Rush questions

[Malidica]

So i'm trying to understand the finer details of the rush and the wiki provides limited explanation.

Why are they spaced out every century or two?

Do newly built gates need an exit gate and if so, how do they know where to send them and is that what limits the time frame to every century or two?

Does the UGC send its own ships through to check the area before opening the gates to the rushers?

Do any of the megacorps get first dibs on going through or is it a total free for all?

 

[ShySquare]

So i'm trying to understand the finer details of the rush and the wiki provides limited explanation.

Why are they spaced out every century or two?

Iirc, it's the time it takes to send and set up warp gates to the edges of the galaxy so that new worlds are accessible. Remember, aside from warp gates, there's no real FTL travel in TiTS'verse.

Do newly built gates need an exit gate and if so, how do they know where to send them and is that what limits the time frame to every century or two?

Idk how they know where to send new gates, but I guess they use astronomy, and send a lot of gates, so out of all of those they send, there will be a few with interesting places nearby ? Since we can take a picture of a black hole, imagine what they might be able to see in TiTS'verse

Does the UGC send its own ships through to check the area before opening the gates to the rushers?

Probably ?

Do any of the megacorps get first dibs on going through or is it a total free for all?

I think it's supposed to be a free for all, but of course not everyone can afford the best and fastest ship at the drop of a hat, so megacorps must have an advantage that way
Also, I guess very few people would be willing to go alone into truly unexplored territory, making those megacorps the equivalent of feudal lords for rushers

 

[Malidica]

Iirc, it's the time it takes to send and set up warp gates to the edges of the galaxy so that new worlds are accessible. Remember, aside from warp gates, there's no real FTL travel in TiTS'verse.

So the gates are packed up as probe like objects, jettisoned off to potential targets and travel at conventional speeds, then they self activate upon arrival, linking them into the network on a restricted basis and the UGC or Akkadi send through some preliminary probes/ships to assess the new location before passing it off to the rush reserve in preparation for the coming rush? Roughly?

Idk how they know where to send new gates, but I guess they use astronomy, and send a lot of gates, so out of all of those they send, there will be a few with interesting places nearby ? Since we can take a picture of a black hole, imagine what they might be able to see in TiTS'verse

So do the gates link only between two gates or do the new gates just link to the network and you can enter any and come out of any?

I think it's supposed to be a free for all, but of course not everyone can afford the best and fastest ship at the drop of a hat, so megacorps must have an advantage that way
Also, I guess very few people would be willing to go alone into truly unexplored territory, making those megacorps the equivalent of feudal lords for rushers

That makes sense, i know the rushes are sponsored, and plenty of the rushers seem to have ties on various levels.

 

[ShySquare]

So the gates are packed up as probe like objects, jettisoned off to potential targets and travel at conventional speeds, then they self activate upon arrival, linking them into the network on a restricted basis and the UGC or Akkadi send through some preliminary probes/ships to assess the new location before passing it off to the rush reserve in preparation for the coming rush? Roughly?

Yeah, I think that's roughly it

So do the gates link only between two gates or do the new gates just link to the network and you can enter any and come out of any?

Based on gameplay alone, I assume that all the new gates are connected, since you can go anywhere from anywhere, but idk if they're part of a separate "Rush" network or all linked to the main core network.

That makes sense, i know the rushes are sponsored, and plenty of the rushers seem to have ties on various levels.

Iirc, the only ones who aren't are pirates, and even they also have a big organisation at their back (the Black Void)

 

[Paradox01]

There was an interesting and informative discussion of gate technology here, especially within Savin's reply near the bottom.

 

[TheShepard256]

Why are they spaced out every century or two?

Before the Planet Rushes, individual governments were constantly sending out Warp Gates as they pleased, with no organisation to oversee them all. When this eventually resulted in First Contact with the Thraggen in 227 AC, who are pretty much the krogan of TiTS, it immediately resulted in the biggest war the galaxy had ever seen or ever will see. The death toll was over 50 billion, and so the galactic community decided to come up with a way to prevent that from ever happening again.
That resulted in the formation of the Planet Rushes. The UGC is the only organisation in the galaxy with the authority to send out Warp Gates, so by only activating the Gates on the UGC's schedule, it can monitor all the potentially dangerous systems they connect to. If a potential Thraggen War 2.0 were to come up, the UGC can simply shut down or destroy the Warp Gate in the relevant system, giving it the time needed to fully prepare for the war. The timing between Planet Rushes is twofold:

1. It gives the UGC enough time to recover from the Planet Rush and prepare for the next one. Planet Rushes can be a big boon, but I imagine they'd also be quite disruptive for the galactic economy and require some level of preparation beforehand.
2. Species discovered in one Planet Rush have enough time to fully integrate into the UGC by the time the next Planet Rush comes along.

