hovercraft
Hovercraft is something first introduced to Space: The Conquest, in mass scale, by InventorIssac. Hovercraft is essentially a block dragging across the floor gaining in speed as it goes along. It is currently the fastest way to travel in STC short of teleporting, and is not commonly used due to its difficulty to create / strict conditions. Testings are rare due to the hovercraft's platform being easily deleted, but several have been conducted under TonyMai1Rules leading to helpful results.
speed
Testings have managed to calculate the approximate speed of Hovercraft over time, and compare it to speeds of other transportation methods. Before moving into speed calculations however, it is important to know how large a Metric Block is. A Metric Block is the maximum size a block can be expanded in a single direction. That number is 2048, or 2^11, this unit of measurement has come to be known as the Metric Block (MB), most testing results are in Metric Blocks. Similarly, measurements are taken in BPS (Blocks Per Second)
Hold up here, variable rate? Unlike Flying and Walking, Hovercraft speeds grow over time meaning the longer the course, the faster it moves. At 1MB its moving at approx. 188.68 BPS, yet at its start it moves at 56.34 BPS. The formula to calculate Hovercraft exactly is still up for debate as accurate measurements are hard to come by. However, it's likely between the two below:
Keep in mind the 2nd one is likely more accurate then the first. Essentially, this means that for distances over 600 Blocks, it's going to be faster using Hovercraft then it is flying. At distances over 20,000 blocks long, it's estimated Hovercraft would be going nearly 2000 BPS. That's 20x faster than flying. Even at 1MB, compared to other transport methods:
That gap just increases as the distance increases too. Indeed, Hovercraft is a VERY FAST method of transportation if you're willing to go through the efforts of making it, yet seeing as Seat Transportation takes the same effort and is instantaneous, its probably recommended over hovercraft.
- WALKING takes 128 Seconds to cross a Metric Block, at a rate of 16 BPS.
- FLYING AT MAX SPEED takes 20.34 Seconds to cross a Metric Block, at a rate of 100 BPS.
- HOVERCRAFT takes 15.36 Seconds to cross a Metric Block, at a variable rate.
Hold up here, variable rate? Unlike Flying and Walking, Hovercraft speeds grow over time meaning the longer the course, the faster it moves. At 1MB its moving at approx. 188.68 BPS, yet at its start it moves at 56.34 BPS. The formula to calculate Hovercraft exactly is still up for debate as accurate measurements are hard to come by. However, it's likely between the two below:
- 14.8435 BPS Increase Every 100 Blocks + 13.808 OR
- 09.6338 BPS Increase Every 100 Blocks + 13.925.
Keep in mind the 2nd one is likely more accurate then the first. Essentially, this means that for distances over 600 Blocks, it's going to be faster using Hovercraft then it is flying. At distances over 20,000 blocks long, it's estimated Hovercraft would be going nearly 2000 BPS. That's 20x faster than flying. Even at 1MB, compared to other transport methods:
- FLYING AT MAX SPEED is 24% Slower than Hovercraft.
- WALKING is 88% Slower than Hovercraft.
That gap just increases as the distance increases too. Indeed, Hovercraft is a VERY FAST method of transportation if you're willing to go through the efforts of making it, yet seeing as Seat Transportation takes the same effort and is instantaneous, its probably recommended over hovercraft.
how to make it
OK, so we've gone over how this works on a pretty technical level, now lets discuss how to make this. If you wan't to make the actual Hovercraft, then I advise getting a 5x5 square and then simply putting 3 tall walls over it. It's that simple, if you want a more complicated one, keep in mind the smaller it is the faster it goes.
As for the actual trail that you need to run the Hovercraft on, that's more difficult. Technically you could just get a block and make it 2048 blocks long and go "That's my trail!" It'd work, it wouldn't be safe, but it'd work. Now, if you want one that's safe it's going to be a different manner. The best design I've found is to use a tunnel, have a double layer (minimum) thich floor, tall walls, and a roof that's relatively low to stop ships from flying in. Similarly you'll want 2 lanes, one forward - one backwards, so the hovercrafts aren't crashing into each other. Also, at the back ends of the tunnel you'll want at least a 10block thick wall so when the hovercraft smashes into it, it won't go straight through it, which it will if its 1 thick and going fast enough. Personally, I call this design Hyperloop after a neat theorized high-speed system in real life, but how you want to use the hovercraft is up to you.
As for the actual trail that you need to run the Hovercraft on, that's more difficult. Technically you could just get a block and make it 2048 blocks long and go "That's my trail!" It'd work, it wouldn't be safe, but it'd work. Now, if you want one that's safe it's going to be a different manner. The best design I've found is to use a tunnel, have a double layer (minimum) thich floor, tall walls, and a roof that's relatively low to stop ships from flying in. Similarly you'll want 2 lanes, one forward - one backwards, so the hovercrafts aren't crashing into each other. Also, at the back ends of the tunnel you'll want at least a 10block thick wall so when the hovercraft smashes into it, it won't go straight through it, which it will if its 1 thick and going fast enough. Personally, I call this design Hyperloop after a neat theorized high-speed system in real life, but how you want to use the hovercraft is up to you.