ship mass

[montana05]

Would it be possible to actually change this parameter in a future release to the real volume of a ship rather than the bounding box ? Hiran once mentioned there could be a way, by checking the model. Since my knowledge of models is limited, I leave it up to smarter people than me to figure out if this would work.

[Cholmondely]

From Stranger's essay on Roolite (google translation, my editing):

There is no gravity in Oolite, but ships and stations do have inert mass. True, it is not a basic parameter, but is calculated very approximately through the dimensions of the ship and its density (yes, this is exactly how it is not the volume of the ship's hull that is calculated, but rather the volume of the box enclosing it). The mass of the cargo taken on board and the equipment and weapons installed on the ship is not taken into account in this formula. Fuel consumption does not affect the dynamics of the ship either, so the mass of the ship or station manifests itself only in indirect effects, on which the gamer rarely fixes his attention. Technically, the game engine starting from version 1.82 allows simulating the influence of the variable mass of the ship on its dynamic characteristics (thrust-to-weight ratio, maximum speed, turn rate along the axes), but the implementation of such a model rests on the problems of game balance. The standard equipment is in no way tied to the dimensions of the ship, the entire basic set can be put on even a tiny Adder, even a heavy Anaconda. In this situation, a handicap from the mass of equipment, barely noticeable for a heavy Anaconda, would be prohibitively large for a crumb-like Adder.

Reference: Strangers World: click button at very bottom of page under Roolite screen shot