Vector movement - Reply

> Alun Thomas wrote:

Quoting Jon T.:
> I'm sure the guys at Wireframe/Chameleon won't object to me telling
use a
> development of the original FT movement to simulate their "grav"
drives.

Quoting Mikko Kurki-Suonio:
> I'm not sure that's a good idea. The FT system is easier but not

> I agree, I think the older races should be able to switch between

I'm going to have to put my oar in here. If we (i.e., B5 gamers and designers)
are
going to use Newtonian movement, then it should apply to _all_ races,
the way it would in reality (you can't turn the laws of motion on and off).

So how do you represent higher tech level drives? NOT by suspending the laws
of physics, but by giving the Minbari, etc., what their magno-gravitic
drives would
really give them -- the ability to generate high accelerations! So a
Minbari War Cruiser doesn't have an "FT" drive that magically enables it to
use the normal,
but non-Newtonian, movement rules; what it has is a drive that generates
larger
accelerations (i.e., high "thrust" in FT terms) than the low-tech races,
with the
possibility (for _real_ high-tech races) of producing these
accelerations in _any_
direction, rather than being limited to the forward direction. This does away
with
the Real Thrust thrusters and makes the ship _very_ manoeuvrable. And
dangerous, because the weapons arcs are now more-or-less independent of
the
ship's motion -- rather like a StarFury, which has engines that can
thrust forward (the biggest), backwards and to either side. 'Furies can dance,
and it's a deadly
dance -- just watch Sinclair and Garibaldi splash Raiders during the 1st
season.

The standard FT movement rules effectively assume this, anyway. Try working
out the thrust needed to do a 3-point (90-degree) turn; you'll find that
it's well off
the fore-aft axis. So, in Newtonian rules, the "young" races have to use
thrusters
and their main drive as per Real Thrust, the "middle-aged" races do the
same but with much higher thrust ratings (and turning performance), and the
"old guys" have the high thrust and the ability to use it in any direction. I
reckon this would simulate the difference between the various tech levels
quite well. Of course, players will have to get used to Newtonian movement.

As to "free-spinning DNs", the manoeuvrability of a ship in Newtonian
movement is basically controlled by how fast it can rotate, thereby varying
the direction of
its thrust vector. So, to stop over-agile big ships (assuming that you
want to), either keep the thrust low (as the FT rulebooks indicate) or
introduce
(MASS-
and TL-based?) limits on thruster power, whatever the thrust of the main
drive.

Comments?

Phil

Oerjan wrote (and he's probably about to wish that he hadn't...):

> It is far more difficult to figure out where you're going to end
  ^^^^^

Does this mean that you think the old rules need a bit more horsepower? <grin,
run, duck for cover...>

Phil, who couldn't resist it (but probably should have...)

> On Thu, 20 Mar 1997, Phillip Atcliffe wrote:

> Oerjan wrote (and he's probably about to wish that he hadn't...):

> > It is far more difficult to figure out where you're going to end

But of course! More Thrust to the People!:)

> Phil, who couldn't resist it (but probably should have...)