Different Flight Modes

[mindlord0013]

First off just going to say I absolutely love this game, and Schema is amazing.

My idea is one that may or may not be very popular. It's to have a switch for all ships that swaps between the standard form of ship movement that we have in the game at the moment (omni-directional movement), and movement that is more akin what we see in planes and jets (uni-directional movement where the momentum is always projected relative to the front of a ship).

Why?

This game is great, and I'm not against the form of ship movement we currently have in the game. I just think some variation would be good. It make combat much more interesting, and also make travelling long distances significantly easier. Smaller ships that want to keep momentum in combat are helped, whilst larger ships that aren't moving very much anyway are fine.

Mechanic Balance

To somewhat balance the mechanics of this, there would be a slight decrease in omni-directional top speeds and acceleration, while uni-directional has a relative increase. The switch could either be utilised as a new block, that players can either swap in astronaut mode or in the ship toolbar/hotkey; or simply a new hotkey. Finally, I would say it would only be fair to swap between these modes at a very low speed (perhaps under 20km/h).

 

[ardiel]

I think we already have this. It\'s called holding W. It amounts to the same thing due to inertial dampening.

Holding W and turning with the mouse is about the same as flying a jet, sans gravity and lift. Inertial dampening has the same effect as a very thin atmosphere, so while the ship slides more than a jet, it\'s still a similar principle.

 

[mindlord0013]

Currently, you move in direction +X at 100km/h constant speed, keeping it at that speed. Then, while holding W, you turn your ship towards direction +Z. You will gain momentum in direction +Z, but the velocity from direction +X will not be transferred to direction +Z. For the sake of the argument, you are now moving at direction +Z at a maintained 100km/h, and also direction +X while decellerating from a velocity of ~75km/h, facing direction absolute +Z. Moving in direction +Z does not transferr any momentum from direction +X.

With my suggestion of the uni-directional movement, you are moving in direction +X at a maintained 100km/h. You begin to turn the ship towards direction +Z. As soon as you face direction +Z, you no longer have any velocity towards direction +X, and a maintained 100km/h towards direction +Z.

So yes, there is a very big difference.

 

[ardiel]

Jets don\'t fly the way you describe.

When a jet turns towards +Z it still has velocity towards +X. The bite of the aerodynamic surfaces in the atmosphere will quickly eliminate this velocity, but it does not immediately transfer. There\'s some slide to jets just like there is in StarMade, except it\'s much less.

In order to completely override momentum on a given axis the way you\'re talking about you have to invert and apply opposite thrust.

This applies in StarMade because when you\'re not actively applying thrust to a direction, you slowly lose momentum in that direction, as if experiencing drag. Normally in space when you thrust in a direction you keep moving in that direction infinitely until an opposite force acts on the craft.



So I get what you\'re saying, but it\'s not like flying a jet.



Edit: Also energy does not transfer to a new direction. It is sacrificed when changing direction. If you\'re not thrusting then you\'re giving up energy to turn, because your energy is not halted in the previous direction. It is still there due to inertia so you must sacrifice energy to alter the course.



And really what you\'re talking about is instant direction change as fast as you can turn the mouse. I find that absurd and potentially hard to fly with. Fast turning craft would be zipping around and pulling instant 90s and possibly near instant 180s without a hint of speed drop. By the time your AMC blasts leave the barrel, they won\'t be there anymore, and leading would be near impossible for the instant course changing.

 

[mindlord0013]

Of course jets don\'t fly the way I described. Because I\'m not talking about jets. I\'m talking about a system in a video game. Which is fundamentally different, but may be modelled after something in real life.

I know how physics works. I\'m not mentally challenged. I completed year 12 physics, as well as the highest level of mathematics. Also, my Mum is a physics teacher and my Father worked for the Department of Science. I know Newton\'s Laws very well.

So firstly, I would appreciate an apology as you have come across as quite egotistical. I know it\'s very hard to convey meaning across the internet, but I feel you may have done so very poorly.

I will, however, thank you for reminding me on the point of turning circles. Though I did not previously mention it, my intent was for ships to rotate more slowly with higher velocities up to a threshold. In addition to this, ships would deccelerate more quickly when rotating (turning) if they are not throttled up.

Again, I would like to re-iterate that this is not a debate on how physics works, this is a debate on game mechanics that I feel would improve the game in large. So instead of focusing on how my ideas do not precisely follow the laws of phyics, and only vaguely resemble them, please add comment on how these mechanics on a gameplay scale would be good or bad.

 

[ardiel]

I\'m not at all fazed by what you think of me. For that other stuff, good for you.

If you\'re talking about trading an increase in velocity for a decrease in turning speed, I could maybe appreciate that.

Also if you\'re talking about an increase in turning speed for a decrease in velocity, I could maybe appreciate that too.

However, what you were saying sounded like instant direction change. It is not my fault that you were not clear and maybe omitted some things.