Not sure if we are accelerating time in this Beta, but if I read the docs correctly each phase should be a week of activity - so testing could take more than a couple of weeks unless everything is scaled to increase time.
Patch Notes Update Powerplay Beta 5 changelog
- Thread starter Edward Lewis
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Sorry, it was dev update which talked about release next week, I stand corrected. As far nothing indicates delay. Some clarity will come tomorrow I guess.
Javert
Volunteer Moderator
They said the phases were accelerated to 2 days per phase in beta. I don't think they've commented on whether the bounty timouts are accelerated or not.
This was the only realistic physics left in the flight model. Newton's FIRST law of motion:
"An object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an external force"
It was also extremely fun to fly with FAoff. And now there is no benefit to doing so anymore since speed will "magically" decay due to friction in a prefect vacuum???
But more importantly you guys just ruined thousands of impressionable minds who will now believe in an Aristotelean view of inertia. Do you know how many "heretics" were burned at the stake for trying to tell the truth and undo the damage done to science by Aristotle and his wacky ideas about physics and astronomy? But I guess gameplay is more important than basic physics or education? Why create the most realistic model of the universe and then take a virtual dump on Newton's Principia?
It's mind boogling.
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A powerplay cycle is 2 days in beta, not a week.
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Its good to keep in mind that this is a game.
As far as the fix goes, as i understand it, they haven't changed the basic FA Off mechanic. What they have changed is the ability to boost, fly sideways, and use side thrusters to maintain full boost speed, something which you can't do with main thrusters. At least that is how it sounds to me.
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Hey do you think we can have the option to turn off the spash screen that appears when go into debug cam mode?
Agree, give us a checkbox to turn it off or something. Having to Click OK every time is just annoying, yes I understand I'm pushing three keys simultaneously to get into a camera mode and no, I don't need reminding 1,000 times, thank you !
cheers!
"just ruined"?
Ehm...the ability to keep the boost momentum and to travel equally fast backwards as forwards was removed months ago (because of gameplay reasons)...this was just a bug that seem to have allowed people to circumvent the limit. Nothing has changed compared to 1.2.
There was a debate back then, but I'm afraid you're just a little bit to late to the party in this case.
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Javert
Volunteer Moderator
"just ruined"?
Ehm...the ability to keep the boost momentum and to travel equally fast backwards as forwards was removed months ago (because of gameplay reasons)...this was just a bug that seem to have allowed people to circumvent the limit. Nothing has changed compared to 1.2.
There was a debate back then, but I'm afraid you're just a little bit to late to the party in this case.
Does this exploit work in production or is this just a bug that came with this beta?
It existed before yes, not as an intended mechanic(you wouldnt have to fly sideways if so). Unsure if it was in 1.2, it's an old one.
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I had the bright idea of using the community translation workflow to help FD nail the grammar gremlins and spelling sprites in the English. It looks like Fenland College of Arts and Technology's league table ranking in English has slipped in recent years...
Erm, you know you can change that? I have my camera mode set to... wait for it.... C!
Inertia is not an exploit. Magical friction is.
are you guys actually going to release this?
its not ready..
its not ready..
"just ruined"?
Ehm...the ability to keep the boost momentum and to travel equally fast backwards as forwards was removed months ago (because of gameplay reasons)...this was just a bug that seem to have allowed people to circumvent the limit. Nothing has changed compared to 1.2.
There was a debate back then, but I'm afraid you're just a little bit to late to the party in this case.
Science lost I take it? How VERY disappointing.
Javert
Volunteer Moderator
Can someone please for the love of life give Ziljan the link to all the mega threads about the flight model, before it all starts up again.
But, yes, science lost against gameplay, with a few small compromises. Here's the quick summary:
- Devs wanted WW2 fighters in space on purpose as the combat is more fun that what you get with a fully Newtonian flight model, and also feels more like the original Elite game, which was where most people preferred the combat to the next 2 games (which were mainly Newtonian).
- A few compromises were made in the FAoff mode to give it a somewhat Newtonian feel to it.
- Maximum relative speed of ships needs to be capped for technical reasons anyway due to networking / multiplayer considerations, and having full Newtonian physics means you probably have to have time acceleration which is not possible in a multiplayer game.
- Philosophy was that if science gets in the way of good gameplay, gameplay wins. It's probably for the same reason that we don't have to deal with gravity and calculate escape velocities and slingshot manoeuvres and so on.
- There are other games out there with a more Newtonian flight model that you can play if you prefer, including the previous 2 incarnations of Elite.
For further info you can locate various mega threads on this topic going back to the beginning of the project.
Now as regards the tweak that has just been made, it's an exploit in the sense that it specifically breaks the stated intention of how the flight model should work from the comments the devs made. In any case, if the flight model was Newtonian, you would not have to thrust sideways to maintain your speed either, and your ship would continue to accelerate for ever.
I believe the purpose of the splash is that it takes time.
No quick peeking into camera mode to check your surroundings.
Physics is not an intended mechanic? What is the point of FAoff exactly?
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Clearly the forward thrusters were the actual breaking force. So newtonians physics were in play in 1.2. Using Lateral Thrusters switched off this ridiculous safety valve by overriding attitude control. Now they are making the forward thrusters fire regardless of which direction you want them to fire in. It's taking control of the ship away from the player... and that is BAD GAMEPLAY imo.
Actually, it didn't turn off the safety valve. Otherwise, each second of burn would increase your thrust until you reached relativistic speeds, and then who knows what would happen.
It's pretty much in line with a model that has a maximum speed for anything.
I am not arguing for a full physics flight model. I am arguing that FAoff actually have some meaning within the speed constraints the Devs already imposed. As of now, FA off is just another way treat your ship like a gun turret in a dog fight. There is no longer any benefit to fleeing Prey ships and all of the benefit goes to Predator and War ships. Apparently you're supposed to play a griefer in this game, and not an explorer or a trader.
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