Could Frontier please demonstrate how to use the FSS enjoyably?

[lenna]

I may be in the minority but I kind of enjoy the fss, the creepy sounds you hear from space always gets me, those gas giants just sound terrifying, ice/rocks sound amazing, could listen to those sounds for minutes.

The fundamental problem with the FSS as far as I am concerned is there was too much effort put into the audio aspect and not enough into the other parts - there should have been a visual representation of the audio element from day one but FD fundamentally failed on that score and seem to be blind to the consequences of that failure.

 

[RELSPI]

I know this isn't a majority opinion, but what's so engaging about staring forward out of a cockpit window so you can proximity scan? It's less engaging than the FSS, in my opinion, and thoroughly less enjoyable.
Supercruise isn't even proper spaceflight.

 

[Vahnkiljoy]

The fundamental problem with the FSS as far as I am concerned is there was too much effort put into the audio aspect and not enough into the other parts - there should have been a visual representation of the audio element from day one but FD fundamentally failed on that score and seem to be blind to the consequences of that failure.

That does make sense, though I'm really not sure what else they could have done to visualize the audio you are tuning into more than what they already have done other than maybe adding like ripples from the bodies reacting to it all.

 

[RELSPI]

FDev's sound design department is the only one that everyone agrees does good work. Maybe the visuals department, too, if not the design department.

 

[Shinji Ikari]

And what happens in EACH AND ANY thread where one of the terms ADS, FSS or exploration is just mentioned once? The same bunch comes in and fills it with endless lamentation about the FSS. You can go through this thread, you can go through many others. If you read them very well and pay close attention, there's a number of requests for improvements and fixes there. Valid concerns on it's usability, how it handles in VR, etc. But it's covered under layers and layers of spam.

And this is an indicator of the mistake FD made, the only other design discussion which I recall has been discussed more is Hotel California.

 

[lenna]

Supercruise isn't even proper spaceflight.

I am sorry but your opinion is demonstrably false - it may not be proper spaceflight in a true Newtonian motion sense of the term but once you enter into the realms of FTL travel Newtonian mechanics fall a bit flat (i.e. are deficient).

I know this isn't a majority opinion, but what's so engaging about staring forward out of a cockpit window so you can proximity scan? It's less engaging than the FSS, in my opinion, and thoroughly less enjoyable.

Why does any discovery or travel process have to be engaging in itself? They are merely a means to an end not an end in themselves. As for the FSS, I would argue it is less engaging than the pre-3.3 mechanics - paint by numbers is the closest analogy I can come up for the FSS.

 

[RELSPI]

Why does any discovery or travel process have to be engaging in itself? They are merely a means to an end not an end in themselves. As for the FSS, I would argue it is less engaging than the pre-3.3 mechanics - paint by numbers is the closest analogy I can come up for the FSS.

The FSS is literally the same gameplay as proximity scanning, but instead of instant zooming you have to wait. That's it. Point and wait as opposed to point and zoom.

 

[lenna]

That does make sense, though I'm really not sure what else they could have done to visualize the audio you are tuning into more than what they already have done other than maybe adding like ripples from the bodies reacting to it all.

Simple answer - they could have displayed a real-time oscilloscope type representation of the audio spectrum (think along lines of audio editors and spectrum analysers). The visual element is little more than paint by numbers or as some put it blob-hunt.

 

[lenna]

The FSS is literally the same gameplay as proximity scanning, but instead of instant zooming you have to wait. That's it. Point and wait as opposed to point and zoom.

Not really, they are different beasts in substantial ways - the FSS arguably requires less time and travel but enforces faff and paint-by-numbers. Far from being engaging in any sense of the term, nor is it even close to being the same gameplay as pre-3.3.

 

[[VR] scipio_77]

I feel weird now, because I really like the FSS. I think it's neat that you can just click to target and get up your available information. I always felt the old way was clunky.

I'd love a feature to set waypoints from the FSS however.

I use it in VR and have simply set it to mouse, so I move my hand directly to the right of the stick and scan away to my heart's content, middle button targets. Quick and accurate.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

I may be in the minority but I kind of enjoy the fss, the creepy sounds you hear from space always gets me, those gas giants just sound terrifying, ice/rocks sound amazing, could listen to those sounds for minutes.

You are in the minority on this thread only.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

I feel weird now, because I really like the FSS. I think it's neat that you can just click to target and get up your available information. I always felt the old way was clunky.

I'd love a feature to set waypoints from the FSS however.

I use it in VR and have simply set it to mouse, so I move my hand directly to the right of the stick and scan away to my heart's content, middle button targets. Quick and accurate.

Don't feel weird. Most people seem to like it too. I also like it in VR.

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

I know this isn't a majority opinion, but what's so engaging about staring forward out of a cockpit window so you can proximity scan? It's less engaging than the FSS, in my opinion, and thoroughly less enjoyable.
Supercruise isn't even proper spaceflight.

It's almost like different people enjoy different things.

I find threading the needle through a gas giant's rings, scanning all the moons before pitching out towards the next body, all while retaining as much speed as possible, to be way more fun than pressing zoom-in, zoom-out over and over again and calling it 'science'.

 

[[VR] scipio_77]

It's almost like different people enjoy different things.

I find threading the needle through a gas giant's rings, scanning all the moons before pitching out towards the next body, all while retaining as much speed as possible, to be way more fun than pressing zoom-in, zoom-out over and over again and calling it 'science'.

You can still do that though.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

I find threading the needle through a gas giant's rings, scanning all the moons before pitching out towards the next body, all while retaining as much speed as possible.

Nothing stops you from doing that though.

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

Nothing stops you from doing that though.

You can still do that though.

Not sure why you both felt the need to tell me I could do something I just stated that I was doing.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

Not sure why you both felt the need to tell me I could do something I just stated that I was doing.

Because it sounded like you were saying you couldn't do both.

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

Because it sounded like you were saying you couldn't do both.

I was responding to a post saying that proximity scans were less engaging than the FSS, by explaining how I find proximity scans engaging.
I thought that was obvious from the post.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

I was responding to a post saying that proximity scans were less engaging than the FSS, by explaining how I find proximity scans engaging.
I thought that was obvious from the post.

Sorry my bad. But from what I can tell it's not the proximity scans that you find engaging, its the flying your ship part. The proximity scan just gave you an incentive to do that.

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

Sorry my bad. But from what I can tell it's not the proximity scans that you find engaging, its the flying your ship part. The proximity scan just gave you an incentive to do that.

Proximity scans made not using the FSS (and hence for me exploration as a whole) a viable option - because flying a spaceship is fun.

The gas giant stuff is an added layer of excitement.