Headlights in FTL

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The space tyrant

T
So there I was, playing the game, minding my own business in super cruise... I had a very long supercruise trip to a nearby star. The ETA display in this game doesn't really work so even tho I didn't know exactly how much time to the other star, I knew it was going to be a while.

Anyways, I decided to use the 'classified camera' and watch my ship warping around from the outside... when I was 'in front' of my ship looking back into the cockpit I realized my headlights were on.


Wait a minute... headlights? My ship was traveling at roughy 50c and climbing at this point, how the heck is the light from my headlights accelerating faster than my ship to reach my 'classified camera'?

It was at this moment that my immersion was shattered. FD can't even get basic physics right. Please fix this so I can play the game.

Thanks.
 

Wylie28

W
You aren't actually moving when in supercruise. You are warping space around you. Its not FD that have physics wrong its you, things don't go ftl.
 
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Clicker

Clicker
Ok, so I'm no expert with physics...

Your classified camera speed, compared with your ship, is zero...you are both going the same speed.
Therefore, relatively speeking, the light still travels toward you at light speed?

That is, if your ship is travelling at, say 100c, and your camera is 100c, the light from your ship's headlights, therefore is 101c.

Yes?
No?
Maybe?

Clicker
 

The space tyrant

T
Clicker said:
Ok, so I'm no expert with physics...

Your classified camera speed, compared with your ship, is zero...you are both going the same speed.
Therefore, relatively speeking, the light still travels toward you at light speed?

That is, if your ship is travelling at, say 100c, and your camera is 100c, the light from your ship's headlights, therefore is 101c.

Yes?
No?
Maybe?

Clicker
Click to expand...

But light doesn't have momentum. Light can only go 1C. No more, no less.

Lightspeed is always constant (C) which means it always appears at the speed of light no matter the relativity of anything else. If you were 99% the speed of light, light would still appear to be going away from you at the speed of light (but really time would just be much slower for you, so even though an outside observer would see light travelling 1% faster than you, you would see light moving away at 100% the speed of light... also everything would appear much closer than it is)

If you moved at the speed of light, you'd experience no time, and there'd be nowhere to move because all matter would appear in the same exact place to you. So...


What the heck is going on FD!

I demand you resolve how headlights are supposed to function in an FSD-FTL scenario!


My immersion.....
 

Brian of Ardagh

B
Waagenator said:
But light doesn't have momentum. Light can only go 1C. No more, no less.

Lightspeed is always constant (C) which means it always appears at the speed of light no matter the relativity of anything else. If you were 99% the speed of light, light would still appear to be going away from you at the speed of light (but really time would just be much slower for you, so even though an outside observer would see light travelling 1% faster than you, you would see light moving away at 100% the speed of light... also everything would appear much closer than it is)

If you moved at the speed of light, you'd experience no time, and there'd be nowhere to move because all matter would appear in the same exact place to you. So...


What the heck is going on FD!

I demand you resolve how headlights are supposed to function in an FSD-FTL scenario!


My immersion.....
Click to expand...

Technically speaking light can travel slower than c, c is a constant which is the speed of light in a vacuum.

Wylie has the explanation correct, the FSD compresses space in front of your ship. The idea of the FSD is based on the Alcubierre drive, a theoretical space warping drive. Your ship never gets near c so it never experiences relativistic effects. So no problem with the light reaching your classified camera.
 

The space tyrant

T
OK, maybe the camera is close enough that it's under the effects of FSD as well.

The only thing to do then is find out if the ship model is visible in super cruise.

I will Park near a station and watch a friend approach me at 1.01 C. If I see headlights before the ship reaches me then my immersion is ruined



---- Edit


Actually, forget the headlights. If I see the ship at all then my immersion is ruined.
 
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AlexAndTheDJ

A
Waagenator said:
So there I was, playing the game, minding my own business in super cruise... I had a very long supercruise trip to a nearby star. The ETA display in this game doesn't really work so even tho I didn't know exactly how much time to the other star, I knew it was going to be a while.

Anyways, I decided to use the 'classified camera' and watch my ship warping around from the outside... when I was 'in front' of my ship looking back into the cockpit I realized my headlights were on.


Wait a minute... headlights? My ship was traveling at roughy 50c and climbing at this point, how the heck is the light from my headlights accelerating faster than my ship to reach my 'classified camera'?

It was at this moment that my immersion was shattered. FD can't even get basic physics right. Please fix this so I can play the game.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Too many of these very lame immersion troll threads. No originality.
 

Bran Tse Mallory

Bran Tse Mallory
AlexAndTheDJ said:
Too many of these very lame immersion troll threads. No originality.
Click to expand...

