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Table of Contents
Propulsion and Lift
The ability to make your vehicle move is, one would think, central to the idea of a vehicle! For each environment in which your vehicle can operate, select at least one motive system. Aircraft should also look at Lift Systems.
Air Propulsion
First available at TR-1, this includes a variety of propellors and jet engines. Some spacecraft engines can also be found here, as they are equally capable of propelling an aircraft.
Faster Than Light
Primarily intended for spacecraft, this category covers three different technologies for FTL travel. Of course, if your setting uses some sort of external FTL device—such as a stargate—then you don't need to install one of these.
Ground Propulsion
This includes wheels, tracks, skis and leg drivetrains, as well as combinations of these.
Lift Systems
Static lift can cancel out the mass of a vehicle. However, these are really only available in two formats: gas bags and contragravity. Gas bags were technically obsolete before they were even invented, and contragravity is superscience.
Space Propulsion
This includes a variety of reaction drives, as well as the science-fictional reactionless and gravity drives.
Water Propulsion
This category includes a number of ways to propel a surface ship, some of which are also suitable for a submarine.