Flight Traffic Controller play at attacked stations. Come join!

[Olivia Vespera]

I've kinda had a dream of playing as flight control for a station. If I could make a separate game in the ED franchise that connected it would be one that allowed people to play as flight controllers and manage folks at the busiest stations in the game.That's not going to happen anytime soon and currently there's no reason to do that for most stations. except

The attacked stations.​

Those stations have seen constant collisions between over enthusiastic rescuers and nervous overheating leaving ships.
What was needed and quite organically was folks to call out when they're entering or leaving. That's been happening and it's worked for most.

However I see an opportunity to do more and have decided to do some flight control.
And so I did.​

I changed my Beluga's name from Majestic to Flight Controller and started doing flight control at Oracle and Oracle Rescue.

Zones
The FTC Zones for Attacked stations and rescue ships are different and have different needs.

For Rescue Frigates, the task is to ensure large ships form a line and that no one cuts the queue. Keeping all station (that means all ships in comms) informed. It is easy to do flight control because it's easy to see who's next.

For Attacked Stations, it's harder.

The goal is to ensure both outgoing and incoming ships have some right of way some of the time without collision risk. CMDRs declare their intent, you as flight control let them know if they're good to go.
Some CMDRs don't check in with Flight Control so you need to give ships traversing the dock warning about them, whether to hold, or to abort attempt.

Voice Procedures
So the general voice procedure I use is the one we in Fleet Operations have been using.

<Your designation> <Their designation> <Message> (potentially saying over or out if you need to but not needed)

As FTC, your designation is Flight, FTC, Flight Control or Control. Their designation should be their ship name or type. whichever they're comfortable with. If none are given, use their name though advise them to provide ship type or name next time.​

Communications
I started doing it in text first but also made voice channels for all flight zones in my Discord, Fleet Operations.
It's been relatively successful both in voice and moreso in text.

[IMGUR]HkmkN[/IMGUR]

If you'd like to join in and do stuff like this, just name your ship Flight control and do so in your instance.

Come use our voice channels if you like. we have moved to the EVAC Fleet discord

https://discord.gg/jEW8dBe

Let me know what you think!

---

Note to the community, this is not a thread to talk about how Frontier should have implemented this.

 

[TieKnee]

sounds like a good idea - very hard to type in local chat using VR - I don't have any voice commands that will type leaving or inbound etc into local chat and removing headset to type doesn't cut it... if only everyone was using the same system to come n go ...
a station traffic control that actually q's all ships is what I see folks asking for.... good post !!!

 

[777Driver]

sounds like a good idea - very hard to type in local chat using VR - I don't have any voice commands that will type leaving or inbound etc into local chat and removing headset to type doesn't cut it... if only everyone was using the same system to come n go ...
a station traffic control that actually q's all ships is what I see folks asking for.... good post !!!

Are you not using the new Oculus Dash? You can now have a virtual keyboard and windows inside your virtual world https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...sh-Home-2-0-Experiences-amp-Tips-Thread/page4

[video=youtube;sMjlM5vFSA0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMjlM5vFSA0[/video]

 

[Olivia Vespera]

sounds like a good idea - very hard to type in local chat using VR - I don't have any voice commands that will type leaving or inbound etc into local chat and removing headset to type doesn't cut it... if only everyone was using the same system to come n go ...
a station traffic control that actually q's all ships is what I see folks asking for.... good post !!!

Would voice work on discord?

it's why i set up those channels.

 

[TieKnee]

Are you not using the new Oculus Dash? You can now have a virtual keyboard and windows inside your 3D space https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...sh-Home-2-0-Experiences-amp-Tips-Thread/page4

I use the Vive - bought it a while ago - I'll have a look at the other ... was going to wait to see how that new 4K headset worked or wait to see whatever new system comes up next year before getting something new. Thanks for the info on the keyboard , greatly appreciated +1 rep

 

[Wasp0]

sounds like a good idea - very hard to type in local chat using VR - I don't have any voice commands that will type leaving or inbound etc into local chat and removing headset to type doesn't cut it... if only everyone was using the same system to come n go ...
a station traffic control that actually q's all ships is what I see folks asking for.... good post !!!

Like Tieknee, i am a VR wearer and am NOT going to take my headset off to type request for permission. Also not going to use Discord. I rely on my experience to look at the Sensor screen, give way to out coming ships and keep to the sides when going in and out. Nice idea and although i can't participate the other chat adds to imurshun and adds to the picture of what is coming in or out so i can avoid.

 

[ebbrell]

This has been asked for before, I want very much

In the 7.5k range of a station, when and only when its busy. you get an open coms channel to all other ships in the 7.5k range and a queue from traffic control.

You hold until you are next, fined attacked if you jumps queue, and when busy you have a timer counting down of how long left you can stay on the pad, stay too long attacked and fined again.

We already have the activation tigger, when the station warns you there is high amounts of traffic

 

[Redomus]

I applaud you for trying this - it would only really work for those on your discord - however I found the time I spent typing would leave me open to being rammed/shot by certain types at the station. It was far easier to just dodge the large ships coming in and out instead of lining up to be shot at by un-savories "roleplaying" bored murder types.

 

[Lightspeed]

So .... what happens to those of us without Discord? .... we get shot at by queuing commanders, or fly straight in?

It can only work if everyone uses the same system, unfortunately, so I don't think it can work without FD designing it into the game.

 

[GreyAreaUK]

If you haven’t asked queuing ships to form a conga line then you are wasting our time! ​

 

[Bomba Luigi]

Oh, I noticed you once today at the oracle but I'm more a chaotic good CMDR. Good as in I try to not ram anybody but chaotic as I don't follow regulations, its much more fun to just hit boost and hope the best

 

[Olivia Vespera]

This has been asked for before, I want very much

In the 7.5k range of a station, when and only when its busy. you get an open coms channel to all other ships in the 7.5k range and a queue from traffic control.

