Correct, and you can replace them with cargo holds, AFMU's, fuel scoops, etc.
My Cobra 4 is very happy about this update.
ANNOUNCEMENT April Update - Coming 23 April 2019
- Thread starter Will Flanagan
- Start date
Correct, and you can replace them with cargo holds, AFMU's, fuel scoops, etc.
My Cobra 4 is very happy about this update.
You dont' seem aware of this, but docking computers have no weight; they have no impact on a ship's mass nor jump range. I imagine the same may be true of the new supercruise assist, being software and all. Or it will be negligibly light, I'm sure.
The additional slots already can mean more jump range. Player choice here. Add mass and reduce jump range, or add a module that increases jump range, or make choices that keep it flush. There's certainly no reason that a base increase to jump range is needed because of the change.
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Okay I have had my dig at all the doom and gloomers now hopefully eating a piece of humble pie, now my thoughts on the update:
Beginners zone: Good concept, way overdue but I think restricting it to the first promotion will be problematic as some commanders will probably get their first promotion on their first mission. Would much rather a Commander is restricted to these zone for the first 5 (or even 10) game hours. The addition of having the training missions in the game is a good idea, would be better if they were mandatory for all new players to complete BEFORE they can leave the station for the first time. As for the concerns that gankers will just reset their commander so they can show how tough they are by blowing up newbies, just make it that the Beginners Zone is for only new players, you won't get access if you reset your commander. Yes a brain dead ganker wants to buy a new commander he will still have access, but if you are that desperate to kill newbies I guess you will do anything ….
New DC: Like it, always thought that getting out of a station was as dangerous as getting inside one anyway, especially if you are stuck at one of the front pads and can't see what is behind you waiting to get out. I will admit to having a DC on most of my ships but I think I fully engage one less than 50% of the time. I just use the throttle to turn it on or off and will do the same thing for the ADS. Sometimes I want to land manually, sometimes I don't. For those very anti-DC's I do hope there is a way to turn them off though, just to stop the flow of salt.
Supercruise Assist: Could be useful, would definitely stop me doing the loop of shame I guess. For those worried about being interdicted or whatever, just think about the process for a second. It is not an autopilot, it is an assist. A cruise control on a car will adjust your speed, all you have to do is steer - right! With this the steering past is also covered although it really isn't steering, it is just keeping the ship in a straight line. So would you take a nap in your car with cruise control on? Do pilots now days get up from the cockpit and leave the controls when flying under autopilot? Of course they don't. Guess what I am trying to say is if anyone gets interdicted and loses a ship whilst using the new SC Assist because they weren't watching their monitor they deserve everything that happened to them.
New Slots: Always welcome but of course some here will find a way of exploiting even small slots to build their mega death machines. Personally I would have preferred that the ADS and the SC Assist were integrated into the ships computer with the option of enabling/disabling them from the RH panel but that's just my personal preference.
Navigation Tabs: Can't really comment until I see/use them myself, but the concept seems solid.
Pilot's Handbook: Even if this is just the old User Guide integrated into the ship like the CODEX is, it will be an improvement - as long as they keep the damn thing up to date. To be honest, there is never too much information available. Even if I don't use it, it will be nice to know it is there and available in game.
Trading Improvements: Again, can't really comment until I have seen it and used it but again the concept seems sound and useful.
Interstellar Initiatives: Bit of a 'meh' from me since I never bothered with CG's previously, thought most were cookie cutter clones and very boring. Hopefully the new systems will be better thought out and more engaging.
Beginners zone: Good concept, way overdue but I think restricting it to the first promotion will be problematic as some commanders will probably get their first promotion on their first mission. Would much rather a Commander is restricted to these zone for the first 5 (or even 10) game hours. The addition of having the training missions in the game is a good idea, would be better if they were mandatory for all new players to complete BEFORE they can leave the station for the first time. As for the concerns that gankers will just reset their commander so they can show how tough they are by blowing up newbies, just make it that the Beginners Zone is for only new players, you won't get access if you reset your commander. Yes a brain dead ganker wants to buy a new commander he will still have access, but if you are that desperate to kill newbies I guess you will do anything ….
New DC: Like it, always thought that getting out of a station was as dangerous as getting inside one anyway, especially if you are stuck at one of the front pads and can't see what is behind you waiting to get out. I will admit to having a DC on most of my ships but I think I fully engage one less than 50% of the time. I just use the throttle to turn it on or off and will do the same thing for the ADS. Sometimes I want to land manually, sometimes I don't. For those very anti-DC's I do hope there is a way to turn them off though, just to stop the flow of salt.
Supercruise Assist: Could be useful, would definitely stop me doing the loop of shame I guess. For those worried about being interdicted or whatever, just think about the process for a second. It is not an autopilot, it is an assist. A cruise control on a car will adjust your speed, all you have to do is steer - right! With this the steering past is also covered although it really isn't steering, it is just keeping the ship in a straight line. So would you take a nap in your car with cruise control on? Do pilots now days get up from the cockpit and leave the controls when flying under autopilot? Of course they don't. Guess what I am trying to say is if anyone gets interdicted and loses a ship whilst using the new SC Assist because they weren't watching their monitor they deserve everything that happened to them.
