Prev: Re: Checking something again Next: Re: Aircraft Vs Dreadnoughts (Which is what the topic mutated into :o)

FT-Technology in the FT world

From: "Bif Smith" <bif@b...>
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2001 12:26:35 -0000
Subject: FT-Technology in the FT world

I was thinking recently of how advanced technology is in the FT
universe,
and in what areas of physics/science/tech the races would be advanced
in, or
on the verge of making a breakthrough etc. This comes from the fact the
SV
may roughly be balanced (although some people don`t think so) in FT game
terms, they seem to me to be severly laking in technological terms (and
therefore should be even more unbalanced in game terms) if they are
suposed
to be very advanced, ancient, technologically mature race. I could see a
way
in which the SV have gained a technology level that suits themselfs, but
it
would require some xenophobia and/or complacency/arrogance to not
develope
their tech furthere under the presure of war with other races. It could
be
the SV aren`t bothered about losses, because they are only construct
that
are fighting. Or that the tech and/or weapons that are fighting and made
contact with other races is only primative stuff to not allow the other
races a good look at what the SV are capable of. Or it could be the tech
of
the ships the aleins have been allowed to see was downgraded on purpose
to
make the other races think the SV are a less of a threat, so to
concentrate
on each other instead of on the SV (which sounds plausable). If a ship
or
force attacked a world populated by SV, we might see a overwhelming
technology brought to bear against the attackers. As to what technology
or
area of physics/science the SV have knowledge of, I would say they are
too
advanced and their technology too alien for any valid comparisons to be
made.
 The KV I see as a race with a more xenophobic view of other races tech,
that has so far kept them from adopting others tech for themselves so
far
(take the lack of placed marker weapons like missiles for example), but
under the pressure of fighting the PH and HS (homo sapiens) this would
probably change in the near future (say 10-15 years). The SV have a
better
understanding of gravitics than PH/HS, but less than the SV (everybody
would
be less than the SV <G>). This I could see as being shown as the future
KV
missiles being better than the present HS missiles, and the KV fighters
being better than at present (at least fast fighters being the
standard).
The aparent lack of fighter preformance for KV fighters could be
explained
as the KV only recently picking up fighter tech/doctorene from another
oponent (after all, they were fighting the PH before HS, so it may have
come
from them). I would also see the KV developing the grav tech they
currently
have, making their ships more maneuverable, and the K-guns they have
having
more punch/dammage, or a lighter weight for the same punch.
 The PH have a different outlook to other races, and I would see their
tech
developing along the lines of making their exsisting tech better, rather
than making a breakthrough based on recovered pieces of other peoples
tech.
The exceptions to this would be adopting human sheild tech (same effects
against beams as their own vapor shroud, but less limiting to ones own
weapons), and developing a better way of tuning their energy weapons
from
recovered SV tech (able to tune pulsars in battle?). I would expect the
PH
plasma bolt launchers to improve, with lessons/tech learnt from the
human
plasma torps, and from the SV power generation ablities, which would
alow
them to have greater control over the launchers (imagine a PBL as a
direct
fire weapon against only one target, but no way for PDS to stop). They
wouldn`t gain much from the KV, as their hulls can stand upto KV weapons
very well already, so I would expect them to ignore the KV tech
posibilities
and concentrate on a tech they could understand and gain from more
quickly,
ie the SV.
 The HS I see gaining from the KV grav tech, making their ships
quicker/more
maneuverable, and their fighters/missiles quicker/tougher/more deadly
(greater dammage). The only tech advantage the PH have over them would
be
the close range damage potential of their pulsars in c mode, and I could
see
the humans trying to make a weapon with the same potential (I didn`t say
suceeding). The plasma bolt launchers would be very simular in science
to
human plasma torps (if not in exicution), and I would expect HS to
improve
their plasma torps with leasons leart from the PH weapons. As for SV
tech,
this I would see as too alien for anybody (except PH) to understand, but
I
would expect other races to develope systems that would be able to mimic
the
effects of their weapons/systems, if not in the same way, or with the
same
flexablilty (one of the SV`s streights in my oppinion).
 If anybody thinks this would lead to the different races ships/weapons
being very simular (except the SV of course, they would just be harder),
you
would be correct when talking about the present weapon systems. But
these
tech insperations gained from the aliens would also open up new tech,
which
would give the opertunaties for new weapons. For example, if
understanding
of gravitics gave a greater understanding of hyperspace (which I dought
any
of the 3 young races understand very well), it could lead to hyperspace
missiles that jump out of hyper at roughly the point where you thing the
enemy is going to be, bypassing PDS (just one that immediatly springs to
mind). This given above outlines the way I could see technology and
science
going in the next 10-15 years of the FT universe, after all, wars are
very
good at forcing technology to advance in a short time (look at world war
2,
from props to jets and missiles in 5 years (yes, I know the developement
of
the jet engine was longer that that)).

Just a idea for discussion, that may make people come out with some
interesting comments.

BIF
 "yorkshire born,yorkshire bred,
 strong in arms, thick in head"

Prev: Re: Checking something again Next: Re: Aircraft Vs Dreadnoughts (Which is what the topic mutated into :o)