You hold until you are next, fined attacked if you jumps queue, and when busy you have a timer counting down of how long left you can stay on the pad, stay too long attacked and fined again.

We already have the activation tigger, when the station warns you there is high amounts of traffic

We don't need them to implement it. I'm already doing it ^^

So .... what happens to those of us without Discord? .... we get shot at by queuing commanders, or fly straight in?

It can only work if everyone uses the same system, unfortunately, so I don't think it can work without FD designing it into the game.

For myself, I type all messages in text and say it in voice. I do so because I can and I find it fun to communicate with folks. So far It's works really well. There were several people I've actually played with yesterday who were into it. ^^
I suggest folks who with to do FTC on Voice, do the same. Hybrid and encourage folks to join in, until it's no longer required.

I applaud you for trying this - it would only really work for those on your discord - however I found the time I spent typing would leave me open to being rammed/shot by certain types at the station. It was far easier to just dodge the large ships coming in and out instead of lining up to be shot at by un-savories "roleplaying" bored murder types.

I haven't noticed that happen at Oracle or Oracle Rescue during my "shift". I've even had one pilot interested in running security. Those certain types really occur rarely. There was one instance when I was at Oracle that a clipper was ramming someone at Oracle rescue. (I wasn't there). The pilot communicated to me in voice, and I passed the word out to folks in the Oracle flight zone to be wary of the CMDR and their ship. (was a clipper at the time)

I haven't just tried this (and not just on discord in in game text as well) I've done this and it's hella fun.

Like Tieknee, i am a VR wearer and am NOT going to take my headset off to type request for permission. Also not going to use Discord. I rely on my experience to look at the Sensor screen, give way to out coming ships and keep to the sides when going in and out. Nice idea and although i can't participate the other chat adds to imurshun and adds to the picture of what is coming in or out so i can avoid.

Oh hey I think I saw you in flight when I was doing flight control! it's fine. there will always be some CMDRs who won't respond to comms, It's part of the fun. To warn everyone else that a ship is inbounding or exiting without notice. So don't worry about it. This is and would only ever be an opt-in system... one I hope the majority of folks get into

 

[GG7]

Cool idea!

I took a tour of all the attacked stations yesterday and while I was immediately impressed with the scene that FDEV had created (especially the Oracle), I couldn't help but feel a sense of annoyance/disappointment that they couldn't be bothered to at least make each station "unique" in there interactions.

I am specifically talking about the fact that the voiceovers from the station controllers and the process once inside are all identical. Basically, once you have interfaced with one of these sites, there isn't anything new to be found at any of the others. Right down to what the station controller says to you when you approach and enter the docking bay. (s)

Considering the glacial pace all of this 2.4 content has been trickled out to us, I just don't understand why more effort couldn't have been put into making each of these locations its own unique experience. Rather than the typical "If you have seen one, you have seen them all" reality Frontier seems to bake into every single one of these gameplay additions.

While I love the game, and the Frontier team's enthusiasm, I will never understand this tendency towards the "Good enough." now copy and paste vs "Each asset is the absolute best it can possibly be, individually hand crafted and unique." we never seem to see.

No matter what the asset. No matter when that asset arrives.

 

[Jenner]

Emergent gameplay. Heh heh.

 

[iFred]

Good idea, but instancing makes it hard to have fun, correct?

 

[Olivia Vespera]

Good idea, but instancing makes it hard to have fun, correct?

Not had much instancing issues. I flight control folks who are in my instance.
If my instance gets empty, I try to move to a new instance.
If there's someone who'd like to join my instance because they enjoy having fun with flight control, i wing them in.

 

[Mrat13]

What if you could lend your ships processing power, to allow people to use their docking computers at the damaged station.

Your ship would probably have to turn off anything non essential to allow this to happen, so you'd just have to sit there and watch people coming and going, but, a percentage of profit made from people rescuing survivors, would go into your pocket, like with multi crew.

In fact, you could have a similar menu, so that when your done, you take your rewards, and then after any traffic have finished docking using their computer (and clicking the button would stop anyone else doing it with the computer), your free to go.

Thoughts?

 

[Olivia Vespera]

I like that as a concept it's pretty neat. If Frotier is interested in making more cooperative mechanics, maybe this will be one of them. It may not have a place in this thread on a meta-game idea but I understand the love and desire to see more stuff that adds complexity to the game.

I think i'd prefer to see more ways to reward players for taking on unconventional roles such as this meta game... that's why I want to set up a player driven economy. (thread about that here)

 

[GG7]

Not had much instancing issues. I flight control folks who are in my instance.

Not so sure about that! Yesterday during my tour of these stations, I got stuck in the "Blue Tunnel" not once but twice in a row while trying to drop down into "The Oracle" site. I was connected to the Mobius Private Group at the time and finally had to switch to Solo in order to escape what was proving to be a serious bottleneck with instancing. Something I never see with Mobius or any of my other frequented PGs.

Maybe that was simply due to it being a Saturday afternoon in North America and these stations were the latest and greatest things to check out?

 

[GG7]

What if you could lend your ships processing power, to allow people to use their docking computers at the damaged station.

Thoughts?

I am pretty sure the failure of our docking computers to function in these stations was due more to the station's navigational aide infrastructure being destroyed than a lack of power to the systems. An external power source wouldn't do you much good if the hardware responsible for providing the Glide Path/Slope beam for your DC to follow was a pool of melted metal.