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Post by Brutus Aurelius on Mar 9, 2015 18:41:09 GMT -5
So, while playing both the 4X and STRPG, I found it strange that a ship can travel between stars within weeks, when stars, except for binary or trinary systems, are often lightyears apart. I know Star Trader ships cannot do superluminal travel like Star Wars or Star Trek, so my question is:
How can these ships travel these vast distances in such a short time? I can see between planets, but star systems? I'm guessing it has something to do with the nature of the Void Engine and Void Reactor.
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Post by mandomaniac on Mar 10, 2015 22:03:29 GMT -5
In short the scale is off... ST and 4X use AU instead of lightyears... au is the distance between the earth and sun approx 93mil miles... the sublight travel described in ST is very compatible with the idea of 1au = 1 week... however the distance between solar systems ect ect would be hundreds if not thousands of au... personally i dont dock TB for this "error" as being a geek i was plesently suprised to see au as a distance unit and if the scale is off so what... also it is entirely possible that TB has invented a new definition for AU specific to ST in which case the engines would necessarily be more powerful... i hope this helps to answer your question  |
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Post by mandomaniac on Mar 10, 2015 22:09:35 GMT -5
Oh btw AU = Astronomical Unit
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Post by fallen on Mar 10, 2015 22:19:39 GMT -5
It is a mistake to assume that AU = Astronomical Unit and that $ = USD. As, Earth never existed in the Star Traders universe, so neither of those translations is possible  |
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Post by Cory Trese on Mar 10, 2015 23:09:43 GMT -5
it is an Astrochromm Unit which is a non-linear measure of distance-gravy as is compatible with the Void Engine - Solar Sail Navigation.
The map in ST 4X makes compromises, even with the ST universe, for the sake of gameplay. It would be more accurate if ST 4X ships all moved 1 AU per turn, but that was ... oh it was horrible!
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Post by slayernz on Mar 11, 2015 5:07:02 GMT -5
I loooooooooooooooove Distance-Gravy!!!
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Post by hissrad on Mar 11, 2015 15:31:00 GMT -5
You played ST4X like that? As long as the Xenos were as slow it'd be manageable.
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Post by fallen on Mar 11, 2015 15:40:25 GMT -5
Manageable != fun, but does = piles of bad reviews. We made some sacrifices to make the tactical battle map fun.
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Post by hissrad on Mar 11, 2015 19:30:36 GMT -5
Hey, I'd still play it! Main difference is your defense fleet couldn't be reactionary, each system would need ships stationed there. You know, this actually sounds interesting:P
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Post by mandomaniac on Mar 11, 2015 20:04:24 GMT -5
hissrad that would make a great community challenge to limit yourself to 1 au per ship per turn and see how it goes
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Post by dayan on Mar 12, 2015 10:52:13 GMT -5
Posted by Brutus Aurelius
Mar 9, 2015 at 7:41pmSo, while playing both the 4X and STRPG, I found it strange that a ship can travel between stars within weeks, when stars, except for binary or trinary systems, are often lightyears apart. I know Star Trader ships cannot do superluminal travel like Star Wars or Star Trek, so my question is: How can these ships travel these vast distances in such a short time? I can see between planets, but star systems? I'm guessing it has something to do with the nature of the Void Engine and Void Reactor. Posted by fallen
Mar 10, 2015 at 11:19pmIt is a mistake to assume that AU = Astronomical Unit and that $ = USD. As, Earth never existed in the Star Traders universe, so neither of those translations is possible Posted by Cory Trese
yesterday at 12:09amit is an Astrochromm Unit which is a non-linear measure of distance-gravy as is compatible with the Void Engine - Solar Sail Navigation. The map in ST 4X makes compromises, even with the ST universe, for the sake of gameplay. It would be more accurate if ST 4X ships all moved 1 AU per turn, but that was ... oh it was horrible!  sonofa...
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Post by hissrad on Mar 12, 2015 13:05:34 GMT -5
Hah!
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Post by dayan on Mar 12, 2015 13:30:13 GMT -5
As someone who used the original game chart to interpret distances, I saw very prominant thruster nozzles in the ships' ,even more prominently in the ST2 trailer.
I've been hooked up on what sails do exactly until recently, when @corytrese mentioned they were the primary propulsion system. Never having seen them, for the comic canon at least I've considered them either a backup system (see Star Trek IV, The Voyage Home), or a secondary intra-system drive for misering the water fuel supply for the void engine.
So for me, I. Considered every move on map of the original game a one FTL jump. Say that whatever drive they use for interstellar travel can only jump a specific distance at a time, and every move on the grid represents the jump plus the time required to recharge the Star drive.(or whatever)
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sheff
Star Hero
[ Star Traders 2 Supporter ]
Posts: 503 
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Post by sheff on Apr 12, 2015 4:51:40 GMT -5
Posted by Brutus Aurelius
Mar 9, 2015 at 7:41pmSo, while playing both the 4X and STRPG, I found it strange that a ship can travel between stars within weeks, when stars, except for binary or trinary systems, are often lightyears apart. I know Star Trader ships cannot do superluminal travel like Star Wars or Star Trek, so my question is: How can these ships travel these vast distances in such a short time? I can see between planets, but star systems? I'm guessing it has something to do with the nature of the Void Engine and Void Reactor. Posted by fallen
Mar 10, 2015 at 11:19pmIt is a mistake to assume that AU = Astronomical Unit and that $ = USD. As, Earth never existed in the Star Traders universe, so neither of those translations is possible Posted by Cory Trese
yesterday at 12:09amit is an Astrochromm Unit which is a non-linear measure of distance-gravy as is compatible with the Void Engine - Solar Sail Navigation. The map in ST 4X makes compromises, even with the ST universe, for the sake of gameplay. It would be more accurate if ST 4X ships all moved 1 AU per turn, but that was ... oh it was horrible! sonofa... Amen. |
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Post by slayernz on Apr 13, 2015 1:18:12 GMT -5
As someone who used the original game chart to interpret distances, I saw very prominant thruster nozzles in the ships' ,even more prominently in the ST2 trailer. I've been hooked up on what sails do exactly until recently, when @corytrese mentioned they were the primary propulsion system. Never having seen them, for the comic canon at least I've considered them either a backup system (see Star Trek IV, The Voyage Home), or a secondary intra-system drive for misering the water fuel supply for the void engine. So for me, I. Considered every move on map of the original game a one FTL jump. Say that whatever drive they use for interstellar travel can only jump a specific distance at a time, and every move on the grid represents the jump plus the time required to recharge the Star drive.(or whatever) I agree - there is precedent in other programs that demonstrate the logic behind jump-hops. Battlestar Galactica did just that (at least with the rebooted series). Peter F Hamilton also used that logic for the Night's Dawn trilogy, and even Stargate Atlantis used it on the wraith hive ships. Each jump uses the Void engines, which consumes tremendous amounts of energy. When you drop out of sub-space, you run the risk of encounters, emerging into an asteroid field, or other such dramas. Combat doesn't use void engines at all - you must maneuver with your combat-ready impulse engines, and that is why having more engines doesn't mean you're any faster in traveling from one side of the quadrant to the other. Distance to ST is like an invisible tape, that is only limited by the capabilities of the Void engine technology.  |
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