Radio/laser signals travel at light speed c, so interstellar messages take years to arrive. A dust/nebula field between transmitter and receiver adds noise that competes with the signal, degrading the SNR the farther and noisier the path.
t_delay = d / c (years, d in light-years)
SNR ≈ P_tx / (d² · N) (inverse-square + noise floor)
- Distance — separation between transmitter and receiver in light-years, sets the propagation delay directly.
- Transmit power — boosts signal strength against the noise floor.
- Interference level — density of the intervening dust field scattering/absorbing the signal.
- Time compression — speeds up the simulation clock so multi-year delays are observable in seconds.
- Send Ping — launches a light pulse and tracks its arrival time at the receiver.
Real-world application: this delay/SNR trade-off is exactly what mission planners face communicating with deep-space probes like Voyager or a future interstellar probe.