Argument Thread OOC Future Tech Only

[Arthropoda Ingens]

actually, a singularity only has very limited non-newtonian effects outside the swartzschild radius, so a tiny singularity would only have very localised effects, as it's a product of density, rather than pure mass, especially if you add technobabble. A 1kg black hole would have neglible effects on anything further than say, 10 to 100 metres away. (can't be bothered with the exact maths right now, but it's a good estimate)

It would've negligible gravitational effects on anything essentially regardless of distance.

A kilogram is a kilogram.

[The 44th Indp Legion]

actually, a singularity only has very limited non-newtonian effects outside the swartzschild radius, so a tiny singularity would only have very localised effects, as it's a product of density, rather than pure mass, especially if you add technobabble. A 1kg black hole would have neglible effects on anything further than say, 10 to 100 metres away. (can't be bothered with the exact maths right now, but it's a good estimate)

It would've negligible gravitational effects on anything essentially regardless of distance.

A kilogram is a kilogram.

Please note how I said 'effects' and not 'gravitational effects'. that being said, you are correct - though things might/will get weird once you start involving the event horizon (or should I call that the firewall these days?) in things.

[Escalan Corps-Star Island]

It would've negligible gravitational effects on anything essentially regardless of distance.

A kilogram is a kilogram.

Please note how I said 'effects' and not 'gravitational effects'. that being said, you are correct - though things might/will get weird once you start involving the event horizon (or should I call that the firewall these days?) in things.

I may have forgotten to mention that the "grenade" is the size of a small asteroid.

[Vocenae]

Pretty sure most of this tech discussion stuff should go into the Arguement thread.

This is the argument thread.

Just waking up bleary eyed and having this thread and the Advice thread open at the same time tends to increase the odds of making a mistake between the two.

But yes, we need to push the tech brainfart ideas that have plagued the Advice thread for the last several hundred pages into here, since there's far too much 'no this is how it works no that's wrong this is how it should work no u' going on.

[Kreanoltha]

This is the argument thread.

Just waking up bleary eyed and having this thread and the Advice thread open at the same time tends to increase the odds of making a mistake between the two.

But yes, we need to push the tech brainfart ideas that have plagued the Advice thread for the last several hundred pages into here, since there's far too much 'no this is how it works no that's wrong this is how it should work no u' going on.

Agreed.

[SquareDisc City]

It's inevitable there will be arguments in the advice thread, since it's inevitable different people will give different advice.

[Vocenae]

Before you and Biop came along, there were no arguements in the advice threads.

[Yes Im Biop]

Before you and Biop came along, there were no arguements in the advice threads.

A fact I take great joy in accomplishing.

[Mini Miehm]

Before you and Biop came along, there were no arguements in the advice threads.

A fact I take great joy in accomplishing.

That's something you should take gratuitous amounts of shame in. Not pride.

[Kreanoltha]

A fact I take great joy in accomplishing.

That's something you should take gratuitous amounts of shame in. Not pride.

I must concur with Miehm on this. The advice thread is for advice to players. If arguments are to be had they should stay here.

[Yes Im Biop]

A fact I take great joy in accomplishing.

That's something you should take gratuitous amounts of shame in. Not pride.

I take honor's where i can get em.

[Thrashia]

*salutes from the After-Life, having successfully jumped and covered the entire grenade*



See what I did there?

[Balrogga]

That is why I created the Advice Thread, to allow players to get real advice instead of being confused by arguments.

[The Akasha Colony]

That is why I created the Advice Thread, to allow players to get real advice instead of being confused by arguments.

The problem is that there is often no such thing as universally good advice, particularly when it comes to things as contentious and ungrounded in readily-verifiable fact as future technology. As the whole fighter shebang showed, there are plenty of people with different views who will give different advice. Arguments also seem to spring up whenever people even mention antimatter as fuel, with many declaring they wouldn't touch it with a 99 1/2 foot pole, and others considering it fine to use.

[Strykla]

Christ alive, I'm so damn lucky I joined a good forum before the bad ones. I'm trying to have an argument over BSG versus Halo and I've already been called a 'wanka'. Spacebattles sucks! Or, it isn't fun.

Anyway, naked singularities as weapons - Y/N?