New Slots: Always welcome but of course some here will find a way of exploiting even small slots to build their mega death machines. Personally I would have preferred that the ADS and the SC Assist were integrated into the ships computer with the option of enabling/disabling them from the RH panel but that's just my personal preference.
Navigation Tabs: Can't really comment until I see/use them myself, but the concept seems solid.
Pilot's Handbook: Even if this is just the old User Guide integrated into the ship like the CODEX is, it will be an improvement - as long as they keep the damn thing up to date. To be honest, there is never too much information available. Even if I don't use it, it will be nice to know it is there and available in game.
Trading Improvements: Again, can't really comment until I have seen it and used it but again the concept seems sound and useful.
Interstellar Initiatives: Bit of a 'meh' from me since I never bothered with CG's previously, thought most were cookie cutter clones and very boring. Hopefully the new systems will be better thought out and more engaging.
If the SC Assist module is 0T, could you retroactively give it to all existing ships to go with the new module slot? Would be quite handy for those of us on DW2 or otherwise out in the black a long way from any starbase to purchase it at, and no real downside - anyone who doesn't want it can just turn it off in modules and swap it out for whatever they do want the next time they reach a starbase, but those of us who do want it will be able to stop with the loop of shame
OTOH if is not 0T please don't do this, as some of us might not have large enough thrusters to cope with the extra mass.
OTOH if is not 0T please don't do this, as some of us might not have large enough thrusters to cope with the extra mass.
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The way the original announcement is worded implies it won't be retroactively added to existing ships. It is clearly and directly worded as coming on "newly-purchased ships" which I think we can all agree doesn't include our beat-up explorers that are far out in the black.
Instead of locking off the new systems to higher ranked Cmdrs, I think if a Cmdr who is higher than Harmless kills anyone in a newcomer system, he/she should lose his character right then, right there. Automatic Clear Save. No excuses, no sad songs, NO exceptions. Of course there should be a popup stating this clearly upon entering such a system.
Yeah, that's why I'm asking if it can be. This is a discussion forum that the devs read.
I think this is a terrible idea, and needs to be reconsidered HARD before being pushed to Elite Dangerous. Think about the newer players that take on a more experienced mentor early in the game... are these players going to have to fend for themselves without mentoring? What if they need fuel and ask the Fuel Rats for help? Are all of the Fuel Rats expected to buy alt accounts and maintain no ranks in order to provide fuel to these new players? I think this just serves to segregate the community and further isolate new players, preventing them from picking up the game.
Instead of isolating new players into systems where they cannot interact with experienced players, you should instead focus on an isolated, on rails "tutorial" section of the game, where absolutely no harm can come to the player (including running out of fuel) until they learn the basics of navigating the Elite Dangerous galaxy, taking missions, and interacting with the commodities page. But at any time, the player can choose to opt out of this "on a rail" tutorial and be jettisoned straight into the game, incase they are already experienced or wish to be mentored by an existing, experienced player.
EDIT: Yes i know the tutorial section of the game exists. That's the joke.
It does thow a bit of a wrench in the works of the New Pilots Initiative, as we will no longer be able to hop over and immediately start mentoring new players.
This patch sounds great, glad to see the game continually moving forward. Anything that makes the game more approachable and helps new players stick around is always good. Is PVP restricted somehow in the starter zone? Seems like that would be the simplest answer to the "what if a ganker keeps resetting their account" hypothetical.
Also, I want to echo the much-stated sentiment that it would be better in the long run to just make the docking computer/supercruise assistant built in features. I saw the reasoning behind it:
Finally, I've been away from the forums for quite a while and it's wild to see the worst elements of the community are now just openly stating that they want the game to be obtuse and tedious because they hate new players. It was always really obvious that's what they thought but it's still a surprise to see them saying the quiet part loud.
Also, I want to echo the much-stated sentiment that it would be better in the long run to just make the docking computer/supercruise assistant built in features. I saw the reasoning behind it:
But you don't need to balance accessibility options. Just make them ship functions and stop pretending computer programs will somehow occupy physical space in the future.
Finally, I've been away from the forums for quite a while and it's wild to see the worst elements of the community are now just openly stating that they want the game to be obtuse and tedious because they hate new players. It was always really obvious that's what they thought but it's still a surprise to see them saying the quiet part loud.
Unfortunately I don't think it does improve the new player experience. Part of the experience when I was a new player was learning to Fly and Dock (the core fundamentals of a space flight sim if you ask me) The temptation when you have training wheels on is that you will never take them off. I never knew a docking computer even existed when I was learning thank god. I get why some existing players may like these for those long old trade runs and that's cool it's a choice which is totally valid.
So the way I read it is the ADC is only stock in newly purchased small ships so for anything larger it would be a new purchase. If you do get it with a small ship you can just sell it and use the slot for something more useful.
