1) yup

2) dunno

3) I agree, there needs to be some way to scoop reaction mass! Preferably without yet-another-scoop-type. Maybe you just need to land on certain types of planets? Ones with water for example?

4) dunno

Suggestions for how to improve that lot are most welcome.

Here here!! I think, ultimately there will need to be not only different FTL drives (standard and military) but different kinds of reaction engines. I also think the reaction engines should be able to be used as weapons... a fusion reactor venting a highly collimated beam of superheated plasma will ruin anyone's day!!

Having a few different engine types would allow for a variety of gameplay options, too. A high velocity mass driver is a relatively efficient low thrust drive and a GREAT weapon, while a hydrogen/oxygen chemical rocket is amazing for quickly applying lots of thrust but is nearly useless for long range flights.

Even without going through a huge list of options (electric mass driver, nuclear thermal, antimatter plasma, nuclear salt water, magsail, etc) allowing a player to switch between using different types of cargo for fuel would make sense... with different cargo giving different thrust and deltaV. Water gives roughly 3 times the thrust but a third the deltaV as hydrogen for a similar energy input, you could just go by the relative density. It would not only give long range explorers some much needed fuel flexibility... it would also allow players to dump some tungstun shavings (or whatever else they have on board that's really dense... nuclear waste?) into the main drive to act as an "afterburner".

Just an idea... one I think combines fun with accurate science and educational potential for players who want to get a bit "gearhead" with their ships <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//wink3.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=';)' />

If planets could be flagged as to whether they have water then landing on those planets could be a good solution, as long as water planets were common enough.

Oh, and didn't Brianetta say he had a script which took him to the center of the galaxy, so how did you manage that Brianetta? Does the script cheat? Or it actually picks up fuel as it flies?

Correct. Its one of the tradeoffs of using military fuel.

I can't remember - its been a while since I've tried it. I remember it being easy, but we do have some bugs around gas giant atmospheres at the moment that might account for the difficulty.

It can be mined from asteroids if you fit a mining laser and a cargo scoop.

Falcon is not bundled with the game. I don't know what we've got that's good, to be honest. I just write the thing, I don't actually play <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//icon_e_smile.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

In Pioneer, I have seen two "factions". The "scientists" prefer a simulator, and the "players" prefer a game.

For the game, maybe your fantasy place to find this: http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/topic/1237-p66-models-one-by-one/page__st__120#entry29418

Let us rise to the fantasy. After all, a game is a world with its own rules.

I don't mind the refueling element. just wasn't aware how to get it. As robn has pointed out if can be gained from asteroids, ill give that a go first, but thanks for the optional download.

It cheated like a rascal.