Looks like you insist in your "reductio ad absurdum" line of argumentation. I am afraid that "scenario" in Elite is quite a bit more convoluted than just click a button or fly from A to B. Fuel related gameplay and its context can get quite deep.
That particular event was captured in many gaming press outlets at the time precisely because it was indeed exciting gameplay. Here a couple interesting passages from those articles:
"So Cmdr. Persera, after making fuel calculations, turned off all the modules in her vessel (an Anaconda) and flew in supercruise for 48 hours to go 65,659 light years from Sol. Supercruise is the game’s equivalent of manual drive. So that’s 48 hours of real time spaceflight going in one direction away from the galaxy.
The problem is Cmdr. Persera blew her fuel calculations, and didn’t have enough to get back to Semotus Beacon. From there, her real options would be to self-destruct her ship — which would forfeit her progress and her record."
"Three Fuel Rats came to the rescue, in what was called Operation Beyond The Void. The plan was to get Persera enough fuel to get her to the nearest “scoopable” star (a star that her vessel can use to replenish her fuel tanks) and get home. However, they were well aware that with fuel so tight, there was a real possibility one or all of their own would become stranded instead. “A fact of life as a Fuel Rat,” said Cmdr. Highwaywarrior."
etc
You can also see the gaming press in general has captured fuel related events quite often which suggests fuel related gameplay in Elite is indeed exciting and worth of showcase, like
this one too, also described in detail
here. Rich and deep gameplay requiring tons of thoughtful preparation and precise execution.
As I said, I am looking forward to SC fuel related gameplay and refueling delivering this kind of epic player experiences.
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en.wikipedia.org
