Make station-rotation hologram more clear in supercruise

[Falco]

When in supercruise and locking a station, you see a little hologram of it, indicating which way you need to come from to hit the mailslot head on.
This is most difficult to see for the very rotational-symetrical correolis stations. There should be arrows, as there are when locking the actual thing after dropping out.

Also the rotation of the hologram is linked to the ownship rotation. Meaning if you change the ship's rotation, the hologram rotates as well.
I'd much prefer if it'd be fixed to the offset bearing to the station. the absolute rotation of the station, relative to my position, no matter my orientation.
It'd be nice to have an option for that in some menu.

Alternatively it would be nice to have some form of hud indicatior for the flight path that takes you towards the mailslot facing side. Even a simple line or cone extending from the front of the station on the hud would be nice.

 

[Caliber_az]

Yes, both suggestions are on my wish list. It would be a nice QOL if we could select how we want the hologram to rotate relative to our direction.

Thanx
Caliber_az

 

[MBaldelli]

This must be a resolution or a HUD colour issue. With PCs you can change the HUD colour. I went with Khaki/Dodger Blue made it easier to see the arrows for the Mail Slot for Coriolis Stations.

It's a good suggestion for those on the consoles stuck with the Amber/Orange pain.

 

[Falco]

This must be a resolution or a HUD colour issue. With PCs you can change the HUD colour. I went with Khaki/Dodger Blue made it easier to see the arrows for the Mail Slot for Coriolis Stations.

It's a good suggestion for those on the consoles stuck with the Amber/Orange pain.

I can see the arrows just fine. I'm talking about the light blue icon in supercruise that doesn't have those arrows. The arrows only show when you lock up the actual station, not the position in space.

 

[MBaldelli]

I can see the arrows just fine. I'm talking about the light blue icon in supercruise that doesn't have those arrows. The arrows only show when you lock up the actual station, not the position in space.

Isn't there something about the entrance to the stations are always toward the planet that they're orbiting? I seem to recall that once you get closer to the planet you can do a sweeping move so that it'll end up with you between the station and the planet. Once you're in that position and jump out of supercruise, you have the entrance either in front of you or one side away from in front of you.

 

[Falco]

it's supposed to be that way. But hardly any station really is facing the planet. Then with the single pixel wide line, it's hard to gauge when you are right between the planet and the station. even so, they added the indicator, so they might as well make it right.

 

[MBaldelli]

it's supposed to be that way. But hardly any station really is facing the planet. Then with the single pixel wide line, it's hard to gauge when you are right between the planet and the station. even so, they added the indicator, so they might as well make it right.

Do you have pictures of this as proof? I believe this is a broken mechanic as I remember quite vividly how annoyed I was about the entrance being on the inside orbit (instead of outside) for an interstellar civilization. Thought even about complaining about it. When I talked with other players and their explaining the why of it (about supporting the planet, not supporting the civilization), it stayed my hand. I have since enjoyed this knowledge and used it to my advantage.

Those times I didn't I almost always come in at the side of the station. This is still true since the last time I was in the bubble.

 

[Ben Sevil]

Unfortunately, there are plenty of stations where the slot does not quite face the planet as you approach it in SC, though they always seem to after you drop out.

This is really only a problem with the coriolis stations, as OP said, and I too would like to see some arrows in SC.

 

[MBaldelli]

Unfortunately, there are plenty of stations where the slot does not quite face the planet as you approach it in SC, though they always seem to after you drop out.

This is really only a problem with the coriolis stations, as OP said, and I too would like to see some arrows in SC.

Site listings and/or pictures will help the devs (and others like me) in this.. Remembering what I remember of the Coriolis Stations I've been to in the last rotation I was in the Bubble, I can recall clearly seeing the planet its in orbit either in front or near to front when I was leaving the station. And I was at Barjavel Station , Aldiss Dock, Godwin City and Artsebarsky Orbital. And all of them were Coriolis Stations.

Saying it's out there only indicates the possibility of one or two (Which is a bug report) or many, and still qualifies as a bug report.. Because all seems highly unlikely.

(And trust me, if you think me being contrarian/devil's advocate is tough, programmers will ignore it without tangible proof)

 

[Ben Sevil]

(And trust me, if you think me being contrarian/devil's advocate is tough, programmers will ignore it without tangible proof)

Worse, they will want video.

 

[MBaldelli]

Worse, they will want video.

LOL... Screenshots should be fine. I'm sure the videos will be ignored... You know like the combat logging story.

The thing is though if it's a problem, report it. Suggestions are usually ignored if there's no reports of it to them first. They like this forum for the reaping of new ideas. But when it comes to reporting something in suggestions, it can be dismissed as user perception. And we know how fallible Human Perception can be when it's discussed as subjective.

