Interstellar travel on supercrusie

Ixnatifual

Ixnatifual
I wonder if someone will do something crazy like travel between two very close systems on supercruise. Leave your computer on for a few years, depending on supercruise travel speed, and see how the game handles it.

Supercruise is said to be a significant fraction of the speed of light. Proxima Centarui IIRC is about 3 light years away from us, but there are probably systems around that are a lot closer. Perhaps the jouurney could be done within a year if you find the right spot and supercruise maximum speed is high enough (ship dependant?).

Think anyone is crazy enough to try this? I wonder if fuel will be used constantly while on supercruise. Then it probably can't be done.

Edit: Proxima not Alpha
 
Last edited:

Zieman

Zieman
Ixnatifual said:
I wonder if someone will do something crazy like travel between two very close systems on supercruise. Leave your computer on for a few years, depending on supercruise travel speed, and see how the game handles it.

Supercruise is said to be a significant fraction of the speed of light. Alpha Centarui IIRC is about 3 light years away from us, but there are probably systems around that are a lot closer. Perhaps the jouurney could be done within a year if you find the right spot and supercruise maximum speed is high enough (ship dependant?).

Think anyone is crazy enough to try this? I wonder if fuel will be used constantly while on supercruise. Then it probably can't be done.
Click to expand...
I bet there are many in game reasons for not being able to do that. But if it was possible - no matter if anyone ever tries it or not - it would be really cool!
 

Pyros

P
Ixnatifual said:
I wonder if someone will do something crazy like travel between two very close systems on supercruise. Leave your computer on for a few years, depending on supercruise travel speed, and see how the game handles it.

Supercruise is said to be a significant fraction of the speed of light. Alpha Centarui IIRC is about 3 light years away from us, but there are probably systems around that are a lot closer. Perhaps the jouurney could be done within a year if you find the right spot and supercruise maximum speed is high enough (ship dependant?).

Think anyone is crazy enough to try this? I wonder if fuel will be used constantly while on supercruise. Then it probably can't be done.
Click to expand...

@.2c (including instantaneous acceleration) it would take over 20 years to reach Proxima Centauri (4.24 Ly). Can your computer stay on, without crashing, running a program for 20+ years? :p

@.5c => about eight and a half years

No idea how fast ships will go on FSD, FD has said it would be a fraction of the speed of the light, and that makes sense. Although if it was to be practical for full system travel (for a game) superluminal would almost be a requirement (for example, Pluto is on average about 340 light minutes from the Sun - spending about 6 hours just to get to Pluto...). But we can also hyperjump inside a solar system, between POIs.

And no, as far as we know there are no closer than Proxima Centauri stars from the Sun. There are a ton of them farther away though... :D
 

Ixnatifual

Ixnatifual
Well, our own solar system doesn't have to be involved. Surely there must be two star systems out there that are closer to each other than we are to Proxima Centauri.

What happens if you log out while inbetween systems? Do you get teleported to a station or are you in the same spot when you log back in?

Of course if you're out of fuel within half an hour and then are dropped out of supercruise the effort should be fairly futile.
 
Last edited:

alchemy42

A
I would think aiming for another system would be the tricky bit if you could go via supercruise.

If your half a degree off, spread over light years, would put you way off course.
 

Voyager_NL

Voyager_NL
Slawkenbergius said:
Yep. Supercruise requires fuel, and so once you've run out you'd drop back to normal speed (max 500m/s).
Click to expand...

Which also requires some fuel which you just depleted so you will also loose speed there (or not if you press FAOFF at that exact moment). To sum it up: you'll be floating endlesly in open space.
 

Associat0r

A
Months ago Michael Brookes said that supercruise wouldn't be anywhere near lightspeed, but in the latest Egde, David Braben said that supercruise will be close to lightspeed.
 

Ixnatifual

Ixnatifual
Voyager_NL said:
Which also requires some fuel which you just depleted so you will also loose speed there (or not if you press FAOFF at that exact moment). To sum it up: you'll be floating endlesly in open space.
Click to expand...
Well at least you'll have some spare time on your hands.
 

Zieman

Zieman
Significant fraction is quite broad definition.

Go David, make it 0.99 c - ditch relativity in this case! :D

Hmm, if the Supercruise isn't achieved by conventional propulsion, the ship isn't moving in the conventional sense, so no need to think about Einsteins theories then.
 
Last edited:

Mephane

Mephane
Woah, wait wait. I was under the impression only the hyperdrive would require consumable fuel. Did I miss something where they said that fuel would be required for all types of movement?
 

Cmdr Eagleboy

Cmdr Eagleboy
Mephane said:
Woah, wait wait. I was under the impression only the hyperdrive would require consumable fuel. Did I miss something where they said that fuel would be required for all types of movement?
Click to expand...

In-system travel DDF proposal will cover it for ya.

Both mini-jumps and supercruise will consume fuel. You will have to decide which one to do use, because jumps will use it less.
 

Cmdr Eagleboy

Cmdr Eagleboy
In recent interview (I won't recall in which one) David said that supercruise will be very close to light speed. So no 0.2C, but I guess much more closer 0.8 or 0.9C.
 

Pyros

P
Zieman said:
Significant fraction is quite broad definition.

Go David, make it 0.99 c - ditch relativity in this case! :D

Hmm, if the Supercruise isn't achieved by conventional propulsion, the ship isn't moving in the conventional sense, so no need to think about Einsteins theories then.
Click to expand...

Actually for a more or less accurate simulation, even without reaching light speed (something impossible) you'd get into the pesky effects of relativistic speed.

But this is a game :)

Anyway, it for the case in question (traveling between systems) whether it is .2c or .8c - still quite a few years. It makes difference for intra-system travel, and that is a good reason to up the speed.
 

Tinman

Tinman
Karl said:
Is between system travel even seamless in the first place?
Click to expand...

According to a comment in this forum from way back by Mike Evans it is. Although, since the game isn't built with this in mind there will probably be rendering errors and other forms of glitches if you somehow managed to cross the void this way. This, of course, being impossible since you will run out of fuel and have ship malfunctions looooong before that ever happens. ;)
 

Memnoch

M
This is the kind of thing that I would definitely have tried. For instance, in Daggerfall I walked all the way from the mainland to the Summerset Isle. Shame you would run out of fuel way before then.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom