To add some fun and another reason to get close to planetary bodies (other then and on top of appreciating the beauty)
I propose adding another "layer" around moons and planets, similar to the glide vector when landing.
This new outer layer would, with some skill, allow us to use gravity assist to sling shot partly or completely around a body to quickly change trajectory and gain speed toward our next intended target.
Adding the ability to sling shot would encourage pilots to take the extra time to get up close by accelerating them on their way after having taken in the view.
The way I envision it :
To scan a body we need to slow down to keep an eta of at least 6 seconds.
Event with the smallest moons if maintain this speed, the body will still only be a small dot after the scan is completed.
We could then choose to keep going towards the planet to appreciate it's beauty and
by selecting another destination in the system, accelerating at the right time while keeping the proper distance around the previous target,
we would gain an increased turn rate around the body and a substantial acceleration towards our next target.
Larger bodies can be scanned for a greater distance because of their larger mass / gravity.
It would also make sense that they would provide greater assistance.
Devising ways to use this for escaping interdiction could also be fun.
It might even be used to allow a small ship in combat with a larger one to compensate for its mass lock and escape to Supercruise when the fight happens close to a star or planet.
I propose adding another "layer" around moons and planets, similar to the glide vector when landing.
This new outer layer would, with some skill, allow us to use gravity assist to sling shot partly or completely around a body to quickly change trajectory and gain speed toward our next intended target.
Adding the ability to sling shot would encourage pilots to take the extra time to get up close by accelerating them on their way after having taken in the view.
The way I envision it :
To scan a body we need to slow down to keep an eta of at least 6 seconds.
Event with the smallest moons if maintain this speed, the body will still only be a small dot after the scan is completed.
We could then choose to keep going towards the planet to appreciate it's beauty and
by selecting another destination in the system, accelerating at the right time while keeping the proper distance around the previous target,
we would gain an increased turn rate around the body and a substantial acceleration towards our next target.
Larger bodies can be scanned for a greater distance because of their larger mass / gravity.
It would also make sense that they would provide greater assistance.
Devising ways to use this for escaping interdiction could also be fun.
It might even be used to allow a small ship in combat with a larger one to compensate for its mass lock and escape to Supercruise when the fight happens close to a star or planet.
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