Hullo, Anung,
While it's a bit off topic here, I am curious as to what you're referring to in terms of the better grasp of spacefaring and sci-fi that you mention above...
Its just that ive been in a DnD-mindset for the last 9 years or so, and i wanted to get a deeper grasp of all the sci-fi concepts that arent as readily in my mind as a fantasy setting is. Just trying to get out of the thought that a interplanetary journey is just the equivalent of a horse-and-carriage trip between villages, so to speak.
Ah, now I get it.
As someone who runs fantasy primarily myself (I'm a huge fan of the
Atlantis: The Second Age RPG of Sword & Sorcery myself), I get where you're coming from with this. I've been gaming for 40+ years, now, so I've got a lot of experience. Changing mindsets from fantasy to science fiction can be difficult. I prefer my science fiction as somewhat harder rather than soft, but
Coriolis - The Third Horizon hits the sweet spot for me in so many different waves, notably the non-European mythology elements and the
Arabian Nights vibe that the game has.
Interplanetary, let alone interestellar, voyages are anything but horse-and-buggy trips between villages. (Good metaphor, that!)
The game uses the Dark Between the Stars for that aspect of it to some degree, but one can think of it as the star systems are oases in the deserts of space. Trips between villages across the wilderness, indeed!
I've actually re-read some of the
Arabian Nights tales again these last few years to get some ideas for plots and sub-plots that can be run during the travel time between planets and the like. Always go to the source of the mythology of the game and all, I say!
My player group is largely a bunch of univeristy nerds as well, so there will be thoughts here and there about the practical physical things that i dont want to just handwaive with "Its The Dark Between The Stars, dont worry about it".
Well, other than the fact that the Dark Between the Stars is plenty enough to worry about, the scientific principles that can be inferred by the nature of technology in the game (especially the Portal Builder stuff?) are pretty "soft" insofar as other science fiction rpgs are concerned, but there's enough science there to keep me happy. I've run plenty of hard sf rpgs in my time, and to be honest, this game is hard science-y enough for me.