Supercruising to another star system reveals design flaws

[Vatox]

Being the explorer type of guy that I am, I decided to do something few people would probably attempt - to reach another star system in supercruise. I started off at Ceramix and flew directly towards Brani. You can see some highlights from my 2 LY journey (took me about 9 hours) in the following video.

[video=youtube;yfUl-M1OixI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfUl-M1OixI[/video]

I was hoping that the devs have created a way of seamlessly (sort of) crossing the boundaries between two star systems. Actually, they have not. You cannot reach another star system without making a jump. Everything you see in supercruise that doesn't belong to the system you are in, is indeed just part of the skybox, which I find a bit disappointing.

 

[GoblinOneEye]

This has been known for a long time now. It has to do with the instancing needed for multiplayer integration

 

[vjek]

(and yet happens in solo mode....)

Yep, it's just rooms in space.

But don't tell anyone, and pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

 

[N-Zed]

I don't even know how to respond to this. I am both not surprised, and deeply saddened by it. It's all instances and bubbles. It is what it is I suppose but what a bummer.

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Common knowledge here on the forums. Could have saved yourself 9 hours with a simple search.

What a thing to say.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Sometimes I just can't understand what you people want. "Rooms in space," indeed. Sure, sure. If your definition of "Room" is a bubble 1LY across with an entire solar system inside that we can fly through and interact with, I guess you're right. So sorry that FD didn't spend game resources supporting a mechanism for that microscopic number of masochists willing to fly in a straight line for 9 hours.

 

[Vatox]

Common knowledge here on the forums. Could have saved yourself 9 hours with a simple search.

Well, to be fair, I knew the answer could probably be found here but I wanted to discover something for myself. Besides, I didn't really waste the whole 9 hours, I was flying AFK about 95% of the time. Still, I find it rather underwhelming that the devs have used such a design.

 

[daan2002]

from what i know you not meant to SC to another system the warp screen is a load screen

 

[uncle bulgaria]

Sometimes I just can't understand what you people want. "Rooms in space," indeed. Sure, sure. If your definition of "Room" is a bubble 1LY across with an entire solar system inside that we can fly through and interact with, I guess you're right. So sorry that FD didn't spend game resources supporting a mechanism for that microscopic number of masochists willing to fly in a straight line for 9 hours.

This. Wanting to SC between systems is such a monumentally stupid waste of time and it would have been a ludicrous decision to include the ability to do so in the game.

 

[Skip Intro]

Were you flying some sort of Supertanker? How much gas does it take for a 9 hour flight? Wow.

 

[Arkku]

For single player it would seem like a fairly simple fix to just do a hidden "jump" to the other system when you're about 60% there (not at 50% - in case you turn around it should not jump back immediately). For multiplayer I imagine there will be all sorts of difficulties in cases where another player is nearby… perhaps all players within a certain distance from one another could be treated as a unit and make the "hidden jump" between systems together. Hopefully they would be far enough from players not part of the unit that it would usually go unnoticed that they suddenly disappear from one system.

But, yes, this is mostly something that would please me ideologically and technologically, rather than something I'd expect to actually do in the game. However, the last time someone tried flying part of the way toward another system to bring said system within their jump range (e.g., 0.1 LY closer) it didn't work, either. That might be something that could actually be implemented.

 

[vjek]

This. Wanting to SC between systems is such a monumentally stupid waste of time and it would have been a ludicrous decision to include the ability to do so in the game.

Or they could have, you know, used it for... oh, I dunno, actual exploration?

 

[Carbonrough]

Well, to be fair, I knew the answer could probably be found here but I wanted to discover something for myself. Besides, I didn't really waste the whole 9 hours, I was flying AFK about 95% of the time. Still, I find it rather underwhelming that the devs have used such a design.

Why do you find it underwhelming?

 

[Sashenka]

Sometimes I just can't understand what you people want. "Rooms in space," indeed. Sure, sure. If your definition of "Room" is a bubble 1LY across with an entire solar system inside that we can fly through and interact with, I guess you're right. So sorry that FD didn't spend game resources supporting a mechanism for that microscopic number of masochists willing to fly in a straight line for 9 hours.

I don't mind systems being instanced from one another, in fact it makes sense as few people will travel 9 hours, but the whole Supercruise being instanced from real space bothers me. You're just travelling from instance to instance with nothing persistent. USS are just dots appearing with no real representation. I think SC will be revisited down the line but for now it feels 'tacky'.

My opinion, of course.

 

[Cmdr Pli55ken]

which I find a bit disappointing.

We have to face a few realities (goes for this thread and also for a zillion other threads that find such niggles):
This is a game. Developed by people with finite resources. This means that things will be implemented first which players are likely to encounter/see in order of how often something happens.
Anything that is unlikely to be such an issue will not merit developer time spent on it until all issues/features with higher priorities are implemented.

While as a gamer we may wish for a 'perfect' game that implements all possible eventualities I find it a bit weird that people are 'disappointed' by such non-game-related issues. The game is supposed to be fun ('game', remember?) and supercrusing for 9 hours probably doesn't come under the heading of fun for the overwhelming majority of players.
If and when that changes then developer time will be spent. Before that - please let the devs work on other stuff.

 

[Riedquat]

I think it would of been an awesome thing to be able to do it, some people love doing things like this in games.

I dont think it's gamebreaking that its not though.

 

[Vatox]

For single player it would seem like a fairly simple fix to just do a hidden "jump" to the other system when you're about 60% there (not at 50% in case you turn around it would not jump back immediately). For multiplayer I imagine there will be all sorts of difficulties in cases where another player is nearby… perhaps all players within a certain distance from one another could be treated as a unit and make the "hidden jump" between systems together. Hopefully they would be far enough from players not part of the unit that it would usually go unnoticed that they suddenly disappear from one system.

Actually, what you just described, is exactly the way me and a buddy thought it would work. I hope they can introduce something in these lines.

 

[Loskene]

Come on people, you know they're programming a simulation of a universe and not actually trying to create an apple pie from scratch here. The fact that most of the game mechanics' limitations are way outside what would ever be experienced by all but the players dedicated to finding them is a good thing.
This is like complaining that you walked in a straight line for a day in holodeck 1 and it didn't think to transport you to holodeck 2.

 

[Conestoga]

The first player to "visit Sol" did so by supercruising. Back when the bubble was just short. Of course, it didn't populate, but was just a nav marker. Still.

 

[Vatox]

Why do you find it underwhelming?

To be perfectly honest, just because everything else in the game so far seems to click so well together. The physics, the numbers, everything seems to hold up so nicely that at some point I started to have unrealistic expectations, I suppose.

 

[N-Zed]

This is one of those moments where you are better off keeping the wool over your eyes and enjoying it for what it is. The more I think about how it's all really bubbles, lobbys and instances, the less awe struck I feel. I would much rather turn off that notion and say to myself, "Warp factor 5 engage" and blast my butt to the next star and be grateful I didn't explode in the process.