Navigation Computer needed ?

[Hanz Sorensen]

So I'm thinking that by the year 3302 we should have the option to upgrade to an Advanced Navigation Computer that would allow us to plug in a route and it would fly/navigate the entire route from Launch to Docking.
Nav Computer that can do multiple jumps, as soon as you arrive it points ship away from star used to navigate and aims towards next destination. No hands, launch to land. Make the Grind better.

 

[thorn-]

So I'm thinking that by the year 3302 we should have the option to upgrade to an Advanced Navigation Computer that would allow us to plug in a route and it would fly/navigate the entire route from Launch to Docking.
Nav Computer that can do multiple jumps, as soon as you arrive it points ship away from star used to navigate and aims towards next destination. No hands, launch to land. Make the Grind better.

Will it also stop and do the fuel scooping for you? Perhaps negotiate with unexpected pirates on your behalf? Suggest new opportunities on NetFlix?

 

[Mohrgan]

Dropping in at unexpected stars is still a threat Commanders have to face. Correctly flying your ship while Scooping is still a threat a Commander has to face. Bypassing these and other similar threats would just cheapen the experience. With the suggestion in the OP, we should just have instant jumps to any location without any trouble. Does that sound like E|D? I think not. We should all have to fly our ships, when they are moving.

 

[The space tyrant]

I've thought of this too. Certainly this would exist at this point.

I can see not wanting to automate the game too much, but I don't see a big problem with the computer making multiple jumps

 

[MAUXUS]

Don't we have autopilot refueling today on military jets? The game DID F22 had one, back in the 90s. In this case it's even easier because the refueling target is "stationary" compared to an airplane: jump off, point at star, approach, refuel, jump again. Autopilot could disconnect automatically when interdicted, so players still have to monitor and cannot just leave the game. And you could take control back at anytime if for example you wanted to stay longer in a system to scan planets, then resume autopilot. BTW in most scifi movies i watched, they don't stop every 30 seconds to jump again, do they? Maybe I haven't watched enough of them but don't they just jump and jump off at destination? Maybe give people an option to use autopilot and people who don't want one do not have to use it?

 

[fademist]

Will it also stop and do the fuel scooping for you? Perhaps negotiate with unexpected pirates on your behalf? Suggest new opportunities on NetFlix?

it was on ffe though along with battle computer

 

[askavir]

No hands, launch to land. Make the Grind better.

What's the point in "playing" the game, if the game does everything by itself?

Anyway, what you want already exists. It's called Twitch. You can see all kinds of games playing themselves.

 

[veryinky]

What's the point in "playing" the game, if the game does everything by itself?

I ask that myself every day I "play" ED, when most of my time is spent watching movies on my 2nd monitor.

 

[Mohrgan]

Elite has it's own Sci-Fi lore. I believe simply, that if your ship is moving, a pilot should be in direct control. Otherwise large sections of game play can and would, be ignored. The general population around here wouldn't even consider instant, behind the scenes, ship transfers, what makes you think bypassing actually playing the game would go over?

 

[Paineframe]

The reason we have the grind is because so many people want it. There's an honest belief among much of the community that good gameplay design means spending less time fighting and mining and more time shuttling around between destinations doing the simplistic grunt work of flying the ship.

 

[Mohrgan]

Each time you drop into a system you face threats. Scooping, Gravity, other Commanders ect. To have that work done for you is just eliminating a series of intended obstacles. Removing game play. If a ship is moving, it should be controlled by a pilot.

 

[veryinky]

The general population around here wouldn't even consider instant, behind the scenes, ship transfers, what makes you think bypassing actually playing the game would go over?

That's probably one of the main problems of Elite, or rather Elite Dangerous. Previous Elites had time dilation so the more ridiculously boring parts of the game could be bypassed. In ED I've often looked at a distant planet/star I'm heading towards, did the quick math saying it's 15-20 minutes away, and started watching something on netflix or loaded up an other game to play while I wait to play ED.

I've spent hundreds of hours playing other games while I "played" ED. I've literally watched over one hundred movies so far (112 currently) while "playing" elite.

And navigation computers? Is there anyone out there who really and honestly considers point ship to next nav target, press j, wait for next system to load, repeat to be challenging? But hey, if there's players out there who consider each and every jump as a new experience that taxes their minds and hands to their limits, then sure, those people can just avoid getting a nav computer. To them trying to figure out how to point the ship in the next star and mashing at the keyboard with their limited abilities to try and hit that "j" key must be an outright epic struggle of man versus machine.

Just saying, for some of us, the whole jump to next star and do it again is not the most exciting part of playing the game.

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

While I disagree with the OPs idea.

I also find travel rather... Not dull..i don't know what the word is. . Lol

But, if I want to make a long journey, I have to remain at the controls, despite not actually doing a great deal. But just enough, that I can't get up to pee or make a coffee. Because I'll just jump in to the next system and foolishly crash directly in to the star. Lol

Making a coffee on a long trip involves the following procedure:
• Line up to target system, full throttle, and engage FSD.
• Run to the kitchen
• Trip over cat, who is excited you're running to the kitchen
• Fill and Put kettle on.
• Run back to the controls hopefully just in time to steer away from the star.
• Honk, Wait for cooldown, scoop if necessary, align to destination, and charge for hyperspace again.
• Get up, and run back to the kitchen.
• Avoid cat
• Get mug
• Add coffee, and sugar
• Run back to controls.
• Honk, scoop, align, charge FSD.
• Run back to kitchen, avoid cat, again.
• Pour hot water in coffee.
• Stir vigorously.
• Rinse spoon.
• Carefully run back to controls.
• Sip coffee, burn mouth.



