Yeah, that's something I noticed too, but when I thought about it my brain started to hurt so I just ignored it. The weapons, if I'm not mistaken, say in the info that the projectile speed is xxx m/s. That makes me think meters per second. Anyone else? If that's not what they really say then just ignore me ;P

The scale is so small, I assume, to reduce lag. If every ship was running around at 500 kph normal speed you a) wouldn't be able to hit anything and b) would have lag spikes whenever someone undocked

Yes, the scale of distances and speeds in FL is non-realistic. That's probably because a "real scale" universe, like in Frontier for example, isn't as good for an action oriented game.

With a real scale universe and more realistic speeds on the space ships, dog fights would be non-existant as you would basically only see other ships on instuments and for a fraction of a second when they where in visible range.

I think the designers selected a more "compressed" universe so that you basically can see everything from everywhere.

I have noticed that there are actually 3 measures of distance in the game: m, M, and K. I highly doubt this, but it is still an idea. Perhaps m=1 meter, M=1000m (kinda like cal and Cal which stand for a single calorie and a KCal respectively), and K=1000km. Anyways, that's just a theory...and who knows, it's probably wrong anyways. Cheers.

My take on it:

Since this is set about a millenia in the future, maybe they created a new measuring system.

Also that since, for ref, the earh is 93 million miles (approx), Maybe the K refers to Millions of Kilometres?

Or it could be related to the time between to points, instead of distance....There are limitless possibilites out there.....

Thinking that maybe there really *IS* a method to thier madness.....

Could also be parsecs....Who knows...We'd have to pester the Devs with this ponderance.

-Arg

-If you want to flame me...Don't post it in here...email me at [email protected]

Or call 1-800-RYP-OFF1

Yeah maybe they made up some new measurement for the game. Only they can really tell us what it means...

Actually, Lemlestarn's explanation makes the most sense. I think we often forget how mind-bogglingly big space is. And compared to the size of an average ship, the relationship is similar to an electron in the ocean. If the scale were normal in Freelancer, we would never see any other ships or bases. If we had navigational charts, we could fly to a base and dock with it, but our chances of seeing another ship on the way would be infinitismally small.

The speed would be another factor. If we were able to cruise between planets in a few minutes, and the distance between the planets was many thousands of kilometers (or light years), this would work for TRAVEL, but would be impossible for combat. Ships moving at the same speed in combat would never be able to see each other, let alone line up and shoot at. Even modern day air combat is difficult and pilots rarel'y SEE their target until it is right on top of them. And at high speeds, dog fighting becomes extremely difficult. Now imagine the speed of the planes is 1000 times faster and the sky is 10,000 times bigger. Space combat would be an oxymoron.

That settles it in my mind. DA was right to scale things down. It may not make physical sense, but it allows us to see stuff and shoot stuff, which is all good.



Those are my thoughts, not yours, I'm WapCaplet[!

K = Kilometers
M = Meters

It is metric.

1 Meter = ~3 feet.

no no no its
K = Kilomiles = 1000 miles
M = MegaMile = 10 miles
All makes sence?

Howl is correct. K = Kilometers. Note the "kilo" which means 1000. Just like you'd say $100k is 100,000 Dollars. m is meters. Your ship at cruise speed goes roughtly 300m/s. (Meters a second) Which is why you close in on a target roughly at 300 meters every second if you are in cruise mode. Simple calculations, simple methods of proof.

Unfortunately these measurements, while true, do not add up or make logical sense in these 'star systems' for the fact that most distances from planets to stars and vice versa in real life are mainly millions, sometimes billions of miles.

I don't remember the exact number, but its (I think) approximately 5000 feet per mile. Meter = 3 feet. Kilometer = 1000 Meters, and a Kilometer is also 3000 Feet. So two Kilometers is slightly more than one mile. So if the base/planet you want to reach is across the 'solar system' and it says something like 80k to the target, you are going to have to travel Exactly 240,000 Feet. That also means you will travel aproximaltely 48 miles at 300 Meters per second omiting jump gates. You will be traveling at 900 feet per second, which makes you Travel at roughly one mile per 5.5 seconds. 5000 feet (roughly a mile) will be traveled in 5.5 seconds. So reasonably speaking, two kilometers will be traveled in rougly 6 seconds at 300 Meters a second. This means that you would have to be traveling at Cruise engines for rougly 267 Seconds. Or approximately 4-5 minutes.

1000 Meters to your next target would be 3000 feet. I find it extremely difficult to see anything around me for 3000 feet. lmfao So they had to ajust scaleability as well in order for us to see any ships that might be engaging us. Sizes and scaleablity of people to ships and ships to space is obviously off. Not that I mind, its still fun. But I think it had to be done for playability issues.

Anywho, thats just my two cents and my opinion on the matter.

The Wicked One

PS: I don't think its good for me to do NASA calulations after I've just woken up from a pathetically small 6 hour nap. lol


Edited by - The Wicked One on 01-04-2003 00:00:15

Wicked One, your math is a little messed up there.

If 1k = 3000 feet, then 80k = 80 times 3000
Therefore:
80k = 240,000 feet. NOT 240,000,000 feet.

I think if you go back and recalculate your distances and times, you will see that it works out for the amount of time it takes in the game.

As far as the game is concered, the velocity and times are all correct. Distances are travelled in the same amount of time as you would expect (as indicated by your speed). IE, 80 m/s is ACTUALLY 80 meters per second. And if you calculate the distance between two objects, you can expect to travel that distance using the 80 meters per second calculation.

The only factor that has been altered is the size and distance between planetary bodies. DA has scaled it down significantly to allow for playability. But the speeds themselves are accurate across the distances that DA is using.

Did that make sense? If it did, can someone please explain it to me?



Those are my thoughts, not yours, I'm WapCaplet[!

Yeah, dumbass me. . I labeled a K where one shouldn't be. .totally threw me off, of course, this is what happends when I atempt to do math before wiping the sleep out of my eyes. =D

---

Could also be parsecs....Who knows...

---

Um, well, probably not parsecs. Astronomers on Earth use parsecs to measure the distance between stars and galaxies. A parsec is just over three light years long.

Anyway, I don't think the numbers in the game really mean anything. They are just convenient numbers for measuring time and distance. Nothing in the game is modeled at a believable size, so what difference do the numbers make?


--milo
www.starshatter.com

I did a small experiment, I traveled 30K at full cruise speed. This took exactly 1 minute and 40 seconds, or 100 seconds.

300 x 100 = 30,000

So, the math does seem to add up.