actually orbited for 10+ minutes

[XB7]

Not sure if this counts for anything. I was really amazed with the physics though.

I orbited the New Hope moon while mining in multiplayer. I kept the following stats for several minutes without controlling the ship.

Grav 75
Bearing 45
Level 0
alt 2000
speed 40

Had my hands off the control for 10+ minutes! It was a real thrill. The ship finally broke out on its own and ascended slowly to about 2500 before I took the wheel back.

Once you start to orbit the ship breaks away from the steering, leveling itself out at 0. Once you feel the jerk, you can let go of the controls for a bit. The gravity fluctuates between 0 and the current reading as the ship pops along on its own.

I orbited prior at 4000 feet, moving a bit faster.. around 54 velocity.

[SeeJay]

I can only agree. Something new and spectacular seems to pop up every now and then.

I can only imagine whats out there in unfamiliar territories.

Great seeing you online last night.

[DaveK]

There is a thread about orbiting and gravitational slingshotting. The consensus then was that you couldn't . . . :D

Since you've managed a semi-stable orbit, how long before someone reports a slingshot?

Congratulations!

[Marvin]

I assume you did that in inertial mode. NASA should be proud. Congratulations.

[XB7]

Sounds like you are using a force feedback controller.

Hmm, it does have a trembler, but I was so into the experience, I probably didn't actually feel it.

In the inertial mode, I had my nose pointed down towards the ground a bit (I didn't take that exact reading) so I could place the mining beam. I work the strafe with an x-y controller to stabilize the ship around the same alt. At the slower speeds, this is manageable.

Pretty soon the ship snaps to level 0 instantly. It's a pretty hard jerk (visually), and the hull even makes some kind of bumping sound. The sounds emanates each time the gravity drops to 0 and then returns back to 75 or whatever the reading happens to be.

That New Hope moon is pretty huge and flat. That might contribute to the longevity of the "orbit". As I mine more planetary objects that don't have an atmosphere, I'll get a better feel for what's going on.

[Wasp89]

Geosynchronous "orbits" are possible, but not a complete orbit. Why? First, keep in mind that in a geosynchronous orbit, the craft is actually moving around the earth in a circle, but the earth is revolving at the same rate, so the orbit appears to be stationary.

The simple answer: The game treats gravity as a velocity, not an acceleration. This is why you can hold a geosynchronous "orbit" without any engine power, with your ship on inertial. Your "upward" velocity is exactly opposite to the equal "downward" velocity generated by the game's "gravity," so the sum of the velocities is 0. What this means for attempting orbits is difficult to explain, but the short answer is that they are impossible.

Feel free to try though Plot your points on a graph over time as you attempt an orbit, and you will get some interesting results.

[Aures]

Once you start to orbit the ship breaks away from the steering, leveling itself out at 0. Once you feel the jerk, you can let go of the controls for a bit. The gravity fluctuates between 0 and the current reading as the ship pops along on its own.

I orbited prior at 4000 feet, moving a bit faster.. around 54 velocity.

I hate to burst your bubble but the auto leveling at 2000 altitude is caused by the ship going into "landing mode" and does not constitute an orbit. If you are in inertial mode your velocity vector will slowly drift from the horizon as you circle the planet. If you are going fast enough you will eventually leave the ground and start gaining altitude, if not you will eventually just come to a stop (after about a quarter of an "orbit"). If you are in IDS mode the ship will constantly adjust your velocity so it follows the horizon. Doing that it should be possible to completely circle a moon but it is hardly orbiting, more like driving with cruise control.

At an altitude of 4000 (btw whatever the unit of distance measurement is in Evochron it is not feet) you just need to fly for a while longer. 54 velocity is very slow and it takes a long time for the velocity vector to drift (relative to planetary coordinates). Again the most you could get is less than a quarter of the way around before you break orbit.

Nice try Wasp89, but in the real world there is no such thing as a geosynchronous orbit about a non-rotating body. Also, real geosynchronous orbits require a certain altitude. In Evochron you can hover at pretty much any altitude where there is gravity and no atmosphere (provided you can get exactly the right velocity, no mean feat).

