Logistics of the SARPiverse

[Commissar Farzi]

Alright, got yet another question from yours truly; How does logistics work in the SARPiverse-and I'm not talking just military, I'm also talking about civilian-we have system spanning empires/democracies-how do they keep their people fed, clothed, etc,.?

For that matter, the transportation of goods and services can't be easy-worlds that may dependent on the importation of food, water, medical supplies and such could be potentially strangled if those supplies were cut off, either by military or pirate action, or the central government collapsing. Are the worlds of a lot of the factions self-sufficient? Do they have plans laid and supplies set aside in the event this should happen? Was a bit curious about this.

 

[RaWolfe]

It really depends on the area, Yamatai and Neshaten use their own transportation vessels, while Neps do it partly themselves and NDC as well. I exploit this market last year with Sunavi that has now transport contracts with Neps and ndc while staying Indy Sunavi does both cargo and people transportation

 

[Soban]

One of the things about the setting is that even the slowest FTL drives goes about half a lightyear an hour. So even the slowest ship can go from Yamatai to Essia (30 light years) in about 60 hours or about 2.5 days. In comparison, to get a Truck from New York to San Francisco including mandatory breaks takes about 63 hours. (43 driving, 20 resting). For ships that aren't slow, (like say a Fuji), you can get nearly anywhere on the Kikyo Sector map in 60 hours.

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

For military and civilian alike i can say for Nepleslia at least we have a large gate-network that allows large or many ships to travel faster than normal FTL speeds from system to system.

This also saves time from needing to navigate around other systems, exiting FTL outside of systems, flying from the edge of a system to your destination at its core, etc. As there is a massive gate in some of Neps core systems that can connect to each other allowing the largest transport ships and even entire fleets for military purposes from system to system in much faster times than it would normally take to fly traditionally.


On the logistics of colonies and more isolated locations its up to importing, yes. But most planets have the ability through fabricators, autofactory printers, etc. To produce for their own needs when it doesnt call for bulk importing like with raw materials, food, etc. The Nepleslain NYRDs is a new political group thats been rising that has been helping with less developed Nepleslian worlds by providing such things and helping terraform and establish colonies propper without much risk of failure.

Beyond this Nepleslia doesnt have any far-off colonies as of yet despite having a large swathe of claimed and uncolonized space near them to use. So they have yet to have any dire logistical needs that cant be met; Being a massive industrial powerhouse within the sector second only to yamatai and with a military large enough to protect its interests.

 

[RaWolfe]

For military and civilian alike i can say for Nepleslia at least we have a large gate-network that allows large or many ships to travel faster than normal FTL speeds from system to system.

This also saves time from needing to navigate around other systems, exiting FTL outside of systems, flying from the edge of a system to your destination at its core, etc. As there is a massive gate in some of Neps core systems that can connect to each other allowing the largest transport ships and even entire fleets for military purposes from system to system in much faster times than it would normally take to fly traditionally.


On the logistics of colonies and more isolated locations its up to importing, yes. But most planets have the ability through fabricators, autofactory printers, etc. To produce for their own needs when it doesnt call for bulk importing like with raw materials, food, etc. The Nepleslain NYRDs is a new political group thats been rising that has been helping with less developed Nepleslian worlds by providing such things and helping terraform and establish colonies propper without much risk of failure.

Beyond this Nepleslia doesnt have any far-off colonies as of yet despite having a large swathe of claimed and uncolonized space near them to use. So they have yet to have any dire logistical needs that cant be met; Being a massive industrial powerhouse within the sector second only to yamatai and with a military large enough to protect its interests.

And where needed Sunavi gladly supports the Nepleslia transport system per their contract

 

[Alex Hart]

One of the things about the setting is that even the slowest FTL drives goes about half a lightyear an hour. So even the slowest ship can go from Yamatai to Essia (30 light years) in about 60 hours or about 2.5 days. In comparison, to get a Truck from New York to San Francisco including mandatory breaks takes about 63 hours. (43 driving, 20 resting). For ships that aren't slow, (like say a Fuji), you can get nearly anywhere on the Kikyo Sector map in 60 hours.

Re: this, the bulk of time spent between destinations is not actually in FTL, it's in realspace once you've reached your target system. In terms of real life analogies, if FTL is the time you or some freight is on an airplane between destinations, STL travel from the edge of the system to your destination is the time you spend waiting at the airport.

