No explanation however detailed solves the actual problem a lot of people have; There is no fun to be had in idley pointing your ship at something and then doing nothing but fiddle with your throttle for a few minutes. Elite might be built on realism but it's still a game. It's a work of fiction, not Orbiter HD. Supercruise the dull commute between fun times and a large amount of people feel that there's too much of it.
James Bond 007 Super Cruise
- Thread starter SgtLennin
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That's a bit of a furfy... In the ORIGINAL games the station's entrance always faced the planet it orbitted, and during the beta phase there was a vey popular idea that they still did. This was corrected at one stage by Michael Brookes who told us that the station orbits the planet but doesn't actually spin on it's axis relative to it's planet, so the entrance will face the planet once once per day.
That's argument ad populum... just because you claim that there are a number of people who agree with you, doesn't make it so. Even if it were true, every poll that's been done on here infers that the majority of people are happy with the current SC times. Space is big... bring a book, check your email, or better still check the system map before you jump and only select destinations you can live with.
God I'm so tired of reading this. The game is not perfect. Stop using that argument every time someone sees something wrong in the game.
"X doesn't work , but the game is still perfect, since you can still go do Y. If you like X then the game is just not for you. It's perfect!"
The fact that you can avoid a bad game mechanic doesn't change the fact that it's bad.
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I understand that you are frustrated, but DO NOT put words in my mouth. Noone is claiming the game is perfect, we just disagree that this particular aspect of it is flawed in the way you very obviously believe it is.
There's been discussions about adding "microjumps" at some point which would alleviate it to some degree, but you need to understand the none of the elite games have ever been a "light weight" game that you play for five minutes then out away again. Most people who are in the game are here because it IS like this, we're bored with fluffy console type games and we're looking for more of a "sim" game. That part of elite isn't going to change... Taking that away would be like taking the portal gun away from portal, or the crowbar from Gordon Freeman. That is why so many people use the "this game is not for you" line... because that IS what elite games do and have always done, and if that's not what you're looking for then you're not looking for elite.
Space is big. Games are fun. Add an autopilot so I don't have to pay attention to the game while nothing at all is happening and the problem is largely solved. Don't want to the autopilot? Don't use it.
If I wanted to shuttle between Place A and Place B while doing nothing of consequence whatsoever I'd play Eurotruck Simulator. It's dull, apart from the odd interdiction nothing happens, it's not challenging, it just gets in the way.
Autopilot. What a novel idea. Noone's suggested that before.
Why doncha go thru the archive and look at the MANY autopilot threads that were started over and over by the same people and were repeatedly shot down with the same logic.
If you don't want to play it then don't play it. Noone's forcing you.
Fair enough, but the debate is about what the game should be, not what it currently is. You say that this is what the game is all about, well I disagree. Imo the point of the game is not to be as much time consuming as possible. Saying people are not looking for elite because they want something different is simply not true. They are looking for a version ED that they like, and that's why they are talking about it on the forums.
Unless you're a dev, it's not up to you to say to other people what the game is about (especially since this is supposed to be a "play YOUR way" kind of game). You say it's never going to change, and maybe you're right. Only time will tell. My guess is that micro jumps will eventually get implemented.
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You don't fiddle with your throttle. Stay away from mass and keep time of arrival at 0:07, 0:06. I travel station to station in less than a minute, including hyper jump, making 150,000 each turn in my Cobra. People complaining are simply picking the wrong stations/missions and/or try to speed past mass.
Elite is built on realism, not arcade. If you don't like it this game is not for you. it's impossible to crank up acceleration since it would be next to teleport.
Learn how to fly before complaining
(said the former complainer)
I'm not complaining because I'm having trouble with it. I'm complaining because it's boring and takes up way too much time in a session. And stop saying ED has a foundation in realism, because you keep saying that while talking about FTL travel.
I could say the same to you... however I'm not the one demanding it should change according to what I want. I signed up to buy and play the game David Braben proposed, and in general I think he's come pretty close to delivering on that and I'm satisfied that I'm getting what I wanted and was promised. I'm certainly not going to demand that he throw away two years of game development and turn away from the spirit of the original promises he made, which is what some people on the forums are doing.
I don't think you and I mean the same thing re the "it's not going to change" however. I'm not talking so much about any particular game mechanic there, I'm sure they'll continue to be refined. The game's not perfect, just playable enough to release. I was referring to it not being a casual, " five minute" game. Elite games have always been something you had to commit large chunks of time to before you got anywhere and to alter that would be to alter the very nature of what an elite game is. Micro jumps may happen, and it would make sense especially i multi-star systems. Stations may get traffic control systems. Ships may get crew members. Planets may be landable. Lots of things will change, markets may get rebalanced and so on, but the "feel" of space being an immence distance, where travel between the stars is not some trivial thing but something to plan and consider... this things will not change.
Space is big... REALLY big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.
I really don't understand, sorry. I mean that. There are tons of systems with stations to get to and dock within a minute.
I'm not joining in the debate but I have given the OP some rep as hopefully this may help some players get to there destination a little quicker and hopefully curtail their frustration.