If there was an "autopilot", I'd like it to only, only only, handle lining up and jumping. But not using the best methods either.
No scooping.
Disengages if interdicted.
Disengages at 10% fuel.
Disengages at 100%+ heat.
Zeros throttle at destination.

 

[veryinky]

Each time you drop into a system you face threats. Scooping, Gravity, other Commanders ect. To have that work done for you is just eliminating a series of intended obstacles. Removing game play. If a ship is moving, it should be controlled by a pilot.

Navigation computer.
nav·i·ga·tion

ˌnavəˈɡāSH(ə)n

noun

noun: navigation

• The process or activity of accurately ascertaining one's position and planning and following a route.
  
  
  

You'll notice it doesn't include diplomacy, combat, refueling or looking up today's stock prices. Navigation computer. If you want to participate in the discussion, please stay on topic.

 

[Mohrgan]

Navigation computer.
nav·i·ga·tion

ˌnavəˈɡāSH(ə)n

noun

noun: navigation

• The process or activity of accurately ascertaining one's position and planning and following a route.
  
  
  

You'll notice it doesn't include diplomacy, combat, refueling or looking up today's stock prices. Navigation computer. If you want to participate in the discussion, please stay on topic.

I can't see a point I made that wasn't under the heading of Navigation. In Elite navigating between systems includes more than just movement. It includes the risks faced along the way. Your post is quite off the mark.

You may note, that we already have a computer system to 'Accurately ascertain one's position and planning and following a route'. What it doesn't do is fly for you. I think this points out a nice compromise. Don't you?

 

[Hanz Sorensen]

I've thought of this too. Certainly this would exist at this point.

I can see not wanting to automate the game too much, but I don't see a big problem with the computer making multiple jumps

I can also see not wanting too much automation in the game, it would kind of play itself, I get that. I think there should be some drawbacks to a multiple jump nav computer, like you can't completely walk away from your computer because of interdictions and such. But yea, it would exist by this point and would be a nice option.

"Just saying, for some of us, the whole jump to next star and do it again is not the most exciting part of playing the game." Indeed

 

[MAUXUS]

In Elite navigating between systems includes more than just movement. It includes the risks faced along the way.

It could be implement in a way that the autopilot auto-disconnects when those risks come up, so that we can handle them manually? On today's airplanes, that's how it is done, after all.

 

[veryinky]

I can't see a point I made that wasn't under the heading of Navigation. In Elite navigating between systems includes more than just movement. It includes the risks faced along the way. Your post is quite off the mark.

Nope. You were just listing stuff randomly because you are unable to attack the core function of what a navication computer would do, lock on to next system in plotted route and jump, repeat. Players would deal with risks. I mean you listed gravity. Gravity, really? You consider gravity to be something you think about while jumping between stars? And it's It's already been pointed out that docking computers shut off if the ship is under attack. Everything you listed did not fall under the strict definition of navigation.

"But wait, I also think about what trades I'll be doing when I'm jumping! Navigation computers would do that so they must not be implemented!!"

Let's keep on topic ok? Navigation computer would navigate along a plotted route. It would not engage in combat. It would not ponder the true nature of "gravity". It would not engage in conversations with passing commanders. It would not go on lengthy dissertations about the duality of man. It would navigate.

Do you, Mohrgan, consider the act of pointing the ship to the next assigned star within a plotted route, pressing j, waiting 10 seconds, pressing x,waiting 25 seconds and doing it again 30 times something mentally or physically challenging? Do you consider this to be the core Elite Dangerous experience?

Note that I've managed, with the aid of a laser pointer, to get my cat to aim the ship to the next star and activate a jump. It is not an activity that should be considered difficult by an able bodied human.

 

[Mohrgan]

Nope. You were just listing stuff randomly because you are unable to attack the core function of what a navication computer would do, lock on to next system in plotted route and jump, repeat. Players would deal with risks. I mean you listed gravity. Gravity, really? You consider gravity to be something you think about while jumping between stars? And it's It's already been pointed out that docking computers shut off if the ship is under attack. Everything you listed did not fall under the strict definition of navigation.

"But wait, I also think about what trades I'll be doing when I'm jumping! Navigation computers would do that so they must not be implemented!!"

Let's keep on topic ok? Navigation computer would navigate along a plotted route. It would not engage in combat. It would not ponder the true nature of "gravity". It would not engage in conversations with passing commanders. It would not go on lengthy dissertations about the duality of man. It would navigate.

Do you, Mohrgan, consider the act of pointing the ship to the next assigned star within a plotted route, pressing j, waiting 10 seconds, pressing x,waiting 25 seconds and doing it again 30 times something mentally or physically challenging? Do you consider this to be the core Elite Dangerous experience?

Note that I've managed, with the aid of a laser pointer, to get my cat to aim the ship to the next star and activate a jump. It is not an activity that should be considered difficult by an able bodied human.

Each star you jump to has a gravity well that can capture your ship, pulling it into the star causing damage, and even destruction. I said absolutely nothing about anything other than the risks faced when dropping into a system from a Hyper-Jump. Your dramatic retelling of my posts won;t change that. I imagine everyone, even triple Elite pilots, still runs afoul of the gravity line when scooping from time to time, that has to be taken into account.

I Mohrgan consider the act of negotiating the risks posed with each jump to be the ships Pilots responsibility. I Mohrgan consider the control of ones ship to be The core of the Elite Dangerous experience.

I've been on topic the whole time. I have not set out to oppose you directly. I have been debating the argument, not attempting to belittle you. Take that as an example. If you were about just removing the need to press [j], then just how much would a Nav. Computer really offer. The savings of one key press? Not worth the effort I would say.

 

[Khazid]

With the new scouppable only routes this might come in handy. I can see myself paying a lot of insurance though as the temptation of leaving to make some coffee while travelling too big...