Interstellar Engines for In-System? (Far distant speculation)

[mattihase]

Even disregarding cutting down transfer time, more efficient engines will still speed up shipping by allowing for a more favourable payload to fuel ratio, which reduces the amount of flights you'd need to transfer the same amount of resources, and will therefore lag the simulation less.

I think a progression system that allows the scale of the game to expand while also keeping lag in check is a good progression system.

[Dakitess]

I guess the equilibrium with be natural : very high ISP, whatever Thrust (as long as it's still coherent), but very very massive and dedicated fuel (or not).

Just like you won't stick a NERV onto a small craft, where an LV909 will perform better since it's more light than the Nerv is efficient. Math about it are quite easy and interesting

So yeah an interstellar craft using interstellar HUGE engines would not suit any use for local platenary system. But I don't see the dev forbidding their use, and they better not to, it is KSP, let us play the way we want and we will DEFINITELY see some emergent gameplay about it, some RolePlay using this gigantic parts, etc.

This is no doubt that a 2 giant engine, nozzle to nozzle, will shape a magnificent sphere-ish to hold some RolePlay habitat that would shield the crew from any radiation, etc ^^

As a side subject and as already said in other relative subjects, I really really really really (really (really)) hope that they will balance the Interstellar accordingly to the actual physic. Yes, have fun with speculative technologies, high ISP, etc, this is part of KSP. But don't mess with physics : a given quantity of fuel with a given drymass and a given payload will achieve a specific DeltaV, not a capacity to reach another place by magic, without entrance relative velocity to kill at destination. I really hope we won't be able to stick thousand on tons of payload on top of a giant interstellar contraption : even a tremendous quantity of fuel with a incredibly efficient engine, won't achieve a 10% of c if the payload is big or even medium. So yeah something like basic Tsiolkovsky equation and not another system like whatever the payload as long as you assemble "this engine" with "that quantity of fuel" and you're good to go. Real physic, real transfer time (with Warp, hu ? ^^) that have real impact on crew.

I want to feel the need to shorten the transfer time, and for that, to bring even more fuel, to feel the tragedy of the Tsiolkovsky equation which imply that I would have to triple the fuel already absurdly enormous. Or... I will reduce the payload by a tiny bit, reduce the dry mass of that many tanks, etc  Something really challenging, it's end game, after all !

Best intuitive solution would be to enlarge the whole star system to a multi-star one, just like we go from planetary view to star view, at another scale. So that we actually really eject from our system, travel in between and reach another one wich a perfectly fine and logical speed entrance to cancel at the arrival. But I don't know if they will do that this way, I guess, it might trick it and it would be fine as long as it's coherent. We don't need to actually travel from a star system to another one.

Edited December 19, 2023 by Dakitess

[Periple]

2 hours ago, Dakitess said:

We don't need to actually travel from a star system to another one.

I’m pretty sure they’ve said that transfers to other star systems will be fully simulated. They will have to find ways to increase time warp by a lot though!

[gfdgfherytrey]

Just started the gAME

[Bej Kerman]

11 hours ago, Periple said:

14 hours ago, Dakitess said:

We don't need to actually travel from a star system to another one.

I’m pretty sure they’ve said that transfers to other star systems will be fully simulated. They will have to find ways to increase time warp by a lot though!

They definitely have stated that.