Technology of the Empire
Many of the Empire's best scientists join the Order of Theorators within the Guild of Technologists. This Order have managed to create a number of scientific theories, though they accept that they are some way from understanding the principles which underlie even the simplest Legacy devices. Most of the Empire's devices are, however, powered by the ubiquitous Legacy energy cells which store electricity in some way. The casings of these cells are extremely difficult to penetrate and there are a variety of sizes, ranging from about the size of a finger up to huge room sized cells which power spaceships and city complexes.
Many devices to improve the quality of life of its citizens have been invented by the Empire. Electric heating and lighting are standard almost everywhere, as are running water and flushing toilets. Water purifiers are also common and air purifiers are available, though they are energy intensive and so are not used by many people.
Communications are available through radio, though transmitters tend to be strictly regulated by the Noble Houses as no encryption is yet technically possible. Silent cinema is a recent invention which allows Houses to disseminate propaganda news and entertainment to the masses on a regular basis. Since no Faster-Than-Light communications are possible, these two technologies are relied upon, along with physical couriers, to transmit all messages around the Empire. The technology used for cinemas is also used for producing cameras and although these devices are expensive, they are already being used by some police units to help gather evidence.
Electric motors power buses and cars, though the latter are restricted to the very wealthy due to high maintenance charges. Railways or trams are common since these tend to offer better energy consumption rates compared to buses and can travel much faster since the track can be engineered much more precisely than roads can be maintained. Small propeller planes have also been developed, though these are again prohibitively expensive. Large ocean ferries have, however, been developed to run on electric motors at reasonable prices, though they are extremely slow. Most long journeys are better made between spaceports using Legacy spaceships.
Empire technology is also leveraged by the Military. Equipment generally in use includes rifles, autoguns which fire around a bullet a second, rocket launchers, grenades and artillery.
OOC Notes
Current science in the Empire is roughly at WW1 levels, though we reserve the right to modify what is included in this rough description. Specifically:
- Most citizens deal with energy cells that are approximately the size of a gas bottle (which can provide power for heating, lighting and purifying the water used by a house for about a month)
- Steam power is not used much at all; the Legacy power cells are more convenient than great steam engines, even counting the relative difficulty of obtaining the cells compared to coal.
- Factories are however used to create mass produced water purifiers, central heating components, light bulbs etc.
- Scribes take notes with quill pens; news is delivered to the populaces by radio or, more recently, silent movies. Print isn't used very often as it's expensive.
- There is no capacity to observe things on molecular scales. Microscopes allow people to see individual plant cells, but no technology exists to observe individual atoms or electrons. Moreover, NPCs are unlikely to want to develop one as it seems less useful than (for example) developing films with sound.
- Transistors are unlikely to be developed in the course of the game. This rules out many modern innovations which depend on them, unless Legacy devices can be found to substitute for the transistors themselves.
- Thermodynamics isn't well understood by the Empire as Legacy technology often appears to generate energy from nowhere.
- The Empire doesn't use many plastics at the moment; this is something that could change.
Legacy Technology
Autofactories
The Empire is reliant on ancient Autofactories to produce all the Legacy technology that it uses. All Autofactories work by processing a set of raw material inputs into a finished product. Exactly what counts as "raw materials" is slightly dubious as some factories take in the output of others (e.g. Power Cells often become integrated into some of the larger devices). Factories have to be carefully supervised by the Technologists, who are the only ones that can interpret the messages they display. The factories are divided into two types as follows:
Fixed Autofactories only ever have one internal production line. Different raw materials can often be used - the factories appear to be able to process most things into most other things - but there is ususally an accepted set of optimum materials that yield the highest output rate compared to the difficulty of obtaining the inputs. Most Fixed Autofactories produce power cells.
Crystal Autofactories are either Large or Small and are activated by inserting a crystal into a special socket at the control terminal. These crystals contain the plans for the devices that are to be built by the factory and so these factories are highly prized by the Houses that control them. They are almost all found on Factory Worlds.
Spaceships
Details of travel in spaceships can be found on the Space travel page.
Hyperspace Capable Classes
The largest spaceships owned by the Empire are the City Ships. They are prized possessions and only 7 are still working. Each City Ship houses rooms containing Preservation machines and the City Ships are the only known locations of this valuable technology. One ship has been allocated to each Noble House, one to the Technologists and one to the Imperial House. There used to be 8 City Ships until experiments conducted in 204EY by the Technological Explorers and Decoders Organisation caused the last one to disappear. Research on the ships has been slow ever since and the potential for disaster the primary reason that the Technologists were allocated their own following the Lystran Revolution. The Chirurgeons also conduct research aboard the Technologist ship.
