[NGTM-1R]

...basically, as far as canon goes, are there any restrictions on intrasystem jumps?

[Ace]

There needs to be a strong gravitational field present and nearby. (otherwise I'm assuming energy requirements for the jump are too high) So that limits the jumps to being in star systems or near other stellar mass (or higher) ranged objects.

[Trivial Psychic]

My theory is that subspace is typically a non-tangable realm, but the presence of a gravitational field in normal space results in a pocket of it becoming stable.  Stellar mass objects generate pockets that encompass a star system, though if you have a series of star systems in close proximity, like in a globular or even an open cluster, the pockets cross over each other, enabling travel for some distance in intra-system subspace.  Very high mass celestial bodies create a pocket of subspace that is faster than intra-system subspace (think 3rd-space from B5) and permiates an entire galaxy, but requires insanely high energy levels to enter.  Long ago, a race found a way to hybridize the galactic subspace with a form of intra-system subspace in corridors that link up star systems.  Travel in these corridors (jumpnodes obviously) is faster than intra-system relative speeds, but slower than galactic subspace.  At the same time, the energy requirements to enter the corridors is higher than intra-system subspace, but significantly lower than galactic subspace.  The species that created the nodes have long since gone, but their legacy is the means for all advanced races to explore the galaxy... and then get their tails waxed by the Shivans.

[FireCrack]

^and you get this infromation from?

[Trivial Psychic]

Did you read the first couple words of mine that say "My Theory"?  This is how I attempt to quantify subspace and the rules of its use we have become accustomed to.  Where there are gaps in that information, things are open to speculation.  As for why I think that inter-system nodes are artificial, its because they are too convenient.  While this can in no way be considered proof, it is my theory and how I feel things work in the Freespace universe.

[Carl]

does anybody know what an n-dimensional tunnel is?

[FireCrack]

sorry, missed that first one, tend to skip the first few words sometimes.

an n dimensional tunnel is a tunnel with n dimensions

It seems subspace is an extrusion of normal space in 2 dmiensions, one looping around back into itself. The n dimensional tunnel part is weird.

what i gather is that ships traveling through subspace are moving along one of the major dimensions and are free to move along the dimensions of the real universe. the other major dimension of subspace seems unused, but probably integral in making sure it holds together.

It seems all the other (infinite?) dimensions of subspace reside partialy along the first major dimension, and partialy along the second.

Everything i got was from the tech room and animations, but peiced together in a way that may or may not be entirely objective(probably not the right word).

Basicly an n dimensional tunnel is a tunnel with n dimensions

[aldo_14]

I've always worked on the assumption that the length of intra-system jumps is based around gravitational forces... i.e. so you couldn't just 'skip jump' between systems.  I guess that gravity is used or acts in some way to allow entry into subspace.... I assume that subspace itself is almost like swiss cheese; you can jump anywhere within a hole/dimple intrasystem, but to jump between these dimples of gravity (inter-system jump) you need to find a tunnel between them; i.e. a stable node pair.

I think we have freedom to make up 99% of this stuff to suit ourselves, though.

[Col. Fishguts]

Originally posted by Trivial Psychic
My theory is that subspace is typically a non-tangable realm, but the presence of a gravitational field in normal space results in a pocket of it becoming stable.  Stellar mass objects generate pockets that encompass a star system, though if you have a series of star systems in close proximity, like in a globular or even an open cluster, the pockets cross over each other, enabling travel for some distance in intra-system subspace.  Very high mass celestial bodies create a pocket of subspace that is faster than intra-system subspace (think 3rd-space from B5) and permiates an entire galaxy, but requires insanely high energy levels to enter.  Long ago, a race found a way to hybridize the galactic subspace with a form of intra-system subspace in corridors that link up star systems.  Travel in these corridors (jumpnodes obviously) is faster than intra-system relative speeds, but slower than galactic subspace.  At the same time, the energy requirements to enter the corridors is higher than intra-system subspace, but significantly lower than galactic subspace.  The species that created the nodes have long since gone, but their legacy is the means for all advanced races to explore the galaxy... and then get their tails waxed by the Shivans.

