Battletech and good sci-fi.

 

This is good Sci-fi? Read on, my good fellow.

Battletech, otherwise known as the "game of giant stompy robots" is also an example of good sci-fi in one respect. Yes, it makes the square cube law cry, but ah, the FTL... yes, the FTL...

See in a lot of books and shows, FTL is really more like taking a taxi than actual FTL. It has no effect on the setting. You arrive at the speed of plot, and your FTL works, doesn't work, or does something really weird, again, as plot commands. 

But battletech?  FTL impact everything. Sure there are misjumps, but how it works, the need to remain far away from the primary while recharging via  a solar sale, the fact that most cargo is transported by dropships... It molds the entire setting, and you can't get away from it. 

And that's what you should think about when writing fiction. Just like the steam engine and train utterly changed the real world, the FTL systems you put into your story will utterly transform the way things are handled. 

So, if you're looking for a good bit of advice when talking about what you're going to do... Well, the Giant Stompy Robot Game isn't the worst place you can go...