Roadblocks

Navigational Blockages

from Sins Forums
Something that Paradoxnt said in the suggestions thread made me think of something.

Lets say there are 3 bodies: A, B, and C(planets, asteroids, stars, whatever) in syzygy and you want to get from A to C. Will the fact that B is in between A and C cause you to have to stop at B, travel around it, then continue on to C? Or go to some third point D in order to go around B? Or can you magically travel through B in phase space? It seems to me that you should not be able to travel through B in phase space because you cannot go to phase space inside of a gravity well and in order to travel through B you would have to enter its gravity well.

As crowded as some of those solar systems seem to get it seems reasonable to imagine that an alignment like that could occur, especially considering how solar systems tend to lie on a single plane.

This also brings up the possibility of some sort of interdictor ship, like you see in Star Wars, that can be placed in between two planets and drag ships out of phase space if they happen to pass through its gravity well. This last part is pretty unlikely since I don't think you can send ships outside of a planet's gravity well without going into phase space but I'm just throwing it out there anyways.

29,386 views 9 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
It might be quicker to travel "upwards" in phase space and go around the gravity well than to go through it.
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

There are natural and technological roadblocks of various forms.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
Vague but I guess it isn't something you can talk about yet. Good enough for me! Now we can speculate wildly
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
It might be quicker to travel "upwards" in phase space and go around the gravity well than to go through it.

or you could justify passing thru with the fact that the process of phase exit/re-entry is what affects travel. this theory would allow you to pass thru gravity wells etc. without worrying about effects.

but I still like roadblocks. hooray roadblocks.
just dont let god give us obstructing traffic tickets, that would suck.
Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top
Too bad, it would be cool to be able to use gravity well projector equipped ships to set up ambushes in deep space along likely course lines...very cool. I hope Ironclad will allow destination points/battles in deep space.

Another idea might be to give planets and asteroids orbits around stars. So while you might have a clear path from point A to D at one moment, 30 minutes later might have a gravity well in your way that would require a stop or a detour.

Hmmm, orbits would also end the standard multiplayer game where one player lucks out and starts in a corner (and so only has to deal with a 90 degree front). Sure you might start out in a corner, but as your start point orbits around the star things will change.

Also, I hope that star systems aren't all on a 2D plane. No point on a 3D map otherwise. Besides, the people who are going to want to play this game will appreciate true 3D maps and varied planetary orbital planes.

What are your thoughts on this, Blair?
Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top
I hope Ironclad will allow destination points/battles in deep space.

nope.
Another idea might be to give planets and asteroids orbits around stars.

no orbits.
I wish!
but nope.
I hope that star systems aren't all on a 2D plane. No point on a 3D map otherwise

3-D plane, just look at the movie.
Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top
Oh well, at least we have true 3D planes on star systems. I can't think a of a single other game that does that. Ironclad rocks!

I just hope ships arriving at a map enter at a X/Y/Z that corresponds to the X/Y/Z of their departure point/plane = encourage true 3D battles.

As for orbits, they would have provided some interesting position/navigation challenges, but alas it was not to be.

Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top
Development history note: Originally we did have orbiting planets but they were removed because the speed they had to travel to make the geography of the game change up enough to be interesting was way too high and those speeds in turn caused a large number of gameplay problems.
Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top
do you mean real physical problems? such as the inner planets moving faster than the ships?

because I was about to say. why don't you just treat the planets as individual packets? seperating them from the space around them, but "stitching" them in so that they still aren't seperated from the camera.

just dont make things apply to them that apply to other planets, that sort of thing.

on the same note: is the finite acceleration, infinite speed still in there? because I'm really looking forward to that