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Originally posted by apache:
However, in space, beam attenuation goes to approximately nil, because there are so few particles to actually run into.
Not quite - though I might be talking a cross angles to yourself. Over the distances we're referring to, beam weapons will probably spread a little. I'm not sure just what 'X'th century focusing techniques are like but it's highly unlikely that the focussing is 100% perfect. Over a few 100,000 kms, even at a tiny percentage of a degree misfocus, the beam will spread until it's inefectual - eventually. Otherwise anyone with a simple communications laser and a good aim could drill a hole through a planet on the other side of the universe - eventually.
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But then again, a ship moving with 30 Gs <snip> On the other hand, its safe to make the assumption that the propulsion systems in the game are based on non-inertial principles, so the crew would not feel a thing if the ship could move that fast.
I wasn't thinking of non-inertial systems, inertial dampers or gravity polarisers. Though when we're talking future techs here so who knows... However, what I was thinking when I mentioned 30Gs was advanced G suits, auxillary blood pumps, drugs to promote conciousness etc. I suspect that 30Gs for short times with advanced medical techniques is about the limit of what HUMANS can endure force wise. Any more and we start to suffer serious internal tissue damage.
What other races might be able to withstand is anyones guess.
However, once you start to include non-inertial systems, then beam combat outside of the milisecond range becomes infeasible. Without acceleration limits, any ship could immediately accelerate out of the way of incomming fire (assuming they knew it was comming). Acutally, they could probably accelerate out of combat were this the case. Combat timeing would then likely become one of aiming & firing before the target can react. On that basis, I don't favour non-inertial ideas. Inertial dampers maybe. They imply a limit to what interia can be absorbed. And gravity polarisers work in proportion to whatever local gravity fields are around. All speculation anyway...
Cheers.