Re: grav everywhere

Well put.  One suggestion I have is to accept the DSII rules as is for 
scenarios played in the Tuffleyverse, but if you're playing in another 
gameverse, come up with a set of additional abilities and limitations on

Grav based on how it's explained in that universe.

Brian

"The Irish are the only race of people on Earth for which psychoanalysis
is 
of no use."

				 - S. Freud

>From: bbrush@unlnotes.unl.edu
>Reply-To: gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu
>To: gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu
>Subject: grav everywhere
>Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 15:23:02 -0600
>
>
>I've been following the thread on grav vehicles with some interest
(DSII
>being my game of choice in GZG-land).
>
>My overly literal mind keeps coming back to the same thing.  "If it
works
>like that, yes; otherwise....."
>
>What it all boils down to is "How do grav drives work?"  In the one
sci-fi
>universe that I'm familiar with where this is addressed (Renegade
Legion)
>Grav drives are not "anti-gravity" per se.  The grav drives warp the
>planetary gravity  "field" around the tank so that the tank effectively
>"falls" in the direction of travel.  IIRC the crew has artificial
gravity
>inside so that they don't notice the difference.  The tank grav drives
>require more power the weaker the gravity field they're warping, so
that
>the farther away from the surface the more power it takes to move. 
This
>effectively limits them to modern helicopter performance envelopes (at
>least for altitude).  The game also had other mechanisms to keep your
tank
>on the ground (the weak bottom armor and no ballistic protection on the
>record sheet).
>
>This is obviously just one set of PSB that is made to justify the way
that
>game works.  Anyone can make up a PSB to make things work like they
want.
>
>The more I think about levitation type propulsion systems the less
suitable
>I find them (from a technical standpoint) for combat missions.  With
>anything that hovers over the ground you're going to be subject to
>"unintended movement".  This could be as simple as wind, or as complex
as
>collisions or projectile impacts.  You also have terrain limitations
(ie
>GEV's aren't good at hill climbing).  With tracks or wheels "station
>keeping" is as simple as stopping where you want.  Obviously for grav
this
>depends on how your grav drive works.	If it works like the ones in RL
then
>it's simply a matter of having the computer adjust the warping so that
the
>tank stays where you put it and compensate for impacts.  If it's true
>anti-gravity (as in the tank is not affected by gravity) then you have
the
>the biggest air-hocky puck ever made.	Mag-lev without the rails.
>
>Gravity being the least understood of the cosmic forces the
possibilities
>are truly mind boggling.  One sci-fi story written about someone who
>creates anti-gravity  postulates that in an area where gravity was not
in
>effect then neither would Eistein's relativity be in effect and
therefore
>objects could attain a velocity of C instantly.  It would effectively
mean
>that true anti-gravity would give limitless energy.
>
>This is all JMO, and I'm sure that given sufficient incentive some
brainiac
>will come up with a way to make a floating vehicle stay where it's put,
but
>there are much easier and more reliable alternatives.
>
>Bill
>

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