View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
CRMcNeill Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010 Posts: 16232 Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
|
Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 1:25 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Random thought...
What if it's the acceleration compensator itself that's creating the drag that must be constantly thrust against? As in, the drag in question isn't part of the medium, but an unavoidable side effect of the system. In the Honorverse, ships were driven by gravity drives, and acceleration compensators functioned by diverting the acceleration inside the ship into the drive field. Maybe something similar is happening here, but because SWU ships don't use gravity drives, the excess g's can't be bled off completely which creates a constant braking effect, maybe with the etheric rudder system diverting said braking effect into lateral movement. _________________ "No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Whill Dark Lord of the Jedi (Owner/Admin)
Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Posts: 10330 Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA, Earth, The Solar System, The Milky Way Galaxy
|
Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 4:37 pm Post subject: |
|
|
CRMcNeill wrote: | What if it's the acceleration compensator itself that's creating the drag that must be constantly thrust against? As in, the drag in question isn't part of the medium, but an unavoidable side effect of the system. In the Honorverse, ships were driven by gravity drives, and acceleration compensators functioned by diverting the acceleration inside the ship into the drive field. Maybe something similar is happening here, but because SWU ships don't use gravity drives, the excess g's can't be bled off completely which creates a constant braking effect, maybe with the etheric rudder system diverting said braking effect into lateral movement. |
That seems to be sensible technobable to explain what we see in the films. _________________ *
Site Map
Forum Guidelines
Registration/Log-In Help
The Rancor Pit Library
Star Wars D6 Damage |
|
Back to top |
|
|
CRMcNeill Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010 Posts: 16232 Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
|
Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2019 5:27 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Whill wrote: | That seems to be sensible technobabble to explain what we see in the films. |
Maybe like an inverse repulsor-effect, where rather than requiring a gravity field to push against, the mechanics of acceleration compensation create a directional gravity field...
This requires more thought... _________________ "No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
CRMcNeill Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010 Posts: 16232 Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
|
Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 10:55 am Post subject: |
|
|
So, if I go this route, of the acceleration compensator creating a drag effect, what do you think should be the deceleration rate? I assume that the acc/dec rate of 1 Move Level / Round is for a ship that is actively decelerating at its maximum rate, so what would the minimum rate be?
As an aside, how fast should ships be able to go in reverse (“Full reverse. Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power.”)? I assume there must be some sort of advantage to it, as opposed to arcing around to fly back the opposite direction... _________________ "No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
CRMcNeill Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010 Posts: 16232 Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
|
Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 11:24 am Post subject: |
|
|
So, theoretically, if the ac-comp is damaged, it will both no longer be protecting the crew from the effects of acceleration, and will no longer be providing a braking effect. I see a couple options here: 1) ac-comp goes out and automatic safeties cut drive thrust to zero, ship is now ballistic, and handles according to Newtonian physics, traveling at whatever course and speed it was traveling when the ac-comp cut out, or 2) ac-comp goes out, but automatic drive cut-out safeties are also damaged, and engine continues to thrust; backup ac-comps protect the crew from the full force of acceleration, but they will still experience several g’s of thrust as the engine propells the ship faster and faster. _________________ "No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Naaman Vice Admiral
Joined: 29 Jul 2011 Posts: 3191
|
Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 7:05 pm Post subject: |
|
|
What if the acceleration compensators work like an array of mini tractor beams? |
|
Back to top |
|
|
CRMcNeill Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010 Posts: 16232 Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
|
Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 10:23 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Naaman wrote: | What if the acceleration compensators work like an array of mini tractor beams? |
Could you elaborate, please? _________________ "No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Naaman Vice Admiral
Joined: 29 Jul 2011 Posts: 3191
|
Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 10:37 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Yor recent post about drag vs. repulsor gravity fields got me thinking:
If the interior of the ship had mini tractor beam projectors in it arranged in 360-degree (spherical) pattern, they could be synched up with the controls (or use sensors of some kind to detect directional changes and acceleration/deceleration), and effectively cancel out the G-forces acting on personnel in the ship by firing the specific combination of beams at the right mix of intensities to pull the crew in the same direction that the ship is moving, thus compensating for the leave-behind effect of rapid acceleration. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
CRMcNeill Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010 Posts: 16232 Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
|
Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2019 11:18 pm Post subject: |
|
|
It’s an interesting thought, but my take on tractor beams is that they manipulate strong nuclear force instead of gravity, and I still want to tie dialing back the acceleration compensator as part of sensor stealth mode. _________________ "No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Naaman Vice Admiral
Joined: 29 Jul 2011 Posts: 3191
|
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2019 10:23 am Post subject: |
|
|
While we're making stuff up for plausible explanations within sci-fi, it looks like there may be a technobabble way for you to have your cake and eat it too:
Ever heard of "the unifying force"? |
|
Back to top |
|
|
CRMcNeill Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010 Posts: 16232 Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
|
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2019 2:19 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Is there some problem with just using gravity as the basis of the technobabble? _________________ "No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Naaman Vice Admiral
Joined: 29 Jul 2011 Posts: 3191
|
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2019 3:34 pm Post subject: |
|
|
The unifying force is the hypothetical force that links the strong force, weak force, electromagnetic force and gravity as the "same" kind of thing.
in years past, there were five fundamental forces, since electricity and magnetism were considered separate. Now, there are four, since electricity and magnetism are "the same" fundamentally.
In theory, gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force and the weak force may all be different expressions of the same fundamental scientific principle.
You could (if you wanted) just say that the compensators work on an advanced principle that has not been discovered in the real world, but that has been worked out in the Star Wars universe, and you have a sufficiently scientific basis for doing so.
Is there a problem with using gravity? Of course not. I just figured that applying unifying force theory might be easier than trying to make up something that is sufficiently "realistic" while also staying true to what has been established in the SWU. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
CRMcNeill Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010 Posts: 16232 Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
|
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2019 4:25 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I highly doubt tech in the SWU has reached the point at which it can directly manipulate the Unifying Force. _________________ "No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
Naaman Vice Admiral
Joined: 29 Jul 2011 Posts: 3191
|
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2019 6:04 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I doesn't have to. I only needs to find a connection (in your SWU) between the strong force and gravity. Reducing 4 fundamental forces to 3, basically (like in real life when we reduced 5 into 4). |
|
Back to top |
|
|
CRMcNeill Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010 Posts: 16232 Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
|
Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2019 7:51 pm Post subject: |
|
|
No. I have other plans for gravity weapons, with a distinctly different effect than tractor beams. _________________ "No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.
The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index
|
|
Back to top |
|
|
|