Preface
Before getting started. I'd like you all to know that I am well aware someone may have posted something similar to this before however since there are so many posts on this. If it has been brought up before please don't just post the link to it, but also add how that discussion progressed and how it may differ.
I'd like to have a meaningful discussion and not just a terse argument, or just a wall of posts about how it will 'break EVERYTHING'. Tell me why you think it would how it would affect the way YOU play. After all that is literally what this game is about. It is up to each of us to forge our own experience with this game, and since I only have my own experience to reference; I certainly need to hear your's as well to develop a much more informed opinion; and potentially forge a suggestion that could actually work for everyone.
Issue
We all know this is a game of many paths. With one of the most defining and tedious actions being the jumping mechanic. It can quickly become very exhausting and time consuming.
In my experience Jumping efficiently means:
This leaves little time for me me to do much of anything else while performing this insanely repetitious action. And while yes space its amazing to look at; after 20-40 jumps with over 300+ in a route. It loses it's luster. Also the jump animation has incredibly small variation, and thus something you don't really care to watch for 4 hours over and over again.
Also when say if you're an explorer and you want to go back to the starting area. You could be thousands of jumps away, and returning could mean stopping whatever exploration route your were taking, for quite sometime.
Proposal
To have an autopilot system that utilizes the user's past experience of star, and nav beacon scans to build up valid autopilot routes.
Valid routes being systems that the user has previously passed through where they user has stopped to perform a specific scan of each systems nav beacon (if available) or of the star itself. This takes time to perform, and prevents it from being abused; if it were automatic.
The autopilot should be able to handle all actions taken by the pilot during a normal route.
It should NOT handle interdiction, AT ALL. This means the use must at least pay attention to they flight in part.
Like a self driving car the user should be ready to take control of the ship if necessary.
Autopilot is for jumping only and will not handle planet approaches, or wider in system operation.
For merchants or passenger carriers, they can map frequent routes to make long hauls easier. Since passengers have variation as does cargo, the route wont always be 100% automated nor should it.
For explorers, whom scan systems it gives them a way to go backwards without the tedium.
For assassins it gives them ways to go to or from hubs or systems for contracts if they are farming an area.
The information for autopilot can be dealt with in a few ways.
1. Complete loss if the ship that was used is destroyed (doesn't make sense if it information accrued by the pilot over time)
2. The information is backed up to the pilot's profile each time they dock, and info that hasn't been backed up is lost
---------------------------
I believe that this type of over-time build up of autopilot valid paths, and requiring a specific action to enable/validate a system would work well in allowing it to slowly scale up with the player's progress. It eases the strain on the user, and stays true to the core philosophy of the game. To let the user craft their own experience. Users can choose to put in the effort required to setup such routes and thus make themselves feel like they are making a place for themselves in the galaxy. It could lend itself to other features like course plotting; where the user must lay in the course throughout their own validated systems. A user can also choose not to use it at all.
As manual control of their ship would make trip shorter overall. still giving them the advantage.
It also can give a bit of credence to a game in which there are high-tech ships and FSD's but no autopilot, a tech so simple we have it now on loads of merchant marine vessels.
The explanation for the mechanic can be, that the system needs the nav beacon data or a scan of the star in order to properly navigate it.
To all, I would like to know how this type of in-game autopilot would effect your experience.
** - Also I know there are third-party ones that exist; however this could only really exist as an in-game function, and needs to be in-game to be balanced.
Before getting started. I'd like you all to know that I am well aware someone may have posted something similar to this before however since there are so many posts on this. If it has been brought up before please don't just post the link to it, but also add how that discussion progressed and how it may differ.
I'd like to have a meaningful discussion and not just a terse argument, or just a wall of posts about how it will 'break EVERYTHING'. Tell me why you think it would how it would affect the way YOU play. After all that is literally what this game is about. It is up to each of us to forge our own experience with this game, and since I only have my own experience to reference; I certainly need to hear your's as well to develop a much more informed opinion; and potentially forge a suggestion that could actually work for everyone.
Issue
We all know this is a game of many paths. With one of the most defining and tedious actions being the jumping mechanic. It can quickly become very exhausting and time consuming.
In my experience Jumping efficiently means:
- entering a system
- doing a close pass of the star to get a quick boost in my fuel supply
- and then lining up and jumping again
This leaves little time for me me to do much of anything else while performing this insanely repetitious action. And while yes space its amazing to look at; after 20-40 jumps with over 300+ in a route. It loses it's luster. Also the jump animation has incredibly small variation, and thus something you don't really care to watch for 4 hours over and over again.
Also when say if you're an explorer and you want to go back to the starting area. You could be thousands of jumps away, and returning could mean stopping whatever exploration route your were taking, for quite sometime.
Proposal
To have an autopilot system that utilizes the user's past experience of star, and nav beacon scans to build up valid autopilot routes.
Valid routes being systems that the user has previously passed through where they user has stopped to perform a specific scan of each systems nav beacon (if available) or of the star itself. This takes time to perform, and prevents it from being abused; if it were automatic.
The autopilot should be able to handle all actions taken by the pilot during a normal route.
- Maneuver - away from or around a star to realign with the next jump
- Refuel - if the user has a fuel scoop then they system should be able to safely refuel the ship at a steady rate (slower than a player could, but not severely slow. ie. like 50% of the scoop's capacity)
- Realign - line up and engage the FSD, after getting out of range of the star to avoid overheating.
- Error handling - If an error occurs the ship should point itself away from a star, travel X distance from it, and drop out of supercruise in a "safe" area and wait for the user to resume control.
It should NOT handle interdiction, AT ALL. This means the use must at least pay attention to they flight in part.
Like a self driving car the user should be ready to take control of the ship if necessary.
Autopilot is for jumping only and will not handle planet approaches, or wider in system operation.
For merchants or passenger carriers, they can map frequent routes to make long hauls easier. Since passengers have variation as does cargo, the route wont always be 100% automated nor should it.
For explorers, whom scan systems it gives them a way to go backwards without the tedium.
For assassins it gives them ways to go to or from hubs or systems for contracts if they are farming an area.
The information for autopilot can be dealt with in a few ways.
1. Complete loss if the ship that was used is destroyed (doesn't make sense if it information accrued by the pilot over time)
2. The information is backed up to the pilot's profile each time they dock, and info that hasn't been backed up is lost
---------------------------
I believe that this type of over-time build up of autopilot valid paths, and requiring a specific action to enable/validate a system would work well in allowing it to slowly scale up with the player's progress. It eases the strain on the user, and stays true to the core philosophy of the game. To let the user craft their own experience. Users can choose to put in the effort required to setup such routes and thus make themselves feel like they are making a place for themselves in the galaxy. It could lend itself to other features like course plotting; where the user must lay in the course throughout their own validated systems. A user can also choose not to use it at all.
As manual control of their ship would make trip shorter overall. still giving them the advantage.
It also can give a bit of credence to a game in which there are high-tech ships and FSD's but no autopilot, a tech so simple we have it now on loads of merchant marine vessels.
The explanation for the mechanic can be, that the system needs the nav beacon data or a scan of the star in order to properly navigate it.
To all, I would like to know how this type of in-game autopilot would effect your experience.
** - Also I know there are third-party ones that exist; however this could only really exist as an in-game function, and needs to be in-game to be balanced.
