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[quote name='owl' timestamp='1305183261' post='4809686']
[quote name='szecs' timestamp='1305181762' post='4809677']
I don't think the perpendicular direction is any special.

I've been thinking about this and I remembered the famous "elevator" analogy used by Einstein. The light arriving perpendicular will describe a curved path inside the vessel, just as it would do if it passed nearby a very massive body. Traveling at c (or almost), from the perspective of the vessel it'd be like if the light coming from the outside bended downwards following the shape of the container (more or less I think...).



BBBBBBBBBBBB
B B ^
perpendicular light >----------\ O WTF? B |
| B / \ B |
| B | B |
| B / \ B |
| BBBBBBBBBBBB
\------------------------------------>

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What are you guys talking about? Light would not follow a curved path. He described an instantly accelerating object. The light would only appear to follow a curved path if the observer was accelerating.[/quote]

You're right there. That drawing doesn't apply for an object that isn't accelerating.

In all reference frames, the only incoming light that can strike you at an angle orthogonal to your direction of travel is light that was emitted from a reference frame similar to yours. If you are traveling near c in direction v, only objects traveling near c in direction v could possibly shoot a photon at you in a path that would appear to you to be horizontal.

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How would light emitted, say, by stars behave in relation to the moving object? For some reason (my fault) I'm having trouble picturing that.

¨A more interesting question:
How would we relativistically simulate a space-fighting game with all these time dilatations in a multiplayer game? All controls/the behavior of the spaceship would slow down compared to the outside scene? That is an interesting game design question.... [/quote]
in despite that i am a nube here, i guess that's the best answer of all...

forget all the realistic speed/time relations, it makes space games impossible, multiplayer or not.

this are at least the guessing of a frontier addicted.
1st not important for gameplay
2nd it makes them impossible from my point of view

if you're really up to a space sim (i would love to see it) concentrate on other things rather than especially something that is not to solve in a game.

almost realistic newtonian physics are more of interest to me then speed/time relations, else you can forget all the sci-fi stories and games.
there is really no proper solution for that problem, theoretically maybe but in the end it doesn't matters.

it depends a bit on the goal you have, a space flight sim like frontier don't deserves such and it's apart from that impossible to realize imo.

but if it's a more strategic type of game where colonization and such plays the main part then you could think about such, i guess.
it will be then a interesting limitation of the power one has and calculations for such could be a task of the game, i think so.
means how much time will my colonization ships be on their way from the view of the "static" home world and how this will influence my progress compared to my opponent (humans or AI).
i guess if then at all one could limit space battles to a range where time dilatation plays no big role, e.g. "close" to orbit of a body.
it's to imagine that you enter (with what technology ever, gravitation lens effect or hyperspace) in a close range to the target planet.
so speed for your ships will be into a range where dilatation plays no big role and you can leave it aside.

all the space flight sims i know disrespect that fact, that's true, but i guess it's not that the devs wasn't clever enough to think about such, only that a fighting game didn't deserves it.
it's already a nearly not to solve problem to make a multiplayer game in the style of elite/frontier, we discussed that often on frontier forums and SSC.
some suggest that there is no proper way except you limit the space like in X-beyond, while others like me think that this plays no role as long as you leave the factor realistic time/speed relations aside.
i mean it should be possible to calculate the course of two space ships in a open space, doesn't matter if it controlled by a player or AI.
another problem is that such travels still take a long time in reality and who likes to wait half a day for his opponent, leave the computer until you arrived?
certainly not, you like to play and the player has to be entertained else he loses interest in the game, if he loves realism or not.
so you will need something like a "star dreamer" or to say in other words, speed up time for the flight, but there starts the real problem for the game.
one can select his own time? not possible time has to be synchronized* else you will never meet your opponent.
but i let that up to you, especially because i don't know in which direction you plan goes.

anyways this sounds interesting to me and as i am interested in any space sim game, let me know your progress.
all of us at Space Sim Central will be praise you for a new space game, flight sim or strategic.


* if you ever played frontier you will know this situation;

i am into a fight with a "imperial courier" this ship has a very special behave, as soon as it fires a missile at you, it will leave the close space using maximum time speed up, since it takes a little time until you noticed that, there is nearly no way to catch it. you see that's a serious problem and time dilatation is left aside else...

*too lazy to read the 50 posts*

The 'speed of light' is a limit to how big the magnitude of the velocity of a object can be.

Lets say we have 2 particles, A and B

theyre next to each other, going up.

A_B

lets say theyre communicating by vibrating or something. If theyre not moving, they receive the signal at the speed of light.

If theyre going half the speed of light, the signals can only travel at half the speed of light. If you somehow manage to get them travel at the speed of light, the signals they send will be traveling at the same speed as the particle, and thus they cannot gain velocity to any other direction (unless being pulled by something, as that will redirect the force) so a particle going at light speed cannot interact with other particles unless they collide with each other or something like that...

i think you would just multiply the velocity by 1-Velocity_Magnitude / Max_Speed


Also, if the object instantly accelerates to speed of light and then stops somewhere else, it will also feel like it travelled in an instant, even if the journey took years. Basically for the object travelling, it makes it look like there was no speed limit, and that speed of light equals to infinite speed.

Thats also why it wouldnt really work for a game, because in the game the player will notice that infinite speed didnt take him there in 0 time.