I extracted this discussion into its own topic. We also had this earlier thing:
Just because a thing is technically possible doesn’t mean it will be everywhere, and the reasons for that can be used to create drama. Some examples for “true” artificial gravity vs. “spin gravity”:
It’s licensed. The Hegemony makes people pay for access to certain types of tech (the “reztech” Omnitool stuff Mike mentioned earlier, artificial gravity, etc.) and partially maintains its dominance over space by enforcing laws around licensing.
Drama comes from: “You’re not licensed for X” is the Hegemony equivalent of the cops pulling you over for a busted tail-light - it’s an excuse to shut down people they don’t like. Or the health impact of zero-G segregates the population - the rich stay healthy, the sick stay poor.
It’s fragile. The shielding, power requirements, or something else needed to make gravity work is cumbersome, and most ships in Procyon or elsewhere just can’t afford the expense.
Drama comes from: terrorists, bank robbers, tech thieves, kidnappers, etc. disabling the artificial gravity in some cosmopolitan space outpost to cause chaos among the civilians, forcing the experienced spacers to deal with the crowd on the way to their goal.
It’s cultural. Spacers don’t trust the complexity, fragility, or secrecy in the systems needed to produce it, and don’t rely on it because when it breaks down, you can get hurt in serious ways. It’s a point of pride to use spin gravity, or no gravity.
Drama comes from: the poor merchant who makes good, converts his freighter to a passenger shuttle, and installs a-gravity, now faces discrimination from his cargo-hauling associates.