So do the gates link only between two gates or do the new gates just link to the network and you can enter any and come out of any?

Each Warp Gate has a one-to-one connection with exactly one other Warp Gate; they're pretty much just two ends of a single wormhole.

how do they know where to send them

Individual governments and organisations identify planets they like the look of and petition the UGC to send a Warp Gate out there.

Does the UGC send its own ships through to check the area before opening the gates to the rushers?

Given that the war on Myrellion was interrupted by the appearance of an ausar expedition, I presume so.

Do any of the megacorps get first dibs on going through or is it a total free for all?

Total free-for-all; if it wasn't, the megacorps probably wouldn't allow individuals to go Planet Rushing since that might cut into their profits. That said, megacorps have more resources, logistics and infrastructure backing them than private individuals do, giving them a leg-up on their competition.

Also, I guess very few people would be willing to go alone into truly unexplored territory

You'd be surprised; humans as individuals are especially willing to do so to gain fame and fortune, as Victor Steele did. There's also nothing stopping people from teaming up with each other to go Planet Rushing.

 

[Malidica]

Before the Planet Rushes, individual governments were constantly sending out Warp Gates as they pleased, with no organisation to oversee them all. When this eventually resulted in First Contact with the Thraggen in 227 AC, who are pretty much the krogan of TiTS, it immediately resulted in the biggest war the galaxy had ever seen or ever will see. The death toll was over 50 billion, and so the galactic community decided to come up with a way to prevent that from ever happening again.
That resulted in the formation of the Planet Rushes. The UGC is the only organisation in the galaxy with the authority to send out Warp Gates, so by only activating the Gates on the UGC's schedule, it can monitor all the potentially dangerous systems they connect to. If a potential Thraggen War 2.0 were to come up, the UGC can simply shut down or destroy the Warp Gate in the relevant system, giving it the time needed to fully prepare for the war. The timing between Planet Rushes is twofold:

1. It gives the UGC enough time to recover from the Planet Rush and prepare for the next one. Planet Rushes can be a big boon, but I imagine they'd also be quite disruptive for the galactic economy and require some level of preparation beforehand.
2. Species discovered in one Planet Rush have enough time to fully integrate into the UGC by the time the next Planet Rush comes along.

Fascinating, that answers a lot, thank you.

Each Warp Gate has a one-to-one connection with exactly one other Warp Gate; they're pretty much just two ends of a single wormhole.

So if if they only connect between one other gate, for a network to exist there must be other nearby gates that take you elsewhere in the UGC? If that's how it works, and each rush extends the borders of the UGC then that must lead to comical situations where it's faster to take 10 gates towards the centre of the UGC and then 8 back rather than taking 2 and relying on ship engines to get you to the same destination. Assuming a series of concentric rings.

There was an interesting and informative discussion of gate technology here, especially within Savin's reply near the bottom.

Thanks, going to read that now.

 

[TheShepard256]

So if if they only connect between one other gate, for a network to exist there must be other nearby gates that take you elsewhere in the UGC? If that's how it works, and each rush extends the borders of the UGC then that must lead to comical situations where it's faster to take 10 gates towards the centre of the UGC and then 8 back rather than taking 2 and relying on ship engines to get you to the same destination. Assuming a series of concentric rings.

Savin said most of the travel time is spent waiting in traffic at the Warp Gates, and travel times are pretty consistent no matter where Steele is going to/from, so presumably this would only happen in exceptional circumstances. Also, I think it might have been implied somewhere that Tavros Station was a hub for the 14th Planet Rush, so presumably many of the Gates connecting to Rush Space 14 would be nearby.
Outside of Rushes, the Gate network is probably also being continually expanded within the UGC's borders to deal with traffic congestion, make new trade routes and interconnect planets from previous Rushes. If so, the network in the core is probably more like a very messy spider-web than a series of concentric rings (actually spheres, since space is 3D), even if we ignore the relatively uncoordinated pre-Rush network.