Edit: btw I liked your analogy for supercruise assist it's spot on.
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Well considering the mass majority of us started out the game originally fending for ourselves, I don't think there's any problem here. We all eventually figured it out and found the forums to ask questions here if needed...
True, a lot of us started out on our own, figuring out the game slowly. But that's not needed anymore. A lot of us older players have grouped together to mentor new players, and share our knowledge to them so they get up-to-speed sooner, and get to enjoy the game almost immediately. By forcing these new players into isolation, you just segregate a community thats already segregated by a number of factors, including platform and location in the galaxy. Now FDev wants to segregate new players into locked systems... this is such a bad idea i actually made the effort to join up on the forums to voice my opinion.
FD Support HQ was probably seeing significant numbers of new purchasers complaining their ship was destroyed mysteriously by the station ...... probably as a result of not being able to get out of the slot in time.
Others, having managed to get out of the slot, then got destroyed trying to get back in !
I should imagine FD Support is breathing a collective sigh of relief that this is coming out soon.
But it's also a brilliant move by FD, because it provides something useful for existing players (not everyone, but quite a few have whinged here about requiring more automation). It also gives existing players more slots in ships !
The other brilliance of this development will only become apparent in 2020, in my opinion. Because it will give us freedom to walk around the ship while it flies from A to B, and even as it lands at a station. It brings a fascinating insight to what is likely to come in the future, while solving an existing issue for new players.
Others, having managed to get out of the slot, then got destroyed trying to get back in !
I should imagine FD Support is breathing a collective sigh of relief that this is coming out soon.
But it's also a brilliant move by FD, because it provides something useful for existing players (not everyone, but quite a few have whinged here about requiring more automation). It also gives existing players more slots in ships !
The other brilliance of this development will only become apparent in 2020, in my opinion. Because it will give us freedom to walk around the ship while it flies from A to B, and even as it lands at a station. It brings a fascinating insight to what is likely to come in the future, while solving an existing issue for new players.
I don't see anything that says noobs are locked inside their babybubble, just that players are locked out of it once they pop a rank. Since it's still inside the actual galaxy, it seems like rookies could just, like, fly out of it for veteran mentoring or just getting out there the old fashioned way if they wanted, and flee for their lives back into it while they're still really fresh.
Also for those stating they'll be outten the BB right away due to instaranking, the notes say there'll be simpler missions available. Sounds like the BB will be a low-level style area to me. Might be looking at oldschool mission payouts, for example, allowing a gradual growth instead of two missions and bam you're out into the wider galaxy.
Other than the concerns about HRP overload (these slots could be civ only) this looks like a fairly solid rookie-based update, with some nice nods to those pilots who don't want to do it all themselves. That's not me personally, but I'm not gonna throw shade at a veteran trucker who doesn't need the new toys for lack of skills, but wants them for convenience.
Hi @Will Flanagan,
Regarding the Beginner's Area.
Are you able to confirm which systems these will be?
Reason I ask is I would like to visit them before they are locked and make sure I have explored and grabbed any Tourist Beacons etc before they are locked out to me in the update.
Thank you,
AD
Regarding the Beginner's Area.
Are you able to confirm which systems these will be?
Reason I ask is I would like to visit them before they are locked and make sure I have explored and grabbed any Tourist Beacons etc before they are locked out to me in the update.
Thank you,
AD
hey, great work. just wondering if you can/will incorporate the CQC into the game so you can select to goto it without having to log out and load a diff version of the game... would be cool to just be able to click a button and it automatically loads for us
I don't think you quite grasp the concept of what FD are doing in relation to the Beginner Zones. Nowhere does it state that a brand new pilot can't jump out of the zone, so if you want to mentor someone just get them to jump to the adjacent system, then you can do everything you did previously. From my understanding, the entire intent of the Beginner Zones is to give a brand new Commander a safe place to get his bearings on the game. As the OP said, there will be easy missions, even the tutorials will be accessible from in-game. What will be missing is those big tough bullies waiting to blow them up as soon as they venture out of the station for the first time.
Terrible idea. These changes are about helping new players in a game that sorely needs that kind of help. If us veterans can't handle a couple systems we're not allowed in? Go back to Shinrarta and cry into your fancy new docking computer.
You may be right, but play your own way, let them play theirs. The DW2 event attracted a lot of new social explorers who may not be concerned about learning to dock or shoot with fixed weapons or any number of other skills other players may consider important.
Just as a new player can choose to fly FA-off from the beginning, they will presumably still be able to dock & supercruise manually if they wish (as a badge of honour). Plenty of games have the first level geared up as a training level, automating some things initially to allow a more managed introduction to the basic gameplay. I presume this is the kind of experience FDev are looking to add based on feedback from those that didn't make it past Elite's Fermi Paradox-style great filter.
tbh just restricting a new Cmdr to solo until their first rank progression would have been enough, but that would deny the experience of meeting spawncampers & mentors, there is no ideal solution.