[FT] Strategic Thrust

The point of a strategic game is to generate battles for
Full Thrust, which means we ought to have an idea of each
force's vector at the intercept point.	I propose we map the
solar systems on hex grids with a scale of, say, 1 AU per
hex (or whatever fits neatly into the equation--if I recall
correctly, 1 gravity for 24 hours will move you 1/4 AU, and
1 g for 48 hours is about 1 AU).  If you come from Star A to
Star B with the intent of attacking a planet, you will have
an inherent vector (which we can PSB as the velocity
difference between one star and the other).  If you arrive
on one particular hex, you will have a straight run to your
target; arrive on any other hex, and you have to maneuver,
which takes more time, costs fuel (if you worry about that)
and makes you more likely to be detected.

Why bother?  Because this way the defender doesn't have to
garrison all of space to protect his planet--but on the
other hand, the attacker doesn't have to force his way
through a jump point assault (I personally prefer a "wide
Alderson Point" approach, but that doesn't seem to fit the
Tuffleyverse).

If we assume that the jump limit for a star is proportional
to the square root of the mass, and we set the Jump Limit
for Sol at 1 unit, we find the Main Sequence stars will have
jump limits that vary  from about .46 (M9 star) to 1.79 (for
an A0 star like Vega--I don't recall that we have any O or B
stars locally).

The question then becomes, how many hexes across do we want
our map to be, and at what scale?  That will determine how
far out the Jump Limit is.  I'm thinking about 11 AU out
from Sol, which would put it out past Saturn--but would also
mean that an A0 star would have its jump limit at about 20AU
or 80 hexes (on the .25AU/hex scale), requiring several
sheets of paper to map (or a change in scale).

Cut to the chase:
How far out should the Jump Limit be for Sol?  Please vote
using AU (not , for example, "in the Oort Cloud").

--Chris  DeBoe
Quixtar IBO#706882
http://www.quixtar.com