Odyssey: An opportunity for tail launched rockets?

Taarakian · Sep 6, 2020

Sanderling said:
That Tug does look kinda awesome indeed!!
Really glad you tried the FAoff stuff and found it more fun.

It is waaaay more fun.
Was hoping to reply sooner but I do value your opinion on this so I held back till I could make my own demo vid

Took a bit of time to make this variant of the ID tug in Simple Rockets 2. Although SR2 has a tad more complexity in terms of it's flight model - I figured it would still make for a good enough test bench for the overall concept of dual landing configurations.

Although a bit smaller than the original ID variant I think it still useful as an example of how main thrusters could be employed on specialized craft. I also wanted to maintain the option of existing Elite horizontal style landings as well as add an option to use the main engines for vertical lift-offs. The use of the mains for vertical thrust should also increase
the crafts payload lift capacity.

There are also 4 extra fuel tanks that can be ejected once emptied, to allow for extended orbit and ground operations.
I added a smaller manipulator claw that can be folded and stowed on top which can also used as a third landing strut durring vertical style landings.

Mech capability: Although I'm fairly confident of the ability of the craft to be able to walk (added an extra gyro for just that) It will require a lot of extra configuration to enable a mechstyle walk function. At the moment, the craft can only hop.

Still WIP.
I didn't program up any handy autopilot options on this rig which meant having to change all configs manualy in flight. Some of the tranformations are complex and are intentionaly slow which is why there may be some delays in action.

Source: https://youtu.be/C2RCSVZD1DE

Source: https://youtu.be/pL3sTziWr0U

Taarakian · Sep 6, 2020

Nemozinioux said:
I logged in just so you guys allow me to introduce you to blackout and redout. Sticking your nose in the air when you're encountering lots of Gs is actually the safest, even tho it's "so 20th century". So yeah, IRL using vertical thrusters for any fast acceleration is quite erm... dangerous ? (To put it into numbers, a human body can survive a constant vertical 6G only up to 3 minutes according to NASA and wikipedia).

ps : sorry if I misunderstood what you guys said, or if what I said is nonsense/offensive english is not my mother tongue

Yeah appreciate that info although I'm tempted to believe that by the year 3300 we might have a solve for at least some of that issue, although I will ease myself off the gas pedal in the future durring lift-offs

Deleted member 121570 · Sep 7, 2020

Taarakian said:
It is waaaay more fun.
Was hoping to reply sooner but I do value your opinion on this so I held back till I could make my own demo vid

Took a bit of time to make this variant of the ID tug in Simple Rockets 2. Although SR2 has a tad more complexity in terms of it's flight model - I figured it would still make for a good enough test bench for the overall concept of dual landing configurations.

Although a bit smaller than the original ID variant I think it still useful as an example of how main thrusters could be employed on specialized craft. I also wanted to maintain the option of existing Elite horizontal style landings as well as add an option to use the main engines for vertical lift-offs. The use of the mains for vertical thrust should also increase
the crafts payload lift capacity.

There are also 4 extra fuel tanks that can be ejected once emptied, to allow for extended orbit and ground operations.
I added a smaller manipulator claw that can be folded and stowed on top which can also used as a third landing strut durring vertical style landings.

Mech capability: Although I'm fairly confident of the ability of the craft to be able to walk (added an extra gyro for just that) It will require a lot of extra configuration to enable a mechstyle walk function. At the moment, the craft can only hop.

Still WIP.
I didn't program up any handy autopilot options on this rig which meant having to change all configs manualy in flight. Some of the tranformations are complex and are intentionaly slow which is why there may be some delays in action.

Source: https://youtu.be/C2RCSVZD1DE

Source: https://youtu.be/pL3sTziWr0U

Thanks for taking the time to make the vids, dude. The Tug does look interesting! (although I can't see myself playing a game with that kind of flying. I prefer my twinsticks and a more 1st person direct approach, as it is ultimately just play

)

I guess we're into the hinterlands between hard sci-fi, real physics and the handwavium that underpins ED.

One thing that's always amused me with ED is that we have 'main' thrusters that look like they're supposedly so much more powerful than the vertical/lateral thrusters, yet don't perform anywhere near as significantly different as their appearance would suggest. Conventional tropes and all that.

Winterwalker · Sep 7, 2020

Sanderling said:
One thing that's always amused me with ED is that we have 'main' thrusters that look like they're supposedly so much more powerful than the vertical/lateral thrusters, yet don't perform anywhere near as significantly different as their appearance would suggest. Conventional tropes and all that.

I think that might be what the Planet Approach Suite module is about?

In space your main engines are more effective than yaw or lateral thrusters? But in range of a planet surface that balance is obviously altered, perhaps the Approach Suite redistributes power via software map, after Orbital Cruise and Glide phases or if it detects local gravity?

Deleted member 121570 · Sep 7, 2020

Winterwalker said:
I think that might be what the Planet Approach Suite module is about?

In space your main engines are more effective than yaw or lateral thrusters? But in range of a planet surface that balance is obviously altered, perhaps the Approach Suite redistributes power via software map, after Orbital Cruise and Glide phases or if it detects local gravity?

Nah - they're not that much different in space either tbh. Depends a lot on ship, but lateral/vertical acceleration is usually between 50 to 85%ish of main thruster performance. The higher %s are usually on ships with crappy acceleration anyway.
Top speed matches too if FA off.

I don't remember seeing 50% to 85% of the 'main' thrusters mounted on the sides of any ship though!

Taarakian · Sep 7, 2020

Sanderling said:
Thanks for taking the time to make the vids, dude. The Tug does look interesting! (although I can't see myself playing a game with that kind of flying. I prefer my twinsticks and a more 1st person direct approach, as it is ultimately just play )

Yeah I can understand 1st person view as a preference - although SR2 has camera options that could mimic that to some degree. I would imagine if FD were to make a version it would have to have a 1st person POV option as well as a more simplified control suite. Flight assist would make hovering in place a non issue and likely make grasping using the lander claws a much simpler endeavor.

Sanderling said:
I guess we're into the hinterlands between hard sci-fi, real physics and the handwavium that underpins ED.

One thing that's always amused me with ED is that we have 'main' thrusters that look like they're supposedly so much more powerful than the vertical/lateral thrusters, yet don't perform anywhere near as significantly different as their appearance would suggest. Conventional tropes and all that.

Yeah this has always bothered me too and part of the reasoning for my initial posting
Hmmm, I wonder whatever happened to the original Panther Clipper from Frontier Elite2? It actually had rotating mains.

Taarakian · Sep 8, 2020

Guess I'm not the only one asking. https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/panther-clipper.541812/
Seems there's a few threads on this. I guess time will tell - seems a shame not to include it in the shipyard
(FD would easily have me spending Arx on such a craft)
There seems to be some variations - nice pic tho. This vehicle design is by Gavin Harvey