Re: [FT] Orbit and FT

laserlight@quixnet.net wrote:

 > First, decide how long a turn is, how much acceleration gravity
 > provides, and the distance of a mu (eg 7.5 minutes, 1 gee = 1
 > mu/turn, 1 mu = 1000km). Then calculate gravity for various
 > distances.  Oops!  Since anywhere significantly above the surface
 > of the Earth is going to have less than 1gee, this leads us to
 > fractional mu.  Let's go back and make double the turn length to 15
 > minutes, so now 1 gee = 4 mu.  Calculating the gravity bands is
 > left as an exercise for the student. Determine orbital
 > circumference at various orbits, and divide by 12 turns.  Let
 > gravity give you a 1 point change of direction every turn.

I'll be playing FT this weekend, and the scenario I'm working on will 
most likely involve a planet big enough to matter gravitationally 
speaking.  I had done range band calculations a while back, but never 
used them in play yet...

So I'm interested in how you apply the gravitational force in this type 
of gravity-handling setup.  Do you base the force on where the ship is 
at the end of its movement?  This seems very simple and definitely in 
keeping with the spirit of the game.

The downside is that the result will be very different for two ships, 
moving the same high speed, narrowly missing the planet's surface, where

one ship just happens to end its turn 1 MU from the surface but the 
other say 10 MU away, because of staggered starting positions.

Alternatively, you could move the ship as normal, then determine the 
band closest to the planet that the ship passed through, and apply that 
amount of grav. accel.	A little more work, but really not much.  After 
all, you have to measure from start to finish anyway with your tape 
measure to determine velocity.	Easy enough to find out what the closest

band the ship passed through was.

Or use the midpoint of the vector, and use whatever band that is in... 
etc. etc.  Or you could get really nutty and do a pull averaged over the

path taken...  (Well, maybe *insane* is a better word than "nutty"...)

Anyone have experience playing in a game like this?  Comments on how to 
handle it?

-- Jerry Acord