Landing pads in open play...

[shadragon]

I've been complaining about lack of a docking queue and timer for years, but the prevailing opinion is that it's more reasonable for players to have to mode switch to use outposts than for outposts to evict idle or dallying CMDRs, which is something that I find to be absolutely ludicrous.

I look on landing pads like seats in an Icelandic disco. If someone is sitting on a chair, it's their chair as long as they sit there. When they get up and you sit, it's now your chair for as long as you sit.

No to timers. If you need a pad that badly, go to Solo.

 

[Deleted member 110222]

Never have this problem. Traffic report in my Base system.

One Cobra Mk III.

No, I'm not joking. I'm that on the edge.

 

[Ian Skippy]

What I thought happened, and based on this thread doesn't, is that when you enter the hangar, you enter your own private instance, and hence no longer take up the pad. Seriously, what's the point, other than some visual fluff, of entering the hangar then?

For starters hangars of outposts/planetary bases provide oxygen. Kinda big deal.

 

[evanevery]

Personally I don't think it would be fair to kick anyone from a pad. If somebody wants to spend an hour or more on a pad waiting for mission boards to refresh then so be it. Not everyone wants to mode switch to refresh the board.

The game will try to move you to a new instance on dropout at a busy station.

I have an idea! How bout the selfish cmdr who's hogging the pad move off for a minute - let someone else move in and grab some missions - then he/she can slide right back in and never miss a board refresh. 'course that would mean thinking about OTHER people for a change.

Why is that selfish cmdr playing in Open anyway if they do not want to work/play with other people? Its the selfish cmdr who should be playing in solo.

(Having to play with other PEOPLE is EXACTLY why I DON'T play in Open with other people! Ironic, isn't it?)

 

[Ian Skippy]

I have an idea! How bout the selfish cmdr who's hogging the pad move off for a minute - let someone else move in and grab some missions - then he/she can slide right back in and never miss a board refresh. 'course that would mean thinking about OTHER people for a change.

Why is that selfish cmdr playing in Open anyway if they do not want to work/play with other people? Its the selfish cmdr who should be playing in solo.

(Having to play with other PEOPLE is EXACTLY why I DON'T play in Open with other people! Ironic, isn't it?)

Chill dude.

Some people are human and occasionally take a bathroom break, grab some coffee or whatever. As I cant pause the game, and I dont want to be shot by opportunists who see me floating around I do it when docked. Admittedly only when the station is clear, and I fly small ships so rarely hog the limited pads, but still.

 

[777Driver]

Apply that logic to an airport and see how ludicrous it sounds to let people park on the runway and not have to ever leave.



.

I don't need to apply that logic to airports, you have a slot at busy airports, miss that slot and you divert or cancel the flight before it has even left the place of origin. Ships in ED are more like cars, everyone and their dog has one. If I find a parking spot and want to hang out, it's your problem to find another parking space, or wait until one becomes free.

A simple solution is an AFK timeout, like GTA, if no keyboard input is detected after 10 mins, the player is moved into solo.

For anyone actively using the station services, even if it's an hour or longer, tough for anyone else, move to another instance.

Personally I'm not for the AFK timeout, however it is a compromise for what is essentially a non issue for the majority of ED cmdrs.

Devs could always charge docking fees and hanger time, am sure that would get more people moving.

 

[Pumabear8]

Speaking of queue's and pads, I have an odd thing that happens when my 2nd account is riding shotgun, I'll drop from super cruise and the station will be devoid of all activity, no security, no ships in the station, I request docking and handover to the docking computer, at which point I'm put in a queue, there's no one there, it's deserted, anyone know why this happens?

 

[EUS]

How would auto launching a cmdr that is browsing the board a good thing? First come first serve.

This. I get a spot, and will keep it for as little, or as much time as I wish, gotta shave, shower, grab a mission, visit the mistress, grab some more missions, launder the flight suit, go to the bar, it all takes time.

 

[Pumabear8]

I don't need to apply that logic to airports, you have a slot at busy airports, miss that slot and you divert or cancel the flight before it has even left the place of origin. Ships in ED are more like cars, everyone and their dog has one, if I find a parking spot and want to hang out, it's your problem to find another parking space, or wait until one becomes free.

A simple solution is an AFK timeout, like GTA, if no keyboard input is detected after 10 mins, the player is moved into solo.

For anyone actively using the station services, even if it's an hour or longer, tough for anyone else, move to another instance.

Personally I'm not for the AFK timeout, however it is a compromise for what is essentially a non issue for the majority of ED cmdrs.

