Apex shuttle service - Out of range???

[geoffrey.hdt]

Hi commanders,

I heard about the Apex shuttle service, accessible to anybody playing Odyssey, but never gave it a try.
I am used to call my ultra-fast 50 Ly range Courrier ahead of time, and use it to travel between my parked ships, or call my ships to the destination location once I reach it, etc...
Or, if I am somehow stranded far away in a low-range ship, and could not call my Courrier ahead of time, I use Inara to locate the closest station where I can purchase and outfit a 40+Ly Hauler (which all in all takes a few extra minutes), then use it to travel.

Last night, after completing a brain tree harvesting session at the edge of the Bubble, I thought to give the Apex a try so that I could go on a break, pet my dog, etc...while I let it travel me back to the CG (Took me a few minutes to disembark, walk to the front desk, select my destination)...only to realize it was "out of range", and I would need to basically make a stop in between.
Seriously?? Like, the Apex staff is not qualified to use a fuel scoop? Or for all my stratum tectoinitas money, they could not figure out a higher fare to cover the extra travel time?

Seriously, am I missing something? What is the point of the Apex service?
Don't tell me all this development effort (money) spent on it was for the sole purpose of improving the in-game immersion?

 

[GroG79]

Yes 100ly is the max

 

[geoffrey.hdt]

Yes 100ly is the max

Yep, figured.

Anybody using that /c finding this useful, other than new players?
Maybe to do some on-foot Odyseey stuff, that I have not tried yet?

Also, is there a technical limitation, like FDev could not figure out a way for the shuttle to fly close to the start and refuel?

 

[Garix]

I reset one of my accounts to see how far I could get only doing “on foot” content. Wasn’t allowed to fly myself anywhere.
It lasted about 6 hours of tedium before I came to my senses and decided to do something more fun. Watching paint dry.

 

[GroG79]

Of course this is a gameplay limitation with a bit of lore

Apex is very useful when your ship was shot down by the NPCs or at the end of a conflict zone

 

[bryth65]

I have sometimes wondered if there was a player-to-player way of handling longer journies than Apex could handle.

In Open (or a private server?), you somehow let it be known that you want picking up from somewhere. Another player with a multi-crew ship drops in, picks you up and transports you to your destination. I don't know how compensation for the service would work. Fuel Rats and Hull Seals work for free, so it could develop along similar lines. Just a thought.

 

[Koma Pahu]

Of course this is a gameplay limitation with a bit of lore

Apex is very useful when your ship was shot down by the NPCs or at the end of a conflict zone

That’s its sole point. It’s far too easy to get stranded on foot in Odyssey, so they made Apex so you can get back to a station when doing missions.

It’s not designed to be an easy way to get home from out in the black.

 

[Felix DiCestria]

That’s its sole point. It’s far too easy to get stranded on foot in Odyssey, so they made Apex so you can get back to station when doing missions.

It’s not designed to be an easy way to get home from out in the black.

The best bit is when you wind up on a prison ship and your ship is >100ly away and needing to pick a halfway station to book (the same) Apex to get to where you left your ship...

 

[Koma Pahu]

The best bit is when you wind up on a prison ship and your ship is >100ly away and needing to pick a halfway station to book (the same) Apex to get to where you left your ship...

Yeah, I know that frustration.

 

[Elpapo]

Seriously?? Like, the Apex staff is not qualified to use a fuel scoop? Or for all my stratum tectoinitas money, they could not figure out a higher fare to cover the extra travel time?

Apex pilots are most unqualified for thier job. They fly slowly and landing or taking off takes ages, cant scoop, and bumping into stars, as if where blind.
I'd say its worth the cost, but not worth of wasted time, as doing basic stuff in space game like flying own ship, everything that apex can do, doing it with own ship, its atleast 5x faster, and atleast have some respect of cmdr time.

Seriously, am I missing something? What is the point of the Apex service?

Other that moving lazy cmdrs around bubble, its requiment for one of foot engineers to use apex and travel some LY with it.

