Newcomer / Intro Speed in Super Cruise

[Mr Toad]

Hi all,

quick question - Does your thrusters have any effect on your Super Cruise speed?
So would having A-Rated engineered modules have an impact on SC?

Follow up question:

Assuming the exact same route was followed (interactions with bodies was exactly the same) do different ships move at different speeds in SC?

I did try searching but couldn't really find the answer...that may be my forum search ability.

Cheers
Toad

 

[son of khzvoltz]

Hi all,

quick question - Does your thrusters have any effect on your Super Cruise speed?
So would having A-Rated engineered modules have an impact on SC?

Follow up question:

Assuming the exact same route was followed (interactions with bodies was exactly the same) do different ships move at different speeds in SC?

I did try searching but couldn't really find the answer...that may be my forum search ability.

Cheers
Toad

NOPE thrusters dont work in SC but the drives are what makes them work

in SC speed is dependent on ship mass, a eagle will be faster then a vette in super cruise (found that out myself)

the pleasures mine.
CMDR Kingsly

 

[Mr Toad]

Thanks mate

 

[Chris Simon]

NOPE thrusters dont work in SC but the drives are what makes them work

in SC speed is dependent on ship mass, a eagle will be faster then a vette in super cruise (found that out myself)

the pleasures mine.
CMDR Kingsly

That is not entirely correct. In supercruise all ships has the same acceleration and the same top speed, no matter the mass, or outfitting. The only thing that matters is the mass of the celestial bodies in the vicinity that hampers the drives.

 

[MickyG1982]

That is not entirely correct. in supercruise all ships has the same acceleration and the same top speed. The only thing that matters is the mass of the celestial bodies in the vicinity that hampers the drives.

Have to go with this one, Chris has hit the nail right on the head here - effectively avoid big things & you will go faster.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Chris is right as always.

All I can add is that the reason behind all ships being the same in supercruise (except turn rate) is that the lore has you creating a bubble of FSD around you Albecurrie drive style. So technically you are stationary in your bubble but the bubble moves at exceptional speeds which means the mass inside said bubble doesn't really matter much.

 

[Para Handy]

..................... the lore has you creating a bubble of FSD around you Albecurrie drive style. So technically you are stationary in your bubble but the bubble moves at exceptional speeds which means the mass inside said bubble doesn't really matter much.

I always imagined that since the Alcubierre drive created a field inside of which you were actually travelling, albeit in distorted space-time, then the motive power of your thrusters would alter the speed at which you travel in that field and ergo the speed of the field's superluminal travel would consequently be altered. However I am no field-theorist so I have not actually researched anything to do with it.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

I always imagined that since the Alcubierre drive created a field inside of which you were actually travelling, albeit in distorted space-time, then the motive power of your thrusters would alter the speed at which you travel in that field and ergo the speed of the field's superluminal travel would consequently be altered. However I am no field-theorist so I have not actually researched anything to do with it.

Yep, I get what you are saying but I have no idea. I'm clutching at straws too hence the "style" added at the end of my comment. What you say makes sense but that's evidently not how it currently works in Elite so :S

 

[Para Handy]

Yep, I get what you are saying but I have no idea. I'm clutching at straws too hence the "style" added at the end of my comment. What you say makes sense but that's evidently not how it currently works in Elite so :S

Yeah, sorry if I came across wrong. I wasn't disagreeing with what had been said, I do understand that in the game it works as you and they others say - I was just making a general point. It is what I was expecting to happen when I first started the game and saw people's explanations for the supercruise mechanism but I soon learned that I was making duff assumptions.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Yeah, sorry if I came across wrong. I wasn't disagreeing with what had been said, I do understand that in the game it works as you and they others say - I was just making a general point. It is what I was expecting to happen when I first started the game and saw people's explanations for the supercruise mechanism but I soon learned that I was making duff assumptions.

Nah, I understood it the way you meant it, Wasn't trying to repel boarders there, sorry if it came across a bit bluntly

 

[who?]

Another big factor - what you have targeted. The FSD auto-throttles if you have a nearby item targeted. I've seen this in multiple scenarios - e.g. fly away from a nearby location (signal source maybe) with it targeted, and you fly slowly. Untarget it, and you immediately accelerate much faster.

It can also have the opposite effect, if you're flying towards a signal source but have gone way beyond the 6-second cut-off, you can 'insta-brake' by de-selecting it and throttling down; then reselect it again to drop in at lower speed.

But as said above, it's mostly about mass and how far you are from it. Fly out to the middle of the Hutton Orbital route, and stop. You can go 0 - >1,000c in a second or two (I wonder how many Gs that is? And how much one's head would weigh...) Accelerating to the same speed from near a planet might take 10 minutes or more.

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

Thrusters are definitely used when you are in supercruise. I found that out the hard way once when I tried switching them off while fuelscooping to try and use less heat. Everyone should try this once.

 

[son of khzvoltz]

Thrusters are definitely used when you are in supercruise. I found that out the hard way once when I tried switching them off while fuelscooping to try and use less heat. Everyone should try this once.

no you use the "drives" not the thrusters

the frame shif drive supercharges the drives to almost use a "gravity drive"


dont trust me though, i've been wrong on this thread before

- - - Updated - - -

clearly my supistion

 

[Rob_the_Sparky]

I don't trust you as I too have turned off thrusters in SC (for repair in my case) and can say from experience they are in use!

 

[Mr Toad]

Thanks for the replies...

Here's an idea, if I've understood correctly:

Ship A wants to interdict ship B.
However ship B is out of interdict range and moving away from Ship A.
Ship A accelerates toward ship B in the hope of catching up but he never will...
Until Ship B gets closer to the station he was heading for.

At this point 2 things may happen:

1. The station is near a planet and so causes Ship B's drive to slow
2. Ship B's drive auto throttles as he has the station targeted which slows him down

Both cause Ship B to slow down and Ship A a possible chance to interdict.

Is that correct?

Also thinking on this: Ship B could successfully outrun Ship A using clever manoeuvring...possibly by flying away from the station and using clever targeting. Is that correct?

Cheers in advance,

Toad

 

[Rob_the_Sparky]

Pretty much yes. On the targeting front, this only makes a difference if you are targeting something without mass, I.e. a Signal in space, or a wake. Targeting a station does not change your speed (as far as I can tell).
.
Yes there are ways of approaching a planet/station to make the interdictor's life hard. The clue being that they have to be in range and behind the target ship so flying straight at the station/planet is making the interdictors job easy. Flying in circles makes the interdictor's job much harder...

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

Pretty much yes. On the targeting front, this only makes a difference if you are targeting something without mass, I.e. a Signal in space, or a wake. Targeting a station does not change your speed (as far as I can tell).

It works on stations. There are a few systems with stations or outposts that don't orbit a planet at all - usually because there are none in the system. So your ship acts the same as it does with USS, same with NPCs, which gives you a chance to catch up to interdict.

 

[STRONTIUM DOG]

802 X the speed of light i clocked up in a cobra last time I checked a fast sc speed................................
mind you there is no such thing as fast or slow as its just the distortions of spacetime so use that excuse next time you are late for work

 

[son of khzvoltz]

802 X the speed of light i clocked up in a cobra last time I checked a fast sc speed................................
mind you there is no such thing as fast or slow as its just the distortions of spacetime so use that excuse next time you are late for work

"sorry im late, the distortions were faultering (sinence here)"