Atmospheric Entry equipment & gameplay

[aahi]

Once on-the-ground planetary exploration will be available it would be great to have equipment to affect atmospheric entry angles. As you enter the atmosphere of a planet you could have an entry vector, similar to the escape vector of a mass lock, that you must follow. Going too shallow would take much longer to enter the atmosphere but going too deep you risk destroying your ship from the high temperatures. the entry vector angle would be determined by the heat shielding properties of the equipment. Better heat sinks would help but i think it needs to go a step beyond and have heat shielding hull plates or insulating tiles (like the ceramic ones on the space shuttle). The more insulating your equipment is, the deeper your entry angle and you reach the planet surface faster.

There could be some great gameplay benefits such as being able to enter an atmosphere at a greater angle than the pirate that is trying to shoot you down and therefore escape him because you invested is more expensive heat shielding. If he follows you he could risk destroying his ship. It could also be a way to save time for planetary surface explorers or to quicken up the frequent visits to the colony you have started on the surface.

Better shielding could be more expensive and heavier which would make you slower in normal space flight but the advantages of better entry angles should be greater than the loss in speed. Different planets with different atmospheres densities and compositions will also affect the entry angle.

what do you guys think?

 

[Susimetsa]

Better heat shields than the ones that currently protect the ships when they are refuelling from _stars_?

Nah, heat shields would be illogical, but other atmospheric entry modules might come necessary for some ship models that are not already aerodynamic. Perhaps these will come when the ships will actually change in their outward appearance with new modules (as in the old design images).

 

[aahi]

good call on the aerodynamics, it will definitely play a part on which ships are better at exploring planet surfaces

 

[Susimetsa]

Really depends on how Frontier defines the "shields". If the shields are really physically there and can interact with atmosphere, then it might merely require specially shaped shields to improve the aerodynamics. But I would personally very much prefer it if the ships themselves needed to be aerodynamic.