In terms of appearance, the City Ships comprise two domes, separated by a comparatively small section which houses the engines, ship cores and docking facilities. Each of these domes holds a full city which is home to a few million people at any given time. People can remain on City Ships for much longer than ordinary ships without succumbing to the effects of Space Sickness, however City Ships make hyperspace jumps very infrequently; this is one of the reasons for the Chirurgeons' theory that Hyperspace is the cause of the sickness. Since the domes have differing opinions on which way is "up", transition through the central section is normally made via elevators built into the ship. Those technicians who work directly in the centre often have adverse psychological effects which are presumably related to this rather than the more common form of Space Sickness.
There are no facilities big enough to house a City Ship so that it can be examined from the outside and the Empire do not have any technology which allows them to enter space without a ship. This does not usually present a problem as all sizes of ship will not open their doors when it is not safe outside; they do not open in space or on certain planets. Without further tests, Technologists cannot confirm that this is due to a lack of appropriate atmosphere on those planets, but they suspect that it must be the case.
Smaller than the City Ships but also too big to fit into any Space Docks are the Carriers. This class of ship is really a large n-shaped frame with an engine on the back, a pressurised area at the front and Spiders attached inside the frame. The main use of Carriers is to house other space-sealed ships in the n-shaped central section, affixng them to the rest of the ship using the Spiders. These ships can then all be jumped through Hyperspace together, which is especially useful because the smaller ship classes have a limited range through Hyperspace that they can travel in one go.
The largest ships that can fit into the Space Docks are known as Frigates, though this designation covers a variety of classes and sizes. The common features they share is the ability to transport thousands of people or their equivalent in goods through Hyperspace in a properly space-sealed hull. Some Frigates have been outfitted with Empire tech weaponry such as cannon; the most important also incorporate large Legacy laser weapons, though these are very rare. Most Frigates are equipped with docking bays which allow them to house wings of Fighters as well as Landers vital for transferring their cargo planetside at the end of a voyage. The Space Docks above Rigel (Mix World; direct Imperial control) have an inbuilt autofactory which can build new Frigates, though they are always lacking in the data crystals which make the ship systems work as expected. These crystals can normally be salvaged from even unrepairable Frigates once they have been brought to the docks, however.
Smaller than Frigates are the Explorers, a class of ship that can house between 10 and 50 people depending on the equipment loadout. These are the smallest Hyperspace capable ships barring the Spiders and are variable in performance. Although most have been modified to mount a few weapons and can deal with a small wing of Fighters, they are no match for Frigates. Many Explorers are not actually used for exploration as they have become popular with smugglers who wish to remain undetected and with pirates.
The Spiders are strange contraptions which are crewed by only 5 people in the centre of a sphere which contains a Hyperspace engine. Extending from the sphere are various arms which can attach to other ships, allowing them to be dragged through Hyperspace along with the Spider. However, the engines are not terribly powerful; a single Spider can only transport one Explorer unaided, needing help from at least three others to transport a Frigate. For this reason, the Spiders are primarily used to carry Figher wings through Hyperspace; they can easily carry as many Fighters as they have arms. Spiders can be constructed at large Crystal Autofactories; there are believed to be 3 crystals containing the plans, but the Technologists never reveal whether they hold any in reserve.
Non Hyperspace Capable Classes
Lander is the designation for almost any non-combat ship that does not have a Hyperspace drive. As such, it covers a variety of acutal classes, but all carry fewer than 5000 people and most carry fewer than 500. These ships are designed for atmospheric as well as space flight, making them unique among the common classes. Landers can be constructed at both large Crystal Autofactories and some Fixed Autofactories.
Fighters are combat ships designed for 1-5 people. They are not designed for atmospheric flight, but have been known to survive it when a pilot has needed to make an emergency landing. Fighters are typically fitted with autoguns to allow them to attempt to puncture the hulls of opposing vessels, though some bomber types with explosive shells attached by magnets are also used. Fighters can be constructed at both large Crystal Autofactories and some Fixed Autofactories but require modification in Empire factories afterward to add weapons.
Space Docks are facilities that allow a ship to enter a huge hangar which is then pressurized. This allows external repair work and modification on ships small enough to fit in the hangar. The Docks contain a number of automated armatures which attempt to repair ships within range; in the space outside the Docks, these arms are mounted on autonomous Spider-like spheres which can effect repairs to the larger ships that cannot enter the hangar. Space Docks are fixed in orbit above certain planets in the Empire and cannot be relocated.
