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Sublight Engines

From Starship Simulator

The Magellan Class starship in Starship Simulator is propelled by 4 Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rockets (VASMIR). These are located at the aft of the ship attached to pylons, paired upper and lower on the port and starboard of the ship. The engines work by heating and ionizing an inert propellant (yet to be defined in game) to form a plasma, which is then condensed and accelerated using a magnetic field creating thrust. This uses large amounts of electricity, but small amounts of propellant.

In-Game Implementation

The VASMIR engines drive the ship at sublight speeds, and when the Alcubierre Drive is also activated, the combined input of these systems enables the Magellan class starship to travel at speeds effectively exceeding the speed of light, allowing for travel between star systems within the game's 1:1 scale Milky Way galaxy. In effect, the Alcubierre Drive 'shifts space' around the ship while the engines simultaneously propel the craft inside the resultant bubble.

External Links (Real-World Physics Concepts)