 

[Whisper]

While SARP's FTL is very fast, the STL speeds do slow things down a bit. Let's check the Starship Speed Standard page.

Assuming that most transits aren't using cutting-edge military tech (due to lack of availability, lower maintenance needs, pricing, etc) we have ~45k km/s for a standard ship, ~60k km/s for an advanced ship, and ~75k km/s for a very advanced ship for 'average' speeds. I imagine a lot of the transits would be in the 'slow' category, but we'll use average for now.

For the first speed, it would take about a day and a half to travel the distance from our Sun to Pluto. If reddit's math on the sun's hill sphere is correct, it'd take 2700 days to reach the edge of the Sun's hill sphere. Somewhere between there is where FTL travel is possible, because you can't FTL within a (strong enough) hill sphere. Let's assume it takes ~4 days on average.

So while FTL travel to anywhere takes 2-3 days, you need to add on another 3-4 days of transit per system to load your goods, drop off your goods, etc. I like this, personally, because it does create opportunity for pirates, patrol routes, etc, etc.

As for how well supplied and/or self-sufficient each planet is, I'd say it depends. Most crucial food, water, etc, is likely sourced locally or from somewhere within the system. I think this is more of a supply chain thing than anything else; if you can shave off 6-7 days from a delivery schedule for an entire planet, it's probably worth the investment.

Less crucial goods, such as specialty clothes, imported spices, jewelry, technology, etc, would take the full 7-11 days of transport per trip. Multiple freighters are probably used to reduce this window down to something reasonable - anywhere from a delivery once per day, once per hour, or more - but an interruption to the supply chain would likely be felt in a matter of days as luxury/supplemental goods become unavailable. I don't think a planet would be crippled by something like a blockade, but the quality of life would probably drop off quickly.

 

[Wes]

Great question! I apologize for not responding sooner. Logistics in the SARPiverse, both in military and civilian sectors, is indeed a crucial aspect of maintaining a functioning society. The vast factions of the Star Army universe have developed complex systems to ensure the well-being of their people.

In terms of civilian logistics, self-sufficiency varies greatly among the worlds and factions. Some worlds may rely heavily on imports for essential resources like food & water (think of the many worlds that don't offer Earth-like environments). However, they typically have contingency plans in place to mitigate the risks associated with supply chains being disrupted. These contingency plans typically involve maintaining strategic reserves of vital resources to sustain their populations in case of emergencies. Additionally, many worlds with limited access to certain resources may have established trade agreements with other worlds to ensure a steady supply of necessary goods. But basically planets should have large stockpiles of supplies. For example not only does Yamatai do this with the vast underground complexes on Yamatai,, but also by putting bunkers and bastions around the empire in case the Mishhu ever take over parts of the territory.

Since the Star Army is so big there's a lot over overlap between civilian and military "prepping" and the Star Army is expected to be the one to distribute emergency supplies. The huge candy festival near the end of the each year is a Star Army started as (and continues to include) a Star Army training exercise for bringing supplies to the citizens of Yamatai (in this case, it's just some candy but it could easily be a vaccine, a box of food, etc). You can actually see some of the supplies the Star Army keeps on the wiki pages for their logistics depots like the Central Fleet Depot and Nataria Fleet Depot, such as storing millions of guns to quickly arm people. The Star Army even keeps millions of inflatable boats for deployment to planets with flooding and water rescue situations. I'd say the Star Army side is more documented than the civilian government side of this but that's true of everything in Yamatai, lol.

However, it's important to note that not all factions or worlds are equally prepared for potential disruptions. Some may be self-sufficient and have robust contingency plans, while others might be more vulnerable. In the event of a collapse in central government or actions by pirates or hostile forces, disruptions in supply chains can occur, causing severe hardships. In such scenarios, factions and worlds often rely on their own internal resources, as well as seeking assistance from allied factions or neutral parties. The ability to quickly adapt and mobilize resources becomes crucial in maintaining the well-being of the population. Hint: It could be a great opportunity to call on player character groups for help, allowing them to go on missions and adventures.

Overall, while the logistics of the SARPiverse pose challenges, factions and worlds have developed various strategies to ensure the transportation of goods and services and have contingency plans in place to overcome potential disruptions and keep their people fed, clothed, and healthy. Whether they're well documented on the wiki is another matter. It wouldn't be a bad thing if we had more of these strategic resources written down, though, especially if they already appeared in RP.