 

[Falco]

here are some screenshots demonstrating poor contrast
the mailslot is barely visible, no arrows are shown on the gray image. if you're coming from one of the other 5 directions, you'll have a tough luck finding the entrance, especially since stations are sometimes not facing towards the planets, as they should.

Here is the same icon in the shade, it's a lot more visible:

Here is a station facing about 60° the wrong way:

 

[JetsonRING]

When you exit Witch-space at your destination system, if you do not immediately see the mail-slot in the hologram of the destination station stir the joystick to change the relative orientation of your vessel to the station and you should be able to bring the face of the station with the mail-slot into view with plenty of time to correct before you reach the station. If you have done that and still cannot see the mail-slot then you know the mail-slot is on the face of the station pointing directly away from you. o7

 

[Falco]

When you exit Witch-space at your destination system, if you do not immediately see the mail-slot in the hologram of the destination station stir the joystick to change the relative orientation of your vessel to the station and you should be able to bring the face of the station with the mail-slot into view with plenty of time to correct before you reach the station. If you have done that and still cannot see the mail-slot then you know the mail-slot is on the face of the station pointing directly away from you. o7

Which is a dumb system, and exactly why I say it should be made more clear from the get go.
Also doesn't fix the contrast/visibility problem.

 

[JetsonRING]

Which is a dumb system, and exactly why I say it should be made more clear from the get go.
Also doesn't fix the contrast/visibility problem.

The visibility issue I agree with, I started a thread on the same subject, I cannot see the station hologram against the light grey of my Annie's dashboard, especially if there is sunlight on the dash however, finding the mail-slot just requires some good piloting skill. o7

 

[GJ51]

As much as I agree with the observations, it's really a bit moot if you know how to make a consistent approach.

I always find it quit easy to line up regardless of station type.

 

[MBaldelli]

@Falco -- All right, I couldn't see the pictures from work because they are on Steam and blocked because of policy...

Your issue isn't with the actual wireframe of the Coriolis Station, your issue is with the the Anaconda's interior of the Anaconda bridge. I wouldn't report this as a suggestion, but instead a bug between the Anaconda UI and the Default colours of their HUD. This is a QoL improvement that will need to be addressed with the shininess of the Anaconda Bridge interior.

I can tell you from years of experience, when it comes to cosmetic bugs that affect gaming, it will take time for it to be addressed. In the mean time what's been suggested about approach to the station will more than adequately address the issues you're having. And if there's any instances where they aren't this way -- again. It's a reporting issue.

 

[Falco]

my issue isn't the low contrast. at least that's not what the post is about.
my issue lies with the fact that you don't know where the entrance is, despite the hologram explicitly having been altered to make it easy to approach from the right side. the issue here is that the hologram, while it does help, can be made better, so it serves it's function as it is supposed to.
and that's where my suggestion is. Here is my suggestion broken down, in order of urgency:
- More contrast
- Add arrows on supercruise hologram indicating the side of the station that has the mailslot, as there are on the hologram that pops up when you target the station in the instance
- have rotation of supercruise hologram (or any hologram, really) relative to ship position, rather than ship rotation for easier maneuvering
- fix misalignment of hologram with actual rotation (it's just a few degrees, but noticable)
- fix rotation axis offset while in supercruise (probably the cause of issue above)

I am aware you can rotate your ship, and fly around the station and do other such things to find the entrance. but that's a pain and shouldn't be a thing in the first place. If you make a quality of life improvement, as the inclusion of the rotating hologram is, then do it right and have it work, even when the entrance is to the side or at the back from your point of view.
Because then it doesn't tell you a whole lot, and you have to maneuver your ship, to find out information that should be right there on the dashboard to begin with.
It's like an aircraft trying to land, and then the pilot can't see the runway. They wouldn't nose down to have a look through the window, that'd be stupid, their instruments tell them how high they are without having to point at the runway. Equally, your instruments should tell you how the station is oriented, or rather where the entrance is, regardless of if you can see it or not.
And even after you maneuvered, found the entrance, you have to remember, which side of the unlabeled, rotation and rotational symmetrical cluster of geometry the entrance is actually on while you maneuver your ship back and fly towards it, can it really be any more complicated?

 

[Captain Willard]

Please, no arrows on the hud or a bread crumb trail to show us how to pilot.

 

[MBaldelli]

my issue isn't the low contrast. at least that's not what the post is about.
my issue lies with the fact that you don't know where the entrance is, despite the hologram explicitly having been altered to make it easy to approach from the right side. the issue here is that the hologram, while it does help, can be made better, so it serves it's function as it is supposed to.

Good luck with your request. I offered advice based on the pictures and how poor the quality is with the new Anaconda interiors along with the default color for the HUD being the issue.

Given what you're saying here, I find myself in not only complete agreement, but also +1'd @Captain Willard's response. There is no need for arrows on the HUD and the breadcrumb trail; as this going in the direction of lazy sim-piloting issues.