Devs could always charge docking fees and hanger time, am sure that would get more people moving.

I've rarely found it an issue, even at busy CG's, what I'll do if I think I've been sitting on the pad a little too long, is look out for Commanders who are indicating they're waiting to land, and no "..... off the pad" doesn't cut it, then I'll normally show courtesy and lift off, but I don't like any idea of being forced off the pad, the pad tends to be my chill time.

 

[CMDR Seron]

If you do not want CMDRs overextend their docking time, then let them pay credits for docking. Every minute docked counts, price depends on mass of the ship. The longer the CMDR docks, the higher the price he has to pay on launch (credits automatically deducted from your account, thank you for your service). It is like in real ports today—harbour time is precious. (Docking and quitting the game does not rise the fee; only time spent in the game keeps the timer ticking.)

 

[FluffyBob]

Maybe stations should be designed to actually handle the amount of traffic in the game. Maybe have parking like the OP assumes. Maybe they need to be bigger. Just saying.

 

[Shiro Akai]

Alternatively, how about each pad serving multiple underground hangars.

Good and bad solution at the same time.

Good - because one landing pad could serve multiple CMDRs at once, multiplied by total amount of pads it'd shorten queues significantly.

Bad - one elevator being the choking point. First you wait in queue to land, then you wait in queue to take off (because someone is actually landing on this pad)

Tho overall I like the idea of multiple hangar slots within one pad. We go underground after all so adding 4 hangars with 2 levels would increase parking places 8-fold. And it'd be nice to see elevator transporting other ships while you browse board.

 

[GunnerBill]

IMO first come first seved.

But TBH I always thought going to the hanger freed up the pad and that ships were stacked like one of those new fangled carousel type car parks???

Year 3300 and all that right?!

 

[Pumabear8]

I've rarely found it an issue, even at busy CG's, what I'll do if I think I've been sitting on the pad a little too long, is look out for Commanders who are indicating they're waiting to land, and no "..... off the pad" doesn't cut it, then I'll normally show courtesy and lift off, but I don't like any idea of being forced off the pad, the pad tends to be my chill time.

I'm now officially laughing at this boards censorship, symbols are now censored.

 

[CMDR_Odulphe]

[...]
Tho overall I like the idea of multiple hangar slots within one pad. We go underground after all so adding 4 hangars with 2 levels would increase parking places 8-fold. And it'd be nice to see elevator transporting other ships while you browse board.

This ! I actually had a dream about that not so long ago (yes I even dream about ED sometimes...) ! And it looked so cool

 

[Unknown Zombie]

I don't think this is really a problem, but if they wanted to fix it anyway I think adding more levels to the elevator would be the best option. I always thought the smoking black hole at the bottom of the elevator shaft felt kind of unfinished and place holder-ish.

 

[SpiralValve]

I kinda feel bad after reading all this, I have apparently hogged a landing pad a time or two. I always thought if I entered the hangar there would be access to the landing pad for others. Isn't the station huge enough to have multiple levels of hangar stalls? I mean it shows you getting turned lowering down and moved out of the path of the pad elevator.

 

[777Driver]

I always thought if I entered the hangar there would be access to the landing pad for others. Isn't the station huge enough to have multiple levels of hangar stalls? I mean it shows you getting turned lowering down and moved out of the path of the pad elevator.

Have never understood the confusion, the pad elevator and hangar are clearly connected and one single unit, we see the animation every time we enter or exit the hangar.

 

[GunnerBill]

Have never understood the confusion, the pad elevator and hangar are clearly connected and one single unit, we see the animation every time we enter or exit the hangar.

.

But maybe some don’t pay that much attention or assume that every aspect of that cutscreen equates to actual design?

Because I think logically many think that in something as big as a Coriolis putting your ship in the hangar shouldn’t really nerf the whole bay!

 

[Pumabear8]

Good and bad solution at the same time.

Good - because one landing pad could serve multiple CMDRs at once, multiplied by total amount of pads it'd shorten queues significantly.

Bad - one elevator being the choking point. First you wait in queue to land, then you wait in queue to take off (because someone is actually landing on this pad)

Tho overall I like the idea of multiple hangar slots within one pad. We go underground after all so adding 4 hangars with 2 levels would increase parking places 8-fold. And it'd be nice to see elevator transporting other ships while you browse board.

Perhaps there was some kind of intent toward this, I note during enter hangar sequence, tunnels could have branched off in 4 directions, the one we got now, left, right and forward of the landing pad, I'm gonna guess that animation became an issue and making sure that only one ship at a time could go through the animation, otherwise you end up with a clippy mess.