FTL Drive
| FTL Drive |
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| File:Wormhole Drive.png |
| Information |
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An Engineer Station is required to be used in conjunction with a Navigator Station. Refer to the Engineer console for instructions on how to use it.
Wormhole Drive
Wormhole drives allow the instant travel to another star system through natural wormholes. The drive is created using lumenite, which is only found on moons and planets in colder orbit zones.
Multiple FTL drive units are required on the spacecraft depending on its size, less than the required number will make it unable to engage. More units than required allow for redundancies in case the FTL drive is damaged. The FTL dive also require a great deal of power, calling for a healthy number of power plant units.
The wormhole drive has three polarity settings:
- Positive
- Negative
- Neutral
When engaged, the drive goes through a 6 second warm up phase, then the drive is active for 50 seconds, then goes through a 6 second cool down phase. The polarity cannot be changed while the the drive is engaged.
The spacecraft will disintegrate upon entry into a wormhole if the drive polarity is set incorrectly!
See the Engineer Station page for more information on how to operate the wormhole drive.
Warp Drive
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This section is in need of revision. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. The reason given is: Since the warp speed was halved, the math here is wrong. |
Available at TL24, Warp Drives allow direct travel to other systems, at a speed of 5x the speed of light, per warp factor. I.e., warp 1 is 5x the speed of light, warp 2 is 10x the speed of light, and so on, until warp 9.
Warp drives can be set to warp factors 1 through 9. All factors are limited to tech level, faster speed being allowed with a higher TL. Each warp factor requires more energy than the last, so power plants are a must.
Warp drive is engaged at the currently selected warp factor. The warp factor cannot be changed once the drive is engaged, just as the polarity of the wormhole drive cannot be changed once the drive is engaged.
When engaged, the warp drive goes through a 6 second warm up phase, then provides warp drive FTL speed for 50 seconds, then goes through a 6 second cool down phase. The cycle exactly matches that of the wormhole drive.
The energy consumed at warp factor 1 is the same as the energy consumed by engaging a wormhole drive. That way a ship's FTL drives and capacitor are adequate no matter what FTL Drive unit is installed later.
When operating the warp drive yourself, a good rule of thumb for warp factor is the distance in parsecs rounded up. That way the amount of time the warp drive is operating is just about enough to get you to the destination. This is because light speed is 10 minutes per parsec. Warp factor 1 is 10x light speed, which means you travel one parsec per minute. The hot portion of the drive cycle lasts for almost a full minute (50 sec.). Therefore, the ship travels almost one parsec for each warp factor. You can of course choose any warp factor you like. Warp 9 to go 1.5p is a little much because you'll have to circle around the destination system for a while after you get there, waiting for the warp drive to finish its cycle.
Warp speed is directly proportional to the distance to the nearest star, up to the maximum established by the warp factor when the drive is engaged. There is no acceleration or deceleration. Speed changes are instantaneous. Observe the result of engaging the warp drive in deep space or the result of flying directly into the star with the warp drive engaged.
Warp speed near the star does not vary with warp factor; warp factor only affects the maximum speed achieved by a ship. Two ships that are the same distance from the star at different warp factors will travel exactly the same speed. At some distance from the star, one of the ships will stop going faster. The other ship will stop going faster when it is far enough away to reach it's maximum warp speed. Warp 1 full speed is achieved at 1/5 parsec from the center of the nearest star, which is right at the margin of deep space.
Helm station shows a warp factor indicator when the warp drive is hot.
Engineer crewman will operate the warp drive at an appropriate warp factor when the destination is farther than .9 parsecs away. Issue a Travel Direct order and the crew will do the rest, it doesn't matter how many parsecs away it is. The engineer will engage the warp drive repeatedly if necessary to get there.
Engineer crewman will operate the warp drive to follow another vessel. If the ship being followed engages its warp drive, the engineer crewman will set the warp factor of his own ship to match that of the ship being followed and engage his own warp drive.
Design analysis shows the maximum warp factor achievable based on max capacitor power.
Turn Rate at Warp Speed
As of the Update on 1/3/14 Turn rate now reduces linearly as speed of a spacecraft approaches the speed of light.
A spacecraft traveling at warp speed, or even at the speed of light using sublight engines will be unable to turn until it reduces its speed.