Hypermatter

[CRMcNeill]

As part of our general discussion of hyperspace and Astrogation, I thought I'd give this topic a bump.

[CRMcNeill]

Giving this a bump again, since we are discussing ways in which hyperspace jumps can go off course. As I stated above, one possibility is hypermatter particle density in hyperspace, not enough to cause damage, but enough to produce drag, which then makes a ship go slower than its inertial guidance (or the deep space / hyperspace equivalent) thinks it is. As a result, any change of course in hyperspace would be made too soon, thus throwing the ship off course.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

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[CRMcNeill]

Giving this another bump due to some reading I've done recently. I had originally pictured Hypermatter as being analogous to the real-world oil industry, particularly the deep-sea oil aspect. However, it has parallels with the deep-sea liquid natural gas industry, as well. If hypermatter can be processed and refined for use in normal space, it would have to be stored in specially designed containers, much like how LNG carriers transport liquid natural gas in pressurized tanks, where the LNG is maintained at -140 degrees C. The necessity of maintaining such an extreme environment is far more analogous to that needed to store hypermatter than that of simple oil tankers.

Another aspect I've read up on recently is the Floating Production, Storage and Offloading aspect of the deep sea oil industry, where oil and LNG are processed aboard massive ships or platforms at sea, as opposed to refineries on shore. Considering the potential devastation of a hypermatter detonation on a planet's surface, processing it in the depths of space makes a lot of sense. This also opens the door even wider for something along the lines of the Nostromo from Aliens, towing a massive, automated refinery through space, except that, rather than refining minerals, this is refining hypermatter.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

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[CRMcNeill]

Random thought, but I'm not quite sure where else I would put this...

Hypermatter presents some complications insofar as integrating the new material with the old EU. Specifically, the fuel augmenting equipment described in Tramp Freighters all seem to be loosely designed around a Fusion Reactor system, what with absorbing solar energy, scooping up a planet's atmosphere, etc.

I have encountered advocates of the Hard Sci-Fi interpretation of Star Wars who have said that fusion reactor systems don't generate sufficient power to do what we see ships in the SWU do. However, if all reactors in the SWU were hypermatter-based, a lot of that tech would be thrown out, as none of it really fits with hypermatter (can't really absorb/recharge hypermatter from solar energy or from scooping up a planet's atmosphere).

I've been mulling over this off and on, and have ultimately decided to go with the sci-fi handwave of "hyper-advanced fusion reactors" or some such to justify keeping what we see in GG6 and other sources, existing parallel to the Hypermatter Reactors powering Capital Ships and other large installations.

I'm also thinking that this could be the dividing line between Starfighter and Capital Ship, in that only Capital Ship Scale vessels can be fitted with a Hypermatter Reactor. This could be a decent explanation for ships like the Skipray Blastboat or the Assault Shuttle, in that, despite their small size, they managed to fit in a Hypermatter Reactor system which provides much greater power, at the cost of increased expense and decreased endurance.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

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[Whill]

Weren't the TIE Fighter "wings" described as solar panels at one point? Maybe I'm dreaming that.

Anyway, do we really need the scoops and solar power tech of GG6? I've never ran or played in a game with ships that had them, so it seems to be going out your way just to maintain something really obscure in one old source.

Another option is, keep the options but they do not provide main power. They could be just for emergency power, like extending life support.
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[CRMcNeill]

[Whill]

Thanks for including links to old threads forgotten about. My old brain needs it...
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[CRMcNeill]

[CRMcNeill]

So, with regard to what I posted here, my thoughts on hypermatter are expanding in some new directions. Up until now, I've been picturing hypermatter as a single "type" of matter that exists in varying degrees of density throughout the galaxy, corresponding to proximity to gravity wells.

However, I've never quite been able to shake the possible scenario of having "clumps" of hypermatter existing in deep space that increase the difficulty of hyperspace travel in those areas (which in turn contributes to the proliferation of known hyperspace routes across the galaxy, by restricting travel primarily to those areas that are clearer of said "clumps").

The problem, however, is that if hypermatter is dark matter (as originally theorized in this post), then it will react with gravity, and will thus tend to gather more strongly in areas where gravity is already present, near planets and stars, and not the vast emptiness of deep space.

What I'm wondering at the moment is, is it possible that there are multiple kinds of hypermatter, not all of which interact with gravity in the same way? I'm mostly looking for a way to justify a type of hypermatter that would tend to congregate more in deep space, away from existing gravity wells.

No real thoughts beyond that at the moment, but if you have any suggestions, I'm all ears.
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"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Inquisitor1138]

Phew! Not 'light reading', especially since the RSV-plague makes one stupider (hopefully only temporary).

For my SWU, i see hypermatter as an exotic form of matter, and i'm fine with it being tachyonic in nature. It is not dark matter or antimatter, but maybe has some similarities to both... i can work with that!

What i have a problem with is hypermatter being labeled as ship fuel when it isn't.
Most ships use Ion Engines of some sort for propulsion, and fusion reactors for power. Ion Engines use abundant, readily available fuel in most systems.
Star Destroyers & other gigantic ships us hypermatter annihilation reactors for crazy amounts of power, needed to power the vessel, and ostensibly the hyperdrives of the huge ships. Hypermatter is much rarer, more volatile, & an order of magnitude more valuable.

Travel & 'speed' in hyperspace is not governed by Newtonian physics. It is 100% a function of the hyperdrive. When in hyperspace, a ship cannot change its course or speed; that can only be done in realspace.
This is why the 'hyperspace ramming' doesn't work.
Maybe Holdo had that ship packed with hypermatter, & used a short jump just to get close & not get shot down, with the hypermatter getting set off by collision making a far more potent explosion...
For 'parking' something in hyperspace & not move, i think you'd need to design & build a parking hyperdrive. Or get 3+ rolls of 30+ each to modify an existing standard hyperdrive into a parking hyperdrive... Failure, or attempting to un-modify the 'parking hyperdrive' wrecks it permanently.

My brain is quitting, but i may return to this...
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[CRMcNeill]

You're making a lot of assumptions here...

[Inquisitor1138]

[CRMcNeill]

[Whill]

[pakman]

Recently came across this thread while looking for other things.

I think of hypermatter as two things;

1 - techo geeky speak just made up for an art book.
2 - Specially processed reactor fuel to make it more powerful as capital ships need more power.

Take what ever element we want in star wars - and they do some kind of processing to make it especially well suited for greater power output.

I mean, kind of like for our crude real world fusion reactors we use deuterium-tritium fuel (basically, a type of hydrogen....but lets not get distracted here).
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