The wormholes are pretty cool, but i think a gate system might be alittle better, to me it seems as if their is no gate then i should be able to warp to other sectors without having to fly all the way around , plot my course, etc... Basicallt take a look at games like freelancer, that kind of gate system but only when going to another sector, nto when in system jumping

Sounds like a great idea, except the gates would have to be huge otherwise it would be too easy for pirates to nail people passing through.

A wormhole is about 2km wide. I think a gate 2km wide would look a bit weird.

Unless the gate was not a solid ring, but rather made up of an array of projector thingys that floated in space with a diameter of 2000m. Then nothing would really need to change except for making the array of projectors. And at that, you might only need to make one projector and replicate it a bunch of times. Maybe a hexagon of projectors, or something.

They would have to alter the back story then.

/me produces a URL seemingly from nowhere.

http://roguelazer.com/vimages/Roguelazer/octree1.jpg

Keep in mind that this object existed LONG before the open Engine Test (aka Alpha) and never was used in the game in that time. It is highly unlikely that the model still exists somewhere on either a1k0n's or Waylon's computer.

... I mention a1k0n because he's the one who took the picture. :P

Maybe gates will become something that is used when new systems are discovered once the Exploration Expansion arrives. Gates are good for places that are close by, not something that needs a wormhole to take you across the universe. I like there design, too bad they no longer have the artwork for it.

Maybe they don't need to be in the backstory. Gates could be used to jump "further". Therefore they would have a purpose of only increasing the jump distance, while still holding the backstory up. (You don't necessarily need a gate in theory still).

Plus it adds character to the game.

/givemoney Devs 2c

Wow, i would have loved to have seen that, It looks like something out of stargate.

Gavan, why would they have to alter the back story? why cant a new technology be introduced? the story is still being created.

yoda: "being filled in" would be more accurate. We don't have half of the things mentioned in the later years of the backstory.

Yoda, I was just implying that there was no mention of gates in the back story.... basically I meant what Celkin said. The backstory, or forestory (?!) would have to be filled in. Interesting idea, not sure I like it though. I really like the idea that the human race is utilizing a natural phenomena.

Just some kind of gate system, maybe the size of the station, or have something which opens up the wormhole, like a npc who controls system jumping traffic

CP's suggestion of sectional components that can vary in size as needed, like the gate from Babylon 5, is an easy way to handle gate size issues and would add some eyecandy if it adjusted right in front of you as a cap ship came flying out or a fleet of hive queens ready to attack. I would imagine that a gate would have a station associated with it and guards to protect those that travel though it, it would be a big investment, too big to just leave sitting idle in space unprotected. Perhaps something to add to a crafting tree (Gates)??

Perhaps a gate system would be like others have said, New tech, that is just being developed, by TPG or another developer, that allowed for sup-space travel. A whole new dimention that could be traversed, where pirates can sit and wait for helpless traders, but that the danger level is increase expoentially the farther from the trade route you travel (again B5'ish) and if too far off you simply die due to supspace sheering force on your ships or you simply loose contact with route beacons and can't find your way out and have to blow up.

@Martin.mac.au
How big do you think the gate ring was in the new version of 'Lost In Space'? Looked about a km at least, didn't look weird to me. =)

Simply having something that marks the edge of the wormhole boundry makes it worth it imo. Monitoring traffic would become much easier.

An icosahedron (d20) would require only 12 "projectors" and keep a decently spherical shape. Having a mining beam-esque effect running between the vertices might look neat, or each nation having their own shape (Itani: icosahedron; UIT: dodecahedron; Serco: tetrahedron).

Platonic solids: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platonic_solid

Johnhawl: you assume that ships are going to come out all in the same place -- that would be the only real way to make that idea "look" good. They don't for a very specific gaming reason -- known spawn points are counterproductive in Vendetta because they make it easier for pirates to catch wormhole-jumping prey.

This is why your ship appears roughly on the exact opposite side of the wormhole center, two kilometers or so from the original "point" in the wormhole.

Given: All wormhole areas are spherical, and roughly 2km in diameter.

Please note I am using polar coordinates: (x,y) is replaced by (r,θ) where r is the distance from the origin and θ the angle measured from the x-axis.

If you were to warp from point A(1990,86°) within the wormhole in Dau going to Azek, you would appear (roughly) at point B(2010, 266°). If more than one ship jumps while within a certain distance of another one, the field of "roughness" in B's actual value increases such that the ships are not likely to hit each other upon exiting the wormhole.

I thought we were talking about gates, not worm holes. What I was refering to was some man made hardware that forced a new kind of portal between locations. Specific locations that used gates to enfore routes. Gates would be monitored and guarded. Pirating would be a lot harder that way. Not to get rid of wormholes but to compliment them and add some diversity. Say player created stations are ever added, they person could add a gate as an add-on and it could then jump to any other gate in the network. There could be gates in particular "sectors", potentially negating the need for a wormhole jump all together. Perhaps it's a corvus tech that they use to get around in grey space undetected and without the aid of wormholes.

In any case, your description is pointless Celkan as I was not talking about wh's.

i think that a gate sytem would hve one of two effects (provided it is a large enough network):

1: it would make pirating too easy as specific jump points are easier to camp than a larger region

2: it would kill pirating all together, if the gates were protected by stations. the pirate would have to catch the trader, and fight off the station guard. Given that pirating is only marginaly profitable as it is, having to fight off the station guard would make gate camping mostly worthless (except as something to do ocasionaly just for fun)

If a gate network is implelented in place of the existing wormehole network than the planed exploration expansion wouldn't make any sence as a gate network is more permanant than a series of fluctuating wormeholes.

Who said anything about getting rid of wormholes?

Personally, I ment to augment the current system so that there were both. The natual "free" way you could travel is as it is now, with wormholes and a few jumps in system, but that there could also be a payed gate system, perhaps still in construction phase and was contingent on player intereaciton, say the ctc, to bring the necessary materials to the newest gate location. In any case, making the gates to high traffic areas so that you don't have to take 3 hours to make a loop around the univers would be so nice. And potentially, it adds the ability to see more players in game. As it is now you might see one or two while on a trade mission, but usually the only way I see anyone at all is in Latos/Sedina/Odia strip. Make there be a premium to use the gates, tax if you will, a money sink for the game, other then ships. 10k a jump but you can jump between say Dau and Latos, Latos to Initros, Itan to Eradis, Eradis to Dau, etc. Doesn't take away the need for wh's or kill the game, you still have to fly though certain systems normally, until there gates become active, by player interaction. what'cha think?

Ooh ooh and what if some of the gates could only be used by the owning faction? And what if the gates could be damaged and rendered unusuable (until repaired automatically by bots after a predefined time period)? It'd be fun to take a group into Serco space and wait for ships to come through their gate, only to destroy their gate and strand them there!

OK, maybe not, but I still like the idea. But yes, in addition to the wormholes, not in replacement.

Oh, and to the player-interaction idea: what if the CtC turned into delivering cargo that was the fuel supply for the gates? Such that after each CtC win, whichever side wins gets to have their gates activated until the next round? It would certainly up the stakes a tad :)

Just throwin out ideas...

--mcn

I was referring to your comment about Pidgeon's idea. Thanks for not reading your own post.

a gate would be nice, but not required. I kinda like the worm hole idea, but it would be better to "see" it before you fly into it.

As for gates (bare with my 15min modelling job) something similar to what I did: http://www.gabereiser.com/gallery/gate.jpg would suit just fine, of course you would make it better by adding strobe lights and transmitter antennas etc etc.