Stutterwarp Drive

[Capt JT Kohonez]

I've been thinking about running the Kafer Invasion in 2300AD.

 

And I want to try putting together a HERO version of the Stutterwarp Drive.

 

Have any of you done this already or can you point me the right direction so I can get some ideas as to how to do this.

 

Thank you.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Stutterwarp Drive

 

I don't remember all the details on the stutterwarp drives, but I do remember that they build up some kind of charge or residue or something that needs to be discharged into some gravity source, like a star or planet or something. That sounds like an END Reserve to me, with Recoveries only in a gravity well.

 

You'd have to tweak the size of the END Reserve and the END cost of the FTL Travel so that the range of travel works out right.

[Alathan]

Re: Stutterwarp Drive

 

I'm not familiar enough with HERO to work out the details at the moment, but the basics about the stutterwarp drive are as follows:

 

It has a maximum range of 7.7 light years before its tantalum coils are overloaded and radiation floods the ship, killing everyone aboard. The ship must enter a 0.1g gravity well before reaching this 7.7LY limit to discharge the coils. (I don't know how long it takes to discharge them; 24 hours might be a good guess...)

 

The stutterwarp drive gets its name because it "teleports" the ship hundreds of meters per jump cycle (through what equates to a upscaled quantum wormhole), but the drive cycles hundreds of thousands of times per second, thereby achieving a "virtual velocity" well above lightspeed.

 

Stutterwarp drives lose efficiency dramatically when they enter a 0.0001g gravity well; at this range, their "virtual velocity" drops into the sublight range, but is still well above other types of thrusters. (In the Solar System, this limit lies just beyond 2 AU from Sol.) When the ship enters a 0.1g gravity well, efficiency drops again, this time well below that of rocket or MHD thrusters. (This usually requires landing on a planet or moon, or at least entering a low orbit.)

 

Not sure if all this detail is necessary, but there's most of the facts for someone who wants to build a stutterwarp drive for HERO system.

[Captain Obvious]

Re: Stutterwarp Drive

 

I'm not familiar enough with HERO to work out the details at the moment, but the basics about the stutterwarp drive are as follows:

 

It has a maximum range of 7.7 light years before its tantalum coils are overloaded and radiation floods the ship, killing everyone aboard. The ship must enter a 0.1g gravity well before reaching this 7.7LY limit to discharge the coils. (I don't know how long it takes to discharge them; 24 hours might be a good guess...)

 

The stutterwarp drive gets its name because it "teleports" the ship hundreds of meters per jump cycle (through what equates to a upscaled quantum wormhole), but the drive cycles hundreds of thousands of times per second, thereby achieving a "virtual velocity" well above lightspeed.

 

Stutterwarp drives lose efficiency dramatically when they enter a 0.0001g gravity well; at this range, their "virtual velocity" drops into the sublight range, but is still well above other types of thrusters. (In the Solar System, this limit lies just beyond 2 AU from Sol.) When the ship enters a 0.1g gravity well, efficiency drops again, this time well below that of rocket or MHD thrusters. (This usually requires landing on a planet or moon, or at least entering a low orbit.)

 

Not sure if all this detail is necessary, but there's most of the facts for someone who wants to build a stutterwarp drive for HERO system.

 

Okay, so it's a multipower.

Slot 1 is the interstellar drive, built as FTL Travel, Costs END, Side Effect at the -3/4 level (60 Active Point Side Effect that only occurs if it exhausts its END Reserve), Only outside 0.0001g gravity well, and all the Focus stuff involved with vehicle equipment. This slot draws from an END Reserve that's tweaked to hold just enough END to travel 7.7ly and a REC that's limited to Only within a 0.1g gravity well. You might have to tweak the END Cost to the FTL Travel as well to make it fit 7.7ly.

 

Slot 2 is the interplanetary drive, built as Flight with lots of Megascale, Only outside 0.1 g gravity well, and the vehicle Focus limitations.

 

Slot 3 is the low orbit/landing drive, built as Flight with little if any Megascale, and vehicle Focus limitations.

 

Crunching the numbers is left as an exercise to the reader.

[shadowcat1313]

Re: Stutterwarp Drive

 

starting idea for a number crunch

 

12 Multipower, 32-point reserve, (32 Active Points); all slots OIF Immobile (-1 1/2), Custom Modifier (Real Equipment; -1/4)

1u 1) Faster-Than-Light Travel (6 Light Years/day) (32 Active Points); 1 Charge (-2), OIF Immobile (-1 1/2), Side Effects (only occurs if END reserve exhausted; -1/2), Costs Endurance (-1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Custom Modifier (Only outside 0.0001g; -1/4), Custom Modifier (Real Equipment; -1/4)

2m 2) Flight 16" (32 Active Points); OIF Immobile (-1 1/2), Custom Modifier (Only outside 0.1 g gravity well; -1/4), Custom Modifier (Real Equipment; -1/4)

2m 3) Flight 8", MegaScale (1" = 100 km; +3/4), Can Be Scaled Down 1" = 1km (+1/4) (32 Active Points); OIF Immobile (-1 1/2), Custom Modifier (Only outside 0.1 g gravity well; -1/4), Custom Modifier (Real Equipment; -1/4)

Powers Cost: 17

 

have at it

[Capt JT Kohonez]

Re: Stutterwarp Drive

 

Most cool shadowcat. Most cool.

 

starting idea for a number crunch

 

12 Multipower, 32-point reserve, (32 Active Points); all slots OIF Immobile (-1 1/2), Custom Modifier (Real Equipment; -1/4)

1u 1) Faster-Than-Light Travel (6 Light Years/day) (32 Active Points); 1 Charge (-2), OIF Immobile (-1 1/2), Side Effects (only occurs if END reserve exhausted; -1/2), Costs Endurance (-1/2), Increased Endurance Cost (x2 END; -1/2), Custom Modifier (Only outside 0.0001g; -1/4), Custom Modifier (Real Equipment; -1/4)

2m 2) Flight 16" (32 Active Points); OIF Immobile (-1 1/2), Custom Modifier (Only outside 0.1 g gravity well; -1/4), Custom Modifier (Real Equipment; -1/4)

2m 3) Flight 8", MegaScale (1" = 100 km; +3/4), Can Be Scaled Down 1" = 1km (+1/4) (32 Active Points); OIF Immobile (-1 1/2), Custom Modifier (Only outside 0.1 g gravity well; -1/4), Custom Modifier (Real Equipment; -1/4)

Powers Cost: 17

 

have at it