Or something like emergency, when doing on-foot stuff, when cmdr ship get destroyed to have means to leave current planet. Obviously, assuming if one is still within bubble.

Some scrawny cmdrs use it at CG's or like, as they dont dare use own ships there at open.... as those apex cant be interdicted by other cmdrs or hostile npcs, and thier internals are immune to damage (cant kill drives, FSD, cant be planted)... but still have weak hulls, so killing one (with cmdr inside) when it taking off from station or planet, or when it lands, its not hard thing to do....

Cmdrs who gets killed while using apex dont have any rebui (they still might get certain active missions to fail - if got such), but they are teleported back to starting point - still unlikely to happen as its takes too much time (following apex around to kill it), so almost no one does it - but if someone (who ganks) camps CG station or anarchy one, it might happen.... unless someone is really bored and might follow such apex around... happens as well... when there is literally no one else to play with.

Don't tell me all this development effort (money) spent on it was for the sole purpose of improving the in-game immersion?

One of half-baked features of on-foot content. Explained most of usage out of it, above.

 

[geoffrey.hdt]

Apex pilots are most unqualified for thier job. They fly slowly and landing or taking off takes ages, cant scoop, and bumping into stars, as if where blind.
I'd say its worth the cost, but not worth of wasted time, as doing basic stuff in space game like flying own ship, everything that apex can do, doing it with own ship, its atleast 5x faster, and atleast have some respect of cmdr time.


Other that moving lazy cmdrs around bubble, its requiment for one of foot engineers to use apex and travel some LY with it.

Or something like emergency, when doing on-foot stuff, when cmdr ship get destroyed to have means to leave current planet. Obviously, assuming if one is still within bubble.

Some scrawny cmdrs use it at CG's or like, as they dont dare use own ships there at open.... as those apex cant be interdicted by other cmdrs, and thier internals are immune to damage (cant kill drives, FSD, cant be planted)... but still have weak hulls, so killing one (with cmdr inside) when it taking off from station or planet, or when it lands, its not hard thing to do.

Cmdrs who gets killed while using apex dont have any rebui (they still might get certain active missions to fail - if got such), but they are teleported back to starting point - still unlikely to happen as its takes too much time (following apex around to kill it), so almost no one does it - but if someone (who ganks) camps CG station or anarchy one, it might happen.... unless someone is really bored and might follow such apex around... happens as well... when there is literally no one else to play with.


One of half-baked features of on-foot content. Explained most of usage out of it, above.

Oh boy.

And all I wished for 8 years ago (when I took a break from the game) was to have a little long range fast shuttle ship that cannot be outfitted available at any station/outpost, to make it easier to travel within the Bubble.

This could even have been applied to on-foot missions, with an offer to subscribe to the service for some credits, and call in the shuttle, then fly it yourself. Easy/ready to implement since the call-in ship mechanism is already in place.

 

[Elpapo]

Oh boy.

And all I wished for 8 years ago (when I took a break from the game) was to have a little long range fast shuttle ship that cannot be outfitted available at any station/outpost, to make it easier to travel within the Bubble.

This could even have been applied to on-foot missions, with an offer to subscribe to the service for some credits, and call in the shuttle, then fly it yourself. Easy/ready to implement since the call-in ship mechanism is already in place.

The apex given as it is, its rather unlikely to have any further changes. Its not really long range, neither fast, but kinda works for those who wants use it - and dont mind time wasted doing so. I recon the ones who gets most out of it, are fresh, new players, until they learn that is to fly own ships is simply faster thing to do.

 

[geoffrey.hdt]

The apex given as it is, its rather unlikely to have any further changes. Its not really long range, neither fast, but kinda works for those who wants use it - and dont mind time wasted doing so. I recon the ones who gets most out of it, are fresh, new players, until they learn that is to fly own ships is simply faster thing to do.

Oh, I know, I don't expect things to change on that aspect.
My point was just: why spending so much effort on this one, while they could have used the existing game mechanisms to achieve something far more practical.