Hey. Ok, so I'm working on a SF.
Its somewhere between star wars and expanse in terms of tech and civilization. Lots of aliens, planets, empires.
I think I'm overcomplicating things (thanks Expanse... I just can't seem to dumb down my spaceships anymore).
So. I have FTL covered (its some hand waving gimmick tied to the plot)
I currently have gravity tech - for instance, "flying gravity cars" on the planets. I was originally planning on using the same tech for artificial gravity on the ships. And maybe use it for a kind of "shield" to redirect debris during travel.
But. The Expanse is really changing my thinking here. I want to switch my ships orientation to be vertical like the expanse. I want space combat to be like the Expanse -- extreme distances, no energy shield, ships can be pretty fragile.
During combat, we dump atmosphere. It just makes sense.
But now I'm also thinking do we turn off AG during combat because it can mess with high g maneuvers? Or do I use the gravity to have "inertial dampeners" and then I don't worry about high G? With AG does the vertical orientation of ships become unnecessary? I was planning on my ships having big thrusters because the grav drives are not great for higher speeds (like during combat)... because... I guess cause they look cool? I dont really have a good reason on that one.
Do I scrap artificial gravity all together? Without Im worried its too much like Expanse, and with its too much like Star Trek. Help me weed this mess in my brain.
edit: I should add, in no way am I going for hard SF. But I also don't want the science coming across as super goofy either.
edit2: Thank you everyone that commented! It was extremely helpful. I have to fine tune some details, but I got exactly what I was hoping for. This community rocks.