Inertial Dampeners Make No Sense

[Draxiss]

Adapted from this Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/avorion/comments/6s4306/suggestion_inertial_dampeners_make_no_sense/

 

Let's get some things out of the way:

 

    In layman's terms, an object's inertia is that object's resistance to change in velocity. If you could somehow magically increase your inertia while flying through a vacuum, your velocity would not change. However, you'd have a harder time accelerating. The opposite is true of your acceleration if you magically decreased your inertia, and your velocity would still not change!

 

    'Acceleration' refers to any change in velocity or direction, unless specified otherwise. Instead of saying 'decelerating', all you're really doing is accelerating backwards. Moving left simply is accelerating backwards and left such that your forward speed is canceled out and accelerating left at the same time. Note that this doesn't have to do with rotation (relative to outside objects, that is), since you can spin around without changing velocity.

 

Nothing about Inertial Dampeners makes sense.

 

Avorion's Inertial Dampeners do not exert any change over your vessel's inertia, outside of the additional mass they add. They no not cancel out any deleterious effect caused by your vessel's inertia. Inertial Dampeners could negate the internal deleterious effects of changes in Inertia, such as by reducing collision damage, allowing sharper turns, or allowing for faster acceleration. Instead of being crushed by an impact, your vessel simply bounces off. Integrity Field Generators negate the negative effects of inertia more than Inertial Dampeners. Inertial Dampeners could also negate effects relative to external forces, by simply increasing your vessel's inertia such that collisions don't affect you as much. Instead of being crushed by an impact, the thing you impact is crushed.

 

Avorion's Inertial Dampeners do not moisten your vessel's inertia. In fact, I'm pretty sure fluid physics aren't even in the game. It is distinctly more likely that the name you're looking for is Inertia Damper.

 

Avorion's Inertial Dampeners are not what they claim to be. They are reactionless drives that can only impart acceleration in arbitrary directions. They acceleration your vessel towards a speed of zero. Not zero relative to anything, mind you. Just zero. The lore states that they work by generating "subspace friction," and while I'm willing to believe that the 'subspace' the game refers to is simply another way of looking at the properties of spacetime, it seems just a liiitle bit silly that whatever makes up subspace just happens to slow you down to match the surrounding matter.

 

All that being said, here're my suggestions:

* Rename 'Inertial Dampeners' to 'Reactionless Drives,' 'Cavitation Thrusters,' or some-such. Use your imagination. Remove the arbitrary limitation that causes them to ONLY brake your vessel. If needed for balancing purposes, make them directional. Make them more expensive/less energy efficient than normal engines/thrusters. In fact, make versions of said reactionless drives that correspond to engines, 2-way thrusters, and 6-way thrusters.

* If you want your new Reactionless Drives to feel special, require thrusters and engines to be exposed in order to function. Two- or six-way thrusters have boosted output to sides that are not covered, so it isn't awful to use them. Allow players the option to convert covered thrusters and engines they've already built into reactionless drives of the same kinds, to minimize broken builds. At the end of the day, Reactionless Drives should cost more in terms of money and energy for similar outputs, but allow greater freedom in controlling their craft's design.

* Re-add Inertial Dampeners Inertia Dampers. Instead of providing acceleration, actually have them affect inertia! When added to a vessel, that vessel has an easier time accelerating under it's own control, is more impact resistance, and is less susceptible to external forces affecting it's momentum. Allow the vessel a faster turning speed, and potentially even increase the vessel's rotation speed limit beyond 4 Rad/sec. Reduce the effects of kickback. Basically, have Inertia Dampers cause the vessel to act as if it's more or less massive then it really is, depending on which is more advantageous.

 

Having atmospheric physics is space is NOT intuitive. A significant chunk of Avorion's audience is familiar with games like KSP and Space Engineers. Avorion is a game that takes place in space. Implementing atmospheric rules is not intuitive when I am trying to play a space game! When I am playing a space game, I expect space rules. There's a very physics-y feel to the game; you're supposed to learn spacial awareness, understand momentum, and that building RC Thrusters (AKA just 'Thrusters') away from the center of mass allows you to turn more quickly. Inertial Dampeners are jarring because they conflict with the at least somewhat realistic aesthetic of the rest of the game.

 

Side Note: The empty vacuum of space slows you down far too quickly. Am I flying through space or soup?

 

TL;DR: Inertia Dampers don't make sense, add Reactionless Drives while minimizing build breakage, and make Inertia Dampers actually do stuff to inertia. Also, call them Inertia Dampers.