General Gravity effects on spaceship acceleration

[Grav_Moped]

I was not asking about rewriting the entire space combat system. I was thinking something something more simple like a remain undamaged roll when you make use of Auto/Evade like:

"Using Auto/Evade carries risk due to rapid changes in vector and acceleration while in use. Crew members need to make an Average (+0) Endurance roll to avoid damage. DMs:
-Auto/Evade level
-4 if crewmember not strapped in (performing repairs, moving to a smallcraft or other such activities)

Failing causes damage equal to ((Gs acceleration)/2+Auto/Evade) D6. Exceptional Failure causes unconsciousness regardless of damage taken."

There are two mishap opportunities that ought to be separated:

1. Over-G blackout, which is much more likely when standing or walking. Extended exposure can cause cardiopulmonary failure and brain damage after blackout occurs. Resisting this is function of STR and END, and perhaps 0-G Combat or Vacc Suit (assuming these skills include training for varying gravity).

This can lead to, but isn't necessarily the only cause of:
2. Injury from falling down (either from blacking out or from failing to adapt to varying acceleration or ship rotation). This isn't going to happen in an acceleration couch or strapped to a bunk, but might in an ordinary chair.

Resisting falling down is a function of DEX, 0-G Combat, and maybe Vacc Suit as above.

Blacking out from acceleration forces (see above) precludes making any skill checks to avoid injury from falling down.

Falling down and landing unconscious in other than a supine position may result in subsequent enhanced blackout injury (brain damage, cardiopulmonary failure) under extended exposure to high acceleration due to sub-optimal circulation and respiration.

 

[whartung]

StarFleet Battles use, IIRC, 30 (or 60?) second turns, where speed of 1 = lightspeed, and game speeds go up to 31 (32+ for non-ships), which means making some pretty involved choices in 2 seconds (or less). Unless there are special rules about time dilation under warp drive . . .

It's best not to try to project any physical elements on to SFB. SFB turns are 32 impulses long, distances are measured in hexes . That's pretty much all you can do, otherwise your head explodes.

(It's another reason my SFB fiction is dreadful...)

"Engineer, takes us to warp 3.5643 for 27 femptobleems" Gah! Awful.

 

[BRover]

It's best not to try to project any physical elements on to SFB. SFB turns are 32 impulses long, distances are measured in hexes . That's pretty much all you can do, otherwise your head explodes.

:xh::xh::xh:

And then there are orbits that last 6 minutes--'cause the satellite/ship is going the speed of light . . .

 

[Otto Harkaman]

Great ideas

I was not asking about rewriting the entire space combat system. I was thinking something something more simple like a remain undamaged roll when you make use of Auto/Evade like:

"Using Auto/Evade carries risk due to rapid changes in vector and acceleration while in use. Crew members need to make an Average (+0) Endurance roll to avoid damage. DMs:
-Auto/Evade level
-4 if crewmember not strapped in (performing repairs, moving to a smallcraft or other such activities)

Failing causes damage equal to ((Gs acceleration)/2+Auto/Evade) D6. Exceptional Failure causes unconsciousness regardless of damage taken."

There are two mishap opportunities that ought to be separated:

1. Over-G blackout, which is much more likely when standing or walking. Extended exposure can cause cardiopulmonary failure and brain damage after blackout occurs. Resisting this is function of STR and END, and perhaps 0-G Combat or Vacc Suit (assuming these skills include training for varying gravity).

This can lead to, but isn't necessarily the only cause of:
2. Injury from falling down (either from blacking out or from failing to adapt to varying acceleration or ship rotation). This isn't going to happen in an acceleration couch or strapped to a bunk, but might in an ordinary chair.

Resisting falling down is a function of DEX, 0-G Combat, and maybe Vacc Suit as above.

Blacking out from acceleration forces (see above) precludes making any skill checks to avoid injury from falling down.

Falling down and landing unconscious in other than a supine position may result in subsequent enhanced blackout injury (brain damage, cardiopulmonary failure) under extended exposure to high acceleration due to sub-optimal circulation and respiration.

Starfire tactical scale is 30s turns.

A map hex is 1/4 light second in size, 75,000 km.

Speed "1" is, I guess, 1/4 speed of light. No, that's not right. Man, my math is not working here (or my pooh brain is suffering a honey deficiency).

Speed 1 is 75,000km in 30s. That means 75,000km/30s, is 2,500km/s. SoL is 300,000km/s, so Speed 1 is 2,500/300,000 = 0.008 the SoL.

I think.

Anyway.

But they do not use reaction drives in Starfire, and they don't have momentum.

I've just been looking at the first edition rules. I was guessing (I) letter for engines meant they were Ion engines but now I can't find anything that supports that, perhaps it means Inertialess. Nice math calculations

Well in Starfire II 1st ed expansion

Game scale
Each hex on the mapsheet represents about half a light-second (93,000 miles), and each turn represents about 10 seconds of real time. The longest ranged weapons (missiles) nearly approach the light speed. No ship can move faster than about 35% of light speed. The fastest fighters can move about 60% of light speed.

I had thought to add vector movement to Starfire but I guess its best just to leave it as super science. I did find in the second edition rules that the engines are referred to as Ion engines, but I guess its easiest to think of them as Inertialess.

Here is how The Expanse RPG deals with it

HIGH-G MANEUVERING
The pilot has the option of going for a high-g evasive maneuver, adding a bonus from +1 to +6 to the maneuver test result, much the same as a high-g maneuver for changing range (see High-g Maneuvering under Maneuvers, previously). This requires the same Constitution (Stamina) test to avoid damage from the maneuver.
EXAMPLE

Needing to pull a high-g maneuver to get the Roci out of danger, Alex yells, “Here comes the juice!” He decides to go for a +3 maneuver bonus, requiring the Roci’s crew to make a TN 11 (base 8 + 3 bonus) Constitution (Stamina) test. If they succeed, they take 1d6 penetrating damage (half of 3 rounded down) but if they fail they take 3d6 penetrating damage. The juice lets them take fatigued and exhausted conditions to reduce the damage by 1d6 and 2d6, respectively, before they take injured or wounded conditions.
A high-g evasive maneuver has another cost—it throws off targeting. If a pilot chooses it, the bonus from the maneuver test also applies as a bonus to the evasion tests of other ships trying to evade the attacks from the pilot’s ship that round.
EXAMPLE

Although Alex’s high-g maneuver is successful, giving him the bonus needed to evade an attack on the Roci, that safety comes with a price: it also grants other ships the +3 bonus to avoid the Roci’s own attacks this round, making it more likely everyone gets missed.

 

[Condottiere]

Fire and forget missiles.