Agggh! please can we have some form of traffic control in starports

Adyin · Jan 18, 2015

Its bloody expensively infuriating to be running an unshielded clipper in cargo mode in order to maximise hold space, to find yourself greeted with a crap pilot of an NPC bounding his way out or in and you have nowhere to go or are just too committed to turn back.

Is there anything that can be done??

Issmir · Jan 18, 2015

I admire your bravery. a shieldless clipper is a pretty big risk.

Short of redesigning the stations to have an exit and an entrance or put a waiting period where one ship could enter or exit without being destroyed, I don't know what they could do. You might consider dropping a fewT of cargo space and getting an A3 shield. It's just about good enough for docking mishaps

Murphy's Ghost · Jan 18, 2015

Running without shields is like driving a car without brakes - something will eventually stop you the hard way and it won't be pretty.

xondk · Jan 18, 2015

Well considering how much money you can earn on trading, maybe you could just put a small shield on and lose only a little cargo space?

AluminumAlloy · Jan 18, 2015

For now there is an automated system that designates you to a landing pad number that is not occupied. But, during airlock and taxi, it's manual.

Cevap · Jan 18, 2015

Find a station that sells shields...

crushdepth · Jan 18, 2015

Put a small shield on. You can spare a class 3 slot, trust me.

Bangfish · Jan 18, 2015

All these shieldless greedy "traders" should be rammed on sight. I just took out shieldless t6 who crashed into my t7 while I was leaving the station. That might teach him.

Adyin · Jan 18, 2015

We shouldnt have to though - if its there we should be able to use it without these troubles, it just gets ridiculous at times and in a lot of cases even running a shielded ship isnt enough to stop damage as a ship appears out of nowehere and you play "joust" for a while trying to resolve it, backing up into other ships behind you - maybe im just using an overly busy port who knows but, "put a shield on" shouldnt be the cop out answer - in my opinion anyway - surely a simple message that says HOLD SHIP LEAVING or ENTERING wouldnt be too much - I mean, we have to wait anyway...right?

salad · Jan 18, 2015

Traffic control would be cool but I bet you didn't even think about smugglers having to ignore it.

Just never go shieldless, I even put 4 blips on shield just in case theres a CMDR coming out with a heavier ship.

Hadron-Higgs-Boson · Jan 18, 2015

I think, I hope, the current system is, like so many others are thought and hoped to be, a place holder. The current system isn't very good and isn't very likely to be employed by any docking station or port. I don't midn that it can be 'dangerous, I mind that its silly. I woudl like there to be a decent traffic control and queue system, like there is at EVERY port knwn to man! And when you consider that half the ships in the game/sim take up the full letterbox it's really pretty criminally negligent of the dockling authority to not have some basic traffic management going on

Morbad · Jan 18, 2015

Adyin said:
Is there anything that can be done??

Equip shields, or sit around waiting for the perfect opening.

changtau2005 · Jan 18, 2015

It's a tradeoff between profit and safety, right? The majority of traders run severely undersized shields / shieldless because they can afford to, and that's where you get all that OP cargo space from, but then you have to fly while being acutely aware of the additional risk you're taking at any given time. One crash or scrape that breaks the shield barrier will eat into all those profits you gained from using small shields / not using shields.

Due to high traffic density, stations are some of the most dangerous places you can be in.

Adyin · Jan 18, 2015

Morbad said:
Equip shields, or sit around waiting for the perfect opening.

Thats fine bro - but sometimes you dont get the perfect opening, you can be in the letterbox and a ship rises and comes out of nowehere - but yeah, guess ill have to go with the shields option.

agent1138 · Jan 18, 2015

Stations need:

>Docking Queue
So when you request dock you're put in line until a space is available

>Speed Regulations
You get a speeding fine if you exceed the safety speed limit.

>Insurance
Players have to pay for collision damage they cause to others.

Issmir · Jan 18, 2015

Adyin said:
We shouldnt have to though - if its there we should be able to use it without these troubles, it just gets ridiculous at times and in a lot of cases even running a shielded ship isnt enough to stop damage as a ship appears out of nowehere and you play "joust" for a while trying to resolve it, backing up into other ships behind you - maybe im just using an overly busy port who knows but, "put a shield on" shouldnt be the cop out answer - in my opinion anyway - surely a simple message that says HOLD SHIP LEAVING or ENTERING wouldnt be too much - I mean, we have to wait anyway...right?

Well, kind of. but shields on a clipper are there as much to protect from mishap as other pilots. And the difference in profits it'll make will be negligible once you factor in how much you're having to pay for repair costs. And while, yes, you are absolutely free to fly unshielded (like I did right up to the clipper), the one thing a shield does is protect you from harm. If you choose not to use one it may be wise just to accept high repair costs as part of the bargain.

You're flying a ship that takes up almost the entire width of the entrance. A shield may not be mandatory, but it's a really good idea.

Adyin · Jan 18, 2015

Issmir said:
Well, kind of. but shields on a clipper are there as much to protect from mishap as other pilots. And the difference in profits it'll make will be negligible once you factor in how much you're having to pay for repair costs. And while, yes, you are absolutely free to fly unshielded (like I did right up to the clipper), the one thing a shield does is protect you from harm. If you choose not to use one it may be wise just to accept high repair costs as part of the bargain.

You're flying a ship that takes up almost the entire width of the entrance. A shield may not be mandatory, but it's a really good idea.

A fair point buddy.

Snakebite · Jan 18, 2015

Adyin said:
Its BLOODY expensively infuriating to be running an unshielded clipper in cargo mode in order to maximise hold space, to find yourself greeted with a crap pilot of an NPC bounding his way out or in and you have nowhere to go or are just too committed to turn back.

Is there anything that can be done??

Yes, GET SOME SHIELDS

777Driver · Jan 18, 2015

Adyin said:
Thats fine bro - but sometimes you dont get the perfect opening, you can be in the letterbox and a ship rises and comes out of nowehere - but yeah, guess ill have to go with the shields option.

I used to fly my Clipper without shields, NPC's 'Always' move out of the way unless they have already entered the docking port. Just keep an eye on the rader and use the 'Mark 1 Eyeball'

As far as other cmdr's, you can spot them well in advance on radar. If you are getting hit every time then I'm afraid you suck lol, get some shields pronto..

Issmir · Jan 18, 2015

Snakebite said:
Yes, GET SOME SHIELDS

(The caps make it more persuasive.)

777Driver said:
I used to fly my Clipper without shields, NPC's 'Always' move out of the way unless they have already entered the docking port. Just keep an eye on the rader and use the 'Mark 1 Eyeball'

As far as other cmdr's, you can spot them well in advance on radar. If you are getting hit every time then I'm afraid you suck lol, get some shields pronto..

I was going to being up 777, but seeing as *I* don't trust myself not to prang the bodywork of the good ship moneymoneymoney, I wasn't going to suggest it.