Jump Space - What does it look like?

DB

Mongoose
Earlier this week I was asked this question by my son after he read that jumpspace travel took a week. After a moment I realised that despite a large amount of CT books I can't find any mention of this. My probable assumption is a blankness/black void. Was this ever mentioned?
 
It's previously been described (can't remember exactly where) as a featureless grey which nevertheless causes psychological discomfort if stared into for too long. For this reason viewports tend to be blanked during Jump.
 
I think that grey freaky space thing was done in Dune and Warhammer 40K.

I think any warp effect from any Sci-fi show would make sense. The bubble could allow you to see random bits of the universe in a kaleidoscope or streaking star way. I personally like the Doctor Who look, but I'll probably tell my players it is different every time; more interesting that way.
 
I recall reading somewhere (possibly in a Digest Group Publication) that Jumpspace looks like what you'd see after having thumbs jabbed into your eyes, including the pain.

I always liked that, as a depiction of the brain trying (and failing) to translate dimensions beyond our comprehension...

Edit - it was apparently Loren K. Wiseman that said that...
 
Lee Torres said:
I recall reading somewhere (possibly in a Digest Group Publication) that Jumpspace looks like what you'd see after having thumbs jabbed into your eyes, including the pain.

Yep, it was Loren. IIRC it was his response to the question asked by a "fan" who woke him up at about 3 in the morning at a convention to ask that :).
 
Lee Torres said:
...that Jumpspace looks like what you'd see after having thumbs jabbed into your eyes, including the pain.

We could start a new thread to discuss whether this is canonical ... :twisted:
 
Now I want High Guard even more, not to mention Traders & Gunboats. It will never be out before August 10th when my players are supposed to pick up their ship.
 
I always said it was like a really dense snowstorm, or a sort of 3-d static effect. Something like one of those magic-eye pictures that you just can't make out...
 
Xoph said:
I think that grey freaky space thing was done in Dune and Warhammer 40K.

I think any warp effect from any Sci-fi show would make sense. The bubble could allow you to see random bits of the universe in a kaleidoscope or streaking star way. I personally like the Doctor Who look, but I'll probably tell my players it is different every time; more interesting that way.

if it was done in Warhamer 40K, then they got it from Traveller...which makes sense given GW's lineage.

Allen
 
According to the Starship Operator's Manual by DGP, intended for MegaTraveller, the bubble that protects the ship from the strange physics of jump space is "...a dull, gray, undulating 'wall'about a meter from the surface of the ship." That's the description I've always used.

Sevya
 
I'd always imagined it as swirling red patterns as in Star Control 2 (an old computer game) and Babylon 5.
 
Again going back to a series that hits many Traveller bases (such that I am more and more wondering about whether its got Traveller influence).

Elizabeth Moon's Serrano series of books has one point where the protagonist fleet Lieutenant is outside a ship during 'jump' (OK thats a step away from Traveller). That book describes darkness and variety of weird effects on time perception and electronics as well as perceptual effects that could cause almost trance states.

I would personally step away from any cinematic descriptions of hyperspace or warp and other FTL experiences. Make it different.
 
EDG said:
Lee Torres said:
I recall reading somewhere (possibly in a Digest Group Publication) that Jumpspace looks like what you'd see after having thumbs jabbed into your eyes, including the pain.

Yep, it was Loren. IIRC it was his response to the question asked by a "fan" who woke him up at about 3 in the morning at a convention to ask that :).

As I heard it Loren originally described it as what you see on a TV when its not tuned to a station. However he changed it when he realised that the younger generation (people with newer TVs) incorrectly interpreted this as "its blue".
 
Hemdian said:
As I heard it Loren originally described it as what you see on a TV when its not tuned to a station. However he changed it when he realised that the younger generation (people with newer TVs) incorrectly interpreted this as "its blue".

OK, that's pretty hilarious :)
 
The last time I was asked that by a player, I told him to close his eyes. Then I turned off the lights. And then I said "Like that, only without all the black".
 
Realistically (well, insofar as you can get here!) Jump Space shouldn't look like ANYTHING... the only reason we'd see it is if it's emiting photons. Does jumpspace have photons? I guess if it's a universe that formed in a vaguely similar way to our own it might just be a random sea of photons. But if it doesn't have anything like that at all, then it should just be black.

Or maybe you're seeing the reaction of the hull (or jump bubble) as it's being bombarded by exotic particles that don't even exist in our universe.
 
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