 

[Malidica]

Savin said most of the travel time is spent waiting in traffic at the Warp Gates, and travel times are pretty consistent no matter where Steele is going to/from, so presumably this would only happen in exceptional circumstances. Also, I think it might have been implied somewhere that Tavros Station was a hub for the 14th Planet Rush, so presumably many of the Gates connecting to Rush Space 14 would be nearby.
Outside of Rushes, the Gate network is probably also being continually expanded within the UGC's borders to deal with traffic congestion, make new trade routes and interconnect planets from previous Rushes. If so, the network in the core is probably more like a very messy spider-web than a series of concentric rings (actually spheres, since space is 3D), even if we ignore the relatively uncoordinated pre-Rush network.

Hmmm, that all makes sense, hadn't considered they'd make more gate after a rush for already rushed area but thinking about it, it's kind of obvious that they would.

That does make me think of a new thought though, in that thread paradox linked savin said gates come in twos so no way to send a gate through another one to bypass the 1-2 century delay, however, i'd figure a packed up gate could fit in an active gate, else, how would they get them around the network to keep growing it.

 

[= )]

The UGC is the only organisation in the galaxy with the authority to send out Warp Gates, so by only activating the Gates on the UGC's schedule, it can monitor all the potentially dangerous systems they connect to. If a potential Thraggen War 2.0 were to come up, the UGC can simply shut down or destroy the Warp Gate in the relevant system, giving it the time needed to fully prepare for the war. The timing between Planet Rushes is twofold:

1. It gives the UGC enough time to recover from the Planet Rush and prepare for the next one. Planet Rushes can be a big boon, but I imagine they'd also be quite disruptive for the galactic economy and require some level of preparation beforehand.
2. Species discovered in one Planet Rush have enough time to fully integrate into the UGC by the time the next Planet Rush comes along.

Each Warp Gate has a one-to-one connection with exactly one other Warp Gate; they're pretty much just two ends of a single wormhole.

Individual governments and organisations identify planets they like the look of and petition the UGC to send a Warp Gate out there.

But then how do we get to Zheng Shi? Since there is likely no way the UGC would give a gate to a pirate base, right?

 

[valkyr42]

But then how do we get to Zheng Shi? Since there is likely no way the UGC would give a gate to a pirate base, right?

It was a fully functional inhabited planet until they blew themselves to smithereens in between being approved like 50 years ago and your arrival.

 

[= )]

It was a fully functional inhabited planet until they blew themselves to smithereens in between being approved like 50 years ago and your arrival.

Ah, makes sense. Hmmm maybe if we can overthrow the Void we could use the ruins of Tarkus or Myrellion as a new base....

 

[Malidica]

But then how do we get to Zheng Shi? Since there is likely no way the UGC would give a gate to a pirate base, right?

Actually, expanding on that raises a very interesting question, if conventional travel takes so long and pirates build a reputation, how do they use any gates? For there to be queues of traffic there must be some form of gate guarding, a token security force to ensure order, if not then gate queues would be delicious targets for pirate raids. Given that then there ought to be inspections and identity checks, how then do known pirates not get scooped up?

If gates operate as the choke points of the UGC, that leaves piracy in strange waters that need an in-universe explanation.

 

[Paradox01]

Actually, expanding on that raises a very interesting question, if conventional travel takes so long and pirates build a reputation, how do they use any gates? For there to be queues of traffic there must be some form of gate guarding, a token security force to ensure order, if not then gate queues would be delicious targets for pirate raids. Given that then there ought to be inspections and identity checks, how then do known pirates not get scooped up?

If gates operate as the choke points of the UGC, that leaves piracy in strange waters that need an in-universe explanation.

In short, IFF spoofs.

Space is big. Really, really big. Security wouldn't consist of a couple ships floating next to a gate while bored crewmen eyeball other ships passing through like guards standing three feet from your car at a Mexican border crossing. False transponder codes and bogus digital manifests are the order of the day. BOLOs don't go out for known pirates with nothing but physical descriptions of their ships.

"All ships, be on the lookout for a late-model Casstech Z14, dark blue with racing stripes, Zheng Shi plate Bravo Juliet Lima Victor Romeo."

