Landing on a High Gravity World

[smartroad]

https://youtu.be/zbNi3mEr5x4

A video to answer the question, do thrusters matter when landing on a high gravity world...

My second attempt at doing a video, constructive criticism welcomed

[Roger Wilco Jr]

I think your initial assumptions, and your final comments, are spot on. Maybe I just don't understand the physics of mass vs. weight in space, but imho, if your thrusters are rated for twice your mass, you should be limited to landing and taking off from 2g or slightly less planets. For ships where the thrusters are only rated slightly above the mass of the ship, there are still billions of planets and moons with a gravity of 1g or less to land on. I don't know why Frontier chose to do what they did, but it was a bad decision. Higher G planets could possibly be landed on by specialized landing craft which they could introduce, but there is still the problem that people can't survive in high G environments for more than a short time. Even that could have been overcome by using remotes.

IMO, thruster vs. G limitations, landing craft, remotes, and etc. would have added a lot of depth and interesting game play, but Frontier again goes for just a thin crust, and it's a shame for all of us.

Nice vid, btw.


***edit***

I have a question though. Are you using analog thrusters - not just buttons? I assume you must be, or maybe you can get away with digital thrusters with a small ship. But heavier ships do behave differently on high g planets. I don't think you could have taken off like you did if you were in an Anaconda - I think you would have crashed back to the surface. And if you were using digital thrusters with an Anaconda, I think one press would have sent you crashing down. But I haven't tried a high g planet in months, and maybe some things have changed with patches.

[smartroad]

I have a question though. Are you using analog thrusters - not just buttons? I assume you must be, or maybe you can get away with digital thrusters with a small ship. But heavier ships do behave differently on high g planets. I don't think you could have taken off like you did if you were in an Anaconda - I think you would have crashed back to the surface. And if you were using digital thrusters with an Anaconda, I think one press would have sent you crashing down. But I haven't tried a high g planet in months, and maybe some things have changed with patches.

The lateral and vertical thrusters are on the analogue turn-wheels on a Saitek X-55. So I can be quite delicate in how much thrust to apply

In a future video, when the next beta happens, I'll have a go with an Anaconda. Only chose a small ship as I didn't want to waste to much cash

[Xebeth]

I guess FD have gone for a simple ship mass calculation, otherwise they would have to calculate thrust to weight and acceleration based on the mass of the ship, the thrust applied (based on thruster size, rating, and amount applied), and the gravitational acceleration of the planet for your position in relation to it's centre.

As this would be a constantly changing figure as you apply more or less thrust and get closer to the planet, perhaps the calculations were too intensive.

[smartroad]

I agree Xebeth. Given how complex the calculation might be it makes sense that for the game world it would be a simpler calculation. I was curious how the game would handle it

[Roger Wilco Jr]

They already calculate the varying g as you get closer to the planet, so it could just be a simple variable in the calculation. My guess is they just didn't give it that much thought, or didn't want to hear about how planetary landings had all these planets you can't land on, but there are already all the atmosphere planets, so who knows.

[TorTorden]

If FD used any science in the making of this game it was all put into the galaxy forge.

As for pretty much anything else this game is pure fiction and should be taken as such.

[smartroad]

If FD used any science in the making of this game it was all put into the galaxy forge.

As for pretty much anything else this game is pure fiction and should be taken as such.

It makes you wonder though, given the science that seems to have gone into Stella Forge to create everything in the galaxy (including things that aren't yet implemented, such as comets I believe) down to the way tectonics work on planets, what decision was made with not having gravity have the effect that it should, why even bother with giving mass ratings for thrusters? Don't get me wrong, I have no real problem with the decision they have made it is a game after all!

Maybe the frameshift drive helps out? Somehow affecting the mass of the ship, lowing it so any thruster will do?

[Roger Wilco Jr]

Yeah, I was thinking maybe they are 'gravatic' thrusters that get stronger in relatively stronger gravity. But they are clearly just jets. Maybe they have anti-gravity plates to assist the thrusters. I don't really care what bullshit they come up with as long as it doesn't take me 30 minutes to land, can take off without booster rockets, and it doesn't take months to cross a small solar system. Except for Flight Simulator, or not including FS, I've probably played this game for longer than all other games combined. They just could have done so much better if they didn't put so much thought into PVP (too many young boys working for them, I suspect).