M Drives and Dark Energy

[heron61]

Well, it's not quite the same as sitting by the runway as a youth being awestruck by an F-15 taking off with afterburners, now there's cinematic! What a noise!

Given that Traveller starships are powered by fusion reactors using large amounts of power, I can see takeoffs & landings having nearly as much light and sound as large aircraft taking off, both with whatever glow the drive makes, various operating noises, and the in-atmosphere radiator systems doing their bit to cool the various hot bits of the grav drive and the fusion reactor.

Also, regardless of how exactly you think jumpdrives work - I can see going into jump looking pretty darn spectacular from anything remotely like close range - I'm guessing that at least some of the hydrogen used is vented to carry off waste heat (and may well be vented as plasma), and I'm also guessing that the jump grid or jump bubble glows in odd and very bright patterns as the ship gets ready to jump. Perhaps it's even as bright as a modern chemical rocket taking off - although obviously far quieter for observers.

 

[Reynard]

Then again, spacecraft today is still relatively crude. They're catapulted into orbit dropping parts along the way and pretty much on one and only one path. The shuttle had the most freedom of movement and that was very limited. When finished, the shuttle, and any other reentry craft, DROPS back to Earth. This is the equivalent of hot air balloons compared to modern aircraft.

The Traveller Universe is perfect sci fi in which space travel in the far future is routine and mundane on most worlds. Your average tech world is quite used to the coming and going at whatever port facilities exist most especially freight terminals. Players characters will always have a bit of awe looking out their own ship to a starport to see the chaotic bustle or engulfed on the shadow of a ginormous hauler or weapon bristling military craft. Otherwise, it's as normal as an airport or commercial terminal on 21st century Earth. Hard science doesn't translate to what we know and have today.

 

[dragoner]

Spacecraft in trav is a more mature technology, the game being set 3600 years in the future or so. M drives could have some sort of "distortion" around them, similar to ships in the Chronicle of Riddick.

 

[Reynard]

And that's one thing to bring up about the Traveller the game. There's nothing in the rules saying the drives don't produce an exhaust trail or have a roar or hum in an atmosphere (or in a vacuum if you want to be all Star Warsy). There are many references how the engines work and look and sound over many editions often contending to be 'hard science' yet none seem so set in stone. If a gaming group REALLY want and need the imagery of a light and sound show then Traveller has no problem.

If you love it and makes you play more then it works.