[Androgeos Exeunt]

Personally I believe that the Capella node didn't destabilize until the Nereid went through, but that's just me.

Same here. I'm a layman when it comes to subspace physics.

In any case, I was thinking that if the Nereid departed from Vega a full three minutes after the supernova, surely that must mean that the jump node from Vega to Capella was still usable at that time.

[WMCoolmon]

I'm not convinced that Knossos-enforced subspace nodes need anything to work. I don't remember seeing any big gravity-like things in the region beyond the nebula (with the Shivan comm nodes). Could be that the Ancients built the subspace portals specifically to travel to distant places, unreachable with normal node travel, and that's how they were able to travel to "galaxies where [they] had no place."

Given that you need to be on the Knossos side to activate the portal, every Knossos encountered was on the GTVA side, and the Shivans only started coming in force until after the portals were open, and there was no "off" button, I'm inclined to think that the Knossos portals were a pretty big deal for Ancients' fleet transport. Also that they were pretty damn durable and big.

And I say that "the Shivans only started coming in force" because the NTC Trinity wouldn't have lasted two minutes against a pack of Dragons, and it doesn't seem likely that the ship got severely damaged just because its subspace drive got clogged up with nebular gas. Sure, it's possible, but I'm inclined to think that the Trinity found some scrappy Shivan forces and just barely escaped or held them off, and planned to report their 'success' to Bosch. And then the Shivans started a recon-in-force.

The Shivans' tactics - hanging around the Knossos portal - and the late appearance of the Sathanas, despite the Shivans' traditional offensive tactics also makes me think that the Shivans were coming from somewhere pretty distant.

So either the Knossos #2 survived a supernova, or it was built when the nebula was still a nebula.

Intrasystem jump drives are mentioned as needing a gravity field to operate, but the ability to use intrasystem jump drives could be a side effect of having two subspace nodes in close proximity to one another. The Psamtik did experience severe navigation issues just by being in the proximity of a Knossos.

To get technical, the coolness factor of nebula missions offsets the gravity requirements of intrasystem jump drives.

[FreeSpaceFreak]

I'm not convinced that Knossos-enforced subspace nodes need anything to work. I don't remember seeing any big gravity-like things in the region beyond the nebula (with the Shivan comm nodes).

Especially not the group of planets there.

To get technical, the coolness factor of nebula missions offsets the gravity requirements of intrasystem jump drives.

[Snail]

Especially not the group of planets there.

There are no planets in Gamma Draconis or in the nebula.

[FreeSpaceFreak]

There are no planets in Gamma Draconis or in the nebula.

...in the region beyond the nebula (with the Shivan comm nodes).

Especially not the group of planets there.

[Jeff Vader]

Tru dat, but it still is a valid point to note that there aren't any planets in the nebula. Or Gam Drac. Surely the planets beyond Knossos 2 cannot stabilize the node between Gam Drac and the nebula

[Snail]

[Jeff Vader]

[WMCoolmon]

[FreeSpaceFreak]

Tru dat, but it still is a valid point to note that there aren't any planets in the nebula. Or Gam Drac. Surely the planets beyond Knossos 2 cannot stabilize the node between Gam Drac and the nebula.

Why not? GDrax hasn't got any planets, and yet there is a fully stable and normal node to Capella. Gravity wells on 1 side of the node seem to do the trick well enough.

[Jeff Vader]

Tru dat, but it still is a valid point to note that there aren't any planets in the nebula. Or Gam Drac. Surely the planets beyond Knossos 2 cannot stabilize the node between Gam Drac and the nebula.

Why not? GDrax hasn't got any planets, and yet there is a fully stable and normal node to Capella. Gravity wells on 1 side of the node seem to do the trick well enough.

Let me try en grafiska presentation:

Capella     -     Gam Drac     -     Nebula     -     The Twilight Zone
(Planets)                                                         (Planets)

The attention is focused on the node between Gamma Draconis and the nebula system. No (confirmed) planets on either side of the node. Just the (deceased) Knossos in Gam Drac.

[Snail]

Gamma Draconis definitely has no planets, Petrarch said so. Nebulae probably don't have planets in them unless I missed something in physics. So the Knossos is really the only thing holding the node together.

[Wobble73]

Gamma Draconis definitely has no planets, Petrarch said so. Nebulae probably don't have planets in them unless I missed something in physics. So the Knossos is really the only thing holding the node together.

Star form inside nebula, planets form around stars!

