Adding some form of engineering to the Supercruise Assist module could add more interesting and useful changes to how this module operates. This would preserve the already existing modules and would preserve the new player experience by using the current engineering system. These upgrades would available from engineers already working on FSD and engineering costs would be similar to existing FSD upgrades. This would not override current FSD upgrades. These are not mutually exclusive or final, only ideas.
Two sets of upgrades could either focus on:
Potential upgrades to Supercruise operation
Potential upgrades to Supercruise Assist AI
Penalties
Two sets of upgrades could either focus on:
- Supercruise Assist module functioning passively as a co-processor to the existing FSD computer allowing to change how supercruise operates
- Adding a better autopilot like APEX shuttle AI
Potential upgrades to Supercruise operation
- Only one of the speed/acceleration effects can be applied at once.
- Increased acceleration rates at the cost of greater fuel consumption, making the player consider refueling more often after 50,000 ls. This could make the trip to Hutton Orbital require additional fuel depending on the ship.
- Top speed increase at the cost of increased heat output, preventing high speed travel near planets and especially stars.
- Aggressive braking speed adjustment, resulting in higher approach speed and lower ETA at the cost of more careful piloting needed and higher damage on crash.
- Supercruise agility experimental effect that swaps some roll rate for more yaw rate or pitch rate.
- Requires higher grade material and/or data
- Some increased power draw or as an alternative more mass, on top of FSD instability
- For all upgrades or as a substitute penalty: FSD instability, increased FSD damage penalties on crashing, increasing with each grade of an upgrade AND/OR more ship integrity damage from flight.
Potential upgrades to Supercruise Assist AI
- AI similar to APEX taxi behaviour, automatic jumping and allowing cruising through the system at high speed.
- This effect combined with an advanced docking computer enables a full autopilot suite.
- Autopilot is cheaper than upgrading supercruise operation
- Requires lower grade materials and data
Penalties
- Increased power draw from upgrading the supercruise autopilot, which then adds to the full autopilot power draw.
- Full autopilot means the player loses a slot to an advanced docking computer and the power that module consumes.
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