RE: [FT] A thought on that vector movement problem

>>Thus if you do MD 6, rotate 90 degrees and
>>push 2, you've used 100% of your turn for Main Drive + 100% for your
Thruster
>> = 200%.

>According to FB they are separate systems so its 100% of each as stated
>above, but 100% of your total combined propulsion system (drive +
thrusters)
>not 200%.

Yes and no - it depends on your choice of drive.

The only way to logically achieve something akin to th8, rotate port 3,
push 3
more inside 1 turn is to assume 'impulse' type drives where the
acceleration is
applied near-instantaneously at the start of the turn (a'la orion drives
- drop
a nuke behind the ship at the start of the turn to speed up).  This also
fits
the fact that in FT, the current turn's acceleration is added to this
turn's
movement.  Of course, if you are using orion-type drives, then your
rear-arc
should be relatively impossible to damage (it's MADE to withstand
repeated
nuclear explosions!).  And thruster pushes are out anyway - unless you
also have
all the other surfaces on your ship armored the same way.

Now if you assume non-impulse drives (acceleration applied continuously
over the
course of the turn) then your above refutation is wrong.  As laserlight
stated
above, you took 100% of the turn length to thrust MD, _before_ you could
turn to
do the thrust push, which would require another 2/3 of the turn
(assuming turns
are near-instantaneous) to thrust 2.  You simply don't have the time to
do that.
'course if you use non-impulse drives and are concerned about the
physics of the
situation you should only apply half of that acceleration this turn (and
you
thought SMLs were easy to hit with before!)

Which type of drive you use depends on personal preference of course.  I
greatly
prefer non-impulse myself. In fact I agree with others that the thruster
pushes
are a fine mechanic, just not reasonable depending on your technological
assumptions.  But laserlight stated why they are not logical (but didn't
state
the assumptions he was operating under) and you refuted, so felt another
refutation was in order.

I think Keith Watt's Solar Thrust is the closest I've seen yet to
realistic, and
the next major step he could make is to apply 1/2 thrust in the turn of
acceleration.  I don't believe DT Fusion drives are impulse based.

Jared

-= tim jones =-