[XB7]

I hate to burst your bubble but the auto leveling at 2000 altitude is caused by the ship going into "landing mode" and does not constitute an orbit.

No worries. What you've said makes a lot of sense. Can you explain a little more about the "landing mode"? I wasn't aware you could land on another surface apart from a base's tractor beam.

[Marvin]

You don't really "land" ... it's more of a hover mode. Pressing "v" will give you a 3rd person view of what your ship is actually doing. (Hovering is mostly used when mining on the surface of a planet.)

[XB7]

Well, the "orbit" has officially been debunked!

Thanks for the info. The hover feature makes mining a lot easier.

[Wasp89]

Nice try Wasp89, but in the real world there is no such thing as a geosynchronous orbit about a non-rotating body. Also, real geosynchronous orbits require a certain altitude. In Evochron you can hover at pretty much any altitude where there is gravity and no atmosphere (provided you can get exactly the right velocity, no mean feat).

I think you misunderstood me, Aures. Probably because I wasn't very clear. I was trying to demonstrate why a "geosynchronous orbit" in Mercenary is really an orbit at all, because you need to be travelling around a revolving body. Good to see that at least one other person understands why only a quarter orbit is possible. At any rate, we are on the same wavelength.

[Aures]

I think you misunderstood me, Aures. Probably because I wasn't very clear. I was trying to demonstrate why a "geosynchronous orbit" in Mercenary is really an orbit at all, because you need to be travelling around a revolving body. Good to see that at least one other person understands why only a quarter orbit is possible. At any rate, we are on the same wavelength.

Wasp89 I asume you meant to say "isn't" but yes, I have previously posted about how a geosynchonous "orbit" is possible in exactly the same tone you used:). I didn't so much misunderstand as use your reply to demonstrate just how far removed doing this in Evochron is from the real world.

No worries. What you've said makes a lot of sense. Can you explain a little more about the "landing mode"? I wasn't aware you could land on another surface apart from a base's tractor beam.

If you bring your ship down to 2000 altitude with sufficiently low speed you can cut the engines and sit at 2000 altitude rather than continuing to fall. The gravity meter will go to 0 and your ship will automatically level itself out. You can get some interesting behaviour from it like what you observed, I would suggest playing around with it a bit.

[Wasp89]

Bleh, 36 hours of next to no sleep coupled with copious amounts of law case studies and criminological theorizing (i.e., lots of paper writing) has addled my brains (and subsequently my ability to type). Of course I meant "isn't."

[TGS]

Yeah sadly as Aures mentioned around 2000 (Can vary) alt you are essentially viewed as landed. Even though you never actually touch the surface you are essentially at the lowest point you can reach short of pointing down and engaging your thrust.

To give some clarity you can do something that in reality shouldn't be even remotely possible without ending up very dead.

Fly torwards the planet and around the 100k alt mark or even 75k alt just drop your thrust and/or engage inertial and let your sheep freefall. You'll find that you simply fall until you hit the "ground" which you never do but in previous terms you hit around the 2k mark and autolevel.

I have many many times just dropped all thrust and let my ship freefall from space til I hit that lowest point. I've only once ever died from it and I happened to hit one of those rare "mountain" points where you can die very easily. You can even do it over water.

[XB7]

Fly torwards the planet and around the 100k alt mark or even 75k alt just drop your thrust and/or engage inertial and let your sheep freefall. You'll find that you simply fall until you hit the "ground" which you never do but in previous terms you hit around the 2k mark and autolevel.

WOW! If that's the case, I'm being way too careful.

[TGS]

LOL I can't believe I typoed sheep. But anyway yeah from what I've tested you actually have to try (or be incredibly silly) to destroy yourself on the planet. It's more likely that you'll be destroyed going too fast in the atmosphere.

Fly torwards the planet and around the 100k alt mark or even 75k alt just drop your thrust and/or engage inertial and let your sheep freefall. You'll find that you simply fall until you hit the "ground" which you never do but in previous terms you hit around the 2k mark and autolevel.

WOW! If that's the case, I'm being way too careful.

[Pyroka]

Or destroyed by the free falling sheep.