What is "Disruptive Mass"?
- Thread starter Frankymole
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Mass Lock of stations is a game rule, mass lock of ships a game mechanic.
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Presumably the "mass lock" limit of a station / planetary body is a (Pilot's Fed set?) threshold that is built into flight computer, preventing waking within a range where there will be significant gravitational influence as to slow (or even prevent) FSD charging (not to mention a safety zone respecting local traffic at a station), while the diminished charge speed outside of these zones due to the mass of nearby objects is without flight computer limits - as would make escaping an aggressive human ship / Thargoid impossible? Must admit i've never experienced an instance of a ship that far away (other side of station) affecting FSD-charging...
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Yes, I had it with a ship the other side of an outpost.
I prefer Traveller's way of doing it which leads to more adventure. If you override the warning and (perhaps due to being shot at!) need to jump when within the gravitational influence of a body, you can get a misjump and end up in a random system/location anywhere up to six times your normal jump range, in a random direction... and with a drive to repair...
It's to do with frameshift drives as well as the mass of a nearby object.
PLUS, the ship's computer is programmed to ensure it is a certain distance from a station before frameshift drive charging is allowed.
Imagine the space around a station is a big rubber sheet.
The station is a big ball on that rubber sheet
Ships are really SMALL balls, HOWEVER the presence of a frameshift drive capable of moving the ship means that they're really HEAVY small balls (not mass heavy, but frameshift energy heavy). As the interference from the drives is a big nono. Fire two up that can interfere with each other and you've got a world of ripped apart reality, witch space interference, it will all go a bit Event Horizon really quickly and people will turn inside out. Bad juju.
Large stations contain lots of frameshift capable ships. Luckily though, the effect isn't additive when it comes to the exclusion range for jumping.
So - it's not directly related to the mass of the ship that's preventing you jumping, more the effect of the frameshift core that's required to MOVE that mass.
Similar reason why passing large stellar objects causes you to slow down - your frameshift drive REALLY doesn't like being interfered with so its output is mitigated somewhat when passing a large gravity well.
Anyway - frameshift drives, jumps and similar are bad news if a drive fires up in proximity to another frameshift core. Something to do with sympathetic behaviour from the core of an uncharged one, and the core of a charging one. Same reason why Hutton Mugs get warm whilst in supercruise. They're made from the scrap frameshift drive plates from ships that didn't make it to Hutton without running out of fuel. Fire up your frameshift drive with one on board, and the mug appreciably warms up.
PLUS, the ship's computer is programmed to ensure it is a certain distance from a station before frameshift drive charging is allowed.
Imagine the space around a station is a big rubber sheet.
The station is a big ball on that rubber sheet
Ships are really SMALL balls, HOWEVER the presence of a frameshift drive capable of moving the ship means that they're really HEAVY small balls (not mass heavy, but frameshift energy heavy). As the interference from the drives is a big nono. Fire two up that can interfere with each other and you've got a world of ripped apart reality, witch space interference, it will all go a bit Event Horizon really quickly and people will turn inside out. Bad juju.
Large stations contain lots of frameshift capable ships. Luckily though, the effect isn't additive when it comes to the exclusion range for jumping.
So - it's not directly related to the mass of the ship that's preventing you jumping, more the effect of the frameshift core that's required to MOVE that mass.
Similar reason why passing large stellar objects causes you to slow down - your frameshift drive REALLY doesn't like being interfered with so its output is mitigated somewhat when passing a large gravity well.
Anyway - frameshift drives, jumps and similar are bad news if a drive fires up in proximity to another frameshift core. Something to do with sympathetic behaviour from the core of an uncharged one, and the core of a charging one. Same reason why Hutton Mugs get warm whilst in supercruise. They're made from the scrap frameshift drive plates from ships that didn't make it to Hutton without running out of fuel. Fire up your frameshift drive with one on board, and the mug appreciably warms up.
It’s a self-heating coffee or tea invention. Genius.
*If it’s still safe to drink at that point, a fact which I wouldn’t know too well. Also probably not too desirable for cold drinks.
Edit - corrected a typo.
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Anyone can get a cold drink in the void. A well-temperated coffee, however is a different story.
Maybe it was all a typo and OP wanted to know about "Disruptive Mess"?!
Hasn't negatively affected all the Hutton Truckers yet - and in fact, keeps us safe from MODS (Mug Ownership Deficiency Syndrome) - a most debilitating condition that causes all sorts of space lurgy if you don't regularly imbibe a beverage from a Hutton Mug.
Hutton Truckers still qualify....
Not quite sure, it appears that quite a few Hutton Truckers have gone around the bend
Wibble.Not quite sure, it appears that quite a few Hutton Truckers have gone around the bend
Don't know WHAT you MEAN.
That's not disruptive mass, that's mass lock.
Disruptive mass does not prevent your FSD charging.
It does however slow down the charging speed while displaying a message about a factor.
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It sounds like something that could be weaponised.
Thinking about it, there are jump-damping missiles, they must use something along those lines but to stop people jumping.