RE: Vector Rules / Inertial dampers

Status: RO

> Adding more faggots to the Burning Heretic of Vector Movement
> 
> What about inertial dampers then? The ships in FT must have them
> otherwise the accelerations they make would liquify the crew. I
> don't know if anyone has worked out the G force of a Thrust of +3
> but I imagine its got to be pretty high and if we take Star Trek or
> Honor Harrington then we're in the region of 500g. You have to have
> inertial dampers or you're salsa.
> 
> If you have inertial dampers why can't you use them to remove your
> rotational inertia?

We can't work out the acceleration represented by 1 thrust point, as 
we don't know the the mass represented by one mass, the distance 
represented by 1 inch or the time represented by 1 turn. I did 
produce a working system that had 1 inch = 1000 km and 1 turn = about 
20 minutes.

Problem is that the rotation and accelerations in FT take place in a 
time much shorter than that of the turn. (Hence the results are 
instantaneous: if you apply 4 thrust, your velocity goes up by 4 at 
once, not next turn.)

If we assume that the time for acceleration is about 1/10 of a turn
or 2 minutes then 1 thrust is about 0.7 g. So even Thrust 8 burns
would be no more than 6 g. well within the limits of human tolerance
provided the crew are strapped in, etc.

(Read 'The Reality Dysfunction' by Peter Hamilton, the first chapter 
on its own has combat vessels moving around with 8g plus 
acceleratios and throwing unmanned combat drones at each other at 40 
g plus accelerations. No inertial dampers here: the crew are strapped 
down and those passengers who don't get to their acceleration couches 
in time are in trouble...)

In a setting with inertialess drives and artificial garvity then 
inertial dampers would exist and would allow much higher 
accelerations.

But a vector movement system assumes that such technology does not 
exist.

(My personal game universe has some artificial gravity and does allow 
the crew to move around during combat, but the drives are still 
reaction based and so I use a vector movement system. Those races 
with better gravity control can maneuver with higher thrust as the 
crew are better protected.)

	Steve

--
"And all I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by."
"Though a cloaking device, pulsed phaser cannons
 and a full load of quantum torpedoes would be quite nice too." 

Stephen Richard Pugh	 http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/estate/ax16