Starfury & Capital Ship Speeds
- Thread starter IceGiant
- Start date
Greg Smith
Mongoose
In space there is no friction, hence there is no limit to speed (excluding fuel, and the need to slow down).
Other fighters with listed maximum speeds are atmosphere-capable and have have maximum speeds within the atmosphere.
Other fighters with listed maximum speeds are atmosphere-capable and have have maximum speeds within the atmosphere.
hassanisabbah
Mongoose
Nice answer..... 
hassanisabbah
Mongoose
Hmm but wouldn't they alter course, slow down etc when launching missiles and ships. Presumably there some kind of compensation propulsion system built in.
Possibly also occurs when firing weapons, not everything is mass free.....
Possibly also occurs when firing weapons, not everything is mass free.....
A
Anonymous
Guest
I believe what you are reffering to is maximum speed.
The fighters with a number there is their maximum speed in an atmosphere.
The ships with a dash are for space speeds which are practiclly unlimited except by the speed of light.
Sidney
The fighters with a number there is their maximum speed in an atmosphere.
The ships with a dash are for space speeds which are practiclly unlimited except by the speed of light.
Sidney
Greg Smith
Mongoose
hassanisabbah said:
Yes. Also acceleration wouldn't be constant because the overall mass of the ship is reduced as fuel is used up.
And since most B5 ships don't have engines on the front, they would need to turn around to decelerate, ie applying thrust to counter their velocity.
Of course the Vorlons, Shadows and Minbari are probably excluded from this.
But it's all too darn technical for a game of B5.
A
Anonymous
Guest
In B5 Wars, all or almost all ships had thrusters or engines fore, aft and to both sides.
The biggest thrusters/engins were in the rear as that would be where they would be used most.
I believe the decel speed for ships in the B5 D20 game represents the use of the forward thrusters/engins to slow down. If a ship wanted to slow down faster, it could rotate 180 degrees and use its rear thrusters/engines to decelerate at its acceleration max.
Sidney
The biggest thrusters/engins were in the rear as that would be where they would be used most.
I believe the decel speed for ships in the B5 D20 game represents the use of the forward thrusters/engins to slow down. If a ship wanted to slow down faster, it could rotate 180 degrees and use its rear thrusters/engines to decelerate at its acceleration max.
Sidney
Greg Smith
Mongoose
Actually that should be the case with all ships, but only ships listed as having pivotal thrusters can do that in the game.
Even if that were the case, the engines are massive (visible on screen) while the thrusters are tiny (not visible). I think the RPG's ships' acceleration should be massively larger than their deceleration.
A real life example is the Apollo command & service module, 4 clusters of four thrusters and one large main engine. The engine fires to accelerate the ship. It then moves at constant velocity. To slow down for lunar orbit the thrusters turn the ship through 180 degrees and the main engine fires to slow the ship. The thrusters have only a small fraction of the power of the main engine.
But as this is only a game of a TV series, realism in space is somewhat lacking. Except of course for the Starfury, which is perfectly designed for maneuverability in space.
Even if that were the case, the engines are massive (visible on screen) while the thrusters are tiny (not visible). I think the RPG's ships' acceleration should be massively larger than their deceleration.
A real life example is the Apollo command & service module, 4 clusters of four thrusters and one large main engine. The engine fires to accelerate the ship. It then moves at constant velocity. To slow down for lunar orbit the thrusters turn the ship through 180 degrees and the main engine fires to slow the ship. The thrusters have only a small fraction of the power of the main engine.
But as this is only a game of a TV series, realism in space is somewhat lacking. Except of course for the Starfury, which is perfectly designed for maneuverability in space.
Judge Walker
Mongoose
As I remember the thrust ratings for the "Thrusters" in B5 were less then the "Engine" ratings. Ships usually had more "Engine" then "Thrusters" so more forward movement.
Also, any ship should be able to rotate in space. One of the main tactical manuevers in B5 Wars was to rotate to present new armour to an enemy. I think, not having the D20 rules, the pivitol advantage is for fighters, the patented spin-and-shoot that the Fury Pilots used is an example. Otherwise it makes no sense to me.
Also, any ship should be able to rotate in space. One of the main tactical manuevers in B5 Wars was to rotate to present new armour to an enemy. I think, not having the D20 rules, the pivitol advantage is for fighters, the patented spin-and-shoot that the Fury Pilots used is an example. Otherwise it makes no sense to me.
Greg Smith
Mongoose
Judge Walker said:
I agree. The RPG is modelling space combat as seen on the TV show, rather than trying to be a tactical wargame.
