Flight Time
Flight Time
The flight duration of a fleet depends on the distance,
the speed of the slowest ship in the fleet (see the respective unit page
under "Speed & Fuel Consumption"), and the game speed of the universe.
Calculated from src/Core/FleetFunctions.php
(getMissionDuration()), constant MIN_FLEET_TIME
from includes/constants.php (value: 5 seconds).
Formula
Factor = (3500 / (speed factor * 0.1)) * (distance * 10 / slowest ship speed)^0.5 + 10
Flight time = max(factor / game speed, 5)
Parameters in Detail
| Parameter | Source | Influence |
|---|---|---|
| Distance | Distance (galaxy/system/planet formula) | Largest lever — enters via square root, double distance ≈ 1.41× flight time, not double |
| Slowest ship speed | Drive level of the slowest ship in the fleet (see respective unit page) | A single slow ship (e.g. colony ship) slows down the entire fleet |
| Speed factor | Selectable when sending a fleet, 10–100% | Lower value = slower, but also lower fuel consumption |
| Game speed | fleet_speed / 2500 (getGameSpeedFactor()), configured per universe in the universe settings |
Direct divisor of the total flight time |
| FlyTime bonus | Player-specific multiplier (e.g. from achievements), USER['factor']['FlyTime'] |
Further shortens flight time, if present |
| Minimum flight time | Fixed constant MIN_FLEET_TIME = 5 seconds |
Lower bound, independent of all other factors (e.g. for very short distances) |
Universe-Specific Peculiarities
The distance calculation itself depends on
system_distance, system_distance_factor,
galaxy_distance_factor and max_system/
max_galaxy — these values are **not** uniform across all
universes, but part of the respective universe configuration (verified
live from the DB):
| Universe | max_system | system_distance | system_distance_factor | galaxy_distance_factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Universe 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 | 400 | 2,700 | 95 | 20,000 |
| Universe 7 | 200 | 1,350 | 47 | 20,000 |
Universe 7 has noticeably shortened systems: both the number of
systems per galaxy (max_system: 200 instead of 400) and the
distance constants (system_distance/system_distance_factor:
each almost exactly halved) are reduced compared to all other universes.
As a result, in-system distances in Universe 7 are structurally shorter
than elsewhere — for the same system difference, flight time in Universe
7 is noticeably lower. For all other universe settings
(fleet_speed, uni_type, galaxy_type),
all universes are currently configured identically (as of the live DB).
See also Missile Flight Time for the separate, simpler formula for interceptor/interplanetary missiles, and Fuel Consumption for the fuel usage coupled with flight time.