I’m trying to figure out an alternative drive for a hybrid game. It functions similar to a stutterwarp in that it requires a gravitational body to recharge in before jumping. But I’m getting stuck on an appropriate hyperlimit and wanted to know what folks thought could serve as acceptable limits. I’m not entirely stuck on the reality of it but just want an ability to look at a stellar mass/radius or planetary body mass/radius/g-rating to mathematically come up with the “limit.”
The technobabble is that it is a variant of the Alcubierre drive where it creates a gravity wave that the vessel ‘surfs’ at speeds greater than (c). The limits to the drive are that it creates a wave that, if it impacts another source of gravity, it mimics a bug on a windshield. So, when jumping into a system, the ship must disperse the wave a certain ‘limit’ or distance before reaching a stellar mass or planetary body.
The drive efficiency and range is based on the mass of the vessel. A smaller ship generates a wave that is smaller, less susceptible to detection, and can reach much greater speeds. A larger ship creates a wave that is much larger and slower but it sustains itself better and can reach greater distances. Technobabble explains this as a trade off between power use/wave creation/and the ability of the vessel to sustain itself within a wave. The wave creates a ‘wake’ that is projected front and back of vessel based on the size of the vessel/distance traveled. It is this forward wave that causes the risk to the vessel when approaching a stellar mass/solar system.
Speeds range from 0.03c per day to 0.6c per day. Range is from 1ly(for small vessels) to about 5.3ly(capital ships).
(I have all that math worked out)
I don’t want the drive to be very functional within a solar system. It can be used for jumps between extreme planetary bodies, provided they do not pass the star, but I prefer sublight within systems. But I can’t figure out, since bodies orbit at different rates, what would be a nice (passably explainable) hyperlimit.
Note that the drive is much more efficient fuel-wise than a J-drive or even the stutterwarp.
100Diameter makes the drive very efficient in-system. Too much so for my taste. I tried using a function of the diameter*surface gravity*distance traveled (as the larger vessel has a much greater sized wave, it would need to stop further out).
Are there any alternative measurements out there that can be easily computed from the stellar measurements or planetary measurements? The less complicated the better since I already have enough math floating around to make my liberal arts degree surrender in tears…
(As an FYI, the setting is built within Astrosynthesis, so I have the ability to plot orbital positions at any given time, mass, radius, gravity, etc. of all bodies).
The technobabble is that it is a variant of the Alcubierre drive where it creates a gravity wave that the vessel ‘surfs’ at speeds greater than (c). The limits to the drive are that it creates a wave that, if it impacts another source of gravity, it mimics a bug on a windshield. So, when jumping into a system, the ship must disperse the wave a certain ‘limit’ or distance before reaching a stellar mass or planetary body.
The drive efficiency and range is based on the mass of the vessel. A smaller ship generates a wave that is smaller, less susceptible to detection, and can reach much greater speeds. A larger ship creates a wave that is much larger and slower but it sustains itself better and can reach greater distances. Technobabble explains this as a trade off between power use/wave creation/and the ability of the vessel to sustain itself within a wave. The wave creates a ‘wake’ that is projected front and back of vessel based on the size of the vessel/distance traveled. It is this forward wave that causes the risk to the vessel when approaching a stellar mass/solar system.
Speeds range from 0.03c per day to 0.6c per day. Range is from 1ly(for small vessels) to about 5.3ly(capital ships).
(I have all that math worked out)
I don’t want the drive to be very functional within a solar system. It can be used for jumps between extreme planetary bodies, provided they do not pass the star, but I prefer sublight within systems. But I can’t figure out, since bodies orbit at different rates, what would be a nice (passably explainable) hyperlimit.
Note that the drive is much more efficient fuel-wise than a J-drive or even the stutterwarp.
100Diameter makes the drive very efficient in-system. Too much so for my taste. I tried using a function of the diameter*surface gravity*distance traveled (as the larger vessel has a much greater sized wave, it would need to stop further out).
Are there any alternative measurements out there that can be easily computed from the stellar measurements or planetary measurements? The less complicated the better since I already have enough math floating around to make my liberal arts degree surrender in tears…
(As an FYI, the setting is built within Astrosynthesis, so I have the ability to plot orbital positions at any given time, mass, radius, gravity, etc. of all bodies).
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