Polities of the Long Night

[GypsyComet]

Since we do not have a comprehensive UWP set for c.-1776 (and probably should not attempt to make one) the TL12 question should remain a matter of campaign need. Jump 2 is enough for broad mobility across Imperial space, only becoming a concern in a few stellar neighborhoods. Terra and Corridor come to mind, but there are also some thin spots in what would become Julian space and near the Delphi Rift on the Ley/Fornast edge.

My assumption is that higher tech is much like the Rule of Corporate Projects: if you have more than a half dozen participants and less than a hundred, the outlook for success is not good. High tech during the Long Night will occur in either lone mavericks or the largest of polities, and probably won't stick for long.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Jump 2 is enough for broad mobility across Imperial space, only becoming a concern in a few stellar neighborhoods.

And where it IS a concern ... J2+2 (unrefueled) is certainly enough to link up "most" locations ... and can be done @ TL=9 using LBB2.81 standard drives (A-D).

The thing is, most of the interstellar merchant classes tend to be optimized for "maximal ticket revenues" (passengers+cargo) over the SHORT haul ... rather than optimizing for RANGE with a "good enough revenue from tickets" (passengers+cargo) to pay the bills while dabbling in speculative goods arbitrage along the way whenever opportunity comes a'knocking.

This fundamental difference yields a "very different slice of the market" for interstellar transport services, including different "market demand thresholds" in order to remain a viable business operation over the long haul.



And then there's the J3+3 (unrefueled) option ... which can be done @ TL=A using LBB2.81 standard drives (E-H).



Getting to "faraway places" in a single jump is a convenience for most commercial traffic, rather than a necessity.
Courier services, where SPEED is the name of the game, are different, however.