Asteroids

Ok i know we are going to be able to destroy a planet with a astreoid but if anyone agree's with me do you reckon they could.

Make a asteroid so it orbits the planet so really you could pretty much transport a base this would open up a lot of doors to planet invasion instead of blowing it up (if you want to capture the resources)

Mainly since it would be a very good component since im guessing the engines take power and if you cut the engines midway to a planet it wont hit it or something. so im guessing if this is implemented you could hover it on a orbit with the planet then send it flying at the planet last second after letting it orbit for a while or just use it for a diversionary attack (so they try conquer it before you start it up again meaning you can draw there forces away from another attack or something). I don't think it's flawed mainly due to the fact it would be very very very easy to invade and maybe you could launch a nuke at it making it very fragile but extremely useful .

Last thing now if you have a large astreoid and you get it close could they make it so you would have to constantly thrust to keep your astreoid from hitting the planet which could be a bit flawed for either side due to the fact last second you could just stop the engines and it would explode but im guessing the main use for it is for a base if you wan't to do that

Basically

Pro's:

• Makes invasion more costly but easier
• Easily counter able (much easier to invade or just nuke it :3)
• Makes a great strategic point since well you can ram it into the planet at your will if they don't do anything about it.

Cons:

• The base most likely wouldn't last due to the fact the player who controls the asteroid would see a attack coming and could instantly launch it into the planet making it very hard to sneak attack it (might be countered by engine start-up time?)

If anyone has any major cons or pros that i missed out feel free to tell me and i will put them up here.

I'm pretty sure this was within the the original vision of the game, so yes, this function will be in the game.

Space science:
Cutting the engines mid-flight will cause the asteroid to maintain it's present velocity, not cause it to slow down and enter synchronous orbit. That'd take a bit of work. (Not saying it's not possible, just correcting your methodology).
Would this mean you'd have to install more boosters on the asteroid in order to give it a more fine-tuned maneuvering? I don't know. I like the idea though!

Side thought:
If you were to slam an asteroid into a planet's moon, shattering it. Would the shattered moon then be drawn into the planet? (This is assuming the asteroid hit the moon in-line with the planet).

It'd be pretty cool if you could destroy a moon, and then the destroyed moon-chunks could fall onto the planet causing even more destruction

Umm i know i did word it weirdly i mean't to say that they should make a way that astreoids only slingshot round the sun so it requires a constant thrust or it will undershoot the planet

Yes this would be pretty awsome and a great element of half suprise i can imagine that in a game

Team Defenders:Ha there astreoid has missed our planet it was there final hope we will be victorious!
Team Defenders:Thew it hit the moon and the fragments are hitting us... *Moon rubble hit's the planet crushing the 2 commanders*

OMFG genius! turn a huge weapon into an even bigger one through the natural laws of physics! I so totally want this in!

1) Take asteroid
2) Apply to moon
3) Create more asteroids
4) ????????????????????
5) Profit!

Unfortunately, it sounds as though you're creating more terrain as the game continues.

you guys don't get how turning an asteroid + a moon to thousands of peices falling towards the earth could have more devastating (albeit more aleatory) results then just one asteroid?

(the PA kickstarter showed a planet being destroyed by asteroid pieces, not a full asteroid might I remind you)

The overall idea would be to 'create new asteroids' in the direction of a planet that's been blocking your view of the sunset. Or you know, fostering enemy machines trying to kill you. (Thereby destroying them in a far more grandiose fashion).

It wouldn't be just to make more asteroids. Asteroids have gross space worms! (source: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Exogorth)
Although if you executed the moon-destruction improperly it could just create more asteroids. So don't mess up!

if an asteroid were to break a moon apart, why exactly would the pieces fall onto the planet?

Nah i completley understand a moon of our size is 7.35 x 10 22 Now lets pretend that it's falling at a relativly slow rate towards the earth at hmm 2000 metres per second couple of calculations later lets put it this way i would be sat here a long time holding down the 0 button to get a number close to the amount of force that is in that collision XD

Very true what we are saying is that it hit the opposite side of the moon IM NOT DOING ANYMORE CALCULATIONS ON HOW MUCH FORCE IS NEEDED FOR WHAT nuff said

The pieces would only fall onto the planet if the asteroid were to hit the moon at the correct angle. Which would make this a more difficult maneuver to pull off, but would be a quicker way to break a planet.

Edit: Incorrect science. Read on to tatsujb's diagram. Beyond the strikethrough is the idea though
You would have to line the shot up such that the asteroid was aiming 'at the planet' but with the moon in the way. This way the bulk of the force would be directed toward the planet. As far as resulting force-vectors from this collision, they certainly wouldn't all be pointing toward the planet. But we're assuming here that the planet is much larger than the moon, and thereby it's gravitational force would aide in pulling in the resulting chunks.

Some would float there, some may escape, but anything that had a force heading near the planet would get directed toward it as it moved closer to the gravitational field. Perhaps it wouldn't be enough to 'destroy' the planet. But I'm sure you'd do more damage than the original asteroid would have done. Even if all the debris is shotgunned across the surface.

We're going for the cool factor!

One of newtons discoveries i think if a object is hit towards the earth there is absolutley no way it is going to slow down so if the astreoid manages to hit the moon hard enough there is no force to stop it travelling towards the target planet and when it gets near the gravitational area of influence strong enough to pull it in bad things happen

Perhaps another 'super weapon' would be a asteroid/moon coating you could create that would prevent it from breaking apart?

So you coat two large rocks with this 'indestructible' coating, and now you can collide them elastically.
Now the solar system is your giant pool-table, and the enemy base is the corner pocket.

Because pieces would fly in every direction, including towards the planet.

apparently the idea is this:
(to be read with Morgan Freeman voice.)

Ok, tatsujb is correct, my explanation was terribly flawed. You would want to hit the moon tangental to it's orbit to decrease it's velocity! Of course! I'm sorry, thanks tatsujb! This would decrease the moons velocity and break it apart so it would fall into the earth.
(Addendum: Or maybe 45 degrees off tangental? Add some force to aide gravity in dragging the moon inward? I dunno. Physics!)

They key to 'orbiting' a planet is lateral motion. So hitting the moon tangentially will scrub it's speed and (hopefully) send it crashing down. (Not to mention breaking it apart).
Here's a fun xkcd explanation on some space stuff: http://what-if.xkcd.com/58/
"To avoid falling back into the atmosphere, you have to go sideways really, really fast."
Orbiting a planet is really 'falling' around the planet. You're traveling sideways so fast that the acceleration of gravity (9.81 m/s^2) pulling you towards the planet just drags you into a circle around the planet.


Oh, and things that may happen if the moon were to break apart. (Well this is just from a detonation on the moon breaking it up):

The correct term is "retrograde", i.e. opposite of the orbit direction. And yeah, that would give the most potential stuff falling down.