While that might work for a Coriolis (we don't know what's in that spike or behind it), Oculus and derivatives seem to carry the main reactor core there.
Rework station entrance. Current design is dumb.
- Thread starter GrimSageX3
- Start date
Seems like it's only you that has an issue with the mailslot, I sense a skill issue at play here, there is absolutely no difficulty in flying any ship in ED through the mailslot.
You would have hated even more the slot in the original game, now that was a bit difficult.
I started playing in late 2022, and was born a few years after the first Elite game and never played any of the intervening sequels, so I have no nostalgia about any of this.
The mailslot design isn't perfect, it's a major chokepoint in extremely busy instances like during CGs and, for some reason, Jacques Station (too many Belugas!). Now I'm not one to advocate clinging on to this game's grindy aspects, I welcomed the engineering changes and the addition of SCO FSDs. But honestly I think you're overstating the impact of the mailslot on player perception of the game. Anyone without the patience to navigate the mailslot already checked out long before that, because Elite Dangerous is chock full of design decisions that just don't click with everyone.
Two words : Tourist beacons.
Oh, and while we're at it - you (ok, maybe not you from the OP) can fly a Panther Clipper through the mailslot sideways.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9cqR9MeMPa8
Some of the stations can fit drive systems to move around, so that would be an issue if you can't put the thrusters in the direct line of center of mass, make it fun trying to steer!
Exactly... This issue should not even exist.
If anything. I'm understating the impact it has on multi-player / open world gameplay. Especially during events, cgs and actual multi-player traffic.
In Solo Play and Personal Group Sessions.. the NPC and AI derps do no happen often so there is only the stupid autodoc scrapes to contend with and those simply should not exist as a problem. Nearly all the problems and clownfest CG toxicity simply would not exist with a larger station entrance and the removal of bad collision boxes and various clutter surrounding mailslot entrance at some station types.
The mailslot make perfect sense. The relatively small opening reduce the chance of random space debris coming trough, and it's easy to seal off if needed.
funnily enough my 6 year old son said the same thing when he saw the stations for the 1st time! Failing that I'm surprised there are not traffic lights installed
Look closer - there are red and green lights installed both inside and outside, indicating which side of the slot you should be passing.
Otherwise, the best indication for a Beluga coming the other way is when the traffic controller announces "access path is clear".
Or when the docking computer gets stuck on a Beluga coming in because you're in a Panther, and you have to manually intervene to let the whale through.
I've only had it happen once and that was today, but yeah, it's apparently a possibility.
It is what it is. No developer is going to alter such a fundamental part of a game, ten years after release, when it still works just fine in 99% of cases.
Well you've just pointed out another reason as to exactly why it's such a minor problem. If the mailslot is blocked in one Open instance, then it's utterly trivial to just relog into Solo or a PG. Also the instancing in Open means that not everyone is going to have the same mailslot that may or may not be blocked.
My final thoughts on the situation. IF station entrances were slightly taller and wide enough for 2 large ships to pass through at the same time, it would improve quality of life and onboarding and make more sense considering the function of traffic at stations. It would be fundamentally BETTER design and implementation.
Even with slightly larger station entrances, players could fling ships belly up at the gateway to create blockades or clownfests, so I would not make the station entrance so large that 3 panthers or anacondas could belly flop through the station entrance in formation because it would probably just invite more derp fests.
Even with slightly larger station entrances, players could fling ships belly up at the gateway to create blockades or clownfests, so I would not make the station entrance so large that 3 panthers or anacondas could belly flop through the station entrance in formation because it would probably just invite more derp fests.
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The actual problem. You'd think a British game would have properly enforced queues. The blow you up for loitering, but let anyone speed through the rack on the way out? Insanity.
Really, you should request permission to take-off, and you can be approved for it, but they shouldn't release clamps until all in-bound traffic is finished, then you take off in order of request. Maybe 5 minute cycles (and of course, if the pads are all full, people still have to follow the landing pattern until one opens up).
((I have an on-again, off-agqin desire to get a pilots license, and you gotta learn about all of this stuff in ground school.))
For an actual blockade to be enforceable would require Open only. Otherwise the architects of this would-be blockade are necessarily relying on those blockaded to not simply circumvent them by flying in Solo/PG. That's before taking into account instancing and time-zones, which are other reasons why opponents might never see each other. Having the game itself force people to play in Open only would cause a significant portion of players to stop coming back, so FDev will never do that.
Maybe you think it's a bad idea to have different game modes in the same galaxy, but I happen to like it. I can get things done in Solo, play with squadmates in PG, or run with the bulls in Open.
I understand EVE Online might be more to your liking? That seems like a game with more of the kind of coordinated play you're looking for.
You seem utterly convinced that there are swarms of drooling trolls out there blocking station slots as if their lives depended on it. Yet I've been playing for thousands of hours, including deliveries made in Open mode during this latest CG and previous ones, and I cannot recall a single instance of players deliberately attempting to block up the mail slots. I'm not saying that it never happens, but based on my own experience it doesn't seem to actually be a widespread problem.
Yep. The bigger problem in a busy instance is that it really doesn't take much player traffic through the slot to build up a queue of NPCs politely waiting their turn but reserving pads anyway. I've seen stations run out of unreserved large pads that way - Jaques was particularly terrible for it because of all the Belugas and Orcas it attracted.
Which is why you'd think the Brits could have designed a proper queue to let people reserve their spot in landing line.