Units of Distance and Speed
I was recently wondering about units of distance and speed in Artemis. This was not primarily for accuracy or "realism", rather because I wanted to do speed/distance/time calculations (e.g. how long will it take that Kralien Cruiser to reach DS2?), and to allow me to have a clear consistent terminology for crew communications and training.
Distance
The game itself is the primary cannon. Ranges are often given as just a number, ok sometimes it is a number followed by "k". But that is just to indicate thousands. There are only two instances I've noticed of units of distance being given in-game. The first is on the Server Control Screen - the sensor range options are given in km. The second is on the jump drive controls on the helm display - distance is again given in km.
The 1.70 manual Mike S wrote was done at Thom's request and is also, to my mind, cannon. There are a number of references to units of distance (in addition to screen shots of those listen above).
Page 15: "If no target is hit after the torpedo has traveled 6kms, an automatic timer will detonate the warhead."
Page 19: "This box allows you to initiate docking once your ship is within 600 meters of a station."
Although the Ranges in-game are not given with units, their numbers correspond with the examples above. E.g. when you jump 17km from a station its range is given as 17k (17000), E.g. a range > 600 prevents docking. This leads me to conclude that ranges stated in game are in meters, and that the standard units of measurement for distance are metric, not for example μls.
There are only only 2 exceptions to this. The first is on page 21: "Remember, Warp Factors are not absolute speeds. When the Engineer allocates more power to warp drive your travel through every light-second of space will become both faster and more efficient." This statement is not describing a specific distance. It could equally be phrased as "...your travel through a given distance will become...". The use of light seconds could be considered to be figurative, especially as based on in-game timed runs, and the above assumption about ranges being in meters, with engines set to 300% at warp 4 it would take over a day to travel 1 light second. So players are unlikely to ever actually travel as far as a light second.
The second exception is on Page 45. It gives the blast radius of nukes and ECMs as "1,000 units". This does not contradict the metric assumption, rather it is just a bit vague. It does however correspond with in-game ranges, which as previously stated I believe to be in metres. As a result the units in question i believe to be metres.
Speed
I've not found any in-game references to speed, or units of speed. There are of course Percentage impulse and Warp Factors, but as it confirms in the manual - these are ship settings that result in different speeds depending on other factors, rather than speeds themselves.
The manual has a number of references to speed:
Pages 41-44 and 46-53 list TSN and Alien ships' maximum impulse speeds as a decimal proportion of "LS". I have heard it said that LS stands for "light speed". On page 22 impulse engines are described as "sub-light propulsion systems." But the Arvonian fighter has a max impulse of 1.2LS. That is not sub-light. Additionally even 0.1 LS would far exceed the in-game observable speeds. I therefore assume that these speeds are given purely as backstory in sci-fi sounding units, rather than a reflection of in-game performance.
So...
Mike, as appointed authority on cannon, can you confirm my assumption that in-game ranges where units are not stated are in metres/kilometres?
Although we will never be able to have a set of units and in-game values that are realistic in terms of Warp actually being faster than light, at least we can have a consistent frame of reference even if not realistic in terms of the speed of light. On that basis could I suggest that max impulse speeds in the manual (which don't need to be faster than light anyway) could be given in m/s. Even max warp could be given in m/s. I haven't got the figures from our in-game timed runs to hand, but max impulse would probably be in the hundreds of m/s, whereas max warp would be in the thousands of m/s. Although that is nowhere near faster the 300,000,000 m/s speed of light, we have to allow some suspension of disbelief, and artistic licence for the sake of entertainment, much like tv shows such as Star Trek have always done.
Could I also suggest references to kilometres are given as "km" not "kms" as they currently are on page 15.
And finally, may I be the first to say: nerdiest... post... ever! :P
Distance
The game itself is the primary cannon. Ranges are often given as just a number, ok sometimes it is a number followed by "k". But that is just to indicate thousands. There are only two instances I've noticed of units of distance being given in-game. The first is on the Server Control Screen - the sensor range options are given in km. The second is on the jump drive controls on the helm display - distance is again given in km.
The 1.70 manual Mike S wrote was done at Thom's request and is also, to my mind, cannon. There are a number of references to units of distance (in addition to screen shots of those listen above).
Page 15: "If no target is hit after the torpedo has traveled 6kms, an automatic timer will detonate the warhead."
Page 19: "This box allows you to initiate docking once your ship is within 600 meters of a station."
Although the Ranges in-game are not given with units, their numbers correspond with the examples above. E.g. when you jump 17km from a station its range is given as 17k (17000), E.g. a range > 600 prevents docking. This leads me to conclude that ranges stated in game are in meters, and that the standard units of measurement for distance are metric, not for example μls.
