Strategic Movement (was Re: LaGrange...)

John L., I like your strategic system as a means of getting around in the
abstract- It'll probably show up in a micro-campaign in the future.  For
my
more detailed games, I'll be using the jump at EOS system - probably
around
40 AU for a Sol-type star (about the orbit of Pluto).  BTW, my calcs
were
wrong (again!  Sorry, I'm a total amateur at this physics/mathematics
bit).
 To travel 20 AU, rest-to-rest, in a thrust 2 ship takes 25 days and
change, NOT 253. Oops. But that's good, so pirates can sit outsystem and
not just watch commerce whizz by at 3000 MU/turn+.  Military ships &
couriers will probably do the accel-jump-decel bit, but speed is far
more important than risk to them, at least in wartime. So, by standard
freighter, it's about 2-3 months between systems.  This gives some long
travel times, but I'm thinking of adding some kind of FTL commo, but I'll
probably stick with 'fence-straddler' craft.  Take a small ship with a
big commo set, add jump engines and no manuver engines. It collects data on

one side of the jump point, jumps, and then dumps its data on the other side,
while receiving that sides info. They just blip back and forth, squirting info
every 6 or so hours. Most likely unmanned. Simple job, and humans couldn't
stand up to that kind of torture.
        There would probably be, in the more populous/traveled systems,
facilities and communities grown up around main jump points. It would be nice,
when
your bulk freighter is facing a 2-month insystem trip, to be able to get

fresh supplies and a bit of liberty. Just some thoughts,

...snip...JTL
> fresh supplies and a bit of liberty. Just some thoughts,
just go to EOS and pop out again.   I thought that the problem was
not a major one because the ships crew replacement is below the
level of the exploration/colonization/exploition/construction/combat
level of the stratigic game. I am in this to roll dice, anything that
complicates the control
of the 70+ ships, 20+ planets, (the preceding is not necessarly
completely correct, for reasons of security) just isnt worth the effort. I do
enjoy the discussions of the transfer rates, null points, acceleration
calculation, and the rest of the things, but too much detail...can be too
much.

Bye for now,

Noah, One point about getting that particular with your calculations:
relativity. See, we often think of stars as fixed points on a grid. Actually,
the lil hummers are whizzing about relative to each other at quite interesting
velocities and directions.

Been years since I was in school thinking 'bout math and physics, so I
won't even try to come up with any figures. Suffice to say, EOS-to-EOS
is nicely generic, though I still wonder if EOS shouldn't be as much as a ly
out(re Oort Cloud, for which I can't do the umlat). Think about a nice map of
system, with a periphery of 'exit' points. Pirates could hide in particular
points, hoping their the right one.

Similar to the Lagrange point discussion, one could suggest that the Oort's
influence, or matter, was swept by the formation of the system disk. If you
aren't pressed too much, could be good PSB for a two dimensional system
map. (Did I say that already?) ;->=

The_Beast