Panets and Docking Rings.

[AdamantineFist]

Well "really fast engines".. The engines don't need to be fast actually! they only need power for take off and a good fuel (yeah I mean amazing not good) because strong engines needs a lot of fuel. you'd only need engines that can actually produce a pushing force against your ship so that it gains speed. But in space that is hard because it's not possible to use combustion since there's no oxygen. (no oxygen no combustion...)

Because, since there is no friction in space (not really any molecules or any matter in space .. well very very few) there is very near to nothing that produces deceleration. Anyway, it's fooked up in space.

You have a good point about the power of engines, but also realize that they can accelerate us to speeds that allow travel across an entire solar system in a rather short period of time. Oh, and we don't use combustion at all anymore. It's fusion now, which produces lots and lots of energy. After all, superheated plasma can make a dang good propellant.

I was never trying to focus on the physics of docking rings, athough it is silly, but rather on how they maul our perception of a world. Together with the idea of extra docking rings, I was suggesting some reasonably neutral bases, rather than the highly polarized forms that worlds have. Other than adding secondary docking rings, wich I feel poarizes it just the same, I'd suggest we make the worlds themselves dockable, as I earlier suggested, with a less lawful, fringes (but not outright criminal) of the underworld feel. Maybe stick a Xeno in the commodity dealer, a rogue in the bar, a rhienland agent in the arms dealer.

This sounds absolutely awesome. 'twould give things a far more realistic feel quite easily indeed.

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