Condor 0 #1 September 25, 2003 I have almost completed a science fiction which involves characters playing a game called airball. In airball, players play a form of football in wingsuits in a giant round court with fans blowing wind upward at a speed needed to keep them airborne. The court is wider at the top so wind is stronger near the bottom (where there is a net covering the fan blades). One of the important aspects of the game is to not loose your momentum because it is easy to turn but not easy to start from a stop. My question is, does this sound like a plausible albeit dangerous game where players use gravity and a reliable updraft to keep things fast and furious? Or does it sound like it would just be a bunch of stalled out frustrated people flopping around and kicking their feet while trying to reach for the ball (which is actually a stick)? Since I have never jumped, I don’t have a feel for it. Thanks for your advice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TomAiello 26 #2 September 25, 2003 How would you grab the ball? You have to use your whole body to fly, so you'd either have to slide sideways to the ball (like docking with another wingsuit flyer), or you'd have to invent something (say, have the players helmets covered with hook velcro and the ball covered with pile so it'd stick to them). But, hey, I'd love to see the story when you're finished. If it sells well, maybe you can throw down a few million bucks and really build the arena. Quote...plausible albeit dangerous game... What's dangerous about it?-- Tom Aiello Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com SnakeRiverBASE.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TB99 0 #3 September 25, 2003 I think it could easily be done without wingsuits. Just fly like flying in the wind tunnel I don't see needing a wingsuit at all actually ... Trailer 11/12 was the best. Thanks for the memories ... you guys rocked! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DaMan 0 #4 September 25, 2003 Why not more of a pylon race setup with bonus points for catching the "floating" balls with velcro grips on gloves...(?) Then you could add to the appeal for all the race fans out there. Z-Flock 8 Discotec Rodriguez Too bad weapons grade stupidity doesn't lead to sterility. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
petetheladd 0 #5 September 25, 2003 QuoteHow would you grab the ball? What's dangerous about it? Running into it with your head or arms - like a soccer header, would certainly move it around Well the danger might be two people tackleing the same ball. No, Not without incident Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Condor 0 #6 September 27, 2003 The developers of airball started with a ball but that didn’t work. They changed to a stick which can be grasped while wearing a wingsuit. You don’t fly as well while holding the stick so there is a lot of passing, which adds to the action. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Condor 0 #7 September 27, 2003 The reason you need wingsuits is to reduce the amount of wind needed to keep airborne. Since speeds can get (I’m assuming) over 80 mph, you need a huge court. This means a lot of wind machines. The large number of wind machines is the only reason it is science fiction. Since I am striving for a certain amount of verisimilitude I am putting them in wing suits to cut back on needed wind. Also as the sport got more competitive they would add something to their gear to make them maneuver faster then the other team (you know how them 20 somethings are). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Condor 0 #8 September 27, 2003 The danger is in the speed of the players. What happens when two football players hit at full speed? What if they are flying at 50mph plus? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cesslon 0 #9 September 27, 2003 what makes them move at 80mph ? the wind coming up would only really keep them up off the ground Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Condor 0 #10 September 28, 2003 Theoretically, the same thing that allows a sailplane to obtain high horizontal speeds while maintaining constant altitude in a thermal. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mr2mk1g 10 #11 November 13, 2003 Couple of things... if you whack the fan speed up to 120 mph then no wing suit needed... with a wing suit on the fans may go much slower... Remember the stick will probably float to some degree unless its weighted. Yes this game has the ability to be hella dangerous, like you said, closing speeds could be high. Remeber the concept of "burble"... the dead air above another player... if one person flew over another they would simply fall out of the sky (remember what caused the crash in TopGun). With wing suits (unless stationary) the burble will be at an angle behind the player. This sounds like a very cool game... I wonder what the possability of actually getting it to work in real life may be at some point in the future... wind tunnels are already becoming more and more popular and common... its only a small leap of faith to stick two or three together to make a bigger playing area... then a few more and you have a "pitch". hmmm... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,991 #12 November 13, 2003 >The reason you need wingsuits is to reduce the amount of wind >needed to keep airborne. Another reason would be that the team with the better wingsuit (i.e. faster horizontal acceleration, faster forward speed) would win all the games. Suits would gradually evolve to give the maximum possible forward speed and manueverability. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
