Add a "Tow Cable" Weapon

[john_obrien]

Adding a "Tow Cable Weapon", that could fit in a small hard point, would allow for the creation of a couple different new kinds of play. I'm imagining something which you can shoot at another ship, and magnetically sticks to there hull, and then allows you to pull them behind you.

Say you are in combat, and your FSD drive get's killed. The majority of the time, you've likely to be as good as dead. Maybe a reboot repair will fix it, maybe you have an AFMU. Then again, maybe not.

If another player (or maybe even an NPC, the "AAA towing" of 3303) could tow you, you could be towed back to a station to get repaired. Also, there could be new missions where NPCs request a tow, and you have to try to tow them out before pirates kill them, etc. Maybe the relative masses of the ships determine how easy it is to tow the other ship, maybe you have to go at a certain speed or the tow cable detaches. Maybe you could use the tow cable to fling space debris at other ships.

You could have a tow cable on the SRV, and go out and pull other SRVs out of a ditch.

 

[Râgnôs]

While I like the idea, I'm torn between thinking that the heavier ships would need larger hard points and the idea that a limpet based version would be better.

While attached to another ship the FSD and the engines would have to account for the extra mass. Not to mention the number of ships that would crash into you upon you having to brake suddenly.

What happens jumping in an out of supercruise?
Is a cable enough to keep another ship attached?
Can they fight it/cut the cable?
How do the other ship struggles affect your ship?
God forbid if "we" get interdicted/hyperdicted while towing?
What if I lock a cable on and they jump?

And of course, most importantly:
CAN I HURL ANOTHER SHIP INTO A PLANET AT RELATIVISTIC SPEEDS?

Also unless there was some kind of module (or upgrade) to boost the FSD's mass limit (or somehow link your FSD with theirs) it's likely you wouldn't jump very far.
I think the code-monkeys would more likely stab the higher-ups then work this out.

 

[trollson]

While I like the idea, can you imagine how expensive the processing will be when multiple ships are strung together in a web of cables, each trying to go its own way?

 

[Jaylem]

Yeah, then all we need it a Snow Planet, some walking tanks and a few sidewinders and we got ourselves a galactic adventure

 

[john_obrien]

While I like the idea, I'm torn between thinking that the heavier ships would need larger hard points and the idea that a limpet based version would be better.

While attached to another ship the FSD and the engines would have to account for the extra mass. Not to mention the number of ships that would crash into you upon you having to brake suddenly.

What happens jumping in an out of supercruise?
Is a cable enough to keep another ship attached?
Can they fight it/cut the cable?
How do the other ship struggles affect your ship?
God forbid if "we" get interdicted/hyperdicted while towing?
What if I lock a cable on and they jump?

And of course, most importantly:
CAN I HURL ANOTHER SHIP INTO A PLANET AT RELATIVISTIC SPEEDS?

Also unless there was some kind of module (or upgrade) to boost the FSD's mass limit (or somehow link your FSD with theirs) it's likely you wouldn't jump very far.
I think the code-monkeys would more likely stab the higher-ups then work this out.

I really like you're thinking through some of the details regarding the mass limit of the FSD. I'd LOVE it if the game took into account some of these nuances; imagine of there was a "tug boat" ship, that had a small mass itself, but had a large-for-it's-size FSD drive so that it could pull other ships into supercruise. Maybe if it did so when the other ships hardpoints/fuel scoop/landing gear were deployed, the other ships hardpoints/fuel scoop/landing gear were *ripped off*/destroyed.

Wouldn't that be interesting?

 

[The New Number Two]

The FSD doesn't accelerate you to any real speed, it produces a space-time warp bubble around your ship that detaches you from real space (and time dilation), and basically compresses the space in front of you to slide you forward, like bunching up a blanket at your head, passing it underneath you while simultaneously spreading it back out once it's past your feet.

This is why you don't immediately vaporise when you hit a sun or planet at 50 C. Your ship is not actually moving forward relative to the collided object. The bubble just pops, space around you nomalizes instantly, and you reappear in normal space at zero speed.

A ship without an operational drive could not be towed at FTL, as the working FSD of the towing vessel would not be able to rectify either the extra mass or the configuration of surfaces on another ship into its required quantum calculations.

The bubble would never form in the first place.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive?wprov=sfla1

Now for an SRV? Totally worth doing. FD could steal the Just Cause tethers. Then you could link all the cargo canisters and escape pods from a POI together and drag them back to your ship in one trip. Or lasso two skimmers and smash them together.

 

[StiTch]

Everyone knows what these get used for when provided.

Spoiler

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

Bah, there's a movie somewhere of a car chase with a car being dragged along behind it on a cable. Lol

That's all I imagine. Shane I can't remember the movie or TV show!

Back on topic, it'd be fun to be able to tow ships in PvE as a support role.
Using it for piracy would be pretty funny too, but dangerous if the other ship isn't disabled.

 

[The New Number Two]

Bah, there's a movie somewhere of a car chase with a car being dragged along behind it on a cable. Lol

That's all I imagine. Shane I can't remember the movie or TV show!

Back on topic, it'd be fun to be able to tow ships in PvE as a support role.
Using it for piracy would be pretty funny too, but dangerous if the other ship isn't disabled.

