Immersion: Things Take Time in Ports

[JohnnyDangerous]

The graphics of landing, being rotated (though I don't know why a spaceship needs to be rotated), dropped into the hold for outfitting are all nice, but then you click "repair all" and bang, all done. If this is a hyper-realistic game, then make it take time to load (show a cutscene of cans being loaded), refuel (graphic of that), and repair (something like how Mechwarrior 3 did it with sparks flying but some kind of metal cover or robot over the damage so you don't have to show a graphic of every detail). Not a lot of time, just a handful of seconds, but repairs can stack so that 90% repairs made to every system take a lot longer (say, a minute) than just a 20% hull repair.

Honestly, I'd like it to be more like Frontier where you get out, meet a port agent quickly, and then go around the base to places. Just cutscenes like embarking, walking to elevators, walking into a bar (for smuggling) would all be good.

But, for sanity's sake, there should be a "skip" button too.

 

[Borgkube]

The graphics of landing, being rotated (though I don't know why a spaceship needs to be rotated), dropped into the hold for outfitting are all nice, but then you click "repair all" and bang, all done. If this is a hyper-realistic game, then make it take time to load (show a cutscene of cans being loaded), refuel (graphic of that), and repair (something like how Mechwarrior 3 did it with sparks flying but some kind of metal cover or robot over the damage so you don't have to show a graphic of every detail). Not a lot of time, just a handful of seconds, but repairs can stack so that 90% repairs made to every system take a lot longer (say, a minute) than just a 20% hull repair.

Honestly, I'd like it to be more like Frontier where you get out, meet a port agent quickly, and then go around the base to places. Just cutscenes like embarking, walking to elevators, walking into a bar (for smuggling) would all be good.

But, for sanity's sake, there should be a "skip" button too.

Ships need to be rotated because the large stations have only one entrance/exit. The ship is rotated so that you are facing the exit on takeoff. You will notice that on outposts, your ship is not rotated because you are sitting in open space.

 

[RhinoOnAStick]

Yeh definitely. Great point

 

[igor37]

Ships need to be rotated because the large stations have only one entrance/exit. The ship is rotated so that you are facing the exit on takeoff. You will notice that on outposts, your ship is not rotated because you are sitting in open space.

Um, I don't know what kind of outpost you land on, but I remember being rotated there also. That's my main criticism at the game currently, you can only land in one certain direction and still have to be rotated.

 

[HipToss]

I agree. How can you repair my Python at 10% in 1 second, refuel 32 tons in 1 second, and reload my ammunition in 1 second. I would also like to see this implemented in the outfitting section. When I buy a new weapon, the old one get sucked up and the new one pops out??? It looks like they just swap out and I had it on my ship the whole time. I am also sure in the year 3300, it will still take some time military grade bulkheads do not take 1 second to install. We speak of immersion but star port services could use a refresh. Then again, do I really want to wait X amount of time outfitting a new ship, refueling, repairs, loading 284 tons of cargo???

 

[Darkium]

Yup, cut scenes!

 

[Enride]

I would like to see things take time on station, repairing, outfitting, loading/unloading cargo.
Wouldnt mind sitting in the cpit reading the galnet while i hear how workers are unloading my cargo hold!

But considering the amount of posts and threads mentioning the hanger elevator a timesink, complaining on the slow supercruising, complaining on anything that takes away time from powergaming grinders....i expect something like this would render this forum unbarable :/

 

[CMDR Spiegal]

I would like to see things take time on station, repairing, outfitting, loading/unloading cargo.
Wouldnt mind sitting in the cpit reading the galnet while i hear how workers are unloading my cargo hold!

But considering the amount of posts and threads mentioning the hanger elevator a timesink, complaining on the slow supercruising, complaining on anything that takes away time from powergaming grinders....i expect something like this would render this forum unbarable :/

The rage would be absolutely astronomical. I've never seen a game with such a divided fanbase in quite a few years!

That being said, as the game stands right now I would say it's a really bad idea to implement mandatory waits on transactions/refits/repairs/trading.

My main reason against it would be the lack of content other than being out in your ship! There are a handle of GalNet articles that are sporadically updated but without any real tangible in-station activities, essentially sitting and watching a very pretty countdown timer is not my idea of fun. This isn't to say it can't be fun, but it would have to be implemented in a very interactive, continually exciting way.

I wouldn't consider myself much a fan of grinding the game like some hardcore raid leader in WoW but I would be wary of anything that takes time away from the main game without adding anything to the gameplay itself. Heck if they added in a minigame like tetris for unloading the cargo bay faster I would be all up for it but being forced to wait without adding anything to my experience doesn't sound much fun to me and is really more a "You've had too much fun! Sit here and wait your turn!" kind of feel.


Hypothetically if we had to wait for armour plating to be replaced following a heated gun battle in space I would expect there to be a shift in how the core game played, a bigger emphasis on shield management, a larger and faster shield reserve and other tweaks that would make having your shield running at maximum way more of a big deal than it is now. I can comfortably have my hull drop to the 60-70% range and not have to worry about a refit for a while afterward.

Similarly I would expect commodities to have a higher price in order to offset an unavoidable wait in the hangar whilst it unloads. A few seconds here and there adds up. (I wonder how many hours i have spent descending and ascending in those elevators so far... hmm...)