[SquareDisc City]

I posted on the topic not long ago in the other thread.

The behaviour of a singularity is by definition unpredictable. Singularities are unlikely to actually exist and if a theory predicts their formation in a given situation then that probably means the theory is no good for that situation.

Now "unlikely to actually exist" doesn't always bother sci-fi writers much. Personally if I were to use a "naked singularity" weapon I'd be minded to play it for laughs, have it be as likely to fill the target ship with bananas as it is to blow it up for example. If you want it to have definite behaviour you'll probably just have to make something up.

[Strykla]

I posted on the topic not long ago in the other thread.

The behaviour of a singularity is by definition unpredictable. Singularities are unlikely to actually exist and if a theory predicts their formation in a given situation then that probably means the theory is no good for that situation.

Now "unlikely to actually exist" doesn't always bother sci-fi writers much. Personally if I were to use a "naked singularity" weapon I'd be minded to play it for laughs, have it be as likely to fill the target ship with bananas as it is to blow it up for example. If you want it to have definite behaviour you'll probably just have to make something up.

I'd like a good laugh now. Maybe I'll reverse someone's polarity!

As for actually using them as weapons, wouldn't tidal forces pose the greatest danger to targeted ships?

[SquareDisc City]

Well a naked singularity would not necessarilly be associated with a black hole, although sufficiently highly charged and/or rapidly spinning black holes are theorised to create naked singularities. As such, a naked singularity doesn't have to come with any defined gravitational or tidal forces, though it might.

[Strykla]

Well a naked singularity would not necessarilly be associated with a black hole, although sufficiently highly charged and/or rapidly spinning black holes are theorised to create naked singularities. As such, a naked singularity doesn't have to come with any defined gravitational or tidal forces, though it might.

Oh, yeah. Huh. Singularities really are like a magician's hat, right?

[Korvos]

So, I have a question for you guys. I'm not using powered armor, and I was wondering what other things I could use to essentially even the battlefield. Currently my troops have advanced combat stimulants (not of the "hulking out" kind, more of a zen concentration kind) and a secondary firing mode for their laser rifles that projects a beam instead of pulses.
Thoughts?

[Arthropoda Ingens]

IFVs.

Antimatter bullets.

Balls of iron.

[SquareDisc City]

Genetic or cybernetic engineering to enhance your troop's physical abilities.
Recoil compensation on small arms, so they can pack the punch that otherwise would need power armour to support the weapon. (Lasers do recoil, though by much less than traditional firearms with the same muzzle energy so it only becomes important once you start firing shots with nuclear bomb level yields.)
More use of vehicles and air support. An infantryman's going to be vulnerable to airstrikes whether or not they're wearing "power armour".

[Sertian]

Smaller kinetic weapons (or at least, less powerful ones than those equipped to power armor soldiers), or the use of energy weapons should allow you to have at least somewhat equivalent, or at least, roughly in the same area of fire power as power armor equipped infantry. You'll face the problem of being (slightly) slower, having less stamina and carrying capacity, but your troops will be much cheaper to equip. You could then take advantage of that and have a large(r) army, or invest that capital in armor and aviation support (less powerful troops, more numerous tanks).

Although this question seems like something more appropriate for the advice thread.

[Korvos]

More armored and air support does sound good. What about special weapons, though? I was thinking of creating a less cheesy version of meltavets, but other special man-portable weapons should exist.

[The Akasha Colony]

More armored and air support does sound good. What about special weapons, though? I was thinking of creating a less cheesy version of meltavets, but other special man-portable weapons should exist.

I suspect missile-type weapons will be a favorite. The practical maximum velocity of a conventional bullet is going to be limited by the maximum recoil the soldier can withstand, which is going to be lower than that of a power-armored soldier. Hence, self-propelled, ideally guided, weapons would be able to make up that gap. They'd be bulkier and more expensive than just using a bigger, power-armor grade standard rifle, and would be a bit overkill against other unarmored soldiers, but would be more useful.

IMO, a pulse from a laser would probably be more effective than a beam, assuming it hits. A pulse can put out a greater amount of energy concentrated into a split second impact than a longer-duration beam. It's also more likely to put that energy in a single spot, rather than a more spread out area if the target is moving, further increasing the likelihood of meaningful damage being dealt.