There are only only 2 exceptions to this. The first is on page 21: "Remember, Warp Factors are not absolute speeds. When the Engineer allocates more power to warp drive your travel through every light-second of space will become both faster and more efficient." This statement is not describing a specific distance. It could equally be phrased as "...your travel through a given distance will become...". The use of light seconds could be considered to be figurative, especially as based on in-game timed runs, and the above assumption about ranges being in meters, with engines set to 300% at warp 4 it would take over a day to travel 1 light second. So players are unlikely to ever actually travel as far as a light second.
The second exception is on Page 45. It gives the blast radius of nukes and ECMs as "1,000 units". This does not contradict the metric assumption, rather it is just a bit vague. It does however correspond with in-game ranges, which as previously stated I believe to be in metres. As a result the units in question i believe to be metres.
Speed
I've not found any in-game references to speed, or units of speed. There are of course Percentage impulse and Warp Factors, but as it confirms in the manual - these are ship settings that result in different speeds depending on other factors, rather than speeds themselves.
The manual has a number of references to speed:
Pages 41-44 and 46-53 list TSN and Alien ships' maximum impulse speeds as a decimal proportion of "LS". I have heard it said that LS stands for "light speed". On page 22 impulse engines are described as "sub-light propulsion systems." But the Arvonian fighter has a max impulse of 1.2LS. That is not sub-light. Additionally even 0.1 LS would far exceed the in-game observable speeds. I therefore assume that these speeds are given purely as backstory in sci-fi sounding units, rather than a reflection of in-game performance.
So...
Mike, as appointed authority on cannon, can you confirm my assumption that in-game ranges where units are not stated are in metres/kilometres?
Although we will never be able to have a set of units and in-game values that are realistic in terms of Warp actually being faster than light, at least we can have a consistent frame of reference even if not realistic in terms of the speed of light. On that basis could I suggest that max impulse speeds in the manual (which don't need to be faster than light anyway) could be given in m/s. Even max warp could be given in m/s. I haven't got the figures from our in-game timed runs to hand, but max impulse would probably be in the hundreds of m/s, whereas max warp would be in the thousands of m/s. Although that is nowhere near faster the 300,000,000 m/s speed of light, we have to allow some suspension of disbelief, and artistic licence for the sake of entertainment, much like tv shows such as Star Trek have always done.
Could I also suggest references to kilometres are given as "km" not "kms" as they currently are on page 15.
And finally, may I be the first to say: nerdiest... post... ever! :P
[Last edited Mar 15, 2013 00:02:08]
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Theven, the original game as Thom wrote it used meters as the distance unit. That works reasonably well for the 3-D models representing spaceships, but it completely breaks down when considering travel. If the distance units are the same meters that you and I use in the real world then that fierce Torgoth Leviathan is going about the speed of a helium balloon escaped from a toddler's birthday party.
That's not surprising, since science fiction space battles routinely mutilate time, speed, and distance. Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica depict space-born fighters going about the speed of World War One biplanes. Star Trek depicts starships blasing each other at ranges closer than civil war ironclads. And Babylon Five depicts combat maneuvers both too fast to be survived and too slow to be believed. So if Artemis is going to let you live out the glorious battles depicted in media science fiction then it MUST distort time and space by factors of about a million.
Apparently you have a different version of the manual from the one I have, which uses µls everywhere.
And I agree with your nerdiness assessment.
That's not surprising, since science fiction space battles routinely mutilate time, speed, and distance. Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica depict space-born fighters going about the speed of World War One biplanes. Star Trek depicts starships blasing each other at ranges closer than civil war ironclads. And Babylon Five depicts combat maneuvers both too fast to be survived and too slow to be believed. So if Artemis is going to let you live out the glorious battles depicted in media science fiction then it MUST distort time and space by factors of about a million.
Apparently you have a different version of the manual from the one I have, which uses µls everywhere.
And I agree with your nerdiness assessment.
[Last edited Mar 15, 2013 15:05:01]
"Damn the torpedoes! Four bells, Captain Drayton!"
(Likely actual words of Admiral David Farragut, USN, at the battle of Mobile Bay. Four bells was the signal for the engine room to make full steam ahead).
(Likely actual words of Admiral David Farragut, USN, at the battle of Mobile Bay. Four bells was the signal for the engine room to make full steam ahead).
I was going off the manual currently on the website.
Then it needs to be updated. It's a minor thing because, as I said, any units will be nonsense in some aspect of the game. But thank you very much for pointing it out.
"Damn the torpedoes! Four bells, Captain Drayton!"
(Likely actual words of Admiral David Farragut, USN, at the battle of Mobile Bay. Four bells was the signal for the engine room to make full steam ahead).
(Likely actual words of Admiral David Farragut, USN, at the battle of Mobile Bay. Four bells was the signal for the engine room to make full steam ahead).
The game (v1.7) also still says "km". Has Thom decided to change this to bring it in line with the new manual?
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