However, I PERSONALLY like SC as it is, I played the original and I seem to remember no option to cruise in (except to buy boosters but I could be wrong), I'd sit there for ages after dropping into a system flying in towards the star. And I loved it, this is what made it different to an arcade space game of which I had plenty. In my bedroom, all the lights would be off to add to the feel, I wouldn't dare leave in case of interdiction, I was a true Space Trucker.
Would I have enjoyed the original more if there was SC? I don't know. Would players today still like the game if there were no forums or no way in which they could shape the game, if it was a fait accompli when bought? I don't know. The positives I take away from these forum debates is that you only argue (trolls aside) about things you're passionate about and so I'd like to think everyone on here likes the game, in general.
However, I PERSONALLY like SC as it is, I played the original and I seem to remember no option to cruise in (except to buy boosters but I could be wrong), I'd sit there for ages after dropping into a system flying in towards the star. And I loved it, this is what made it different to an arcade space game of which I had plenty. In my bedroom, all the lights would be off to add to the feel, I wouldn't dare leave in case of interdiction, I was a true Space Trucker.
Would I have enjoyed the original more if there was SC? I don't know. Would players today still like the game if there were no forums or no way in which they could shape the game, if it was a fait accompli when bought? I don't know. The positives I take away from these forum debates is that you only argue (trolls aside) about things you're passionate about and so I'd like to think everyone on here likes the game, in general.
A "foundation in reality" doesn't mean it exists today, it means it's plausable with today's understanding and theories. They've tried to stay as plausable as possible, which is why there's no artificial gravity or tractor beams. And here is NASA's page on current theories for FTL.
And here's a tractor beam.
... which requires atmosphere to work.
You really ought to read the old archived threads before rehashing old ideas.
In generally i like the SC and how it works.
But have you ever tried to intercept an other player ? Currently it felt like all player driven FSD are exactly the same. If your "target" accelerates just in se same time or even earlier ( 0.000001 sec is enough ) youll never manage to reach him for an interception attack. And this what im complaining about. Why do we have different FSD deviced while all this drives have the same acceleration value ? There should be drives with a shorter jump range but higher acceleration. Or with an average jumprange but higher mass and that for less fuel consuming. Currently it feels like: oh, look here, just fit the most expensive.
To be "realistic" you should have more options to tweak your ship the way you need it. Or did the NASA just build a rocket wich has a way to small cargohold to fit a satelite and tell the scientist: hey , thats your problem. NO. In reality stuff is builed like its needed.
Pls dont missunderstand me. I dont ask 4 a FSD wich travels 100.000LS in a splitsecond, while it just consumed 0.25 tons fuel for a 30LY jump with my 200 tons of cargo.
But have you ever tried to intercept an other player ? Currently it felt like all player driven FSD are exactly the same. If your "target" accelerates just in se same time or even earlier ( 0.000001 sec is enough ) youll never manage to reach him for an interception attack. And this what im complaining about. Why do we have different FSD deviced while all this drives have the same acceleration value ? There should be drives with a shorter jump range but higher acceleration. Or with an average jumprange but higher mass and that for less fuel consuming. Currently it feels like: oh, look here, just fit the most expensive.
To be "realistic" you should have more options to tweak your ship the way you need it. Or did the NASA just build a rocket wich has a way to small cargohold to fit a satelite and tell the scientist: hey , thats your problem. NO. In reality stuff is builed like its needed.
Pls dont missunderstand me. I dont ask 4 a FSD wich travels 100.000LS in a splitsecond, while it just consumed 0.25 tons fuel for a 30LY jump with my 200 tons of cargo.
Sorry I'll just make my way through several gigabytes of text.
Working tractor beam is better proof of concept then a bunch of maths that relies on a type of matter which may or may not exist.
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Err no... Being able to move objects with heated air is nothing like a sci fi tractor beam. Sorry.
Yesterday I decided, for the first time, to go to a distant station, because I happened to know it had rare commodities on sale. It was a 595000 Ls trip in SC (which I knew beforehand). And it was so much fun: I stared at the distance a lot (nice to see the number diminish) , I stared at the time-to-target a lot (nice to see it get shorter), I stared at the clock a lot (nice to see time pass on), I stared at the speed a lot (nice to see there's BOTH acceleration and deceleration).
So yeah it was a fun 20 minute trip with nothing but staring at numbers a lot.
Now, if I turn my sarcasm mode off, my solution to this would be a mini-jump between distant stars in the same system. And yeah, it has been suggested already, but enjoy my opinion anyway. This solution is nice because it would not require any changes to how the normal inter-system jump and SC work. And so Sandmann et al. can still make the trip in SC . Everybody would be happy, no?
So yeah it was a fun 20 minute trip with nothing but staring at numbers a lot.
Now, if I turn my sarcasm mode off, my solution to this would be a mini-jump between distant stars in the same system. And yeah, it has been suggested already, but enjoy my opinion anyway
. This solution is nice because it would not require any changes to how the normal inter-system jump and SC work. And so Sandmann et al. can still make the trip in SC . Everybody would be happy, no?
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I can move my wife right out of the room with my 'heated air'