Space Shuttles in TW sims

[charlielima 328]

I read a book once about the Soviets hijacking a US shuttle and attempting to land it at Baikonur. Would make a good mission, trying to intercept a shuttle on final approach (sitting duck) but all the while being harassed by Foxbat's and Fulcrum's.

 

It was called Storming Intrepid and featured SR-71's overflying Russia, B2's in Soviet airspace and an ultra-secret US spaceplane called the Kestrel (something akin to the Dyna-Soar project, but armed with modified Sidewinders and Phoenixes for use in space).

 

It was pretty good stuff.

 

Dale Brown?

:ph34r: CL

[FastCargo 412]

Nope...Payne Harrison I think...

 

FC

[Stick 773]

Escort Missions?

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

A better idea might be sub-orbital stuff, or X-15 or something. Or just Alan Shepard kinda thing. Just fly high and come down, but not fast enough to require actual orbit.

 

Funny thing. Before PATCH 2008, Thudwire game maps were cyclic in the East-West directions -- if you set Border < 0. You could fly east or west forever, up to the negative Border value, with the map starting over again and again. AI aircraft could fly there in hand made missions, but not do combat missions. Beyond the "normal" map edge, at low altitude, the terrain was weirded out though when you flew low...very vertical canyon like terrain. But you only saw that at low altitude. If I recall my brief time with PATCH 2008, after that patch, the game dumps out if you can see the map edge ... 0 < Border < Horizon Distance, or something like that. TK musta saw what I discovered and made sure nobody else could see it hehe!!!

 

The north/south map edges had white abyss. These are things only I have seen, well along with *one* other who also set Border < Horizon Distance, or something like that.

 

900 gigaton bomb.

I'M ON IT LIKE BLUE BONNET

Edited March 31, 2009 by Lexx_Luthor

[JediMaster 451]

LOL, kill all units on the map at once, both sides.

 

A doomsday device!

[scouserlad13 0]

I think i have the answer my friends... http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/sys...t/hypersoar.htm

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/sys...oar_gallery.htm

 

I give you, the Hypersoar

[+Klavs81 4]

I read a book once about the Soviets hijacking a US shuttle and attempting to land it at Baikonur. Would make a good mission, trying to intercept a shuttle on final approach (sitting duck) but all the while being harassed by Foxbat's and Fulcrum's.

 

It was called Storming Intrepid and featured SR-71's overflying Russia, B2's in Soviet airspace and an ultra-secret US spaceplane called the Kestrel (something akin to the Dyna-Soar project, but armed with modified Sidewinders and Phoenixes for use in space).

 

It was pretty good stuff.

 

Storming Intrepid was awesome stuff, a bit cheesy, but awesome.

[Rodent 0]

LOL, kill all units on the map at once, both sides.

 

A doomsday device!

 

 

That was the idea

I think you would have to go pretty far into space to escape that one.

[kct 5]

900 gigaton? That would single-handedly stop the eels, at the cost of the blue planet.

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

Its a low yield fizzle. The Chicxulub or "dinosaur" crater is estimated here at 100TT, a tad over 100 times greater than 900GT, and the roaches and real-estate agents came through just fine.

 

 

 

Impact specifics

 

The impactor's estimated size was about 10 km (6 mi) in diameter and may have released an estimated 400 zettajoules (4×1023 joules) of energy, equivalent to 100 teratons of TNT (1014 tons),[17][18] on impact. By contrast, the most powerful man-made explosive device ever detonated, the Tsar Bomba or Emperor Bomb, had a yield of only 50 megatons,[19] making the Chicxulub impact 2 million times more powerful.[20] Even the largest known explosive volcanic eruption, which released approximately 10 zettajoules and created the La Garita Caldera,[21] was substantially less powerful than the Chicxulub impact.

 

~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicxulub_Crater

[FastCargo 412]

Also, you could say that although the planet wasn't destroyed per se, the 'dinosaur killer' certainly did a nice job on the biosphere.

 

But, yea, sort of reminds you that humans have nothing on the Universe in terms of being able to destroy things.

 

FC

[GreyCap 0]

Yes, I would like to see a Black Hole one day in the download section.

[Rodent 0]

I actually thought the 900 gigaton would destroy the map and the option would be to fly into space to escape it, in the game. By far into space I did not mean you would have to go to another planet, but that even at the top of the atmosphere that blast might reach you.

 

I just imagined a death star surface terrain for TW sims, and where the heck did that idea come from? Might have been the talk about planet killers.. I guess it might be difficult to make a flyable death star to scale if the engine does not really support space flight. Sounds kinda risky to try and fly the deathstar within the atmosphere too.

 

Ok.. back to the space shuttle. In an all serious note this could be done in a serious and still interesting fashion as long as we don't expect to have the entire aspect of space flight, but rather stick to landing scenarios. Or perhaps an AI only vehicle. I wonder, would it be possible to model it to launch straight up instead of take off from a runway? Also booster separation might be tricky to get. I don't think you would need to worry about the tank separation though as that would happen when it is off the map already.

[MigBuster 2,875]

The shuttles old news - why not model its replacement - aka the ship of tommorow - aka Apollo :)

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7973359.stm

 

doh!!!

[Shaolin 0]

The shuttles old news - why not model its replacement - aka the ship of tommorow - aka Apollo :)

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7973359.stm

 

doh!!!

 

It really seems like a step backwards!

[Syrinx 13]

Well I'm happy if the Constellation project (Ares) does what it says on the tin. Gets humans back to the Moon and then eventually, Mars.

 

Someone should really start a new topic if you want to discuss spaceflight in depth.

[scouserlad13 0]

Would it be possible to do the hypersoar? I mean i left a couple of links of all the info you need for it. Pictures and general information about the aircraft, it would be a perfect addon for this idea that we have got going here!

Edited April 1, 2009 by scouserlad13

[+Jarhead1 27]

Wow, I didnt think it would be able to actually be done, but its awesome if it can be. Just to get to fly at the edge of space or a little bit higher would be worth it.

[Silverbolt 104]

baykonou? hehe

 

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

jarhead::

Wow, I didnt think it would be able to actually be done, but its awesome if it can be. Just to get to fly at the edge of space or a little bit higher would be worth it.

Oh man yes its possible in the sim.

 

You poasted about planets. Like our brief 3D cloud discussion, you can make huge round 3D objects and float them in space like WW1 balloons. The moon is 1740km radius. You can get as close as you want to them -- "landing" -- but it would involve tricking the sim. It can be done, but requires New Thinking hehe. Anybody ever think of Cold War recon balloons? Hell no!!!

 

Just don't let TK see it, or he will disable it next Patch.

[+Jarhead1 27]

why would he disable it??????? I would think he would be tickled pink to see how moddable the game really is honestly, and also it could draw more people in. But, hey, who am I? I just by the game, lol.

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

Well, just kidding there...somewhat. TK did disable the ability to see the map edges, and I only half jokingly assume after I brought attention to it. I like the ability, as it allows for full map usage, especially if you run huge horizon distance...for me, 200 to 300 km. For a thousand km map, 300km horizon distance means the map is only 400km in usable size.

[Kodiak 27]

The shuttles old news - why not model its replacement - aka the ship of tommorow - aka Apollo :)

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7973359.stm

 

doh!!!

 

That guy looks like the more civillized version of Earl from "My Name is Earl" series