So this is something I have been working on for a whole, an attempt to create a broader range of faster-than-light travel technology, somewhat unique even for the different factions or races seen in the setting. Some are fixed, and therefore faster and more stable but more expensive, but others are FTL drives and therefore more cost efficient but also much slower and more fickle. This is partly because of something I noticed in sci-fi, which to me strikes me as bizarre. It always struck me as strange (perhaps "unrealistic" isn't the right word considering the genre) that seemingly every race in a given universe or setting all use the same kinds of FTL.
Like, I can understand that perhaps the Federation nation-states all use Warp Drives as a matter of course, but why would the Dominion or the Kazon or the Borg use it too? Why would the Klingons? When these races all existed for millennia or more before mankind, what possible reason would it be they ALL developed identical technology? I can even kind of see why all of them having phasers and disruptors is bizarre, but I can at least suspend disbelief for this because "X gun uses biggest boom, so we'll design a version of it" is kind of a realistic military strategy. But if the physics exist to allow for faster-than-light travel, why does it seem so stale?
Another example, but ironically one that gives a kind of explanation, is Mass Effect. The premise being that virtually all FTL travel is achieved via Mass Relays, which is technology far beyond the ken of the younger races in the galaxy. But even then, no one developed anything else? Or just decided to use relativistic travel? Or maye even some naturally evolved or naturally extant form of FTL like a wormhole network? The explanation given is more logical than most at least...not surprisingly because it's better written than Star Trek but I digress...
So one of the main bullet points (like nine out of fifteen on the list) when I was worldbuilding the setting for the series is the idea that there are numerous different forms of faster-than-light travel, most "fixed" and the rest "drives", which were developed independent of each other and kind of unique to specific regions, factions or races. For example the most widely used is a network of wormholes which also serve as communications networks, but this requires you "build" (for lack of a better term) wormholes and "pair" them like bluetooth meaning you have to get to a system first them set up the wormhole and pair it to another system. After that it's instantaneous travel between the two, but because the gates are all situated at specific distances this means traveling from one side of the gate network to the other (approx. 70,000 light-years) takes a year, but traveling the same distance using FTL drives (specifically the ones used by this larger faction) would take fifteen years since they go way, way slower. That's one example, there are twenty others.
Just me spouting random ideas, but I was wondering if anyone thinks the idea of EVERYONE in a given setting all using the same weapons, drives, etc is unusual and more so what is the main..."reason" I guess is the term? Like I would like to imagine it's not just laziness or a paucity of ideas, but maybe it would seem like too much of a mishmash of concepts? What do you think, is the idea of multiple very broad FTL concepts too out there or a good idea or not?
Like, I can understand that perhaps the Federation nation-states all use Warp Drives as a matter of course, but why would the Dominion or the Kazon or the Borg use it too? Why would the Klingons? When these races all existed for millennia or more before mankind, what possible reason would it be they ALL developed identical technology? I can even kind of see why all of them having phasers and disruptors is bizarre, but I can at least suspend disbelief for this because "X gun uses biggest boom, so we'll design a version of it" is kind of a realistic military strategy. But if the physics exist to allow for faster-than-light travel, why does it seem so stale?
Another example, but ironically one that gives a kind of explanation, is Mass Effect. The premise being that virtually all FTL travel is achieved via Mass Relays, which is technology far beyond the ken of the younger races in the galaxy. But even then, no one developed anything else? Or just decided to use relativistic travel? Or maye even some naturally evolved or naturally extant form of FTL like a wormhole network? The explanation given is more logical than most at least...not surprisingly because it's better written than Star Trek but I digress...
So one of the main bullet points (like nine out of fifteen on the list) when I was worldbuilding the setting for the series is the idea that there are numerous different forms of faster-than-light travel, most "fixed" and the rest "drives", which were developed independent of each other and kind of unique to specific regions, factions or races. For example the most widely used is a network of wormholes which also serve as communications networks, but this requires you "build" (for lack of a better term) wormholes and "pair" them like bluetooth meaning you have to get to a system first them set up the wormhole and pair it to another system. After that it's instantaneous travel between the two, but because the gates are all situated at specific distances this means traveling from one side of the gate network to the other (approx. 70,000 light-years) takes a year, but traveling the same distance using FTL drives (specifically the ones used by this larger faction) would take fifteen years since they go way, way slower. That's one example, there are twenty others.
Just me spouting random ideas, but I was wondering if anyone thinks the idea of EVERYONE in a given setting all using the same weapons, drives, etc is unusual and more so what is the main..."reason" I guess is the term? Like I would like to imagine it's not just laziness or a paucity of ideas, but maybe it would seem like too much of a mishmash of concepts? What do you think, is the idea of multiple very broad FTL concepts too out there or a good idea or not?