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!

 

[Tiaexz]

So, the choice of...

Mass Effect travel.
Star Trek travel.
Eldar (40k) travel.

Will be interesting!

Jump-drives as a hybrid would be a decent addition. Benefits of warp and wormhole but their disadvantages too.
Also, fully operational (system pair link) wormholes similar to Stargate would be another nice one. Instant travel to those on network, but requires setting up the network and could be used against you.

 

[Felidae]

Interesting. Wormholes work differently than I expected. What I had visualized was that an independent wormhole station has a vastly restricted range when operating on its own. Enough to reach nearby stars, but not much further. However, travel between two systems that each have a station, and your range is really, really long. So on defence, you can very quickly summon fleets from right across the empire to any threatened location. But on the offence, you can only attack outer systems within reach of your network, and have to slowly stage your way inward, building wormhole stations as you go.

 

[ikki]

Pretty sure its warp for the beginning, exploring & building up my neighbourhood into a tight .. umm.. hive.
Once im an elder power of unfathomable might and glory.. shift into using wormholes like every master race should.

 

[Void2258]

I know I'm late to the party, I was just wondering if there was still a chance of having ancient fixed entry exit variable path travel similar to jumpgates in Babylon 5 as an option as well.

 

[Atlantians]

I know I'm late to the party, I was just wondering if there was still a chance of having ancient fixed entry exit variable path travel similar to jumpgates in Babylon 5 as an option as well.

They actually could build jump-gates in Babylon 5.

Most gates you see in the show were built relatively recently.

 

[tannerson]

So will the wormholes be something like mass effect where you build the relays in one point and then build them in the point where you want to travel? If thats the case it would be cool to have the enemy stranded in one system when you sent some covert ops to disable one of their relays

 

[FLESH HUNTER]

So will the wormholes be something like mass effect where you build the relays in one point and then build them in the point where you want to travel? If thats the case it would be cool to have the enemy stranded in one system when you sent some covert ops to disable one of their relays

Worms holes work like this:
Build a station in a, fleet travels from A to B through the one station, next the station pulls the fleet back from B to A, then fleet travels from A to C

 

[Heatth]

So will the wormholes be something like mass effect where you build the relays in one point and then build them in the point where you want to travel? If thats the case it would be cool to have the enemy stranded in one system when you sent some covert ops to disable one of their relays

Not quite. You don't need relays on both sides. You can use the 'relays' to travel both from and to.

That said, you can still strangle the enemy fleet, yes. It is the major weakness of that system.

 

[Void2258]

Jump Gates ala B5 are different than any of the mechanisms discussed, and also they couldn't initially build more of them, it's just that by the time the show happens, it's been a long time since they were discovered and everyone figured it out over centuries of research, and Earth just bought the designs (which is why everyone's look the same, despite being built by different races with very different looking tech).

 

[Korvallys]

You do choose a single type of FTL at game-start and stick with it for the majority of the game. Ships can not mix or use several FTL-types at the same time. That said, what ancient fleets may lie buried and forgotten amongst the stars, sleeping and ready to be found?

But couldn't you build Wormhole Stations, reserved for purposes of massive surprise invasions; Therefore allowing your vessels to be fitted with Hyperdrives to be used in most circumstances?

 

[mocoman2001]

Made a post in the wrong area, oops....

 

[PanzerMan7]

OOOOOHHHHH I am excited for this game. I like how there's both free move (but costly) travel and space highway travels. I like to write Sci Fi stories in my spare time and have usually included some mechanism like this. I wish we could end our jumps in deadspace (or can we?). Either way the tactics of such an environment are going to be a mindfuck for, well, I'd say HoI/EU/ect players but probably everybody.

One concept I thought of/borrowed from Eve was warp scramblers and electronic warfare ships that could pull fleets out of warp (sometimes violently!). An outnumbered defending fleet could tear up an attacking fleet in a deadspace ambush, or fortified worlds could be electronically screened against ships that aren't highway jumping. *fingers crossed for expansion!*

 

[chopak]

One concept I thought of/borrowed from Eve was warp scramblers and electronic warfare ships that could pull fleets out of warp (sometimes violently!). An outnumbered defending fleet could tear up an attacking fleet in a deadspace ambush, or fortified worlds could be electronically screened against ships that aren't highway jumping. *fingers crossed for expansion!*

Well, there IS an interdictor-like module for defense platofrms so...

 

[pguyton]

Could another species go through your wormhole say a race of recent to space warp tech aliens who are your allies in war ? Your range would be greater than theirs and it seems like they could fly through wormholes you generate did them to aid in a war with a 3rd party .

 

[RisKFactoR]

Is it possible to travel without faster than light methods? I don't know if it has been answered before, but wouldn't it be a very impractical way of travel which exists as a last resort?

This is a really old post, but I'm having fun reading back to old Dev Diaries and the reactions as sort of a historical overview of how Stellaris evolved.

Now, this question, just in general, is relevant not just to Stellaris. Hypothetically speaking, absolutely there could be a way to do it without FTL travel. The light sail. As long as you can get up to 10 - 20% the speed of light with a constant 1 - 2 Gs of acceleration, A ship could get to neighboring stars in a few decades. It wouldn't be completely "impractical" to a civilization like our current one in real life any more than the horse and buggy was to the American pioneers in 1820. Obviously, to a space-faring empire it would be.