The thing that bugs me about the capellan supernova......the Shivans are referred to as the great Preservers by the Ancients right? Well, blowing up a star doesn't presrve much! An entire ecosystem wiped out (Capella has numerous planets, many of which could have supported life (but not as we know it). It may be very primitive now (FreeSPace2 time), but the point about the Shivans being preservers is they destroy older races for newer races to come to the fore. Blowing up Capella pretty much did for that system!

[Snail]

The thing that bugs me about the capellan supernova......the Shivans are referred to as the great Preservers by the Ancients right? Well, blowing up a star doesn't presrve much! An entire ecosystem wiped out (Capella has numerous planets, many of which could have supported life (but not as we know it). It may be very primitive now (FreeSPace2 time), but the point about the Shivans being preservers is they destroy older races for newer races to come to the fore. Blowing up Capella pretty much did for that system!

By the end of FS1, we basically know what the Shivans are doing (preserving the balance by blowing up people who are too powerful). But by FS2 that whole great destroyers and great preservers analogy doesn't cut it as there are whole load of other questions to answer.

[Shiku]

The presence of an intense gravitational field is required, prohibiting travel beyond the boundaries of a star system.

From the Freespace Wikki.

I assumed that the gravity fields were generated by the Stars. And that if a planet was in the system, it's gravity would drag the Gavity Well/Node closer to it.

This allows nodes in all systems, as well as the nebula.

[Spicious]

However, the movement of a decent portion of the mass of the star would alter the gravity within the nebula formed, and that supposedly has some influence on nodes.

Supernovae are good for getting elements heavier than iron.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

Star form inside nebula, planets form around stars!

The thing that bugs me about the capellan supernova......the Shivans are referred to as the great Preservers by the Ancients right? Well, blowing up a star doesn't presrve much! An entire ecosystem wiped out (Capella has numerous planets, many of which could have supported life (but not as we know it). It may be very primitive now (FreeSPace2 time), but the point about the Shivans being preservers is they destroy older races for newer races to come to the fore. Blowing up Capella pretty much did for that system!

The universe is a lot stranger than you realise.

[General Battuta]

Gamma Draconis definitely has no planets, Petrarch said so. Nebulae probably don't have planets in them unless I missed something in physics. So the Knossos is really the only thing holding the node together.

Star form inside nebula, planets form around stars!

The thing that bugs me about the capellan supernova......the Shivans are referred to as the great Preservers by the Ancients right? Well, blowing up a star doesn't presrve much! An entire ecosystem wiped out (Capella has numerous planets, many of which could have supported life (but not as we know it). It may be very primitive now (FreeSPace2 time), but the point about the Shivans being preservers is they destroy older races for newer races to come to the fore. Blowing up Capella pretty much did for that system!

Supernovae are the only source of the heavy elements necessary for life. It's possible that one of the Shivans' purposes is to trigger artificial supernovae to ensure that the universe remains a rich climate for life to arise.

[Jeff Vader]

Gamma Draconis definitely has no planets, Petrarch said so. Nebulae probably don't have planets in them unless I missed something in physics. So the Knossos is really the only thing holding the node together.

Star form inside nebula, planets form around stars!

The thing that bugs me about the capellan supernova......the Shivans are referred to as the great Preservers by the Ancients right? Well, blowing up a star doesn't presrve much! An entire ecosystem wiped out (Capella has numerous planets, many of which could have supported life (but not as we know it). It may be very primitive now (FreeSPace2 time), but the point about the Shivans being preservers is they destroy older races for newer races to come to the fore. Blowing up Capella pretty much did for that system!

Supernovae are the only source of the heavy elements necessary for life. It's possible that one of the Shivan's purposes is to trigger artificial supernovae to ensure that the universe remains a rich climate for life to arise.

... so that they can return to kick the butt of that life before it arises too high.

[FreeSpaceFreak]

Capella     -     Gam Drac     -     Nebula     -     The Twilight Zone
(Planets)                                                         (Planets)

The attention is focused on the node between Gamma Draconis and the nebula system. No (confirmed) planets on either side of the node. Just the (deceased) Knossos in Gam Drac.

The nebula has already expanded for hundreds, if not thousands of lightyears, thus spanning several solar systems (don't argue about that, it's true). And although the planets are probably scorched by the nearby (super)nova, they still are planets with gravity.

And Shiku has a good point here too, though I'd like to add (yes, this is a personal, but reasonable guess) that planets may help nodes to form easier.

I assumed that the gravity fields were generated by the Stars. And that if a planet was in the system, it's gravity would drag the Gavity Well/Node closer to it.

This allows nodes in all systems, as well as the nebula.