Need help with space simulations? Join the discussion here!

  • Thread starter whartung
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In summary, if you are looking for assistance with space simulations, there is a discussion forum available for you to join. This forum provides a platform for individuals to connect and share their knowledge and experiences in the field of space simulations. It is a great resource for those seeking help, advice, and support from fellow enthusiasts and experts in this area. By joining the discussion, you can gain valuable insights and tips to enhance your understanding and skills in space simulations.
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whartung
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I was looking at a post of mine on Stack Overflow, and realized that it was 11 years old.

11 years old, something I was interested in, and am still interested in, but something I don't have a solution for.

I've been spending the past month, off and on, on what I would have thought wasn't an insurmountable problem. But it's a month later, and here we are.

I posted a recent question on SO, and it was almost immediately closed (but thankfully not before someone answered it). But it told me that they weren't interested in the kinds of questions I was asking. It's also a lousy place for discussion, which is what I'm really needing. I need to "talk" to "someone" about what I'm struggling with.

Fundamentally, it looks like my problems may involve differential equations, but I simply don't have that kind of math background. Keywords I've stumbled upon are "Lambert's Problem", "Two value boundary problems", etc. I know what a derivative is, I don't know what the chain rule is (don't know that I care, if my calculator can give me the derivative of an equation, do I care how it's done?). But it's all unapplied vocabulary.

What I'm trying to do is simply "space" stuff, for gaming. Not even a video game, but tabletop. To make things "look right". To answer ballpark questions. I just did a sample simulation on the effect of gravity for a ship I was moving, and found that, yea, there was some impact (of course there is), but not enough to matter for my purposes. I'm not NASA, it's a game. Of course, my sim can be wrong, so there's that as well.

So, I'm badly, and incompletely self taught. Latching on to the little bits I need to move my problem forward rather than trying to be a generalist in any field. Looking at simulation techniques, and problem solving for my simple ("simple") space mechanic problems. I know there's as combination of flat math solutions, but also optimization problems (which is a software thing, not a physics thing). I just want my ship courses to be plotted, which is turning out easier said than done.

Hopefully I can find some common ground for discussion here.
 
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Hello and :welcome:!

Have fun and stay curious!
 
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