Redefining Speed?

[Demetri Malius]

Alright, so i was thinking today about speed and what happens after 5, with the assumption that its based off the fastest land animal, the cheetah, at 60 mph. To run on water one needs to run at 67 mph, though trying to figure out the whole indefinite thing and the physics of walking along walls is really just a headache and even more so is what defines being nearly impossible to hit at 20. I feel like these two tiers of the speed stat should be redefined for clarity, or if anyone is willing to explain them more clearly that would help as well. I appreciate it!

Btw, we dont need to debate this, its too vague the way it is now, we will get nowhere, I would rather a higher up analyze this before we come to any conclusions, unless someone is pretty firm in their info.

[Daniel]

I feel like you're trying to apply real-world physics to a system that clearly does not run on real world physics. This is all chalked down to Omniphysics and I don't think that we need to redefine anything.

[Trixie]

See, here's the thing. The only speed related thing you mentioned here is running on water. Which requires, in real life, a person to move at 30 meters a second. Wall Running falls out of the SPD stat and into the power Master Acrobat. Moving along a wall, even for a short distance is about friction and momentum. Even then you're only going about 7 maybe 8 feet at a time. Generally you're jumping into it, and sliding down in a very obtuse arc as you approach the other ledge.

[Demetri Malius]

Like i dont need an "x speed is x mph", thats not what im looking for, but like it feels like the scale is just like, awkward. 30 meters per second is around 67 mph, at a speed of 10, while 5 speed is as fast as a cheetah which is 60 mph. And like trixie said, running along a wall is less speed and a bit more with momentum and friction, and even then. Sure there is omniphysics, as with everything, but if we are relating it to real world speeds then i believe it should actually be relative, or at least relative in omniphysics.

Im not applying real world physics to anything, its simply asking about clarification on exact phrasing in the rules. I wouldnt mind speed being nerfed if it meant it being scaled more appropriately, so im not trying to "game the system" or anything here.

I just want clarification with the scale of speed with omniphysics. Obviously it doesnt exist in an exact vaccuum, and is described by real world things, but it should be consistent.

*Also as a side note ive always wondered, how does speed affect movement in terms of reactions and such? I now it affects powers and described in their respective descriptions, but it sometimess crosses my mind, after all, if you can run that many times faster than normal can you swing a sword that many times faster than normal?

[Mark]

I brought up pretty much this exact question in the staff forum a few months ago. Essentially it comes down to the bit of the 10 SPD portion that says "indefinitely". Running along a wall takes a certain minimum speed, but moving fast enough to not only run on the wall but to also overcome the deficits of friction and gravity for a long period of time is what that level of speed grants you. Being able to do it for a few seconds versus until you get tired is many times faster, which makes sense with the stat differences.

Screenshots from the staff forum since I can't link to it:

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[Demetri Malius]

wow, you basically brough up the exact same thing xD I appreciate the insight mark. So as a last clarification, it seems that speed almost turns into a stamina based stat, allowing longer distance of higher speed travel, like being able to keep up with 60mph a long distance without getting tired, instead of being able to max out at that point and getting exhausted after a minute?

[Harry Dresden]

More like being able to hit a surface like water, which is not exactly famous for providing enough friction to speed up, at a high enough rate of speed, with enough force per footfall, that even if you slow down you're still not going to fall in. At least, that's how I saw it.

EDIT: Also, SPD is sort of the endurance running stat too, as your stats at base are what you're normally capable of; someone with 5 attack can crack steel plating casually, while someone with 3 could still do it if they had a huge charge time, or did a super move. Similarly, a person with 5 SPD can use super speed or burst movement over water, but both of those have drawbacks.

[Omni]

I mean, despite the description, 10 SPD is still double 5 SPD. It's just that, real-world examples are sort of the point of the stat examples. Unfortunately, there's not many reference points in that granular area between "running faster than a cheetah" and "breaking the sound barrier".

[King Ghidorah]

"Able to outrun a jet aircraft during takeoff?" That's about 3/8 of the way between the two.

[Omni]

I should probably just switch to using actual MPH for SPD. I did do this in some sort of proto-system. Gonna see if I can't find my actual references.

[Jim Raynor]

Please use the metric system like 90% of the world, or maybe have both values so i dont have to convert the value through Google each time. *thumbs up*

[Hiro Protagonist]

NO. AMERICUH.

[Jade Harley]

[Luci]

I feel that the SPD stat got 'nerfed' from this thread.

I have two beefs with this.

1. It wasn't really called a nerf
2. It affected my character negatively


I DO have a dog in this fight. Luci is a SPD based character, with 5 SPD, Burst Movement, and Superspeed. She's also more focused on actual overland speed than combat quickness or other SPD based talents. So she's my sample.

I say it's a 'nerf' because I originally clocked Luci, at SPD 5, as 'faster than 80 MPH'. I got that from this description of vehicles.

http://omniverse-rpg.com/abouttheworld.php#Vehicles

All vehicles, both flying and ground, have a top speed of around 80MPH ... It's often quicker for speedy Primes to simply get to places on foot, though obviously this can be tiring.

Now, I figured that Luci, at SPD 5, qualified as a 'speedy Prime'  WITHOUT Superspeed. It matched with the original description of 5 SPD that was something like 'faster than the fastest animal' which is a cheetah at 68-75 MPH. I've had Luci outrunning traffic since before she had Superspeed.

Right now, the Ground Speed for 5 SPD is set at 50 MPH. If and only if Luci uses Superspeed to get her to a whopping 10 equivalent SPD (100 MPH) can she outrun a vehicle.  

If you must define overland speed for the SPD stat (and you kind of do since you have it defined for vehicles) please convert it to the original (when I read it anyways) intent.

My full alternate chart proposal

0: Basic. As fast as a fat teenager. (~5mph)
1: Average runner. (~10mph)
2: Very fast runner. Required for parkour-like feats (e.g. running along walls for a short distance) (~20mph)
3: Pushing the human limits of speed. Could beat Usain Bolt in a footrace, or Billy the Kid in a quick draw (assuming you have the TEC to land the shot!). (~35mph)
4: Inhumanly fast. (~50mph)
5: Runs as fast as a vehicle or mount (~80mph)
10: Angelic speed. Can run on the surface of water or along walls almost indefinitely. Very difficult to hit. (~180mph)
20: Almost impossible to hit while moving. (~400mph)