Non-Elite Sci-Fi universes that feel a bit similar...

....
Ship names... well, SHIP NAMES. If you've never read an Iain M Banks, read one. "Excession" is the one most about blowing up shizzle in deep space; Consider Phlebas is possibly the most literary and still fun. (I like Matter, but it's a heavy read.)

And finally, every time I dock in a Coriolis and see those huge spikes rising from the back wall, I think of Rendezvous with Rama.

Good stuff. Read them all.
 
"Foundation", Asimov.
What elements of it? I feel like FDev could lean into the Old Worlds and give us some lore and gameplay similar to the 50 Settler Worlds... but I don't feel like they have. There's an Empire, I guess, was it Powerplay / BGS you were thinking of in terms of all the Four Kingdoms stuff?
 
What elements of it? I feel like FDev could lean into the Old Worlds and give us some lore and gameplay similar to the 50 Settler Worlds... but I don't feel like they have. There's an Empire, I guess, was it Powerplay / BGS you were thinking of in terms of all the Four Kingdoms stuff?
More the general feel.
Vast universe, huge distances, many many factions in their micro bubbles, with local governments and local interests and squabbles - that kinda stuff.
 
As mentioned there are Cherryh’s Merchanter Alliance books, I think part of the similarity is that feel of being part of something that started before the book did and is going on even though the bit of the story the book told has stopped, plus the viewpoint characters are often not hugely significant or important outside of their ships or the story being told.

And I have gone blank.

Thanks for bringing up CJ Cherryh in this context! I read Downbelow Station a few years back and have been meaning to read more of her novels for some time now. I feel overwhelmed by choice, though. I just ordered Merchanter's Luck to add to my queue.

Iain M Banks is the reason my Corvette is named "Not A Negotiating Tool" :)

I currently own four ships using borrowed Culture names:
  • Problem Child (Mandalay) from Excession
  • Inappropriate Response (Python) from Look to Windward
  • Just Passing Through (Asp Explorer) from Excession
  • Mistake Not... (FdL) from Hydrogen Sonata
 
I always thought the gap cycle books could have been set in the elite universe.

certainly the space madness morn highland gets in hyperspace could explain why so many pilots in elite are psychotic killers many seemingly suicidal. also why no walking around in super cruise/hyperspace (I don't think I am confusing my sci fi books in that..... I burned through a LOT of sci fi audio books when exploring , trading and mining in my 1st 2000 hrs in elite)
 
Thanks for the DJ Cherryh tip - for anyone else curious, I have just discovered that a full cast read of Downbelow Station is on Audible Plus (ie included with Audible subs for free)

I would have picked that series to read first anyway, looking at the synopsis - if you want a clue how much it overlaps with my personal ED universe, I've just named the new T8 Antonio Serra ...
 
The "Lensman" series of books by E.E. "Doc" Smith...

Intrepid heroes, Space Pirates, epic space battles, mysterious Alien species and, yes, damsels in distress!. It's got it all...
 
The "Lensman" series of books by E.E. "Doc" Smith...

Intrepid heroes, Space Pirates, epic space battles, mysterious Alien species and, yes, damsels in distress!. It's got it all...
It is splendid but let’s face it it doesn’t feel like Elite’s universe and the Galactic Patrol would have the lot of us under arrest ASAP.
 
It is splendid but let’s face it it doesn’t feel like Elite’s universe and the Galactic Patrol would have the lot of us under arrest ASAP.
I mentioned upthread that the way inertialess is worked into the story is not dissimilar to high-wake and low-wake and the consequences of how the FSD works in gameplay. Most players would have a ship that is their "flitter" and a ship that is their "speedster." There's also quite a lot in there about what happens when bits of the ship degrade which seems to overlap pretty well with how module damage works.
 
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