Waypoint Drive

The Waypoint Drive is a drive technology used by Viatorum Protectorate and Echelon to transport ships over massive large distances.

Description & Characteristics
Echelon did not have access to Waypoint Gates used by the UESF and Peacekeepers, and thus required a more effective method of travelling between Protectorate colonies and Echelon bases. Due to the massive energy requirements of moving into hyperspace, only specially designed Echelon ships can use a Waypoint Drive, carrying smaller ships alongside with specially designed docking clamps.

Ships fitted with a Waypoint Drive extend large ring-like frames around the length of the vessel, which are normally stored within the hull when not in use. Each ring contains a series of specialised hyperspace generators, by activating them in parallel the entire ship is moved to hyperspace, using graviton engines to move the ship through hyperspace creating gravity fields which the ships "fall" into. This engine technology allows ships to move through hyperspace and drop out at their own discretion, unlike Waypoint Catapults which force objects to move through a hyperspace corridor at an accelerated velocity.

While this technology allows for unrestricted FTL movement between locations, it is somewhat slower than Waypoint Catapults; while a catapult can move objects within the solar system in only a matter of seconds, the waypoint drive requires several minutes to move inbetween positions in the solar system but several days for interstallar travel to Protectorate colonies. Part of this is due to the massive distances between the Earth System and Oort Cloud region where Protectorate colonies are found, and also that the Waypoint Drive decreases in efficiency over long distance travel, reducing the ship's speed within hyperspace when active for extended periods of time.

Core Components

 * Hyperspace Generator


 * Power Regulation System


 * Santa Maria-type Digital Intelligence


 * Subspace Transit Driver

Notes & Trivia

 * The Waypoint Drive was partially inspired by Nodedrives from Sword of the Stars.