I think this could potentially be a cool idea with the correct implementation but for the game in the shape it is now I would propose people close their eyes and imagine for a few minutes instead

(also Enride, this wasn't totally directed at you, I just loved the idea of all out forum warfare! )

 

[cpy]

I agree. How can you repair my Python at 10% in 1 second, refuel 32 tons in 1 second, and reload my ammunition in 1 second. I would also like to see this implemented in the outfitting section. When I buy a new weapon, the old one get sucked up and the new one pops out??? It looks like they just swap out and I had it on my ship the whole time. I am also sure in the year 3300, it will still take some time military grade bulkheads do not take 1 second to install. We speak of immersion but star port services could use a refresh. Then again, do I really want to wait X amount of time outfitting a new ship, refueling, repairs, loading 284 tons of cargo???

New weapons and stuff unlocks as ship equipment DLC, no need for mounting future is here! Even real stuff is DLC powered!

Maybe starcitizen will have features such as mechanics fixing your ship, reloading, workers unloading boxes. Well i know you can hide in cargo box in SC and get scooped by other commander and sabotage him from inside, but hey ED is different.

 

[Susimetsa]

I'd expect that once we get the "walking around" functionality, the starport services may start taking some time to complete. We could then enjoy the starport activities while they are being done.

But, at present, when we only live inside our ships, the only activities we might entertain ourselves while waiting would be the market data, galaxy map etc. That might become annoying quite quickly.

 

[Nerull]

Although I agree with the immersion fun I'm quite certain it'll quickly become a tedium if you have to wait for reload/repair/....
I don't powergrind, but having to wait for these things (even if only for 5 seconds, which'd still be very fast if you want the real feel) would definitely be a fun killer for me.

 

[Ekar]

Be fun to watch a guy wiping the windshield.

 

[cpy]

Be fun to watch a guy wiping the windshield.

Spacebugs were numerous today!

 

[Vi.king]

Only if there is actually something to do in stations. At the moment you only dock at a station, sell your stuff buy new stuff hand in or accept a mission. If thinks like repair, refuel, unload/load cargo etc would take "realistic" time you would just sit there doing nothing, not a very fun concept.

So, unless the "walk in station" thingy is implemented and we can actually do fun, meaningful stuff in stations, all these things should not take more time.

 

[muddle]

Replacing the hull plating should take weeks in real game time. How's that for immersion?

....anyway for players who can't wait for some action, please add the skip button

 

[Godart]

So to summarize: 'FD please add something that everyone will skip after having watched it two or three times!'

Not sure about that to be honest... although I've also thought that unloading/loading 100s of tons of cargo in an instant was a bit... optimistic. But can you imagine the outrage of all the trade-grinders if you add real loading time penalties? (Not to be skipped of course, unless in the Elite universe you can beam cargo pods...)

 

[Space Ranger]

+1 for the idea as long as its done right

What im thinking is that when you can walk around in the stations you can have a little timer somewhere on your screen telling you how long till your ship is ready to fly again.. ex. it takes 5min real time to fully unload/load cargo, refuel and repair, and install new weapon/gadgets (this would maybe be dependent on hull mass or just %-wise, like from 1% hull back to 100%) in that time you can go about your business in the stations, talk to contractors, visit shipyards to put in a order for a new ship, visit the market to check out commodities and new weapons, meet up with fellow players at a bar or just walk around the hanger and see your ship being taken care of, and if you dont want to do any of those things, its never bad to take a short resupply break once in a while ..
I think that ship repairs is what going to take the longest, so refuel and restocking would not take that long maybe just 1min or so..
And to make everyone happy (if thats even possible) make a slider function (and a repair+stock all button) so that if you are in a hurry and dont think you need to fully repair you can ex. just repair 10% of your ship hull and rely more on your shields and thus not wait that long for it to be done..
maybe even go as far as being called up on the station comms telling you that cmdr xxxx's ship is ready for departure in hangar xxx (instead of a live timer?)
but lets wait for a station expansion before putting in any kind of this mechanic, it would only be frustrating and boring if you had to sit and wait in a cockpit not doing anything..

I see some people here talking about its boring to see the ship rotate and what not.. you do know that you can use that time selecting your next jump? no need for you to just stare at the screen for no reason i personally like to see everything moving as im in the navigation screen selecting my next jump

 

[AtheosisX]

No thank you.

 

[lysan]

The whole problem is that you can't leave your ship...yet!

Maybe that's why some of the functions take time and others is just a place holder? don't know.

What I would like, when all is done and we actually can leave the ship is a more immersed experience.

You land, need to check in at the Pilot debriefing office, here you can receive the pay for you war bonds or bounties, it's also here you pay your fines.
This should be some kind of interaction with a NPC, not just some text screen.

Buying commodities can be done from your ship interface or your handheld interface. When the deal is done "a few clicks" the cargo will be loaded into your hull. This should be done in real time
and we will need to wait for it to be done. I know, "I don't want to wait for that, I want to move on" well this also opens up for other game mechanics like people can sneak onboard and hide in your hull, and maybe capture your / our ships!

"I" Want to experience a living breathing universe. A universe where stories can unfold, a universe that is more then just a click fest. And let me say that I don't believe I'm the only one.

 

[CMDR W E S Fisher]

i think that cut scenes are good idea but after a while people will probably decide to skip all the time as they get impatient. Ive found myself going theough the port at faster speeds with impatience. Is it really worth the extra work for devs to implement if most experianced player are going to skip. Maybe once the majority of the new content has been put into the game. Things like this will be done as a polish. For now im amazed at the game as is. +1 for the idea.

Fish