Ambiguous Name: Teleporters And Transporters

The trope is very broad because it includes both teleportation via devices (common in science fiction) and teleportation as an ability (common in fiction).

As a result, it encompasses a large number of tropes from the Teleportion Tropes index such as Portal Pool, Portal Door, Telephone Teleport, Teleport Cloak, Teleport Gun, Teleport Spam, Thinking Up Portals, Villain Teleportation, and Weaponized Teleportation.

However, instead of purging the current examples, I think it should become a Super-Trope.

edited 27th May '15 8:15:50 PM by anatanokukki

Agreed. The naming gives off the vibe that it could be a Super-Trope.

she/her | TRS needs your help! | Contributor of Trope Report

Hm. The name says Teleporters, which to me at least strongly implies a teleportation device, as opposed to a supernatural/magical ability.

edited 28th May '15 9:16:55 AM by jamespolk

Yes I would agree that people with the Teleport ability, like Kuroko in A Certain Scientific Railgun are a different trope than devices like Star Trek's Transporters.

"Teleporter" is often used for people with the ability to teleport.

Still agree that a supertrope would be a good idea. Not quite sure what the subtropes should be. Teleporter Device and Teleporter Ability?

I would divide it into 3.

• Teleportation Device.
• Teleportation Spell often long cast times, long distance, single use with reagents and such.
• Teleporter Ability these usually are like Flash Step but actually teleporting themselves around anywhere.

Although I do not like the name of the last one very well.

Teleporter Trait: alliterative

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

I think Memers has the right idea.

How about sticking with Dynamic, Static, and occasionally a Mixed usage?

Dynamic would refer to teleportation that can be done from anywhere and has no fixed starting location like Kuroko's ability or the Blink ability from Dota.

Static would refer to teleportation that cannot be done from anywhere like Star Trek's transporter. It has a fixed starting location. Now, just because it's static doesn't mean it can't move. Even if the Teleporter is moving, it's still static because the starting point is the Teleporter.

In this case, the exit location doesn't matter. It can be fixed or dynamic.

That way, things like cast time and the nature of the ability are irrelevant. For instance, Goku's instant transmission is an ability that would be a dynamic teleportation since he can use it from anywhere.

The Recall ability in League Of Legends is magic-based, and it's dynamic in spite of its cast time. Even though the exit is fixed, it does not require creating and going through a sender node.

Things like the Town Portal from Diablo are mixed. A Town Portal can be used anywhere, but the portal itself is fixed. Mixed is simply used when a teleportation has traits from both categories. However, in this case, creating the portal is dynamic, and the portal itself is static.

Warcraft 3 has Waygates, which are a static type. The gates don't move, and if a unit steps into it, they get teleported.

edited 28th May '15 11:30:40 AM by anatanokukki

I don't think that really works.

A set point to set point gateway like say Warcraft3's Gateways or Negima's gateways to the magic world is really a different trope than a teleporter. I would say they are more of a Portal than this.

What I was thinking is more

• Teleportation device. Technology powered transporters ala Star Trek which are used in various ways such as Transporter Pad to location or Site to Site transport, the latter being introduced in TNG. Engineers in World Of Warcraft create these devices and have a chance to fail.
• Teleportation Spell, usually something with a long cast time or requiring reagents to accomplish. World Of Warcraft's Hearthstone and Mage's teleport magic would be this as well as every return spell in MOB As. Usually related to Fast Travel.
• Teleportation Skill now these are personal combat skills, always instant and akin to Flash Step but actually teleporting that distance. Range, what is teleported, requiring line of sight to the location and other such qualities vary by example. It is a subtrope of the other types it could be technology based, ESP based, magic based or whatever. The most likely to Telefrag. Even giant mechs can do this like Anubis in Zone Of The Enders. In Wow a Mage's Blink spell would be this

edited 30th May '15 9:56:42 AM by Memers

(Welp, I finally found the time to get back to this thread.)

@Memers

I like your idea, but I still see some problems with it.

The 3 types aren't distinguished well enough.

