User:Makida
I'm posting my fan-fic-ish explanation of Allegiance physics here from the forum. Someday I will edit it and... I don't know, use it for something, somehow, maybe? :P For now, this is just a safe and easily-editable place to store it, and maybe slowly work on editing it. :)
The "sectors" we see in Allegiance are actually closed bubbles of space-time, created by distortion in the very fabric of reality caused by the alephs themselves! These "bubbles" have some properties very different from outer space as we know it; amongst other things, they are filled with a thin atmosphere (which we call "luminiferous aether,") which is poisonous, but creates drag on ships and conducts sound! This is also why many ships look like they're designed to be aerodynamic - they were designed primarily to work in these space-time bubbles, not in open space, and here, drag makes a difference! It also affects sensors and visibility by distorting light and other radiation, allowing ships to hide more easily, and explaining why the "information warfare" aspect of Allegiance works!
And this is also why sectors have a "boundary" - as a ship approaches the edge of the space-time bubble, it starts to take damage, because the very fabric of reality is less stable there! Things simply start to fall apart.
Over time, debris and matter get drawn in through alephs from the outside universe, and end up becoming spread out throughout the chain of sectors, forming the resource-rich asteroids we find there today! Certain valuable materials and isotopes, like He3, uranium, etc., tend to actually be attracted to the alephs over time because of the interaction of their gravometric and magnetic fields, which is why the resources we find in the sectors tend to be rich and strategically important!
The space-time bubbles we call "sectors" appear whenever a lengthy chain of interconnected alephs exists, caused by the interaction of alephs' warping of space-time. Because especially distant points in our Galaxy are always connected by lengthy aleph chains, to get anywhere interesting in the Galaxy (like to your enemy faction's territory), you will always have to go through a whole network of sectors! This - and the resources the sectors contain - makes them strategically important, and is why almost all outer-space combat takes place in sectors, rather than just open space, and why ships are optimized for this!
This also explains the symmetry found in all "maps" - we find symmetry in many natural phenomena; here, it is caused by the interaction of the alephs, much like the symmetric field of force one can see existing between two poles of a magnet!
As for the alephs that lead "out" of the chain, and into "real" space, as opposed to other sectors - those aren't actually open all the time, but open and close intermittently, because of the complex interaction of the environments inside the sectors and outside, in space. One cannot actually see them during game-play, but such alephs briefly open in both "home sectors" of a map just before a game of Allegiance begins. That's how the initial miner(s), ships, and the garrison constructor get in! Because you can only send so much into the aleph chain before it closes to the outside world for a fairly long time (certainly longer than any game of Allegiance), the minimal supplies necessary to set up an improved, powerful fleet are sent in, but the rest is left up to the fleet itself to sort out within the map itself.
And if you're wondering why the atmosphere within the sectors doesn't leak out into space while the main aleph is open, that's because the alephs don't allow the atmosphere to pass - in the same way they don't allow bullets or missiles to pass. Alephs only work for fairly large, massive, but distinct objects, like ships!
Koln: Now you need to explain me how do you fit all those ships in these small bases, specially capships (sometimes as big as the whole SY....)
For cap ships, I think we're obviously looking at auto-factories using nanobots (we already know nano-technology exists in Allegiance cuz of the nan gun, of course), which assemble and deploy the ships as-needed. In other words, the shipyard doesn't need to store large numbers of gigantic ships - that would be inefficient with the assembly technology we have. It only contains highly compressed raw materials, and the technology to rapidly assemble ships out of them. Once a ship type has been "researched," the shipyard's robots and nano-bots can use the blueprints to assemble a completed ship very rapidly! In fact, the same technology could be present for small ships as well, to explain why you never see them in the hangars, and why there isn't ever a shortage of them!
This is also related to how "research" works: Obviously, when you're buying research, you aren't actually discovering new science and technology or something. That'd be ridiculous, and that technology would have to be available from the start in every subsequent game for it to make any sense. What "research" actually is, is the process of developing more complex assembly technology and nano-bots, and making them capable of following more complex blueprints to assemble better ships and devices. It's called "research" because the computers and robots on the base are "figuring out" how to build the new ships, using adaptive quantum computing algorithms that allow simpler nanobots to manufacture more complex ones as needed. This process requires quite a bit of energy, which is why you need to buy that research! This is also related to why the most advanced tech can't be sent into the aleph chain fro the very start: the quantum computing processes required to maintain it, the energy required, and the extra mass all interact poorly with the alephs leading out into "normal" space. (See also Dr. Andon's ongoing research on mass-limited alephs!)
Koln: Ok, so now, other facts: how can those bases, small as they are, support any kind of human life during a long period? That kinda requires some space, since you need food and water and those stuff to be stored safety.
Well, given that teams seldom exceed 20-30 pilots max per side, and these people will usually have a few bases to share between them (Garr + a tech base + an outpost or two, especially since this'd be the team that *won* the Allegiance battle), they don't really seem all *that* small (even given that quite a bit of space inside bases must be taken up by machinery, computers, etc.) Presumably the bases can also be re-supplied. If the alephs that lead to normal space open up on a more or less regular basis, that may be enough to send some food and water through (in freighters, of course! That's what they're for.) Plus, nanotech and other advances should make recycling air and water and producing food in compact hydroponic bays easier. Living quarters may be cramped, but then, these are military installations, they don't need to be luxurious...
Koln: Well, i think i don't have any more questions "unexplained". Most of the other stuff derived from what you said, except the turrets that can turn as if they weren't attached to the ship tongue.gif. But I'm sure you'll come up with some "nano-explanation!"
Nanotech isn't magic, Koln. The turrets just rotate freely around the ship using perfectly everyday mechanical means, to allow them to fire in any direction. A gyroscope-stabilized periscope allows for an unobstructed view, which is kept oriented in the same direction while the turret moves (unless the gunner intentionally turns it) to make aiming easier, creating the impression of being able to shoot "through" the ship.
I'd put it all on the wiki, but I am not sure anyone would really want it all there. tongue.gif Maybe someday I'll edit bits of mah explanation down to a smaller size, and ask if I can put that up somewhere... Not really sure where it would fit...
Koln: About the wiki: just make a new article "girlyboy's explanation of alleg world" and put some links to it over there. That doesn't hurt.
madpeople: For such a long thread, I'm supprised nobody has actually written an article on this. Anyone want to come up with a good name for the article to start with? Maybe "Scientific Inaccuracies."
Later: Grimmwolf: And why can't one repair the own ship? If I have unlimited amounts of nano repair bots, why not use them on the own hull first? Maybe a hand nan gun in the cockpit or something like that? Why not give it out to all the pilots?
Obviously, it is not safe to have the nanite robots working on the same ship that launches them. They are activated only after they are launched from the nan gun, because if they could get their tiny claws on the nan gun itself, they'd use it to create an army of nanite robots, eat your scout, and then take over the universe. However, because the nans are based on quantum computing technology, each nan system is slightly different in a way that is impossible to replicate, which always makes the robots fired from one ship incompatible with the nanite system that might happen to be present on the target (as in x-nanning,) meaning that as long as the robots aren't used on the same ship that fires them, all is well.
Really, you thought the nan system is all smiles and sunshine? Let me tell you, it is the most dangerous technology used in Allegiance! The Harbinger of Doom is peanuts compared to what a single Nanite Repair System could do if it got out of control. One little slip-up and bam -- grey goo! It is only out of extreme wartime desperation that any of the factions risk using these things at all! And the Phoenix government even tried to outlaw them altogether (but in practice, managed to merely limit their use due to resistance from many pilots and admirals) before it mysteriously vanished.