 

[Malidica]

Hmmmm, still, for a pirate, going through a gate must be a gamble every time, something they'd try to minimise on the off chance they're made and stuck at the mercy of the security ships.

 

[Paradox01]

Seriously, though, yeah, it's still a gamble. Any space pirate that lives long enough to hijack anything past his/her first ship has multiple transponder codes. One day they're The Ice Queen, hauling frozen methane to Tavros Station. The next, they're Peggy Sue II, transporting foodstuffs to Uveto. The crew, however, know the ship as Queen Anne's Revenge, the baddest mother-truckin' pirate ship ever to set sail!

They'll also have most of their guns (certainly their biggest ones) hidden behind panels. They fly what are known as Q-ships. They look like freighters from the outside, but have plenty of nasty surprises for security forces and, of course, their prey.

 

[Malidica]

View attachment 12023

Seriously, though, yeah, it's still a gamble. Any space pirate that lives long enough to hijack anything past his/her first ship has multiple transponder codes. One day they're The Ice Queen, hauling frozen methane to Tavros Station. The next, they're Peggy Sue II, transporting foodstuffs to Uveto. The crew, however, know the ship as Queen Anne's Revenge, the baddest mother-truckin' pirate ship ever to set sail!

They'll also have most of their guns (certainly their biggest ones) hidden behind panels. They fly what are known as Q-ships. They look like freighters from the outside, but have plenty of nasty surprises for security forces and, of course, their prey.

Fascinating, i love this stuff, convincing world building always gets my nuts pulsing.

 

[Paradox01]

Fascinating, i love this stuff, convincing world building always gets my nuts pulsing.

Please keep in mind that this isn't necessarily TiTSverse canon. I had no hand in writing any of the game. Everything I've said is based purely on conjecture and my love of sci-fi, from Cowboy Bebop to Firefly to Star Wars.

 

[Karretch]

From some of the dialogue in Kara Quest 2, I wouldn't be surprised if somehow some of the big pirate organizations have in one way or another set up their own gate network in the dark areas of solar systems.

 

[Number13]

That and have insiders involved with the security and transport crews.

 

[TheShepard256]

But then how do we get to Zheng Shi? Since there is likely no way the UGC would give a gate to a pirate base, right?

It was a fully functional inhabited planet until they blew themselves to smithereens in between being approved like 50 years ago and your arrival.

And the UGC probably didn't have any reason to either come back or shut down the Gate; after all, the planet was blown up and nobody lives there, so there's no-one to threaten the UGC but also no-one to potentially join them either. That gave the pirates the opportunity to build a base out of the remains.

Plus, the UGC does in fact know about Zheng Shi, and even has an undercover agent monitoring the situation there; they just don't want the pirates to know that, because otherwise they'd set up shop somewhere the UGC can't find them. Shutting down the Gate would be detrimental to that.

 

[Paradox01]

Plus, the UGC does in fact know about Zheng Shi, and even has an undercover agent monitoring the situation there; they just don't want the pirates to know that, because otherwise they'd set up shop somewhere the UGC can't find them. Shutting down the Gate would be detrimental to that.

Better the devil you know than the one you don't.

 

[Irrlicht]

Not only need Pirates to fit in in all of this, Distress Calls also are of high importance

there's no real FTL travel in TiTS'verse.

You drop out of light drive and into orbit, activating your scanners in search of anything nearby. You’re surprised to find there is something close - a dinky ship bearing nothing but weapons and a pirate’s insignia, and it’s closing fast now that it’s spotted you!
---
Dropping out of light drive, you notice a foreign object in nearby space - and it’s noticed you! Scrambling to respond, you hear a voice hail you over the console.

“Succumb to the Star Vipers!”
---
Your ship’s navigation system takes you on a different path than usual; apparently there’s some kind of disturbance on the main route. It’s out of the way, but still seems safe, though rarely traveled. There’s even a few very picturesque sights along it. A bright, dazzling nebula in particular catches your eye. You think you could just sit for hours and watch the shades of purple and blue swirl around each other in their mesmerizing dance.
[...]
If there really is someone in danger, then it’s worth risking the possible trap. Just in case, though, you take a route that keeps you closer to the nebula. The concentration of plasma and scattered material will make you harder to detect. You remember that from some of the technical manuals you read.
---
The trip through the Warp Gate network back into the safety of last generation’s Rush Space is relatively easy, as far as jumps go, though it takes a bit longer than you’d like. The network out here still isn’t as robust as back in the core proper, but there’s little risk of piracy or the like. For once, you can rest easy as you travel.