First of all, the only difference between Type 1 and the other types is that Type 1 is technological in nature.

For example, a spell that creates a magic circle that teleports people who step into it is exactly what Type 1 is, but magical instead of technological. It can be accomplished by both Type 2 and Type 3.

Next, the only difference between Type 2 and Type 3 is that Type 2 has a casting time. Otherwise, the two are identical.

Finally, let's look at this made-up example:

A technological device that quickly creates a temporary transporter at the user's feet and instantly teleports them.

According to its description, it's both Type 1 and Type 3. If it has a casting time to activate, it's Type 2 instead of Type 3.

Well, I've decided to try again on the two types thing:

1. Transporters : Can translocate non-self entities from A to B.

2. Teleporters : Can translocate self from A to B.

Kuroko is both a Transporter and a Teleporter. She can translocate both herself and other entities.

The Star Trek Transporters are Transporters. They move people, but not themselves.

Ezreal from League of Legends is a Teleporter. He can move himself, but not others.

Someone who relies on a magical tool is considered a Teleporter. If the magical tool travels with the user, the tool is both a Teleporter and a Transporter.

Goku's instant transmission is both Teleportation and Transportation.

With this split, it's extremely easy to decide what is what.

You won't need to look at the cause, only the effect.

(Note. Although Teleporters are technically Transporters who can only transport themselves, the two are split for organizational reasons. Both types are very common.)

edited 9th Jun '15 1:31:11 AM by anatanokukki

Right, your explanation of the split has convinced me that splitting this is a terrible idea and will cause massive misuse. Especially since works don't use the phrases as you're trying to define them. Instead I think we need to get rid of the types all together and just have the examples write out entirely how the work uses it.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

I agree that this trope should be our supertrope for teleportation, and propose that if anyone would like to suggest new subtropes, they use YKTTW.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

Yeah, sorry, but this split proposal is a bad idea.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

For making it a supertrope.

So if we do go with the original supertrope idea and YKTTW route, what're we gonna do about names?

It's pretty evident that we have neither a general Teleporter nor a Transporter trope.

Do we rename the Teleporters and Transporters supertrope and split the name between two new tropes (Teleporters, Transporters), or do we let the supertrope keep its name and give the two tropes new ones?

edited 9th Jun '15 9:18:08 AM by anatanokukki

That's what several tropers are agreeing Teleporters and Transporters should be.

This thread doesn't need to determine what names are proposed in YKTTW. That's a separate issue; this thread is about the Teleporters and Transporters page.

Link to TRS threads in project mode here.

x8 we I see a massive difference between tech and 'powers' but whatever.

There at least needs to be a combat Teleporter version of Flash Step that is something we are badly missing, that is completely different from say Star Trek's Transporters.

EDIT: apparently Villain Teleportation is a thing? Flash Step teleporting is not confined to villains like at all, I can think of at least 20 off the top of my head that are not, Po V characters are the ones that can rarely teleport.

edited 9th Jun '15 1:28:06 PM by Memers

There is a difference between tech and powers in theory. In practice the line is so blurry that it might as well be non-existent especially as in a lot of works they seem to vacillate between both explanations for the same thing. Sometimes it seems like there should be distinctions on paper that just aren't there in reality.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

Came back again to revisit this old TRS after stumbling upon the Teleporters and Transporters page.

It's still incredibly broad in usage and overlaps with a lot of other tropes.

At this point, I really do think it'd be better off as a Super-Trope. That way, we can start bleeding off its usage into more specific sub-tropes.

Edit: Whoops, forgot that I already voiced my support. I sounded like I was parroting myself...

What does everyone else think?

edited 1st Oct '15 5:41:19 AM by Berrenta

she/her | TRS needs your help! | Contributor of Trope Report

I support making it a supertrope.

As do I.

Reality is that, which when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -Philip K. Dick

Supertrope sound good.

+1 for making it a supertrope.

Bump. Has there been any disagreement on the supertrope idea? Do we need a crowner, or can we just run with this one?