like the FTL in Battlestar Galactica?

That's warp engines, as with wormholes the representation of them in stallaris may not conform to all other sci-fi universes out there, which means some will be left out. Also BSG explaining it's drive systems? Who would have known, I thought they were waay to much of a boring space opera to do that.

Nice... will go for the wormhole aproach.. sounds funny.
BTW.. whats happening when you sned your ship in a black hole?

You get ripped to pieces by tital forces long before you even reach the event horizon?

 

[Wessexking]

Can you build other stations? like battle stations to protect your wormhole stations?

 

[ariantes]

A system can have several Wormhole Stations, creating a hub. Wormhole Stations in neighboring systems can independently send fleets to each others systems.



The origin of the hyperlane-network is unknown, and can't be manipulated at will (for now at least...). Ships can be built without an FTL-drive to act as a local defense-force, but with no means of FLT-travel they can't leave the system. There is no sub-FTL travel between systems.

Why? Considering the wormholes are created by stations, why can't a ship without FTL drive use them?

 

[TheDungen]

Its not a mcguffin, it was established early on in the series when they didn't know what the extra locks are for, then they started expanding on it by adding further and further distances, starting with the Azguard, then Atlantis, and then Destiny. A McGuffin is something that is never used again, when they clearly use it a large number of times across two live action series and the cartoon series.

No a macguffin can be used many times, it's defined as a plotppoint brought in to create or prevent a certain outcome. It's basically a fix for a plothole someone discovered.
Honestly it does not matter, in stargate the energy requirements for opening up a wormhole to a place is less than flying there using subspace. They can run the stargate of the US energy grid without to much attention but they're several seasons in before they get reactors powerful enough to actually do interstellar travel by other means.
And this destiny that you speak of, I donät know what that is but I have feelign that it must not be mentioned ever again.

Does it really matter whether the "wormhole," as it is implemented in Stellaris, works like a "wormhole" or a "warpdrive" ? In the end, isn't the end result the same? An object moves between two points a vast distance apart nearly instantaneously? Or are we so PO'd about this that we're going to petition PDS for a name change?

No having had some time to sleep on it it does not, I was just a tad bit dissapointed that the wormhole FTL didn't cater to a more unique playstyle, but seem so close to the others with only minor diffrence, I still am, but it's their game and they'll do what they want with it. Paradox usually don't dissapoint me I should have more faith in them.

 

[Dohaeris]

Can we possibly get a couple more screenshots?

 

[TheDungen]

Why? Considering the wormholes are created by stations, why can't a ship without FTL drive use them?

Perhaps you need some sort of device to safely navigate one.

 

[Kollatius]

Why? Considering the wormholes are created by stations, why can't a ship without FTL drive use them?

Well... you are creating an artificial Black Hole...

 

[Kuschelflummi]

You get ripped to pieces by tital forces long before you even reach the event horizon?

Thats boring.. but how about a wormhole trough a black hole?

 

[TheDungen]

Well... you are creating an artificial Black Hole...

Despite the word hole in both a black hole and a wormhole is not the same thing.

Thats boring.. but how about a wormhole trough a black hole?

I think you missunderstand how both wormholes and black holes work, a wormhole does not travel through anything, it's a shortcut if you will tgat allows you not to travel through the spae between two points. You can wormhole from one side of a blackhole to the other without problems because you didn't pas through it.

That said I seem to remember them saying you can pass through stars and blackholes with any kind of FTL. I just assumed that'd mean you don't interact with them at all.

 

[Kuschelflummi]

I think you missunderstand how both wormholes and black holes work, a wormhole does not travel through anything, it's a shortcut if you will tgat allows you not to travel through the spae between two points. You can wormhole from one side of a blackhole to the other without problems because you didn't pas through it.

That said I seem to remember them saying you can pass through stars and blackholes with any kind of FTL. I just assumed that'd mean you don't interact with them at all.

As far as I understand FTL and black holes, thats theortocal not possible. cause, inside a black hole there is so much gravitation, that all FTL drives would fail. Maybe the wormhole not, but I'm not sure.

 

[kaspar42]

A fleet in range of a system with a functional Wormhole Station may request a wormhole to be opened to their system, allowing them to get home. It still takes time and occupies the Wormhole Station of course.

The whole wormhole thing sounds like it could be a lot of micromanagement, if you need to route a path through multiple wormholes. Do you have to tell each station where to send to, or will simply ordering a fleet from system A to system D cause wormhole stations in systems A, B, and C to automatically create the path?

 

[TheDungen]

As far as I understand FTL and black holes, thats theortocal not possible. cause, inside a black hole there is so much gravitation, that all FTL drives would fail. Maybe the wormhole not, but I'm not sure.

Well like I said theoretically a wormhole doesn't pass through anything it only has a start point and an end point, for it to interact witha blackhole it either needs to end or start 'within' the black hole.

As for bendingspacetime (warp), it all depends on how much you can bend it, I wouldn't say that it's outright impossible but difficult and unlikely are words that sort of fall short. As for hyperspace lanes, if I understand it correctly that means you're basically travelling using other dimensions or universes again which means that you don't actually pass through that portion of realspace.

 

[Kuschelflummi]

Well like I said theoretically a wormhole doesn't pass through anything it only has a start point and an end point, for it to interact witha blackhole it either needs to end or start 'within' the black hole.

As for bendingspacetime (warp), it all depends on how much you can bend it, I wouldn't say that it's outright impossible but difficult and unlikely are words that sort of fall short. As for hyperspace lanes, if I understand it correctly that means you're basically travelling using other dimensions or universes again which means that you don't actually pass through that portion of realspace.

The question is, waht happens when ou create a wormhole in the center of a black hole. Can the ships pass trough or doese the gravitation alter the destination of the wormhole?

 

[Wenla]

Just a question I had : how could the spaceships contact the wormhole station when they are in a different system ? I mean sending a message would take hundreds of years, unless they got a certain technology.

They use ansibel.

 

[Meraun]

The question is, waht happens when ou create a wormhole in the center of a black hole. Can the ships pass trough or doese the gravitation alter the destination of the wormhole?

They evolve to spacemonkeys.

seriously guys.

 

[*Aqua*]

The question is, waht happens when ou create a wormhole in the center of a black hole. Can the ships pass trough or doese the gravitation alter the destination of the wormhole?

Gravity isn't stopped by a wormhole. If you open one inside a black hole, the other end of it will act like a black hole too.

There's a Stargate episode about a stargate in the vicinity of a black hole. The SG center almost got sucked into it.

 

[Kuschelflummi]

Gravity isn't stopped by a wormhole. If you open one inside a black hole, the other end of it will act like a black hole too.

There's a Stargate episode about a stargate in the vicinity of a black hole. The SG center almost got sucked into it.

Buts thats all theory... no one ever tried it
Also... no one really know IF there is a real hole in the center of a black hole

 

[*Aqua*]

By definition a wormhole connects two distant points in spacetime. If you can send a ship through it gravity will "travel" through it as well.