On 10Oct2020 0948, xxxxxx@gmail.com wrote:

> Once you pass maybe 50-75% extra added body weight... I have to think  > that only high STR individuals would be able to move at all. If >
someone added 100 pounds to my weight, I'm quite sure I'd be on the >
ground crawling at best. Even a fit person would find it fatiguing to >
act in that sort of gravity.
For the first day or few days young and fit people would manage -
'light' infantry manage whilst carrying loads of their body weight or
so. Sleeping would be where it gets you.

> Thrown weapons get exciting in low G but you'd need to get used to  > the gravity to judge the arcs. You might be able to hurl grenades a
 > LONG way in low gee situations. Now, fired or thrown weapons (spears,
 > bows, etc) would have longer ranges in lower G but also will have >
acclimatization to get the new arcs right. In heavier gravity, the >
range would drop off notably and the weight of some weapons (a heavy >
crossbow for instance) may require a bench rest because firing from >
the standing was already a challenge with archaic weapons given their >
normal weight. Again, you'd need to train in higher G to figure the >
arcs. > Slug throwers would have altered trajectories for long distance
fire > where fine precision is required. Over short ranges, your bullet
 > speeds are enough that the change in dip may not be too great (due to
 > the limited flight time of the round).
MegaTraveller has some rules for this, I think. GURPS certainly does.

> The increased weight can cause vehicles to sink into ground or get  > stuck in more conditions. Hovercraft and low ground pressure options
 > probably fade in higher G planets. High G architecture would be more
 > conservative and sturdy. On the other hand, lower G planets probably
 > have fancier architecture, more elegant (fragile looking) transport >
means but may have some troubles with high waves (water also weighs >
less and so it can probably develop harry tides). On high G worlds, >
I'd expect lower tides. On high G worlds, submarines and boats (and >
planes) are probably less efficient (they take more to keep afloat) >
and on low G worlds, such subs, boats, and planes can more readily > float.
For ground vehicles higher gravity means better ground traction, so you
can accelerate, brake, and turn easier. Higher ground friction will mean
lower top speeds, and any falls resulting from crashes will be more
severe. Lower gravity means the opposite - worse handling, higher top
speeds and may actually be more dangerous, though easier on equipment if
drivers are responsible.

For hovercraft and aircraft air pressure is also very important, and may
cancel out the effects of high gravity on the ability to get off the
ground, though higher pressure means lower top speeds. For a simple
arppoximation stall speeds go up with the square root of gravity and
with the inverse of the root of pressure, and top speeds go down with
the root of both, if I'm recalling things right.

As for ships, etc. - gravity doesn't change flotation - it increases the
weight of the fluid just as it increases the weight of the vessel. Very
high (/many/ Gs) and very low gravity will change speed and handling
because wave-making and wave-climbing behaviour will change, but
generally won't change things for a water vessel.

Thus high-G worlds will have less air traffic (unless the atmosphere is
thick) and more water and rail traffic. Low-G worlds will find air
travel more economical (unless the air is too thin), and road vehicles
will compete better with trains and ships (but people speeding will be
even more of a menace than they are on Earth).

A lot of man-portable equipment won't change in construction much,
because most of the damage to them comes from rough handling, though
stuff made for high-G environments will need to be a bit more
drop-resistant.

--
Rupert Boleyn <xxxxxx@gmail.com>