WORMHOLE
Keywords: WORMHOLE, WORMH
=== USER MANUAL ===
Usage: wormhole <starsystem>
Description:
Tear open a psionic wormhole from the engine room, linking
your current starsystem to the target system. Two wormhole
stellar objects are created -- one at your ship's position
in your current system, one at matching coordinates in the
target system. Both collapse automatically after 10 minutes.
While open, the wormholes are traversable by gate: any ship
(yours or otherwise) can fly into either mouth and come out
the other. Wormhole is the only command that generates public
inter-system shortcuts on demand.
Like foldspace, this is an Arbiter-class signature ability.
Unlike foldspace, it's a public effect -- anyone can use the
mouths, friend or foe.
Casting:
The invocation is a 6-second focus (1 second for staff).
An unbreakable 100-energy pre-cost is paid on attempt; the
remaining all energy in the ship is consumed on success.
If the ship accelerates or drops below 4000 energy during
the channel:
Your energies become unstable and the wormhole collapses.
Requirements:
Engine room ........ Must be in the ship's engine compartment
(not the pilot seat, unlike foldspace).
Pilot access ....... Must own the ship or be a listed pilot.
Arbiter hull ....... Ship model must be ARBITER. Non-staff
Arbiters only.
Spacecraft ......... Stations and non-spacecraft hulls cannot
cast.
Stopped ............ Ship speed must be 0. "The ship cannot
be moving while creating a wormhole!"
Launched + real .... Undocked, in a starsystem, not in
hyperspace.
Energy >= 4000 ..... "The ship must have 4000 units of
energy to create a wormhole!"
Target system ...... "Where do you wish to create the
wormhole?" if missing; "That starsystem
does not exist!" if unknown.
Not same system .... "You cannot create a wormhole into
this system!"
Clear of gravity ... Ship must be at least 500 units from
every stellar object in both systems:
"The gravity of <object> prevents the
creation of a wormhole."
No existing wormhole Neither system may already contain
an active wormhole: "You cannot create two
wormholes in the same system, they would be
unstable!"
Echo (Channel):
You focus your psionic energies and begin creating a wormhole.
(you)
<n> begins focusing <s> psionic energies. (room)
Echo (Success):
Your energies bend space-time, forming a stable wormhole.
(you)
<n> releases <s> energies, which are magnified by the ship!
(room)
A vibration shudders through the ship as a wormhole
opens in front of it. (ship-wide)
A wormhole forms at X Y Z. (both starsystems)
Wormhole Properties:
Names ............... "Wormhole to <target>" in your
starsystem, "Wormhole to <origin>"
in the target system.
Lifetime ............ 10 minutes (WormholeCollapseEvent).
Traversal ........... Use gate <name> from within 200
units. Arrival jitter and echo are the
same as regular gates.
Persistence ......... Wormholes are not saved to disk
(OBJECT_NOSAVE). They vanish on server
reboot as well as on timer expiry.
Interruption:
Damage, leaving the engine room, or accelerating mid-channel
aborts the cast:
You fail to finish creating the wormhole!
The 100-energy pre-cost is lost.
Notes:
- The wormhole collapse timer is 10 real-time minutes
regardless of how much traffic uses it.
- Traffic flows both ways -- hostiles in the target
system can flood through your wormhole just as easily as
your allies.
- A bug in the source: the gravity-distance check is
identical for both systems (500 units from every object
in both origin and destination), even though the second
check runs on ship->Distance which uses the origin
system's coordinates. Document: pick wide-open coords in
both systems to be safe.
- radar in both systems shows the wormhole like any
other stellar object.
Strategic Notes:
- Massive logistics tool: drop an Arbiter between two
contested systems to give your fleet a 10-minute shortcut
without hyperspace fuel costs.
- Be ready to immediately use gate through your own
wormhole -- creating one drains your energy to zero in
non-staff cases, leaving you helpless at the mouth.
- Wormholes are public. Expect the enemy to use them
back at you. Consider blockading the mouth or posting a
picket.
- Cannot stack wormholes -- only one per system at a
time.
Related Helpfiles: FOLDSPACE, GATE, HYPERSPACE, CALCULATE, JUMPVECTOR, SHIPSTAT, TARGET
=== END MANUAL ===