X-Boat Network, Jump Segments

[RainOfSteel]

When you view jump route segments, often you see routes of only one parsec, repeatedly.

A good example is in the Spinward Marches:

Notoko
Aramis
L'oeul d'Dieu

When you see this, or any two or three parsec segments, do you interpret it to mean:

1) That all X-Boats strictly jump through these segments one parsec (or two or three) at a time.

2) That some X-Boats are stopping at each world, but other X-Boats skip over them to stops further on?

Under Option 1:

1) A message from Mora/Mora takes 21 weeks to get to Regina. This is the time between two of the most important worlds in the sector. But a world just five parsecs away, Fosey/Mora, can send a message to Regina in seven weeks.

2) Even worse, a message from Capon/Lunion takes 22 weeks to get to Regina. But a world just one parsec away, Resten/Lunion, can send a message to Regina in just eight weeks.

Under Option #2:

Things get better when some X-Boats can skip intermediate routes, but generally they're a pain in the butt because you have to stop and manually count hexes up to four and remember all breakpoints in order to determine total message travel times. I don't really like this much.

Sooo, the question then becomes:

Does anyone believe that the IISS ever, ahem, operates extra unofficial jump route segments to move data around better? A link between Capon/Lunion and Resten/Lunion, or even Fosey/Mora, would unsnarl message travel times in the Marches by a great deal.

 

[far-trader]

I've always figured the X-Boats jump as far as they can on such links. That being ideally 4 Parsecs. However, if one of the worlds is important enough (vague) then it interrupts.

To fill in the worlds skipped, and those further afield is the job of the Scout/Couriers and even Detached Duty scouts, of course. There's no good reason for a J4 X-Boat to be stopped at every little dirt water port just because the jump takes it through* those systems

* over, under, well off the side; just being in the same hex does not mean being anywhere close in my opinion

Taking your example in the Spinward Marches I would say:

L'oeul d'Dieu to Aramis linked (it turns a corner at the first and Aramis is important)

Aramis (skip Natoko) to Teh linked (Natoko is amber zoned while Teh is the next turn)

Sooo, the question then becomes:

Does anyone believe that the IISS ever, ahem, operates extra unofficial jump route segments to move data around better? A link between Capon/Lunion and Resten/Lunion, or even Fosey/Mora, would unsnarl message travel times in the Marches by a great deal.

Nope. The IISS X-Boat service is for the Citizens. Really important stuff goes by Naval Courier or MegaCorp Courier. At J6. With drop tanks if required.