So, did the rail guns on the 304s ever actually damage an enemy capital ship?

[NikolaeVarius]

And yet slow enough so that it can take a second or two to cross a few thousand meters on-screen.
Now if you'd ramp those rounds up to maybe 20% c, then you'd start packing some significant energy into them. But tiny metal rounds against shields....well, it's a nice lightshow.

Just an effect I would say.

The Railguns in atlantis looked fine. The shots might as well have been lasers considering how fast they were firing.

 

[Joseph F]

Hah, thanks for the waffles. I think my nerd points just edged over 9000 by being present in this thread, I have no idea wtf any of you are talking about. Carry on

I didn't expect so many fuckin' nerds to be on OT either.
I used to watch the Stargate series when I was younger but honestly, who gives a fuck about the railguns on the 304s?

 

[ViRGE]

Pretty well like when the Daedalus was being chased by some powerful alien fighters, and the ship's engines failed. It immediately slowed to a halt, allowing the aliens to catch up and create some level of tension, apparently because in that particular reality, space has the viscosity of cold butter.

Space is just like an ocean or roadway, except when it's not. If these fights were physics accurate (even if you bend the rules for FTL), it wouldn't be nearly as exciting.

 

[Howard]

Then, options:
1) If the engines fail while bad guys are chasing, turn off dampers.
2) Focus the dampers on enemy weapons fire, to slow it down and evade it.

Did they really slow down or was the enemy simply able to continue accelerating?

 

[So]

Did they really slow down or was the enemy simply able to continue accelerating?

All I know is that I want a sci-fi series that treats space battles the way BSG did, but doesn't suck for the last two seasons.

 

[Bateluer]

And yet slow enough so that it can take a second or two to cross a few thousand meters on-screen.

I'm under the impression that the ship to ship battles take place miles apart.

 

[Jeff7]

I'm under the impression that the ship to ship battles take place miles apart.

A few thousand meters would be a few kilometers, and 1 mile is about 1.6km.

In any case, fast things on TV seem to move astonishingly slowly, like a laser blast that crosses a room at about the speed of sound.

Did they really slow down or was the enemy simply able to continue accelerating?

The example I'm thinking of was when the Daedalus was being pursued by some alien fighters in "The Daedalus Variations." All of them had their engines at full power; the Daedalus was barely managing to stay ahead of the fighters, but then it suddenly lost engine power. On-screen, it immediately slowed to a stop, and the aliens caught up quickly.
Star Trek is just as guilty - engines fail, and the ship comes to a halt, except when momentum is convenient for the plot. What sucks about it is that, working as an engineer, people seem to have the idea that the laws of physics are actually very malleable.

"I can't do it in 5 hours, the laws of physics simply won't allow it."
"I need it to happen in the next 4 minutes."
"Ok, fine, I guess it'll be ok, but just this one time!"

 

[NikolaeVarius]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbfSdJgLTrI

Just watching the clip from the Daedalus Variations.

Looks like they're using a freaking Phalanx as a anti fighter weapon.

What happened to the Railgun screen that they're so good at. I mean, human controlled fighters are taking the enemy fighters down, but computer controlled phalanx/railguns can't?
Bah.

 

[Howard]

On-screen, it immediately slowed to a stop

What reference point?

 

[ViRGE]

What reference point?

The camera.

 

[Howard]

The camera.

The camera suddenly became stationary relative to the chasee.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

The camera suddenly became stationary relative to the chasee.

This. Ship stopped accelerating due to lack of thrust, allowing the fighters to accelerate enough to catch up.