What are they and why are so inportant?

bubble's are where people and or corps set up there planets in. bubbles have dead end sectors and it is better to try to set up a base inside a bubble rather than out in free space. If you are using swath (ill use that as an example) run the zero turn mapping feature. when it is complete, (this can take awhile depending on computer, connection speed and the size of the universe) you can bring up the bubble finder. (tools tab) now set the min to 2 and the max to 5 then hit search. now you can look at the bubbles and use this info to find a bubble you want to try to colonize or sst in or use the info to find someone else. the best feature in the swath bubble finder is you can right click on a sector and it gives you some cool options like being able to launch a probe deep inside the bubble.

Just to clarify, bubbles can have an unlimited number of sectors, but they always have at least one dead end. It makes it easier to defend when there is only one way in. One way warps out are no big deal, but beware one way warps in!

Also The bigger the bubble does not really make it better. Most people including myself will go out and look into all the Big bubbles first cause the number of them is significantly less than say a 4 deep bubble. Big bubbles can be useful later in the game, but only when you have enough resources to defend it.

quote:Originally posted by Tybalt

Just to clarify, bubbles can have an unlimited number of sectors, but they always have at least one dead end. It makes it easier to defend when there is only one way in. One way warps out are no big deal, but beware one way warps in!


Actually, it would be possible to have a bubble without a deadend. If you had something like:
123-145-146-485-123

123 woudl be a door, but it would have warps to both ends of a long string of sectors.

OK, technical time...

Bubbles can be created by the SysOp/GameOp using Gold extensions. Bubbles are a minimum of 100 sectors in size, but the maximum depends on the number of bubbles the SysOp/GameOp wants to make. The larger a universe size, the larger bubbles can be.

Tunnels, on the other hand, occur in every version of Trade Wars. These can be from a single sector to 20 sectors or more in size. They can also have one-way exits (often called "back doors") that let a trader leave the tunnel, but cannot backstep into the tunnel (using the < key). By definition, a tunnel has only one entrance (call it the mouth, the gate, or the front door) but may have more than one exit.

Most smaller tunnels are usually "dead-end" types, one way in and the same way out. The larger the tunnel, the more likely "back doors" exist to escape.

quote:Originally posted by Paladyne

OK, technical time...

Bubbles can be created by the SysOp/GameOp using Gold extensions. Bubbles are a minimum of 100 sectors in size, but the maximum depends on the number of bubbles the SysOp/GameOp wants to make. The larger a universe size, the larger bubbles can be.

Tunnels, on the other hand, occur in every version of Trade Wars. These can be from a single sector to 20 sectors or more in size. They can also have one-way exits (often called "back doors") that let a trader leave the tunnel, but cannot backstep into the tunnel (using the < key). By definition, a tunnel has only one entrance (call it the mouth, the gate, or the front door) but may have more than one exit.

Most smaller tunnels are usually "dead-end" types, one way in and the same way out. The larger the tunnel, the more likely "back doors" exist to escape.

That may be how you define it, but the majority of tradewars players refer to them differently. For most players, a bubble is a cluster of 2 or more sectors with only one way in. A gold bubble is the 100+ sector bubble that you described. A tunnel is a long chain of sectors with 2 warps in. For example, 12-13-14-15-16 with 12 and 16 both having multiple warps. A deadend is a sector with only one warp in. Now, I don't care what you want to call a bubble or a tunnel, but the generally accepted definitions are as I described.

Nod, locally we used to call them tunnels, not till we started playing on the Net around the country in the mid-late 90's did we start calling them bubbles like everyone else.

I sense an update to my Glossary Page coming...