A question of lore

[Old Murgh]

So you're sitting in the cockpit of your starship, cruising through a "safe" system, your favourite music pouring out of the 64-point surround sound, looking forward to a drink in the station bar. How are you dressed? In spacer's leathers with a blaster on your hip like Northwest Smith? Or maybe in a jumpsuit, or even in a pressure suit with helmet to hand in case your ship springs a leak?

Since nobody is around to cast fashion judgement, and one's faith in one's hull integrity is absolute but the climate control slightly on the cool side, the preferred comfort garment is snug, black and yellow striped long johns, which when reclined in the soft pilot's La-Z-Boy makes one look a bit like a relaxed wasp pupa.

[Redspear]

So you're sitting in the cockpit of your starship, cruising through a "safe" system, your favourite music pouring out of the 64-point surround sound, looking forward to a drink in the station bar. How are you dressed?

Naked. In full view of the large (ahem) cockpit canopy so as to distract/horrify/befuddle any oponent at close range.
Born free...

Or (if one's accoutrements are not adequately provided for by prior suggestion): smoking jacket, riding breeches, deerstalker and bubble pipe.
You don't need to have your fear glands removed when you can dress like that.


Now, where was I?

[Old Murgh]

Naked. In full view of the large (ahem) cockpit canopy so as to distract/horrify/befuddle any oponent at close range.
Born free...

Or (if one's accoutrements are not adequately provided for by prior suggestion): smoking jacket, riding breeches, deerstalker and bubble pipe.
You don't need to have your fear glands removed when you can dress like that.


Now, where was I?

Either way, this is how you get a reputation for being a space eccentric.

[Cmdr Wyvern]

So you're sitting in the cockpit of your starship...
How are you dressed? In spacer's leathers with a blaster on your hip like Northwest Smith? Or maybe in a jumpsuit, or even in a pressure suit with helmet to hand in case your ship springs a leak?

Depends on the Roh'i. Most are casually dressed:
Derik prefers asteroid miner's garb, simple ruggedness.
Pash'kal has a jeans and flannel thing going on.

Thi'ena is a sharp business suit kind of gal.

Ath'aenah dons a full pressure suit with helmet, and ties it into her fighter's life support system, with the cabin depressurized.

[Cody]

Murgh's attire of choice conjures a delightful image (unlike Redspear's). Personally, I favour a faded blue jumpsuit - but a pressure suit and helmet are always to hand. In the station bar however, you'd find me in a pinstripe suit and panama hat. Hats are important!

Ath'aenah dons a full pressure suit with helmet, and ties it into her fighter's life support system, with the cabin depressurized.

Very sensible - one never knows when a couple of warships might appear.


Are hull breaches a thing? Shields down, green lasers pounding bare hull plating - seems likely, yes?

[Cmdr Wyvern]

Ath'aenah dons a full pressure suit with helmet, and ties it into her fighter's life support system, with the cabin depressurized.

Very sensible - one never knows when a couple of warships might appear.


Are hull breaches a thing? Shields down, green lasers pounding bare hull plating - seems likely, yes?

An already depressurized cabin means a great power savings, as the life support only has to monitor the very localized environment of her flight suit.
Of course, once shields are down and shots hit bare hull, you never know if the cabin area might get holed. Ath'aenah spares herself the nastier effects of forced depressurization, in that regard.

Although she tries to light the injectors and run before the shields fail, buying some time to recharge.

On station, her attire, like most Roh'i, leans very casual.

[Cody]

Ath'aenah spares herself the nastier effects of forced depressurization, in that regard.

Indeed - explosive decompression is rather messy!

[Cmdr Wyvern]

You may also appreciate her choice in personal sidearm: a custom replica Colt/Browning .45 caliber pistol.

"Kinetic weapons may be heavy, loud, and archaic, but by no means less effective, and, due to the completely mechanical operation, often more reliable than hand lasers." -- Ath'aenah Roh'i

[Cody]

Absolutely! I go with a reproduction Walther PPK - easily hidden, but deadly!

[Slartibartfast]

Hi

kinetik weapon ..

E = 1/2 m v²

thats why they are so effective => v² ==> railgun!!

doubled speed -> 4x "Bang"

matthias

[Cmdr Wyvern]

Hi

kinetik weapon ..

E = 1/2 m v²

thats why they are so effective => v² ==> railgun!!

doubled speed -> 4x "Bang"

matthias

As personal arms, kinetic weapons, despite being "heavy, loud, and archaic", and needing extra magazines brought along, have a niche following among spacers. Blasters and hand lasers are far more popular, being accurate, relatively lightweight, and recoilless, and keep them charged by placing them in a cradle aboard ship. But the electronic operation of personal energy arms brings along reliability issues, that can sometimes be dangerous to the user.

For ship to ship combat, the opposite is true: Low effective range, and the need for bulky ammunition stores actually limits the effectiveness of kinetic arms, not to mention the need to track moving targets, which the targeting systems of most ships don't account for. For example, the military's insistence on plasma cannons. While plasma cannons aren't kinetic and don't use ammunition, they have similar properties in that the plasma shot projectiles are low velocity and low effective range. The military counters that by mounting a lot of plasma cannons for a 'spray n pray' approach.

[Old Murgh]

For ship to ship combat, the opposite is true: Low effective range, and the need for bulky ammunition stores actually limits the effectiveness of kinetic arms, not to mention the need to track moving targets, which the targeting systems of most ships don't account for. For example, the military's insistence on plasma cannons. While plasma cannons aren't kinetic and don't use ammunition, they have similar properties in that the plasma shot projectiles are low velocity and low effective range. The military counters that by mounting a lot of plasma cannons for a 'spray n pray' approach.

Seems very reasonable.

On a slight à propos, you sometimes use the term "Crazy Ivan" in relation to missile behaviour and I was curious about the details of what you mean by that since its seems to differ somewhat from the lesson that was imprinted in me by that one 1990 film.

[Cody]

kinetik weapon ..

Do what I once did - replace your laser with a heavy railgun, and see how that affects your style of play.
It's a very effective weapon, but you've only got 100 bolts - use them all, and you're utterly toothless!

[Cmdr Wyvern]

On a slight à propos, you sometimes use the term "Crazy Ivan" in relation to missile behaviour and I was curious about the details of what you mean by that since its seems to differ somewhat from the lesson that was imprinted in me by that one 1990 film.

When the guidance "brains" of the missile goes wacko. Like when you see the missile spiraling around the target instead of detonating.

[Old Murgh]

[When the guidance "brains" of the missile goes wacko. Like when you see the missile spiraling around the target instead of detonating.

Thanks, it makes sense. The original expression should probably have been "Suspicious Ivan" anyway.