Quote:
Originally Posted by RogerBW
Where this gets complex is in the case where you want to launch and leave orbit as quickly as possible.
Turn 1: you launch from the planet to a gravity hex above the planet, and end up at velocity 0. That's fine.
In 2e, on turn 2 you could boost into orbit, or into one of the three non-gravity hexes now accessible to you; in the latter case you'd have velocity 1 because you're not entering a new gravity hex this turn.
In 3e the wording has been changed, and apparently requires you to go into orbit on turn 2 and then break orbit on turn 3. Players have been asking here and on BGG whether this is a deliberate rule change, but to the best of my knowledge there's been no response.
|
It's pretty clearly a deliberate change, since the rules make clear that you have to conform to gravity hexes you moved through in your LAST turn. If you try to move to one of the three open hexes, the gravity of the hex you left will pull you back to an orbit hex. So yes, in the current edition, you have to enter orbit before you can break it (unless you Overburn).
In space rocketry, this could be considered the equivalent of making your gravity turn and circularizing your orbit, a routine all real spacecraft perform, even if they will go on to travel to another celestial body.