I'd been assuming that Space Friction came part and parcel with the concept of a Speed-Drive, and was part of what limited their speed. (Heliosphere, atmosphere, etc). When you turn it on, your speed increases fas some function of the output power. When you turn it off, you stop.
I also sort of figured it that the difference between the speed and acceleration drives, was how/when they used the majority of their fuel. Speed drives burn fuel as they are cruising, while acceleration drives burn fuel to accelerate, turn off and coast, then burn again to decelerate. One idea I'd been mucking with based on this, is a stealth ship that uses an acceleration drive to increase it's speed, then cuts it's engines and coasts to minimise it's energy and heat signatures. Whereas a speed drive is always on, and lights up the sky like a Christmas tree (relatively).
Acceleration drives are more efficient, the longer the coasting time can be (Provided you're not some poor sod who has a quirk that requires you to run your engines constantly) . Speed drives are more efficient for shorter journeys. Acceleration drives are also capable of achieving higher speeds than speed drives, but need a massive amount of fuel to do it.
At least, that's based on some stuff I'm doing for the Ciara. That's how they make their way in Fenspace. They're faster than a speed-drive equipped ship of similar size and load carrying capability, and so can deliver fresh foodstuffs from Earth out as far Mars/Venus. While that pays good money, the fuel they burn to accelerate to those speeds costs nearly as much to buy.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
I also sort of figured it that the difference between the speed and acceleration drives, was how/when they used the majority of their fuel. Speed drives burn fuel as they are cruising, while acceleration drives burn fuel to accelerate, turn off and coast, then burn again to decelerate. One idea I'd been mucking with based on this, is a stealth ship that uses an acceleration drive to increase it's speed, then cuts it's engines and coasts to minimise it's energy and heat signatures. Whereas a speed drive is always on, and lights up the sky like a Christmas tree (relatively).
Acceleration drives are more efficient, the longer the coasting time can be (Provided you're not some poor sod who has a quirk that requires you to run your engines constantly) . Speed drives are more efficient for shorter journeys. Acceleration drives are also capable of achieving higher speeds than speed drives, but need a massive amount of fuel to do it.
At least, that's based on some stuff I'm doing for the Ciara. That's how they make their way in Fenspace. They're faster than a speed-drive equipped ship of similar size and load carrying capability, and so can deliver fresh foodstuffs from Earth out as far Mars/Venus. While that pays good money, the fuel they burn to accelerate to those speeds costs nearly as much to buy.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?