Furthermore, to a spacefaring empire, they probably wouldn't have any real need to install a lightsail on their ships. And if they did being along such equipment as a very last resort "just in case" need to do so (kind of like bringing along a spare tire), the ships would probably be so massive that it would take significantly longer with a really low rate of acceleration if they didn't continue to improve upon the light sail technological idea.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

There are other options than lightsails too. The mathematics for nuclear bomb pulse propulsion for example worked out as delivering mega-tonnes of payload mass to Alpha Centauri in about two centuries back in the 1960s, which is easily enough for an interstellar colony ship. There's a lot of improvement we can make on Dyson's original estimates with present day thermonuclear bombs and materials too, nevermind what would be reasonably available for a Stellaris level civilisation.

Stellaris technology could do it with either the level 3 or level 4 sublight drives in principle; plasma thrusters are basically either fusion or antimatter rockets, while the impulse drive is presumably some reactionless drive variant. Whether they'd have the fuel for an interstellar trip on board is a bigger question of course.

Light sails would be useful as a backup emergency get home technology, but likely as a emergency measure listed in the ship's computer to be built if needed rather than emplaced on the ship from the start.

 

[RisKFactoR]

There are other options than lightsails too. The mathematics for nuclear bomb pulse propulsion for example worked out as delivering mega-tonnes of payload mass to Alpha Centauri in about two centuries back in the 1960s, which is easily enough for an interstellar colony ship. There's a lot of improvement we can make on Dyson's original estimates with present day thermonuclear bombs and materials too, nevermind what would be reasonably available for a Stellaris level civilisation.

Stellaris technology could do it with either the level 3 or level 4 sublight drives in principle; plasma thrusters are basically either fusion or antimatter rockets, while the impulse drive is presumably some reactionless drive variant. Whether they'd have the fuel for an interstellar trip on board is a bigger question of course.

Light sails would be useful as a backup emergency get home technology, but likely as a emergency measure listed in the ship's computer to be built if needed rather than emplaced on the ship from the start.

Oh! I remember reading about thermonuclear pulsations back in high school! I completely forgot about that idea! It would be fun to ride a series of nuclear explosions!

Thinking in terms of Stellaris, I suppose considering that the vast majority of ships are travelling as part of a fleet, realistically speaking, not all the ships would supposedly have their drives happen to be knocked out all at the same time. Also considering that some admirals have the "repair hull" trait. I always imagined some logistical vessels trailing behind the main fleet. Or parked in a nearby safe system to be called upon to effect repairs and even replace entire ships' components such as drives damaged beyond repair. So maybe a light sail in terms of Stellaris lore wouldn't be necessary as an emergency backup plan.

Or maybe the "Missing in Action" status IS the emergency lightsail technology in use after a bonafide defeat and the ships have no real way to be repaired. Either way, I suspect you'd be right. That the lightsail would have to be built from, say, a prefabricated kit that needs to be pulled from storage, assembled, and installed into the ships' systems so it can at least hobble along and put at least some distance towards the nearest safe haven while they work on repairs to the main FTL drive.....

OH! I'm getting some AAR vibe potential here! I've been thinking of starting my first AAR for the past few weeks! And have been working up a unique idea I haven't seen anyone utilize very extensively.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Judging from the time returning from missing in action takes, it's definitely FTL for at least some of it. But starting sublight while repairs are ongoing makes sense.

There is also the option of using materials extracted from asteroids for repair and maintenance and supplies on the fly, and the lightsail - being basically a sheet of highly reflective film, which is well within their capabilities to do, would be reasonably fabricated as needed. Particularly for warships, where flimsy backup propulsion isn't desirable because of the possibility of breaking before use.

 

[RisKFactoR]

Judging from the time returning from missing in action takes, it's definitely FTL for at least some of it. But starting sublight while repairs are ongoing makes sense.

There is also the option of using materials extracted from asteroids for repair and maintenance and supplies on the fly, and the lightsail - being basically a sheet of highly reflective film, which is well within their capabilities to do, would be reasonably fabricated as needed. Particularly for warships, where flimsy backup propulsion isn't desirable because of the possibility of breaking before use.

There is one other aspect at play I would like to try and figure out before I think about starting an AAR:

IF I were to utilize the idea of using a prefab light sail (or as you alternatively suggest, mining resources to build from scratch), how effective would it be for a ship as large as a warship? Even a cruiser in Stellaris lore is going to be absolutely massive compared to the size of a late 21st century or early 22nd century probe that we may attempt to send to Proxima Centauri in OTL.

Obviously, a light sail for a cruiser and larger would be scaled up. But would the light sail have to scaled up at a larger rate than the growing mass of a ship, if you know what I mean? Not sure I know how to properly phrase the question. Like, for example, if a cruiser is 3 times as massive as a scout ship, would the cruiser need to have something like 6 times the surface area for the light sail in order to be as effective as it would be for the SS? I wouldn't even know where to even begin to calculate that to find out.

The only problem of mining resources to build a light sail from scratch in Stellaris lore, is that the mining and manufacturing time and energy costs would probably be better spent just sitting still and making repairs directly to any damaged FTL drives. Whereas, if each ship brings along a prefabbed light sail kit, they could at least stream along while they're repairing the main engines. The downside to that, of course, would be an issue of taking up extra space in a storage hangar, and extra mass on the ships. But at least they would be underway.

 

[Zagreb 887]

IIRC solar sails are supposed to be incredibly thin ( 1 or 2 atom thin) and very wide, so their weight is limited. The best way to the se them is to have a laser shooting at them to increase the efficiency of the radiation pressure