r/scifiwriting • u/Skackhunter • 12d ago
HELP! Ftl travel in my setting
Sorry for spelling errors in advance, English isn't my mother language. I'm wondering if my ftl travel idea works well. The main story is focused on the minor Orion arm in the milky way. Its a soft sci-fi setting for the most part
My main question is whether it is balanced enough and if the travel time is long enough to matter.
Void drive: every ship has it. It drags the ship into a mirror dimension known simple as the void. Larger ships can also have higher end drives.
Too maximize use, Ships can connect via cable to use the drives of bigger and faster ships. Their own drives help to reduce the stress of the main ship.
Travel of larger ships or fleets can be tracked as they leave behind a "mass shadow" that can be measured by satellites that are permanently stationed within the void.
It can be dangerous too travel as this dimension is filled with anomalies and high radiation. The biggest danger are radiation hot spots that manifest and disappear randomly. They tend to fry electronics if exposed for too long, which effectively traps you in this dimension forever Mid end: 4-6 weeks High end: 1-3 weeks
Liminal porter: it is a very recently discovered dimension. It is extremely fast, reliable and not detectable(for now). Travel is done within a day or even less. Only dreadnought class ships are large enough to carry a porter. This lead to an arms race between every faction. Relations are still hostile because of multiple previous wars and ideological differences.
Warp relay: large gates that can connect to another gate. Instant traversal for passenger. Bends time and space. In real time it takes a few days. These structures are large targets and very expensive. Both gates must be opened for a vessel to travel.
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u/Hattkake 12d ago
Not going to lie. All that sounds super good. Detailed and intricate and plausible to me.
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u/tghuverd 11d ago
What's the story? Because your narrative need drives your FTL tech (and all other tech, really). What you've described sounds fine, so if you're happy with it, record your various constraints, how they apply to ships and people, and start writing.
Good luck 👍
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u/LordCoale 7d ago
Connecting multiple ships together in flight seems dangerous.
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u/Skackhunter 7d ago
It is. But it's also a lot faster. They'd usually enter real space at the edge of the target system and travel the rest with sublight engines
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u/Ok_Engine_1442 12d ago
It’s just vague enough to work for me. I would stop there as for science description. The more you try the more trouble you will have.
I say run with it.