Type-6 as fast as an Eagle.... Come on....
- Thread starter kiario
- Start date
Well, the speed in space is determined by the power of propulsion and the weight of the ship. Why do you think the power to weight ratio is better on the Eagle than the Type 6?
Depends on the outfit I guess.
Mass does not matter in space.
A type-6 should not have the build strength to go as fast as a fighter.
What will happen when we get to enter atmosphere? Surely then the type-6 should have no chanse at top speed compared to eagle
Mass does matter, everywhere. Hence the slower acceleration. Due to more mass. And mass has absolutely nothing with top speed, only with the time needed to reach it - and breaking, of course.
The word you're looking for is inertia, and you're correct - mass matters
> should be
If there's a universal equation used that applies to mass and thrust... it's a tough ask to say anything 'should be' other than it is already.
If there's a universal equation used that applies to mass and thrust... it's a tough ask to say anything 'should be' other than it is already.
Well we are talking about space flight here so invalid point. no drag in space
If you put the same aircraft with the same rockets on them in space they would eventually go the same speed in space, only mass would effect them initially. i.e lighter would accelerate faster but it would even out over a bit of time.
You are defeating your own argument "weight does not matter in space" - which is correct.
The more massive a spaceship is (strong, thick armor, strong thrusters) - a large ship with no consideration to size or maneuverability is not a priority, could be as fast as its thrusters's limitations, and having a heavy build is advantageous to be able to push the entire ship with more force without the fear of the thrusters straining its frame beyond their structural integrity.
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It's strange to to hear people discuss how "fast" should ships be when speed limits themselves are not a thing in the real world and are in the game just so that it's possible to have interesting combat.
And I'm quite sure that professional designers at FD know better which arbitrary speed limits are better for the game.
I thought that given an endless supply of fuel you would go faster and faster (ie no top speed, ignoring c limitations) and therefore the less-massive ship would basically accelerate away and never be caught ?
Yes. That's why there are speed limits in this game: otherwise ships with lower acceleration would never be able to catch ships with higher acceleration, and having interesting combat would be impossible.
Yes and no.
Yes, if the game had real physics, you could keep accelerating so long as you had fuel to burn. In I-War 2 you could do this, and it was hilarious; your speed would get so high, it couldn't be measured, and you'd be shaking so hard it felt like the ship was about to explode.
But no, FD do not necessarily know which arbitrary speed limits are better for the game. That's why they had a beta - ultimately, it's a matter of continued testing and balancing, based on how ships perform in certain contexts, and how they're being used.
Yeah, but since we have a speed cap the Eagle should therefore be significantly faster than the Type-6. That is what I mean.
No, the Hercules is not faster, but that is due to several reasons. One, it is a prop plane, two it is a plane, meaning it is a craft built to solely fly in an earth like atmosphere (of which Earths is the most earth like you get) and it is built with a different goal in mind. The main limiting factor with planes is, in all actuality, the atmosphere, which forces certain designs if you want to achieve certain goals. A properly built jet plane will always be more powerful, more speedy and more maneauverable than a propeller driven plane, as it can go faster than the sound, which no propeller driven plane can.
However, in space there is no atmosphere and while a Type-6 is bigger and has more mass, it does not have to fight against an atmosphere, so it will just use its much more powerful engines to overcome its inertia can, most likely, end up with a higher top speed. The other thing, though, because of inertia an Eagle, being built as a light fighter and even though it has less powerful engines, can take the g-forces, which are still very much present in space, much better than a Type-6, which is built to haul goods from point A to point B. Which explains the nimbleness of the Eagle in comparison to the Type-6.
Although, one of the problems in game is the rate at which they can update positions, which is what made them limit top speed to 500 and enforce, to me, arbitrary limits on the top speeds of ships.
We could also use another analogy, rockets, a Saturn V will initally be much slower than a sidewinder and is certainly less maneauverable, but the Saturn V will have, even though it has more mass, a higher end speed.