Alright, I've made a mistake and I need to do something about it. I hate that I have to, but not doing something about it will only make things worse. And no, I'm not talking about quitting, so don't worry. 
I'm talking about the warpgates. What they are, how they function. The one large mistake I have done is that I underspecified their behavior from the beginning. There were two reasons for this - one is that I had the idea that you would sort of learn all about them from the tech tree, the other that I didn't quite realize their impact on things other than pure travel. But as I've been talking to a few of you, and reading your stories, I realize both that you all have fairly diverging ideas on how the gates work, and also that they have a much larger strategic impact than I intended (or indeed wanted) them to have.
So, after some thinking and some discussions with various people, I'm now going to remedy my original mistake and specify in greater detail the why/what/how of warpgates. The details of this specification will come as a surprise to some of you I'm sure, indeed everyone whom I've discussed warpgates with previously is going to find some things have changed, sometimes dramatically so. Indeed, even the tech descriptions for warpgate research will have to be rewritten somewhat. I hope none of you will have any problems with this, and that you will help me out with the suspension of disbelief and all that. If you have any questions or issues with these changes, please take them up with me via PM or IM. If anyone feels they would have trouble making the deadline because of these changes, I might consider extending it this once, but I hope I will not need to. Thanks for working with me here. And for being great players, as always.
Alright, here we go.
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The warpgate network consists of two components - the hyperstatic fields and the warpgates. Every system connected to the warpgate network has one hyperstatic field set up somewhere in the system. Exactly where they are may vary from system to system, but usually it is at least some ways off from the main planets. As an example, in the Sol system the hyperstatic field is set up near the inner limits of the Kuiper belt. You do not currently know what exactly the field is, in the scientific physical sense, or what if anything powers it, though you are all aware of installations on nearby planetoids that seem to have something to do with the fields (at least you know of no other function they could have).
The warpgates themselves are not really entities as such, but rather are the named given to describe the "connections" between hyperstatic fields in different systems. Move into the field in one system and come out through the field of a different system. For fields that are connected to several other systems, entering into different parts of the fields transfers you to different systems. You can think of this as several different fields if you like, though they are all placed in conjunction to one another.
The fields differ in size between system. Sol's field is the largest (having the most warpgates in it), with its elliptical diagonals measuring approximately 12 and 5.4 lightseconds respectively. Yep, that's pretty big (the distance between the earth and the moon is ~8 lightseconds for comparison). Other fields are smaller, but none less than a tenth of that of Sol, and the rule of thumb being more warpgates means larger field. Ships exiting a warpgate may do so at any point of the portion of the field corresponding to that warpgate, you really have no way to predict exit points with your current knowledge, either as an outside observer or as a pilot going through. The fields are slightly translucent, half-transparent, and swirling with bleak colors. Some compare it to the magnetic lighting effects that can be seen on some planets with atmospheres and a magnetic core. On Earth they call it Aurora Borealis (or Australis). The gates glow even more when something moves into or out of them.
Travelling through a gate is near-instantaneous. There are some space-time anomalies so that people on the ship going through experience the jump to take several seconds whereas communicated confirmations of arrival take only split seconds after the entry of the ship into the field.
For some reason, the cause of which you are not aware of, jumping more often than about once each year seems to make ships crumble to pieces and be distorted in strange ways, the same happening to any crew on board, equipments and whatnot. Fighter class ships cannot even make a single jump. The reasons for this were most certainly known pre-scourge, but have been forgotten along with everything else.
I'm talking about the warpgates. What they are, how they function. The one large mistake I have done is that I underspecified their behavior from the beginning. There were two reasons for this - one is that I had the idea that you would sort of learn all about them from the tech tree, the other that I didn't quite realize their impact on things other than pure travel. But as I've been talking to a few of you, and reading your stories, I realize both that you all have fairly diverging ideas on how the gates work, and also that they have a much larger strategic impact than I intended (or indeed wanted) them to have.
So, after some thinking and some discussions with various people, I'm now going to remedy my original mistake and specify in greater detail the why/what/how of warpgates. The details of this specification will come as a surprise to some of you I'm sure, indeed everyone whom I've discussed warpgates with previously is going to find some things have changed, sometimes dramatically so. Indeed, even the tech descriptions for warpgate research will have to be rewritten somewhat. I hope none of you will have any problems with this, and that you will help me out with the suspension of disbelief and all that. If you have any questions or issues with these changes, please take them up with me via PM or IM. If anyone feels they would have trouble making the deadline because of these changes, I might consider extending it this once, but I hope I will not need to. Thanks for working with me here. And for being great players, as always.
Alright, here we go.
==================================================
The warpgate network consists of two components - the hyperstatic fields and the warpgates. Every system connected to the warpgate network has one hyperstatic field set up somewhere in the system. Exactly where they are may vary from system to system, but usually it is at least some ways off from the main planets. As an example, in the Sol system the hyperstatic field is set up near the inner limits of the Kuiper belt. You do not currently know what exactly the field is, in the scientific physical sense, or what if anything powers it, though you are all aware of installations on nearby planetoids that seem to have something to do with the fields (at least you know of no other function they could have).
The warpgates themselves are not really entities as such, but rather are the named given to describe the "connections" between hyperstatic fields in different systems. Move into the field in one system and come out through the field of a different system. For fields that are connected to several other systems, entering into different parts of the fields transfers you to different systems. You can think of this as several different fields if you like, though they are all placed in conjunction to one another.
The fields differ in size between system. Sol's field is the largest (having the most warpgates in it), with its elliptical diagonals measuring approximately 12 and 5.4 lightseconds respectively. Yep, that's pretty big (the distance between the earth and the moon is ~8 lightseconds for comparison). Other fields are smaller, but none less than a tenth of that of Sol, and the rule of thumb being more warpgates means larger field. Ships exiting a warpgate may do so at any point of the portion of the field corresponding to that warpgate, you really have no way to predict exit points with your current knowledge, either as an outside observer or as a pilot going through. The fields are slightly translucent, half-transparent, and swirling with bleak colors. Some compare it to the magnetic lighting effects that can be seen on some planets with atmospheres and a magnetic core. On Earth they call it Aurora Borealis (or Australis). The gates glow even more when something moves into or out of them.
Travelling through a gate is near-instantaneous. There are some space-time anomalies so that people on the ship going through experience the jump to take several seconds whereas communicated confirmations of arrival take only split seconds after the entry of the ship into the field.
For some reason, the cause of which you are not aware of, jumping more often than about once each year seems to make ships crumble to pieces and be distorted in strange ways, the same happening to any crew on board, equipments and whatnot. Fighter class ships cannot even make a single jump. The reasons for this were most certainly known pre-scourge, but have been forgotten along with everything else.