That's all nice and well thought through...but it's stated somewhere that inter-system noodes are a natural phenomenon.
I'd say subspace exists everywhere and you could get anywhere given enough energy (read insane amounts of energy) to cross the barrier.
But occasionally a "flux" in subspace is formed naturally between 2 stars, which you can cross woth significant less enrgy requirements (read energy requirements low enough to be powered by fusion reactors)

[Solatar]

Originally posted by Col. Fishguts

I'd say subspace exists everywhere and you could get anywhere given enough energy (read insane amounts of energy) to cross the barrier.
But occasionally a "flux" in subspace is formed naturally between 2 stars, which you can cross woth significant less enrgy requirements (read energy requirements low enough to be powered by fusion reactors)

If that's true than it could explain how the Shivans seem to be able to get around without nodes sometimes (fs1: Ross 128, the Vasuda blockade, etc.). If they possess more powerful reactors than us, than they'd be able to do stuff like this.

Although if the fighters had a more powerful reactor, we might know about it from the captured Dragon/Maras (should be noted that the "great strides in fighter technology" could have encompassed this as well).

[Col. Fishguts]

Well...if I'd continue wildly theorizing, I'd say that opening a node is very delicate thing. And as we know there are unstable nodes (the inter-system tunnels form naturally, iirc somewhere in the tech room entries it's stated that some nodes inly last for milliseconds, others for years, and other over millenia), and the Shivans have much more sophisticated subspace technology so they can open nodes which are unaccessable to the GTVA.

But of course, everyone's free to interpret the little facts given, as he likes.

[Eishtmo]

Subspace, in mathmatics, usually refers to realms with fewer dimensions that ours (instead of 3, it has 2 or fewer).  In effect, you use a subspace drive, you're slipping under the rug of the universe.  I think that best describes what it is.  I could be wrong.

[Charismatic]

Well to answer the subspace question, lets discuss another question. If command captured Shivan Fighters, what would they find? First of all we grabbed their shielding technology, wiht some modifications. Now look at this:
In FS1 when we grabbed their Sheilding technology, sence they were able to inter-system jump Then; Why did they not figure out their engins, and grab that technology. They didnt and would have, they had peacetime afterwords, and a whole war or to to figure it out and impliment it in GTVA fighters and ships. So that conculds either that command blew up the technology on accidnet (likely) trying to figure it out, or the shivan fighters did not have the technology then. Unless:
If a captial ship inter-system jumped, maby theirs a.. a pocket around the main Cap, cause it has reactors to power the I-S jump; So the fighters if close enough could travel along too, in the bubble, and not use anything But their regular engin power.
How dose that sound?

[FireCrack]

I dont know what your talking about, i suppose inter-system jumps without nodes

1: Command couldn't get any of the shivan systems to work, unlikely they'd get any data out of them
2: Fighters didnt have this capability
3: All research on shivan technology ended after the hades rebellion in 2336(or was it 2335?)

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by Charismatic
Well to answer the subspace question, lets discuss another question. If command captured Shivan Fighters, what would they find? First of all we grabbed their shielding technology, wiht some modifications. Now look at this:
In FS1 when we grabbed their Sheilding technology, sence they were able to inter-system jump Then; Why did they not figure out their engins, and grab that technology. They didnt and would have, they had peacetime afterwords, and a whole war or to to figure it out and impliment it in GTVA fighters and ships. So that conculds either that command blew up the technology on accidnet (likely) trying to figure it out, or the shivan fighters did not have the technology then. Unless:
If a captial ship inter-system jumped, maby theirs a.. a pocket around the main Cap, cause it has reactors to power the I-S jump; So the fighters if close enough could travel along too, in the bubble, and not use anything But their regular engin power.
How dose that sound?