I know but he's really trying. I think maybe he's still hurting over the whole eet thing and him never reading the manual... Or the fleas of a thousand camels have infested his arms pits causing uncontrollable arm flapping resulting in these threads.

Frontline may help.
 
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Bacalao

Bacalao
So the fact that you're going 50C and can still see the stars and planets around you doesn't shatter your immersion? That's some serious red/blue shifting that should be going on there.
 
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Falcon_D

Falcon_D
Hello,
1) If as the OP say about the physics of light, since it's been a verified, observed fact as to how light and physics behave at speeds FTL especially in a warp bubble (by the OP I would imagine, since I haven't heard of anyone else travelling FTL), then wouldn't the camera work as well since no light can bounce of an object and hit the lens.
2) With post after post of why ED sucks because of physics, because we can't warp jump to planets, because of having problems with other people's immersion, why is the OP still playing this game?
 

babelfisch

babelfisch
It's perfectly fine to ask question about real physics, physics in game, theories on FTL, lore and gameplay. Most people here are very nice and helpful. They also thought about many problems long before you did, so reading their replies carefully and unbiased might help you understanding.

I suggest you start by reading this article:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive
 

Agony_Aunt

Agony_Aunt
Waagenator said:
OK, maybe the camera is close enough that it's under the effects of FSD as well.

The only thing to do then is find out if the ship model is visible in super cruise.

I will Park near a station and watch a friend approach me at 1.01 C. If I see headlights before the ship reaches me then my immersion is ruined



---- Edit


Actually, forget the headlights. If I see the ship at all then my immersion is ruined.
Click to expand...

You can't see ships in SC when you are not in SC yourself anyway. Immersion restored!

If you are talking about sitting at 30km/s in SC and watching, well, yes, we can see each other because if we couldn't the game would be worse for it. If you need a headcanon reason for it, its wibbly wobbly timey wimey.
 

Deleted member 38366

D
The FTL bubble encloses not just your Ship. It's actually quite a tad bigger than the Ship's structure itself - hence your Headlights and the light they produce travel well inside that FTL bubble created by the FSD ;)

Have a look at those FTL bubbles from other Ships visible in SC. They're quite big (and arguably darn bright from a close distance).
 

Alex Brentnall

Alex Brentnall
Siranui said:
I nearly wasted breath on an explanation too, before I realised OP was trolling again. :/
Click to expand...

I still find it funny of all the truly broken physics in the game the OP went for this something that's specifically explained in the lore. I mean he/she could totally have gone for the speed cap in normal space or the G forces entailed by boosting etc etc but no he/she went for something thats actually covered by the lore and technology used.

Anyway OP has their answer, camera is inside space bubble :)
 

Tataboj

T
Waagenator said:
So there I was, playing the game, minding my own business in super cruise... I had a very long supercruise trip to a nearby star. The ETA display in this game doesn't really work so even tho I didn't know exactly how much time to the other star, I knew it was going to be a while.

Anyways, I decided to use the 'classified camera' and watch my ship warping around from the outside... when I was 'in front' of my ship looking back into the cockpit I realized my headlights were on.


Wait a minute... headlights? My ship was traveling at roughy 50c and climbing at this point, how the heck is the light from my headlights accelerating faster than my ship to reach my 'classified camera'?

It was at this moment that my immersion was shattered. FD can't even get basic physics right. Please fix this so I can play the game.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

"Is okay with his ship moving at 50c"
"Says Frontier can't get it right when headlights are on in SC"
 

Jack Schitt

Jack Schitt
Jack Schitt said:
To be honest, I still can't make my mind up [whether the OP is trolling or not] [...]
Click to expand...

If only there was some way to be sure one way or the other...

Waagenator said:
It was at this moment that my immersion was shattered
Click to expand...

And there it is. If nothing else this thread has solved my uncertainty. OP is trolling. Quite artfully it has to be said, but the problem with trolling -- even subtle trolling -- is that every new iteration builds up the body of evidence until it reaches the tipping point.

Tipping point reached.

I'll waste no more time discussing the points raised in any of the OP's threads because it's now clear that anything we bring to the table has already been read and/or will be ignored. I made a stab at his MO in one of the other threads, and I have every reason to believe it was spot on.

  • Search the DDA and/or forum archives
  • Find an idea that was often discussed, was maybe a bit contentious but hasn't been mentioned for a while
  • Create a new thread to suggest it as a feature

    popbeer160.png
  • When that thread drops off the front page, rinse and repeat
  • Don't forget the snarky preemptive signature block
Good luck in the future, Waagy. No doubt you'll hook a fair number of easy biters, but I'm getting out of this pond.
 
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