Loren Pechtel wrote:Note, also, that GA energy range should exceed spider energy range. Energy weapons are subject to lightspeed targeting limits and given the drive performance longer range shots will generally miss a zigging target. Spider performance is lower, it can't zig as well, it can be hit from farther. And even if damage is low at such ranges the mass of firepower will still add up--even if you don't take it out anything on the side facing you is in a world of hurt--it's not going to be able to shoot back.
kzt wrote:You are on a golf course surrounded by a thick pine forest. Somewhere in that forest is a well camouflaged sniper with a suppressed precision rifle. He might be prone on the ground or high up in a tree. You have a machine gun with a million rounds of ammo.
The start signal for the this competition is when the camouflaged sniper starts shooting at you.
How will this likely end?
ThinksMarkedly wrote:Not a very good analogy because people's reaction times are far slower than sniper round travel times, whereas it's possible to see something in a space warfare engagement, react to it and fire at it before it hits you. For the analogy to be good, it would need to be possible to hit the sniper's bullet with another bullet, if you could see it coming. Instead of a sniper, it might be more analogous to a mortar team: you don't know where they are, but once you detect the incoming shell (if you're good), you can pinpoint where it came from and you may be able to fire at it before it strikes.
To continue this thread, we need to bring in some lessons from Galton and that would mean spoilers. So I'm holding off a few more weeks.
Note that they were talking about energy weapons, which cannot be seen (except in a dusty environment), and so it is meaningless to talk about hitting one bullet with another bullet.
The point of the analogy was that the spider could shoot an energy beam without being seen, unless it was in range of active radar.