Help: Space Combat?

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Frost

I think that this depends upon the pirates MO as much as the underlying physics. Opposed boarding when in flight isn't going to be a thing but I don't see other models being impossible.

Given the difficulties with piracy, capture and ransom seems to be the way to go anyway and if physicaly taking control of ships is too hard pirates might cut out the capture bit all together in favour of extortion effectively 'pay up or get shot up'.

Boarding is a rather delicate process conducted at ridiculously short range - it's not remotely safe to get that close to a ship that isn't either trustworthy or totally helpless.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Frost

I think that this depends upon the pirates MO as much as the underlying physics. Opposed boarding when in flight isn't going to be a thing but I don't see other models being impossible.

Given the difficulties with piracy, capture and ransom seems to be the way to go anyway and if physicaly taking control of ships is too hard pirates might cut out the capture bit all together in favour of extortion effectively 'pay up or get shot up'.

If this is too impersonal for game use the assumptions still allow the same kind of intimidation tactics to force an uncontested boarding. Guns might be a valuable tool for this with (normaly completely ineffective) long range fire being used to 'pollute' potential escape vectors and dictate the targets tactical options.

In many settings both options will probably exist with many gangs switching between the two modes based upon operating conditions. This seems particularly likely if piracy overlaps with political terrorism (not nessecarly an unrealistic assumption).

You can't do space piracy without functionally reactionless drives. Keeping track of your delta-v is just incompatible with wandering around space intercepting targets of opportunity and avoiding military patrols.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

You can't do space piracy without functionally reactionless drives. Keeping track of your delta-v is just incompatible with wandering around space intercepting targets of opportunity and avoiding military patrols.

At least you can't do space piracy that looks like age of sail piracy. With constraining delta-V, the targets and the patrols are liable to be substantially predictable too, which raises possibilities.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

At least you can't do space piracy that looks like age of sail piracy. With constraining delta-V, the targets and the patrols are liable to be substantially predictable too, which raises possibilities.

Not a lot. Note that in order for it to be practical to salvage tribute or wreckage, you actually have to be launching from the same point of origin as your victim. If you're coming from the other way or laterally you'll be going too fast to match velocities.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Not a lot. Note that in order for it to be practical to salvage tribute or wreckage, you actually have to be launching from the same point of origin as your victim. If you're coming from the other way or laterally you'll be going too fast to match velocities.

Only if we're assuming that your raider has roughly the same delta-V as the transport does.

Pirate ships that can't outrun prey never worked well.

EDIT: A harder problem is that the transport likely doesn't have enough delta-V to divert much away from its destination, if you want to steal it. The two most 'real rocketry' oriented space pirate stories I know of sidestepped that: Corsair by Cambias was about hijacking payloads on the way from the Moon to Earth, and all that was needed was shifting the landing zone so that groundside confederates could seize it before the owners could get there. Neptune's Brood by Stross had the pirates make their profit by market manipulation at the destination, not by extracting it from the target ship itself.

[sir_pudding]

You also don't need to salvage wreckage, just be a credible threat and extort less for safe passage then it would cost to eliminate you.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

You also don't need to salvage wreckage, just be a credible threat and extort less for safe passage then it would cost to eliminate you.

Speaking of that, in a multi-day fleet action there could be phases that involve salvaging wreckage and perhaps fighting over dead ships. After all wet ships have an ocean to sink into. Space ships, unless they blow up are still there.

Expended missiles and drones are also targets for salvage. As are Harrington style launch pods.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

Only if we're assuming that your raider has roughly the same delta-V as the transport does.

.

Oh no. Even arriving from the same point of origin you still need several times as much delta-V.

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

You also don't need to salvage wreckage, just be a credible threat and extort less for safe passage then it would cost to eliminate you.

Threatening to blow up ships unless their bank account back on earth transfers funds into your bank account on Mars is really stretching the definition of piracy.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Oh no. Even arriving from the same point of origin you still need several times as much delta-V.

...Only if you're starting out a long way behind and need to overtake fast.

Originally Posted by David Johnston2

Threatening to blow up ships unless their bank account back on earth transfers funds into your bank account on Mars is really stretching the definition of piracy.

That's pretty close to how modern-day pirates work.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

...Only if you're starting out a long way behind and need to overtake fast.

No, because you need to change course and reach a different destination than where you were going afterward. No Hohman orbits for you!