Inter-asteroid travel within Influence is modeled as a two-body ballistic trajectory. Adalia’s gravitational impact, and the acceleration due to it, is ever-present and impacts flight trajectories which will be elliptical, parabolic, or hyperbolic, and therefore require appropriate planning. Flights are limited to one Adalian year (~15 real days) by the life support capabilities of the Hab Modules. Furthermore, flights must be complete prior to food reserves dipping below 125 kg per crewmate.
All ships will begin a journey by launching from a spaceport (or empty lot in the case of Light Transports) into orbit around the origin asteroid and will end in orbit around the destination asteroid. This allows players to make a choice where they will ultimately land on the destination asteroid’s surface. Launching into orbit, and landing from orbit, both require a small amount of propellant equal to the escape delta-V required for the asteroid.
Players are able to set how much propellant they wish to expend by adjusting the loading percentage of their ship. For example, choosing a 100% propellant loading would indicate that the journey starts with the propellant tanks entirely full, and therefore the maximum change in velocity (delta-V) for a given ship is available. This would result in the fastest possible journey at the expense of propellant consumption. Typically, an efficient journey will involve a <100% propellant loading factor since, according to the rocket equation, each additional increase in speed / delta-V results in an exponential increase in propellant required. The presence of a Crewmate with the Navigator trait reduces the propellant consumption rate.
Players will also need to consider and adjust the contents of their ships. If a player wants to minimize their travel time, they must also consider that any increase in the amount of cargo will require an increase in the amount of propellant required. Additionally, Crewmates with the Hauler trait will have increased ship cargo capacity.
Any ship is capable of carrying passengers as long as there is Crewmate space remaining after the piloting crew has boarded. Passengers are only able to board a ship if they have permission and the ship is landed on the surface of an asteroid. As long as the ship is not currently traveling, passengers can disembark at any time either via surface transport (from a landed ship) or by ejecting into an escape module in orbit.
In situations in which the player finds themselves stranded, unable to launch or land their ship, an emergency mode is available. Switching a ship to emergency mode requires dumping all cargo (including non-propellant gasses carried in propellant tanks) and ejecting all passengers. Once in emergency mode, the ship (or escape module) is capable of producing a small amount of propellant from the surrounding environment. Propellant generation occurs only when the propellant tanks are at less than 10% capacity. Additionally, the maximum trip time is limited to 1 Adalian year (roughly 15 real days); however, unlike regular travel, it is not further restricted by the available food reserves.
This allows players to return to a nearby asteroid to resupply, but is not intended as a regular means of travel. Switching back from emergency mode to standard operating mode will also purge propellant up to 10% of the maximum tank capacity.
To learn how to travel within Influence see the travel guide