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Re: [OT] Moon Dragon Review?

From: Thomas Barclay <Thomas.Barclay@s...>
Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 14:39:50 -0500
Subject: Re: [OT] Moon Dragon Review?

Mark spake thusly upon matters weighty: 
>	From what I can tell, it would appear that much of the games
takes
> place over the lunar surface.  I must admit that I am not much of a
> phyicist (I only got a B in my "physics for fools" class) but from
what
> I can quess, the force of drag wouldn't act upon the fighters like
they
> would in an atmosphere.  However, a fighter would still have to
contend
> with the moon's gravity something that most "space fighters" would
have
> to deal with.  I would suppose that a real "lunar fighter" would move
> not like an atmospheric fighter or a space fighter, but something in
> between.
>	Or am I just talking out of my a** again?

I'm not sure what the movement you are looking at is like, but I'd 
imagine the following facts come into play:
1. Banking to turn sharper is mostly (AFAIK) a technique that 
utilizes air pressure to aide the turn (Hence the Star Wars fighter 
game is true to the movies but an offence to physics)
2. Gravity on the lunar surface is like 1/6th of earth. It is there, 
but won't have as much pull as earth, hence dives to build up energy 
will be less effective, and energy loses as one climbs will be less 
pronounced.  
3. Atmospheric drag on airless worlds should not be a factor.

That's just my 0.02. 
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