Ships have to vibrate / oscillate their hull at a certain frequency to enter subspace, so there's no 'bubble' of entry for escort fighters to use; all ships require a susbpace drive to enter subspace.  Also, we've never seen IIRC a Shivan fighter / bomber make an inter-system jump, there's no implication a Dragon can anyways, and the GTVA had small scale inter-sys jump drives working before the end of FS1 anyways.

All I can imagine is that maybe you mean jumping via unstable nodes, but that's never been confirmed.  Nor has which ships (the Lucifer, all ships?) can make these jumps, or how relatively unstable these nodes are / were; they may just be uncharted regions such as in Gamma Draconis.

[Flaser]

Originally posted by aldo_14


Ships have to vibrate / oscillate their hull at a certain frequency to enter subspace, so there's no 'bubble' of entry for escort fighters to use; all ships require a susbpace drive to enter subspace.  Also, we've never seen IIRC a Shivan fighter / bomber make an inter-system jump, there's no implication a Dragon can anyways, and the GTVA had small scale inter-sys jump drives working before the end of FS1 anyways.

All I can imagine is that maybe you mean jumping via unstable nodes, but that's never been confirmed.  Nor has which ships (the Lucifer, all ships?) can make these jumps, or how relatively unstable these nodes are / were; they may just be uncharted regions such as in Gamma Draconis.

....though the said vibration is probably induced by a field the subspace drive creates.

If the field is sufficiently extended it can help/grab the nearby fighters as well - though it could be said that it only boosts or keeps the escort  fighters in pack it can't take fighters into subspace on their own.

Why do I speak of this field? The reason is that we can attack ships entering subspace when they're already resonating on the apropiate frequencies.

So my theory is that projectiles/missiles coming close to a transitioning ship are partially aligned too thereby allowing them to still do some extent of damage.

[karajorma]

Originally posted by aldo_14
Also, we've never seen IIRC a Shivan fighter / bomber make an inter-system jump

Yeah we have. They jump in through the Knossos plenty of times.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by karajorma


Yeah we have. They jump in through the Knossos plenty of times.

Not in FS1, I mean.

[aldo_14]

Originally posted by Flaser


....though the said vibration is probably induced by a field the subspace drive creates.

If the field is sufficiently extended it can help/grab the nearby fighters as well - though it could be said that it only boosts or keeps the escort  fighters in pack it can't take fighters into subspace on their own.

Why do I speak of this field? The reason is that we can attack ships entering subspace when they're already resonating on the apropiate frequencies.

So my theory is that projectiles/missiles coming close to a transitioning ship are partially aligned too thereby allowing them to still do some extent of damage.

The resonation isn't moving the ship into an alternate dimension (etc); it's opening a entry point (vortex) to one - the visible part of the ship is the part outside subspace and thus still in normal space and hittable.  The actual matter of the ship doesn't change between real & subspace - only a vibration - so of course it would still be hittable.

Unless the ships hull is suitable modulated / vibrating, it can't enter subspace.... there is no evidence I can think of to suggest fighters, etc, can travel in 'slipstream' beside a larger ship.

"A jump drive causes a ship to vibrate in multiple dimensions until its modulations are in perfect synchronization with the subspace continuum. A vortex opens, creating an aperture from an infinitesimally small point in the cosmos, enabling the vessel to cross the subspace threshold. ."

[Trivial Psychic]

Originally posted by aldo_14
Also, we've never seen IIRC a Shivan fighter / bomber make an inter-system jump, there's no implication a Dragon can anyways, and the GTVA had small scale inter-sys jump drives working before the end of FS1 anyways.

There was a line in an FS1 CB after the Galatea was destroyed.  Just before you head off on the mini-arc to retrieve the Ancients data from Altair, you're told that scientists figured out how to allow fighters to make inter-system jumps by monitoring engagements with the Shivans in Beta Aquilae.  That implies that they were monitoring subspace activity the Shivans were creating by their activities, and that basically they were trying to find out how the Shivans were doing what they were doing, which by implication, would be inter-system jumps by fighters.