Regarding how this all connects to the gates, I think it is fair to ssay that gates are actually only 'in the area' of systems that are interesting, and ships still hav a fairly long way to skip on their own for distress calls to happen and pirates being able to attack.

Why does nobody do a thing about Zeng Shi? Because it sits in a asteroid field of one system, connected to a gate that could be serving a numbeer of systems. It is probably 'owned' by some cover-company that ships out the Gems mined in it and nobody but pirates knows of it proper. Steele only comes there because of the probe. Nobody else but corps have the resources to go asteroid-mining, and that no-name corp mining there will point its guns at anyone trieng to cut their profit.


Why rushes are spaced out from each other so far, I think the corps have something to do with that. Imagen Ausar Goverment builds a gate, shots it, and opens it, and then 10 megacorps fight over the same planet... If not everyone can have a piece of cak, make a bigger cake! Have all be opneed aroun the same time, all fe hundert years, and presto: Enoth for everyone. The civilian rushers meanwhile fill out the need for workforces, prospectors, settlers.

And then, there is the fact what kind of event the rushes are. They are clearly of cultural relevance, many people want to use them to make themself a name, rip themself out of their own set-in life, or maybe just watch the spectacle. Steele is not the usual rush experience, all planets they visit are already pre-selected by random luck, their goal is set in stone.

People like Burt who open a meadhall in the at best two months old settlement at the frontier. The hunters we can meet at bars who are in it for the wild game. That one Rahn that prospects for mineral information to sell of and then move to the next world. Kattom who makes profit by eexchanging modern technologie with the locals to sell of their uniqe twist on concepts to collectors (while also trading traditional credits with other rushers). Toves and their nee for the thrill of the trade. Mercenaries thaat sell companies or scientists their services as protectors against the wildlife. Even the odd geneticist that searches for new and interesting manipulative mixtures. This are typical rushers.

 

[Paradox01]

...savin said gates come in twos so no way to send a gate through another one to bypass the 1-2 century delay...

I had a thought on that. If I wanted to set up a pair of gates connecting Point A with Point M and they're a hundred LY apart and Point M currently has no gate, I don't have to fly a ship carrying the Point M gate 100 LY from Point A. I hop gates to Point J, which is only 24 LY from Point M. Then the ship only has to travel the 24 LY instead of 100.

 

[Irrlicht]

I had a thought on that. If I wanted to set up a pair of gates connecting Point A with Point M and they're a hundred LY apart and Point M currently has no gate, I don't have to fly a ship carrying the Point M gate 100 LY from Point A. I hop gates to Point J, which is only 24 LY from Point M. Then the ship only has to travel the 24 LY instead of 100.

You know what would make this easyer? Spokes.
Imagen a solar system that has twenty or so gates. You want from B to C? Jump from B to A and thn from A to C. Want from B to Y? Jump to A and go from there.
There would probably be a number of such places that then also interconnect with each other and a few exceptions where a direct line is simply more useful, but such a airport-like system simply offers itself to get around the 'Gate can only connect with one other gate' rule without having to invent the super-map that will plot your course via 10 different gates to land just a few systems over.

 

[= )]

You know what would make this easyer? Spokes.
Imagen a solar system that has twenty or so gates. You want from B to C? Jump from B to A and thn from A to C. Want from B to Y? Jump to A and go from there.
There would probably be a number of such places that then also interconnect with each other and a few exceptions where a direct line is simply more useful, but such a airport-like system simply offers itself to get around the 'Gate can only connect with one other gate' rule without having to invent the super-map that will plot your course via 10 different gates to land just a few systems over.

Wasn't it implied that Tavros station was this already? The point A for the 14th rush.

 

[Irrlicht]

Wasn't it implied that Tavros station was this already? The point A for the 14th rush.

Well, a 'A point', at least. Probably not the A Point. Would be odd if Victor would rent out the majority of ocking space if Travos Station where in such high demand right now.