Space battles

[valiant12]

How do you write a good space battle ?
There are two space battle in the arc which I'm writing at the moment. How to make them more unique.

 

[CupofJoe]

Let's start with "It depends on your story"
If you are going for space opera, large scale and all things epic, you are going to take a different approach that if it is two small ships fighting it out in the vastness of space.
I think any battle scene seems to work best when it is focused down to the personal...
Why does it matter to each side that they win? Or is it just a case of not losing and just stopping the other guy winning?
Are either of the sides willing to die themselves to beat their opponents or do they want to walk/fly away for something else?
[And things can only be Unique...]

 

[Vaporo]

There's not much information given in this question. How many ships would there be? What level of technology are your fighters at? How realistic is your technology in this world? What is being fought over? It's tough to give you any kind of answer without knowing more.

 

[valiant12]

There's not much information given in this question.

I was hoping for more generick advice in writing action scenes in space.

How many ships would there be?

3 for the humans and 5 plus figther escorts and asult shutles for the aliens.

What level of technology are your fighters at? How realistic is your technology in this world?

semi-realistic.

What is being fought over?

The aliens want to capture the one of the ships.

 

[skip.knox]

You might consider asking this question on a science-fiction forum rather than a fantasy forum. Those folks eat space battles for breakfast. Over here, our advice often consists of: dragons.

 

[Queshire]

You might consider asking this question on a science-fiction forum rather than a fantasy forum. Those folks eat space battles for breakfast. Over here, our advice often consists of: dragons.

Booooooo~ Personally I'm against dividing up different genres, regardless of what it says up on the banner. =P

For actual advice... well I think it's not that different from any other action scene. Use short sentences to try to reflect the adrenaline of action, focus more on impressions than concrete details, build up tension and then cash that tension in for those memorable moments, etc.

I'd say don't worry about being realistic. Realistic in that case would be boring. Look up videos of the game Kerbal Space Program. It's a video game of course, but I think it works as an example of what movement in space and docking to board the ship would be like.

 

[kjbartolotta]

It depends on your story, but if you're going for realism you should check out Project Rho and then read The Killing of Worlds anyways.

 

[skip.knox]

Booooooo~ Personally I'm against dividing up different genres, regardless of what it says up on the banner.

I was not as clear as I might have been. I recommend consulting SF forums in addition to our own house.

I do think such an inquiry will get a different range of answers. In certain types of SF, the stuff we might call boring is in fact rather the point--how the ship handles, shielding, weaponry, all the hard-core science--that's meat and potatoes to that crowd. There are also sub-genres in which the tech *and* character development are important. But if I'm going to look for the hard science (the OP wasn't clear on this), then I'm going to look for people who are more likely to show up on SF forums.

It goes back to my universal and constant advice: first, do the research; then, ask.

 

[Vaporo]

I do think such an inquiry will get a different range of answers. In certain types of SF, the stuff we might call boring is in fact rather the point--how the ship handles, shielding, weaponry, all the hard-core science--that's meat and potatoes to that crowd. There are also sub-genres in which the tech *and* character development are important. But if I'm going to look for the hard science (the OP wasn't clear on this), then I'm going to look for people who are more likely to show up on SF forums.

Definitely. I love me some hard sci-fi with intricate technical detail. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but for some it's far more interesting than reading dialogue and character development.

If you're really looking for hard science, I'd take a look at Project Rho.

 

[TWErvin2]

A lot of it depends on the types of weapons, ranges and maneuverability, armor (or even shielding) the various vessels have. Different size ships and armament (numbers of weapons, power, etc.) can make a huge difference. Also, if there is a technological disparity.

You might look to wet navy tactics, like WW II or similar for basic examples.

It will also help of some of the technology, weapons, things like that have been introduced so that it does not need to be 'explained' during the first major conflict.

Your POV and/or POV characters will have a major impact as well.

 

[Steerpike]

Personally, I like books that take into account the vast distances, speeds of travel for both ships and projectiles, information lag in terms of communications, ability to determine positioning, and the like, &c. I find those space battles much more interesting than Star Wars-style battles where ships are flying around like airplanes in an atmosphere. Jack Campbell does a decent job of this in his Lost Fleet books.

 

[Svrtnsse]

I like books that take into account the vast distances, speeds of travel for both ships and projectiles, information lag in terms of communications, ability to determine positioning, and the like, &c.

This is how it was done in the Familias Regnant series by Elizabeth Moon. The battles weren't what you'd call action packed, but still very exciting. It was stressed how when the enemy ships missiles were seen on the sensors they'd already traveled a certain distance and they had to compensate for all kinds of missing information about when the enemies would appear in a certain location etc.
At one point it's told it's several hours until the protagonists ship will know for sure what action to take next, and it tells of how the ship's captain decides to go for a nap as there's nothing for them to do, and they need to be alert once things start happening again.

I hadn't read anything like that before, so it was new for me, but it was quite inspiring and exciting in a way I hadn't expected.

EDIT: Link: Elizabeth Moon - Wikipedia