On Thu, Oct 05, 2017 at 02:40:55PM +0000, xxxxxx@comcast.net wrote:
> "Step 4 Effect of Atmosphere simulates the need to restrict speed
> while traveling through an atmosphere to avoid dangerous heat build
> up on the hull" on worlds with atmosphere UWP 2+ the orbital
> distance is multiplied by the UWP atmosphere digit (minimum of 1). A
> size 8 world with an atmosphere digit 6 adjusts the low orbit to 960
> km and the high orbit to 4,800 km. The example for this step is for
> a World Size 8 with an Atmosphere UWP of 6.

Under usual conditions, the thickness of atmosphere for a given
surface density is more closely inverse with planetary size than
linear with it.  If our Moon had an atmosphere similar to Earth's
density at the surface, it would extend about 6 times higher than
Earth's does (for any given threshold of density you might choose).

So this formula appears to be in exactly the wrong direction.

What's more, a sane formula would be more closely additive than
multiplicative: it would be more accurate to model the trip as taking
some time to get above most of the atmosphere at relatively low speed
(mostly independent of drive performance), and then some more time to
get up to orbital speed (inverse with drive performance).  Multiplying
them instead seems just arbitrarily bizarre.

> Hopefully what I have done so far is following the directions and
> getting the right answers. I'll try finishing the procedure and get
> back here with the information, but that may take a while.

The answers look like they do follow the published directions.
However the directions look fundamentally broken.

- Tim