Cool article! Suspension of disbelief is key for sci-fi, but let's keep fighting for real-world progress here on Earth too. What real-world battle are you most passionate about right now?
The one thing that everyone forgets is that in Star Wars galaxy they have achieved mastering of gravity manipulation in technology not just the force. Also they have warp speed aka faster than light speed in single seat space ships. We can't even comprehend how a space fight would be with that.
Before that the Battlestar Galactica reboot leaned into more realistic manuevering too. It wasn't quite as physically accurate as The Expanse but laid a lot of the groundwork with how it could be shot.
Fairly stunning to me how few people acknowledge the giant glaring glow-in-the-dark debt Expanse (and basically every other ship-based scifi since the 00s) owes to BSG. Even Star Trek copied its style to a point.
You totally missed talking about the crushing Gee forces. That 100-G turn is hard on flesh and even harder to clean out of the cockpit when autopilot, or ‘droid, returns it to rebel base.
Or maybe it’s just the “Force” field that protects them.
The Culture novels ship combat is next level. 100km long AI ships dive in like a WW2 bombing run, all actions, counters, maneuvers, & firing, are all done in nano seconds for the newer Culture ships. Tens of thousands of km long fleet combat over in a second. Near light combat.
Given they have already achieved FTL, I think it’s reasonable to assume there are other “laws of physics” they have mastered in ways we can’t - or - it’s a movie and really who cares 😂
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I’m devastated.
I think in term of level of physical realism (protomolecule apart), the expanse still improve on this baseline.
Or maybe it’s just the “Force” field that protects them.
All too easy.
Great article.