test content
  • Games
  • Social
  • Arc News
  • Support
  • Zen
What is the Arc Client?
Install Arc
Forums > Home› Star Trek Online General Discussion

Can someone explain the physics of sector space?

kirksplatkirksplat Member Posts: 0 Arc User
edited September 2013 in Star Trek Online General Discussion
If I'm in Eta Eridani and I want to get to DS9, I can either go up into Sirius and take a left in Beta Ursae, or I can go straight to the "west" and somehow be in the Orellius sector, where I take another left to show up in the badlands, at the top "west" of Beta Ursae.

I've heard that space is curved, but can somebody explain the physics behind this weirdness?
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Post edited by kirksplat on

Comments

  • aaronh42aaronh42 Member Posts: 291 Arc User
    edited September 2013
    kirksplat wrote: »
    If I'm in Eta Eridani and I want to get to DS9, I can either go up into Sirius and take a left in Beta Ursae, or I can go straight to the "west" and somehow be in the Orellius sector, where I take another left to show up in the badlands, at the top "west" of Beta Ursae.

    I've heard that space is curved, but can somebody explain the physics behind this weirdness?

    Way back when Orellius was first introduced klingons couldn't traverse any of Fed space (even now they can't all go through Sirius) this weird jump from eta to Orelius was created to get the klingons there. Hopefully when they add a sector block between serious and the Cardassian territories, they will remove that strange jump.

    Of course, that's wishful thinking.
  • shillarshillar Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited September 2013
    a better way to think of it might be as being stacked on top of it. The sector block warp points being thought of as best routes based on spacial obstructions and the like.
  • elessymelessym Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited September 2013
    shillar wrote: »
    a better way to think of it might be as being stacked on top of it. The sector block warp points being thought of as best routes based on spacial obstructions and the like.

    Yes. Obstructions. In space.

    Star Trek Physics at it's best...
    "Participation in PVP-related activities is so low on an hourly, daily, weekly, and monthly basis that we could in fact just completely take it out of STO and it would not impact the overall number of people [who] log in to the game and play in any significant way." -Gozer, Cryptic PvP Dev
  • purplegamerpurplegamer Member Posts: 1,015 Arc User
    edited September 2013
    It's kind of silly to worry about the "physics" of sector space; it's not real space, but a representation in astrometrics. Being a model, there's plenty of room to fudge things, yet still be representative of reality.
  • jeffel82jeffel82 Member Posts: 2,075 Arc User
    edited September 2013
    My best guess is that ships really do follow the arrow on the sector map, flying through deep space where there's not a lot to look at? We know that the Sirius Sector block isn't directly adjacent to Beta Ursae or Alpha Trianguli...we just don't know what's in that in-between space (though I think Betazed is in there somewhere), and apparently whatever's there isn't worth stopping to visit.

    Honestly, it's best to just not think about it. :P
    You're right. The work here is very important.
    tacofangs wrote: »
    ...talking to players is like being a mall Santa. Everyone immediately wants to tell you all of the things they want, and you are absolutely powerless to deliver 99% of them.
  • bazagbazag Member Posts: 375 Arc User
    edited September 2013
    I think of Sector Space "Warp to this section" as a collection of Nav beacons, trade routes and logical borders.

    Most of the borders like county or other local government areas are nestled right up against each other but some like the Deferi zones and the the whole Cardie/Bajoran/Terran section are spatially separated.

    Think of such space as neutral ground not owned by any of the major Alpha and Beta quadrant players.

    All players can leave from eta eridani and head to deferi space by going up and around, in between Beta Ursae/Alpha Trianguli and the sirius sector block to arrive there.

    Cryptic's own maps show Deferi space and the Cardassian themed section of space as separate and away. DS9 was "on the frontier" but yet it's easily accessible via the heart of the Federation. Think of it as "red line" travel of the Indianna Jones. You have gone further and taken more time than normally considered.
  • psiameesepsiameese Member Posts: 1,650 Arc User
    edited September 2013
    Yep. At certain sector block borders, we are getting an intant leap across multiple sector blocks that just haven't been mapped out in the game. We are still considered to have traveled at standard warp while having done so.

     While we experience a certain degree of height within a sector block the overall space map is a 2D representation of 3D space. Some of those sectors should actually be over or under another sector if rendered correctly in three dimensions. So one faction enters a sector from the east. While another faction likely enters that same sector from underneath. The game just doesn't fully lay it out as such.
    (/\) Exploring Star Trek Online Since July 2008 (/\)
  • frostovskifrostovski Member Posts: 46 Arc User
    edited September 2013
    Yeah, I really don't think is about complex physics theories about "curved space" or anything like that, but simply the most convenient way for Klingon to get to Deferi & Cardassian territory without going deep into federation space. There are a number of ways this could make sense if you think about it 3-dimensionally. I always think of it as going "underneath" a thin "disc" of federation territory that connects Sirius & Beta Ursae, in order to avoid the large "bubble" of federation space that you'd have to pass through if you were to travel in a straight line from Eta Eridani to Alpha Triangulari.
  • neoakiraiineoakiraii Member Posts: 7,468 Arc User
    edited September 2013
    You humans always thinking in 2 Dimensions
    GwaoHAD.png
  • azurianstarazurianstar Member Posts: 6,985 Arc User
    edited September 2013
    kirksplat wrote: »
    If I'm in Eta Eridani and I want to get to DS9, I can either go up into Sirius and take a left in Beta Ursae, or I can go straight to the "west" and somehow be in the Orellius sector, where I take another left to show up in the badlands, at the top "west" of Beta Ursae.

    I've heard that space is curved, but can somebody explain the physics behind this weirdness?

    It's the work of Queue. :rolleyes:

    (Yes, I purposely mispelled that. :P)



    Seriously, I just imagined Orellius being located above or below Cardassian space than magically being "west" of Eta Eridani and "North" of Cardassian space at the same time. Because with it being above or below Cardassian space, it then does fit the bill. Unfortunately, Star Trek never thought about the thickness of the Galaxy being 1000 light years thick (for the central "thin disk" of the spiral arms), so sectors end up being 1 sector tall (see the Conspiracy Map).


    As for STO, since I highly doubt they are ever going to add a "second story", when they add the missing Alpha Quadrant sectors, I'm sure they will fix that oddity.
  • delsabereduxdelsaberedux Member Posts: 244 Arc User
    edited September 2013
    If sector space is just some astrometrics projection as the devs keep saying, than physics don't really apply. It's a madman's dream, Jon, a madman's dream!

    Seriously though, killing sector space entirely would be one of the first things I'd do if my megalomaniacal brain were in charge of things. It really makes no sense when you really stop to think about it. EVE has the right idea, at least as a starting point. Just instead of jumping from system to system in a chain, we should be plotting courses from any system to any other system on the whole galaxy map, just as they did in the shows. No sector lobby. Just travel time, camera flung under a nacelle like an early TNG episode.

    Be glad, dear pubbies, that I'm not in charge of anything.
    Relax.
Sign In or Register to comment.