Hyperspace Drive

Jumping through Hyperspace/WitchSpace: Vanilla game

Jumping through Hyperspace/WitchSpace: BGS v.2.5.1

Jumping through Hyperspace/WitchSpace: BGS v.1.10.9

Jumping through Hyperspace/WitchSpace: SOTL Exploration

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Hyperspace/Witchspace Drive

Dr Beeb's map (Galaxy 1): notice the complex structure of the bottom right quarter

The third drive of your space ship (if it is big and new enough!). Maximum range is 7ly, which radically affects the geography of each galaxy - creating The Great Rift in Galaxy 7 for example, an 'island' of 30 systems cut off from the others by a jump of more than 7ly. In Galaxy 1 as one can see from the map, a range of peninsulae are created in the lower right-hand corner. This 7ly range can be altered (reduced) by OXP. Doing so naturally creates more islands and peninsulae, making it more difficult to get around the galaxy.

The Witchspace Drive is the part of your ship most affected by Maintenance. If you do not keep it regularly maintained, the chance of a Witchspace misjump increases dramatically, with attendant chances of getting much better acquainted with other species.

To operate the Witchspace Drive you must first select your target location on the F6 screen/Short Range Chart. Then depress the h button on your Astrogation Console. Your drive will engage and you will soon be on your way into witchspace!

The other standard fitted drives are the Engine/Main Drive & the Torus Jump Drive.

Facts about wormholes

Here are some facts about the way wormholes work in Oolite:

• The radius of the wormhole depends on the mass of the ship. This means that small ships create small wormholes and big ships create big ones. Therefore, it makes good sense to consider that a Cobra MKI generating a 1LY wormhole uses less fuel than an OSE Juggernaught generating a 1LY wormhole.
• The lifetime of the wormhole depends on the mass of the ship. You can verify this immediately if you buy a Wormhole Scanner and sample-scan a few wormholes. You will find that a Cobra MKI generates a wormhole that collapses in, say, 1.5 minutes, but an Anaconda created one collapses in 5 minutes or more (the numbers are indicative only and not necessarily accurate). This may be interpreted as another indication that a lot more fuel was used for the creation of the Anaconda wormhole.
• The mass of the ship does not affect the time taken to travel inside the wormhole. A Mamba escort entering a wormhole opened by its mother will arrive to destination together with the mother. Another_Commander.

Hyperspace or Witchspace?

The confusion about the hyperspace/witchspace terminology comes from the original Acorn version manual and novella. Ian Bell & David Braben used hyperspace as their term of choice in the Manual. Robert Holdstock used witchspace by habit in his novella: it's found in many of his other SF novels, if my memory serves me correctly. Subsequent versions of the game's in-game text and documents have mixed both. It's now reached the point that Mr Braben's later versions of the game mix both terms pretty randomly.

(KZ9999 (2009))

Whilst some individuals have rigidly stuck with the use of either one term or the other - and some have used one for the tunnel and the other for the region where one is stranded in a misjump - overall the use of the two terms is utterly confused, which will undoubtedly reflect their use amongst the billions of people in the thousands of systems of the 8 galaxies!

OXPs & links

• Geography
• Planet to planet without witchspace (2007)
• Canon question about the Witchdrive The inner workings: coils, injector or goo? (2015)

Witchdrive Engines

• Single-Use Witchdrive by ocz: a cheaper option for ships without
• Hyperdrives by Redspear: size, tech level & equipment (eg the Extra Energy Unit) all affect countdown time & maximum distance of witchspace jumps
• Breakable Witch Drive: OXP allowing your Witch Drive to be disabled by a direct hit in combat

• Ship Configuration OXP introduces another 3 classes of Witchdrive engine. A very complex .oxp.

Fuel/Misjump Issues

• Fuel Collector OXP by vsfc: scoops up fuel in witchspace v-e-e-ry slo-o-owly!
• Interstellar help OXP by Commander McLane: get a refuel from a passing stranger!
• Misjump Analyser by Eric Walch: supposedly allows avoidance of misjumps
• Wormhole restoration OXP by Commander McLane et al (2018): to re-open your witch-hole and escape, destroy the Thargoid hole-jammers!

Extra Fuel Tanks

• Duplex Fuel Tank by Timer: super expensive but easily rechargeable (even by sun-skimming!).
• Extra Fuel Tanks by Smivs: expensive & need to buy fuel specially to recharge, takes up no space in your ship
• Fuel Tank by Ramirez: takes up a missile pylon slot (one-use only)
• Internal Fuel Tank by Stranger: takes up 5TC of cargo space (one-use only)

Changing the jumps

• Hyperspace for theory
• Misjump
• Variable Jump Drive OXP - "misjump" 11% of the way to the next system - or 73% of the way...
• BackGround Set (BGS) gives a whole new experience to the jump experience. There are two different versions - some prefer the earlier (1.10.9).

STOP PRESS! Tsoj has modified the newer BGS to allow use of this spiderweb witch-space tunnel as well (2022). Click here for download: this effect is chosen using Library OXP's "Config for AddOns" on the docked F4 screen.]]

• SOTL Exploration is an Oolite scenario (incompatible with the regular game) - and requires steering your ship through the jump!
• Deep Horizon Advanced Navigation Computer uses 10% less fuel, leaving a little over at the far end of a 7ly jump! By Cmd. Cheyd, Phantergorth & Phkb
• Manual Witchspace Alignment by phkb
• Deep Horizon Emergency Witchspace Initiator by Cmd. Cheyd
• Countdown to Zero by Spara

More varieties of Thargoid

• Thargoid for list of links

Dealing with Thargoids

• Dealing with Thargoids Tips on how to!

Oolite Equipment Standard Equipment Astrogation Console • Cargo Hold • Compass • Energy banks • Engine/Main Drive • HUD • IFF Scanner • Life Support Systems • Missile • Pulse Laser • Shields • Ship's Hull • Torus Jump Drive • View Screen • Witchspace/Hyperspace Drive Optional Equipment Advanced Navigational Array • Advanced Space Compass • Cargo Bay Expansion • Docking Computers • E.C.M. System • Escape Pod • Extra Energy Unit • External Heat Shielding • Fuel Scoops • Galactic Hyperdrive • Integrated Targeting System • Military Shield Enhancement • Multi-Targeting System • Naval Energy Unit • Passenger Berth • Scanner Targeting Enhancement • Shield Boosters • Target System Memory Expansion • Witchdrive Fuel Injectors • Wormhole Scanner Weapons Beam Laser • ECM Hardened Missile • Energy Bomb • Military Laser • Mining Laser • Missile • Pulse Laser • Quirium Cascade Mine • Twin Plasma Cannon