Tyralak 12,068 Posted January 26, 2012 Brian Young is doing a video commentary and case study on warp strafing. He currently is looking at Journey to Babel, Elaan of Troyus, and The Ultimate Computer. Anyone else know of any episodes which support the idea of warp strafing? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Praeothmin 532 Posted January 26, 2012 I believe the only place we've seen Warp Strafing was in TOS... Late TNG, DS9, VOY and ENT have all shown Warp speed battles, but I don't remember any incidents where Warp Strafing was used in those series... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
enigma 521 Posted January 29, 2012 The only way that warp strafing works is if phasers were FTL. They are not so unless the ships in combat decided to blows themselves up, the only it'll work if it is fired from behind, as the ship is moving away, otherwise, the moment the phaser is fired, it'll strike the ship that fired it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Praeothmin 532 Posted January 29, 2012 In VOY's "Message in a bottle" we see the Prometheus fire Phasers on a Nebula-class while at Warp... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
enigma 521 Posted January 30, 2012 In VOY's "Message in a bottle" we see the Prometheus fire Phasers on a Nebula-class while at Warp... Did it fire from the front or from behind? Phasers have never shown to be light speed or FTL. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Khas 12,158 Posted January 30, 2012 Actually, Enigma, here we see the Prometheus in multi-vector assault mode fire at the Nebula-class ship from all directions while at warp: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
enigma 521 Posted February 4, 2012 I stand corrected. But it is contradictory when phasers are not FTL unless while at warp all ships are in the same layer of subspace tha they can fire their phasers. What I am trying to say is that what I understand about warp travel is that when a ship goes into warp, the outward appearance would look like a ship going FTL but in reality it has entered into subspace in which travel is done STL but the distance is shorter, something like a fold space drive. So both ships in combat in warp are actually fighting STL but to an outside observer it is all a blur. Confusing but I hope you can understand the babble. lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tyralak 12,068 Posted February 4, 2012 I stand corrected. But it is contradictory when phasers are not FTL unless while at warp all ships are in the same layer of subspace tha they can fire their phasers. What I am trying to say is that what I understand about warp travel is that when a ship goes into warp, the outward appearance would look like a ship going FTL but in reality it has entered into subspace in which travel is done STL but the distance is shorter, something like a fold space drive. So both ships in combat in warp are actually fighting STL but to an outside observer it is all a blur. Confusing but I hope you can understand the babble. lol Brian Young completed his case study. Quite conclusively, I might add. As soon as he makes it public, I'll post it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tyralak 12,068 Posted February 5, 2012 OK. He's given me permission to link to the file. You'll have to download it, since he's not able to post it on YouTube yet. http://www.scifights.net/warpstrafing.mov Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Praeothmin 532 Posted February 5, 2012 And again, we see it only in TOS... I wonder why that is? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tyralak 12,068 Posted February 5, 2012 And again, we see it only in TOS... I wonder why that is? Dunno. However, before Enigma claims that somehow in 80 years all the races in Trek somehow lost this ability, I'd like to mention how ridiculous that idea is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
enigma 521 Posted February 5, 2012 Dunno. However, before Enigma claims that somehow in 80 years all the races in Trek somehow lost this ability, I'd like to mention how ridiculous that idea is. Not going to claim that but somehow it may have been considered for a while that warp combat was to be impractical. The only instance in TNG that we know of was in the pilot which the E-D fired torpedoes at the pursuing Q while at maximum warp. The use of torpedoes in warp is a given since the torpedoes have warp sustainers. Fired at warp the torps stay at that speed until the fuel is used up. But when shown in the pilot they were fired from behind or else if it was fired from their forward launchers the torps would not travel far enough as it is travelling at the same speed as the launching ship. Warp sustainers are what they are, they sustain warp. I'm looking at the video you linked and since I can't hear what is being said, I'm only going by visuals. In the vid we see the E-Nil firing a torps at warp. This goes against everything about warp sustainers as the torps and phasers are fired faster than the ship itself. Then again this does not negate what I had mentioned earlier as to how warp combat could be made feasible. What I did find interesting was that despite the dialogue saying that they were at whatever warp (going by wording onscreen) the ships themselves do not seem to be at warp. In fact they looked more like they were at impulse than warp speed. Compare the E-Nil combat to the Prometheus to see what I mean. Anyways, I never stated that it was impossible, I originally said that the weapons would have to be fired from the rear. I was corrected and then put up a theory as to how warp combat was possible since phasers have always shown to be STL and that torps fired at warp tend to fly at the same speed as the firing ship due to warp sustainers. As to why it hasn't been used more often? Starfleet's run by idiots? Same as to why they don't bother creating gravimetric torpedoes (except by that one time in VOY)as it could do a whole lot more damage than photon or quantum torps. Another reason could be that Starfleet didn't think it was a viable method of combat and thus was largely abandoned until the Prometheus prototype. Or lastly, maybe it has been used whenever possible except it is by the captain's perogative. That is why Kirk is most apt to use warp combat but Sisko, Janeway and Archer haven't used warp combat and Picard rarely utilizes it. Speculation, speculation, speculum. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tyralak 12,068 Posted February 5, 2012 Are you totally deaf now, Enigma? Or just partially? If you like, I can try to transcribe it for you, if that will help. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
enigma 521 Posted February 6, 2012 Are you totally deaf now, Enigma? Or just partially? If you like, I can try to transcribe it for you, if that will help. Almost total. Lost just about all hearing in my right ear and less than half remaining in my left. I'd have to plug in my headphones into the speakers but even then it isn't that good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the atom 0 Posted February 9, 2012 I'm not entirely clear on the concept of warp strafing. Is it the idea that ships can fight at FTL or that they can attack STL targets while at warp? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Praeothmin 532 Posted February 16, 2012 Attacking STL ships while at Warp... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
enigma 521 Posted February 16, 2012 Attacking STL ships while at Warp... Actually, it kinda melded both strafing and combat aspects. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
