Re: Time/Space scale

Oerjan Ohlson wrote:
> 
> Noam wrote:
> 
> > My personal preference is to make 1 thrust = 1g. It feels right that
> 6-8g
> > thrust should be close to the max a crew would want to sustain in
> > combat for any length of time, compensators on no.

> > As for the distance scaele, while 1"=1000km is OK, I have a few
> > problems with it. Aesthetically, (my personal taste) it makes combat
> > ranges a bit too big for "cinematic" scale.

> > Pragmatically, it makes asteroid- or asteroid field centered combat
> > rediculous, since there's only one asteroid (Ceres) that even
> approaches > 1" diameter at that scale,

> > I'd like a distance scale that would make a good sized
> > rock like Ceres 10" across - or 100 km to mu.
> 
> Still a bit too big for *real* Cinematic scale, but better than 1000
km
> per mu <g>
> 
> > That'd make make most planets
> > too big for a play area, but, as in several  scenarios, planet
> surfaces
> > could make up one edge of a play area (with gravity effects). That
> may
> > wreak havoc with the time scale though.
> 
> Not too badly, I think. 100km/mu and thrust-1 = 9.81 m/s^2 gives 1
turn
> ~143s, or about 2.4 minutes.

Sorry about the extensive quoting, but it's all relevant.

Firstly, in Newtonian, I'd like a realistic (ie "sufficiently bacwards
technology so it's distinguishable from magic") thrust to go with the
realistic (albeit 2-D) movement. To me, this means 1 Accel = 1g or less.
0.5g would be good, but 1.0g is plausible. A bit hard on the crew, those
long periods of 8g, but with fluid baths, doable with today's
technology.

100km/MU, Thrust-1 = 1g(about 10 m/sec), 1 Turn = about 2.5 mins has a
nice feel to it, round numbers, etc. It also allows "table-edge"
planets, which I like.

The only advantage 0.5g has is that it allows finer scales of
gravitational graduation over the table. If memory serves, the radius of
the Earth is about 12,000 km, or 120 MU. So we have 1g at 120 from the
centre, hence 0.25g at 240. And at 48 MU from the surface, 0.5g. Which
means that we could say that, over a table-tennis table with the
planetary surface at one end, there would be Thrust-2 towards the planet
within 24mu, Thrust-1 at 25-72MU, and no effect further out. Basically
1/4 of the table at 2, 1/2 at 1, and the final quarter at 0.

Sounds as if NSL wouldn't dare go too close...

As regards Cinematic (which I mainly play), as far as I'm concerned the
technology is so advanced that "anything goes". By all means have Thrust
1 = 1g, but 100g is also plausible. Which leads to timescales from
fractions of seconds to minutes or tens thereof.
-- 
	      http://www2.dynamite.com.au/aebrain 
aebrain@dynamite.com.au     <> <>    How doth the little Crocodile
| Alan & Carmel Brain|	    xxxxx	Improve his shining tail?
| Canberra Australia |	xxxxxHxHxxxxxx _MMMMMMMMM_MMMMMMMMM
 abrain@cs.adfa.edu.au o O*OO^^^^OO*O o oo     oo oo	 oo  
		       By pulling MAERKLIN Wagons, in 1/220 Scale