Con Air has a Chevy Corvette getting towed behind a C-123 cargo plane.

 

[Rojo Habe]

The FSD doesn't accelerate you to any real speed, it produces a space-time warp bubble around your ship that detaches you from real space (and time dilation), and basically compresses the space in front of you to slide you forward, like bunching up a blanket at your head, passing it underneath you while simultaneously spreading it back out once it's past your feet.

This is why you don't immediately vaporise when you hit a sun or planet at 50 C. Your ship is not actually moving forward relative to the collided object. The bubble just pops, space around you nomalizes instantly, and you reappear in normal space at zero speed.

A ship without an operational drive could not be towed at FTL, as the working FSD of the towing vessel would not be able to rectify either the extra mass or the configuration of surfaces on another ship into its required quantum calculations.

The bubble would never form in the first place.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive?wprov=sfla1

Now for an SRV? Totally worth doing. FD could steal the Just Cause tethers. Then you could link all the cargo canisters and escape pods from a POI together and drag them back to your ship in one trip. Or lasso two skimmers and smash them together.

It has been stated on a number of occasions that the FSD is NOT an Alcubierre drive. It's made up physics and if they wanted it to be used to tow people for gameplay reasons there no reason why they couldn't. Whether that's something they'd want to do is another matter, however. I like the idea though.

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

Con Air has a Chevy Corvette getting towed behind a C-123 cargo plane.

I love that movie, but it's not the one I'm thinking of. Lol

They use the towed car as a wrecking ball of sorts. Could even have been a motorbike. Or I've watch two movies/shows with similar things. Lol

Terminator Salvation did it didn't it? Gah.. curse my poor memory and/or watching too many movies!

 

[The New Number Two]

It has been stated on a number of occasions that the FSD is NOT an Alcubierre drive. It's made up physics and if they wanted it to be used to tow people for gameplay reasons there no reason why they couldn't. Whether that's something they'd want to do is another matter, however. I like the idea though.

Really? That's strange.

It is a form of Alcubierre warp drive (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive) as I understand it whilst you're cruising around within a system. As you suggest the hyperspace aspect is more likely some kind of Einstein-Rosen bridge affair.

There isn't much behind this that I'm aware of I'm afraid, though it might be fun to write a 'The Physics of Elite: Dangerous'

Cheers,

Drew.

 

[Rojo Habe]

All respect to Drew, but the key words there are "a form of" and "as I understand it".

Here's a link to another person who doesn't work for FD:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/106861-DCello-s-Science-Guide-to-the-Galaxy

 

[The New Number Two]

All respect to Drew, but the key words there are "a form of" and "as I understand it".

Here's a link to another person who doesn't work for FD:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/106861-DCello-s-Science-Guide-to-the-Galaxy

You mean the guy who spends the first part of his Supercruise chapter insisting it's NOT an Alcubierre drive, and the rest of the section describing an Alcubierre drive? I read it.

Pretty sure the guy who works for FD, whether technically right or wrong, is right.

I'm going to respectfully leave it here. In my opinion, the FSD as described in ED lore is not capable of generating enough power to support a second massive object via a cable or other connecting construct. Nor do I believe that FDev would ever spend the resources necessary to make such a mechanic work in-game. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Rojo Habe]

I wasn't trying to be antagonistic. The point I'm making is, the Frame Shift Drive is a science fiction concept, based on shifting one's frame of reference within the univerrse, and has no basis in real science. the Alcubierre Drive is a theoretical concept, and one hasn't been built: may not even be possible. This is a computer game, and whatever works for a good narrative is fair game, so long as it doesn't stretch credibility to breaking point, and works within its own rules.

We've cited three sources: Wikipedia, a science fiction author who, while licenced to publish official Elite novels, is in no other way employed by frontier, and a player, who as far as I know is also not employed by Frontier. I'm fairly sure I've seen quotes from Frontier staff somewhere that it isn't an Alcubierre drive, but it's not really important. If they've never claimed it to be such, they can make it whatever they need it to be.

Not that any of this matters. The OP came up with a cool idea, one I repped him for, whether it's a theoretical possiblily or not.

 

[Siobhan]

Adding a "Tow Cable Weapon", that could fit in a small hard point, would allow for the creation of a couple different new kinds of play. I'm imagining something which you can shoot at another ship, and magnetically sticks to there hull, and then allows you to pull them behind you.

Say you are in combat, and your FSD drive get's killed. The majority of the time, you've likely to be as good as dead. Maybe a reboot repair will fix it, maybe you have an AFMU. Then again, maybe not.

If another player (or maybe even an NPC, the "AAA towing" of 3303) could tow you, you could be towed back to a station to get repaired. Also, there could be new missions where NPCs request a tow, and you have to try to tow them out before pirates kill them, etc. Maybe the relative masses of the ships determine how easy it is to tow the other ship, maybe you have to go at a certain speed or the tow cable detaches. Maybe you could use the tow cable to fling space debris at other ships.

You could have a tow cable on the SRV, and go out and pull other SRVs out of a ditch.

A few of the ship models actually have a tow cable... one that's obvious is the sidewinder.