10-05-2018, 06:55 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Oct 2007
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Triplanetary: Launching from a planet
Launching from a planet
The short question: Must a ship spend at least 1 turn in orbit prior to leaving orbit? The longer question: Per the rules: 1. "Boosters provide an acceleration of one hex from the world or satellite to an adjacent hex." 2. "The planetary surface gravity immediately cancels takeoff velocity, leaving the ship stationary in the gravity hex immediately above the base. Unless fuel is spent on the next turn, the ship would fall back to the planet and crash." 3. By expending a point of fuel, the snip may enter clockwise or counter-clockwise orbit. On a later turn it may burn fuel to leave orbit to return to the planetary surface or venture into space." In #1 above, should "acceleration" read "velocity"? The wording of #2 seems to contradict the rules regarding gravity which state that "gravity takes effect on the turn after an object enters the gravity hex." It would seem that, applying the gravity rules, on the turn after launch, without burning fuel, the ship would move one hex directly away from the planet (beyond the gravity hex), then "fall" back into the gravity hex for a net velocity of zero. On the following (third) turn, provided no fuel is burned, the ship would fall into the planet. It would seem, following the gravity rules, that if I burned fuel directly away from the planet on the turn after launch the ship would end up two hexes above the planet with a velocity of 1. However, #2 and #3, combined, imply that on the turn after launch the ship's net velocity is zero and its only option is to burn fuel to enter orbit. On the third or subsequent turn the ship can burn fuel to leave orbit. So, a literal reading of the rules implies that it takes a minimum of three turns to leave a planets orbit: one to get off the planet, one to enter orbit and a third to leave orbit. Is that how it is supposed to be? Thanks for the help!
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Regards, Scott Chisholm |
10-07-2018, 08:24 AM | #2 |
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: near London, UK
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Re: Triplanetary: Launching from a planet
This is not an official answer.
The way I've chosen to interpret it, in light of the second edition rules which I also have, is thus. (Assuming strong gravity.) On turn N you launch from planetary base (effectively, the planet hex) to a gravity hex - let's call it eastwards. Your velocity at this point was 1 hex eastwards, but you've just entered a gravity hex so it's now zero for your next turn. On turn N+1 you can:
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10-07-2018, 12:40 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: near London, UK
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Re: Triplanetary: Launching from a planet
For clarity: this does allow for overloading on turn N+1.
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10-07-2018, 05:14 PM | #4 | |
Join Date: Oct 2007
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Re: Triplanetary: Launching from a planet
Quote:
My college son has participated in several NASA events and informed me that while it was conceivably to lift off and enter the right trajectory to get to one's desired destination, it was much more prudent to enter a stable orbit before leaving the planet's gravity well. So, unless overridden by SJG "officials", I'll play it to where you have to enter an orbit after launch, even if it's for only one turn. I believe that's how your explanation works, so I must be in good company. ;-)
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Regards, Scott Chisholm |
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10-07-2018, 10:15 PM | #5 | ||
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Central Texas, north of Austin
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Re: Triplanetary: Launching from a planet
It looks like RogerBW has already provided a helpful response.
I had some thoughts as well. Quote:
Quote:
I'm guessing that you can save energy or delta V (or whatever) by tapping into some of the orbital energy before you decide to sling out. I just remember as a kid seeing diagrams of the missions to the moon where the trajectories circled the earth and did the same on reaching the moon presumably to aid in deceleration. |
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10-25-2018, 01:18 PM | #6 | |
Join Date: Jul 2018
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Re: Triplanetary: Launching from a planet
Quote:
Notably if you thrust northwest or southwest you can skip orbiting and have an escape velocity under this interpretation on N+1, but there is no option to shoot straight out from the planet in the 'direction' of the 'launch' on N+1. On Board Game Geek the interpretations tend to be either the same as mine (start with velocity 1 West, no special case) or only allow orbit moves on N+1 (which is essentially a special case by disallowing the 'stand still' or the 'thrust down and to the side to shoot by the planet on your way out' maneuvers). |
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11-01-2018, 05:09 AM | #7 | ||
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: near London, UK
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Re: Triplanetary: Launching from a planet
The core problem here is that there has been an explicit change of text from 2nd to 3rd edition. In 3rd, we have:
Quote:
Quote:
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07-28-2019, 06:18 PM | #8 |
Join Date: May 2012
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Re: Triplanetary: Launching from a planet
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