Space Airlines Needed

[Wes]

One of the things that Star Army has been lacking is a way for everyday civilians to get around the SARPiverse. It's a key part of basic infrastructure that has been largely neglected because post of our plots are about either military ships, or adventurers with their own ship. To address this need, I've started work on a network of space liners called PAINT. As you can see, it's still very barebones and the Star Army is covering Yamatai's routes until someone else can take over.

Here's what I need: I need people to submit Star Army equivalents to airlines. Also I need articles for actual starports that will serve as terminals for flight origins and destinations. The flights should arrive at a particular point on each planet, preferably one with stuff nearby and connection to local transportation like hoverbus networks. Will you be the Delta or the Southwest of the SARPiverse? Businesspeople of SARP: Even if you don't make an airline, this is a great opportunity for you to make/place businesses to inhabit the starports.

I'm hoping PAINT will have hubs in Yamatai, Nepleslia, and Lor. From the hubs, flights would go to the smaller locations and back. Please help. I'd like to have this more developed by the holidays, so characters could use it to take trips to see their families and friends.

 

[Syaoran]

I just assumed we had this kinda system somewhere after seeing the Origin Starliner before. However I do not believe this system should work like air ports. If it's supposed to be for common travel I think it'd be better for it to work more like a bus network in space. Just for example with what you have, while I know it's not finished, If you wanted to get from Virginia to Tami you have to actually get off and catch a flight at Amatsu yamatai. While in the fringe worlds it might not be possible, but in the worlds closer to the core of a system it only takes minutes to go between them. Even if we ended up doubling the distance. (Personally I voted in create the distance to outer worlds but keep inner systems close). So I think have a bus like system for closer systems so you don't have to bother with change overs, and only use direct flights for further out places.

 

[Wes]

The starliners hold way too many people to be bus equivalents. So this is more for planet-to-planet transportation where as bus-like system would connect actual cities or planets within the same solar sytem. PAINT could encompass both but for now I'm focusing on the bigger stuff.

If you wanted to get from Virginia to Tami you have to actually get off and catch a flight at Amatsu yamatai.

Right. This is normal. Just like if I take a flight from Atlanta, GA, to Norfolk, VA, I might have a stop in Charlotte, NC. It's a layover. Later we can add smaller craft that would have more options.

 

[Syaoran]

No I don't mean opperating on a planet like a bus. I guess I shoudl've clarified. I mean flying through space still, but operating like a bus system or metro system. Where they have a route they take that links multiple stops(planets) and they go through that. That way you can minimize change overs and such. The reason we have change overs with airplanes in real life is simply because we don't have the technology to get it efficient enough, nor are flights common enough, to waste flights on going around route that might have stops that have no one at them. That's not so much the case in SARP. Space travel seems fairly easy, especially near the core worlds, so using a 'space bus' kind of system should be possible.

 

[Nashoba]

Well its a good thing that this is a government subsidized venture. Because I doubt that many of these routes would be full on a regular basis.

I have always liked to think that most travel was done by people buying passage on various freighters, independent and corporate. Sort of like star wars when Luke and Ben buy passage on the Falcon.

Not really very keen on the concept, it just reinforces the fact that our systems are far to close together. Sorry had to say it.

 

[iaincarter]

Hmm, my setting-fu isn't strong enough to be able to offer any concrete ideas, but I did have some thoughts as roughly outlined below. As an aside, I'm always happy to flesh out the descriptions of stuff, or to help brainstorm ideas.

Just some thoughts:

Maybe a few of the hubs could actually be orbital in nature, with smaller shuttles/skyhooks/orbital elevators to/from the planet - useful where available land is in such short supply/expensive that a full blown starport isn't feasible. Or when you want an extra layer of security between new arrivals and your planetary infrastructure... (Note - this might just be because I'd like to see an orbital base style RP like B5 or DS9 and this idea would seem to provide a natural setting. )

A quality range of available providers could be good - it'd be just as nice to have that Platinum-grade luxury liner when you have a massive payoff to spend as to have a budget-style transport with tiny spaces (much like Japanese coffin hotels) and a few dingy common areas for when you wish to travel incognito.

It would be good to have independent providers out there competing too as I imagine PAINT would have some kind of registration/identity recording in effect for security and insurance purposes, so the people who want to avoid such entanglements or have more bespoke requirements could still find willing transport.

 

[Wes]

If we add bus-equivalent flights they would need to be smaller ships like Tenba and they could only be operated in zones where the planets are very close, because having a bus services that literally takes all day to get through its route wouldn't make sense. Like maybe there could be a warmaster worlds line.

Edit: As for security, I imagine it would be done on a per-starline basis, plus customs checks for international flights.

 

[Jimmy]

Forgive me for using the C-word again, but here we go.

Chelti freighters typically take passengers in either existing cabins, or using specialized containers, usually offering a set price for all stops along their route. This makes for an inefficient, but thorough way to reach most common hubs around chelti space. Most chelti ships found in SARP space are usually adventurous merchants or some form of stellar cartographer, as well as the occasional "venture capitalist".

Ben and Luke booking passage aboard the Falcon would be a fair example, or possibly the passengers that actually got off the ship in Firefly, but the passengers would be forced to conform to the captains freight schedule. Passengers are usually a secondary form of income for most captains.

 

[Wes]

I found a site that you can make little subway maps on.

Here's a concept for a map for transportation around the core area of Yamatai:



Instead of the airline-style flights using large starliners, these ones would be run by smaller, more frequent transports operated like buses. Because of the time needed to fly in and out of the atmospheres, maybe these ones would all go to space stations in orbit?

 

[Brim]

Orbiting stations in like a central position between large distances could serve as a hub so that it could be a bus concept but have hubs in the middle of a couple planets resulting in single high traffic hubs that create branches out.

 

[Brim]

something like this

 

[BionicSamurai]

I'll be back. An opportunity for one of my character's family members could start something like this.

 

[BionicSamurai]

Ok, Asrid's brother Lars has been given a Henkei by Yoshi. I an idea that the player Yoshi had was a possible cargo running set up; but he picked up enough modules that I could go with a passenger business model instead. Something I'd like to do is actually start a regular Yamatai to Lor cargo and passenger run that, over time, grows as the company is able to afford ships. I'm just wondering what kind of realistic growth model I ought to go with in its operation.

 

[Wes]

I guess you could set ticket prices then guesstimate expenses and passenger levels to come up with a profit number, which could be used to see when new ships/employees could be added.

 

[BionicSamurai]

Ok, that prompts another question, but I'll ask it on the map changes thread if the answer is not yet apparent.