Ship Equipment
Most Hyperspace capable ships have a special area that crews dub the Cold Room. The temperature of this section of the ship is indeed lower, and food stored within it is preserved remarkably well. This is not the same as a conventional freezer as the food never actually freezes and can be eaten normally mere minutes after having been removed. However this does not make a good storage area for live cargo - past experiments with livestock and even people did not have satisfactory outcomes, with the individuals dying after a few hours in the room.
Some larger ships also have their own food production facilities in small rooms near the generator. No one is quite sure how they work and they produce small quantities of awful tasting stuff, so these are only used as a last resort to keep a desperate crew alive for a few days until they can be resupplied.
Survival Tents are found on almost all ships to provide shelter for people after a crash landing. They contain a number of useful techologies incorporating a pop-up mechanism, a heating and lighting system powered from any available cells and also a radio beacon. Standard versions of these tents use only Empire tech materials, though advanced ones utilise Legacy fabrics for added comfort.
Standard survival kits also include rations, lanterns, first-aid kits and a machete.
Other Tech
Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of Legacy devices; ask us if you want something that isn't mentioned and we'll consider it.
Healing devices are the preserve of the Chirurgeons and more information is available on their page. Briefly, Legacy devices that they use include Preservation machines, wound sealing devices, health capsule dispensers and machines which can grow limbs.
Small devices known as Gravplates have been developed into the propulsion method for a number of other useful transport devices. These plates generate a forward/upward thrust when an electric current is applied across them and were first found incorporated into cargo loading machines. Since then, they have been integrated into fast Gravcycles, which are used in both military and sporting contexts but remain the preserve of the wealthy, far more so than cars or planes. Gravcycles are much faster than conventional cars and buses, almost competing with high speed trains. Their unique propultion also makes them resistant to rough terrain and enables them to traverse open water, though riding for extended periods is uncomfortable and makes the high speeds even more dangerous.
Larger vehicles utilising these plates are still under development; there seems to be a difficulty with regulating the power to large numbers of plates at once. Gravplates can be produced at small Crystal Autofactories.
Mag-glo is a special material which emits light when it has been magnetised. It loses its charge over a period of a few hours. This has been found used in Legacy complexes to provide emergency lighting and can be produced at small Crystal Autofactories.
Animal Scares are small cylindrical devices which scare away many animals when switched on. As they don't have any indication that they're working, it's often a pain when the power cell runs out. They are often used by explorers and can be built relatively inexpensively at small Crystal Autofactories.
Laser cutters are the standard form of Legacy laser device. As such, these useful items can be built in varying sizes and strengths at small Crystal Autofactories. They all seem to be built with a device that prevents a beam from being emitted if the cutter is too far from a solid surface. There is always a delay and an audible hum before the cutter activates, so they aren't terribly useful as a weapon. This protection can sometimes be bypassed, but it is against Guild of Technologist rules to do so.
Laser pistols and rifles are also available, but their expense means that they are not very widely used. Often, an army only equips its Senior Officers with laser weapons.
Magnetic clamps are used in a variety of applications. The high powered magnets required can only be created by small Crystal Autofactories, rather than Empire technology. Clamps have not only proved useful for climbing (especially incorporated into Magboots or Mag-gloves worn by Contestants of Acquisition) but also in goods moving and exploration.
Technology in the field of Security is sufficiently advanced to incorporate trap doors, trip wires, pressure pads and search lights, whilst guards often recieve coded instructions via radio. Mag-glo is also sometimes used to alert the occupants of a building to the presence of someone using Magboots to scale the outside.
Unique Items
A small cache of Legacy tech Wings were found on the planet Karus; these are now in the possession of the Technologists and although a few pairs have been requisioned by Nobles for "scouting purposes", they seem much better for recreation. The Wings come in a fold-up pack which straps onto a persons back and opens when they are in midair, flapping gently and mainly allowing the user to ride air currents during their slow decent. This unusual design had led the Technologists to write them all off as junk for many years and their function was only discovered by accident. There are a number of similarly "unknown" devices stored in Technologist vaults.
A Remote Scope comes in two pieces. The reciever allows you to view events at the site of the transmitter. Only about a dozen are known to be within the Empire and as such they are highly valuable for spying. They have a limited range of a few thousand miles. This isn't a problem if the devices are on the same planet or in the same orbit, but doesn't allow you to transmit information between planets. It is rumoured that the Technologists possess a version which does not come with a transmitter, though how this works is unclear.
A more common version is the Locator, which displays only the current direction of the transmitter. These still require a small Crystal Autofactory to produce and the expense is too great for day-to-day use. Handy for explorers, though.