Auto-pilots/auto-docking

[justadad]

In a nutshell, I'm a veteran of all the Elite games from back in the day, so I bought this for my son.
He quit after about ten hours due to the utterly frustrating and time consuming docking/landing nonsense.

I had a go as well, tricky and time-consuming, we'd rather be exploring the universe than trying to perform brain surgery every time you try to land somewhere. Auto-pilots were available to help land men on the Moon in 1969 but seem to have gone out of fashion a millennium later.

There was auto docking on the previous incarnations of this game, why not now?

If the development team want people to actually stay in the game rather than quit after a few hours of un-enjoyable exasperation throw us a bone.
If you want to waste your life docking manually, please do so and make it an option for those of us who don't.

His mate who bought this said exactly the same thing.
I wouldn't have bought this for him if I knew how fundamental a flaw this was, and it shows exactly why DEMOs are necessary to avoid us being ripped off.

Don't say that this is a "sim", if space travel is this dangerous in the future it wouldn't happen, and it would follow Newton's Law of gravity.

3 would be explorers end up being disappointed players of a poorly re-vamped game that looks fantastic but has all the allure of self-flagellation

Over and out (of pocket)

 

[Janichsan]

There was auto docking on the previous incarnations of this game, why not now?

There is a docking computer. But – as in every previous incarnation of this game – you have to buy it.

 

[dayrth]

It's really cheap though.

 

[RafeZetter]

utterly frustrating and time consuming docking/landing nonsense.

Time consuming? I don't think so, I would say auto docking is very slow compared to pilot docking.

 

[Tataboj]

Hahahahaha

Sorry, just the fact that your son left because of landing when he could just look at the modules and buy the docking computer is hilarious.

By the way, manual landing isn't THAT hard.

 

[Shadowdancer]

By the way, manual landing isn't THAT hard.

↑ that. Landing is probably the least problematic part (edit: not counting "flying straight ahead in open space") of the entire game (plus or minus getting pad direction right on outposts on a hasty approach), at least up to something the size of a T-6.

 

[CMDR Heisenberg B. Damned]

You don't need to dock to explore, you do need a fuel scoop. If you can't find one in outfitting at your station you can use an external tool.


Don't look if you don't want to use external tools.

Spoiler

https://eddb.io/station

Put in fuel scoop or docking computer in modules and your current system in reference system.

You know you could have come on here when having trouble docking and asked for advice. Plenty of helpful people around but if you come on a forum with a rant then you'll get a bad response. Especially if the rant is fundamentally wrong.

Have a sit down, ask a Moderator to close this thread and just ask for hints on docking in a new post. Do a search for the galactic academy as well.

 

[Zenith]

When you start out, docking IS difficult!
Like all things, it gets easier with practice.

I've used a docking computer with the couple of hours I owned a T9. Hate the bleedin' thing! I much prefer the personal touch on the stick.

 

[Magic Man]

In a nutshell, I'm a veteran of all the Elite games from back in the day, so I bought this for my son.
He quit after about ten hours due to the utterly frustrating and time consuming docking/landing nonsense.

I had a go as well, tricky and time-consuming, we'd rather be exploring the universe than trying to perform brain surgery every time you try to land somewhere. Auto-pilots were available to help land men on the Moon in 1969 but seem to have gone out of fashion a millennium later.

There was auto docking on the previous incarnations of this game, why not now?

If the development team want people to actually stay in the game rather than quit after a few hours of un-enjoyable exasperation throw us a bone.
If you want to waste your life docking manually, please do so and make it an option for those of us who don't.

His mate who bought this said exactly the same thing.
I wouldn't have bought this for him if I knew how fundamental a flaw this was, and it shows exactly why DEMOs are necessary to avoid us being ripped off.

Don't say that this is a "sim", if space travel is this dangerous in the future it wouldn't happen, and it would follow Newton's Law of gravity.

3 would be explorers end up being disappointed players of a poorly re-vamped game that looks fantastic but has all the allure of self-flagellation

Over and out (of pocket)

If you are a veteran of Elite you'd know full well that you have to dock your ship. Doing so with a rotating wire frame Coriolis using only roll and pitch controls was far harder back in the day than in ED.

Additionally, as a so called veteran, you'd be fully aware that you could buy a docking computer to make docking easier. Guess what? you can do the same in ED.

There was auto docking on the previous incarnations of this game, why not now?

No there wasn't, you had to buy a docking computer. And there isn't because, you know, it's meant to be a challenge, a game...

 

[Lestat]

Well you have 3 options

1 Docking computers which is very cheap

2 another option which is very so cheap you don't have to buy it. Is practice.

3 Then there a tutorial which like the last option it free.

 

[DHMeyer]

In a nutshell, I'm a veteran of all the Elite games from back in the day, so I bought this for my son.
He quit after about ten hours due to the utterly frustrating and time consuming docking/landing nonsense.

I had a go as well, tricky and time-consuming, we'd rather be exploring the universe than trying to perform brain surgery every time you try to land somewhere. Auto-pilots were available to help land men on the Moon in 1969 but seem to have gone out of fashion a millennium later.

There was auto docking on the previous incarnations of this game, why not now?

If the development team want people to actually stay in the game rather than quit after a few hours of un-enjoyable exasperation throw us a bone.
If you want to waste your life docking manually, please do so and make it an option for those of us who don't.

His mate who bought this said exactly the same thing.
I wouldn't have bought this for him if I knew how fundamental a flaw this was, and it shows exactly why DEMOs are necessary to avoid us being ripped off.

Don't say that this is a "sim", if space travel is this dangerous in the future it wouldn't happen, and it would follow Newton's Law of gravity.

3 would be explorers end up being disappointed players of a poorly re-vamped game that looks fantastic but has all the allure of self-flagellation

Over and out (of pocket)

There is a docking computer. Also, docking is not particularly difficult, however it can be for a new player.

This being said, I do agree that sadly, docking in Elite is not a particularly fascinating activity.

 

[Shadow_Frost]

When you start out, docking IS difficult!
Like all things, it gets easier with practice.

I've used a docking computer with the couple of hours I owned a T9. Hate the bleedin' thing! I much prefer the personal touch on the stick.

Wait until they try to land a ship, while smuggling and trying to avoid being scanned, at full boost while silent running and slamming on reverse thrust and trying not to splat against the back wall in an Anaconda. THAT is difficult.

 

[Rob Galaxy]

Zenith say it all. It's just practice. Or buy and fit a 'Docking Computer' -

BUT: There is one inconsistence in the game!
The ship's already own a auto landing Computer build in from scratch.
How else would a ship - without a Docking Computer fitted - manage to land on a planet when you sit in your SRV, send the ship away and then call it back?

So I would vote for using this already fitted (but not to see) auto landing system for docking in stations too, activated with a key like 'D' for example.

 

[Hell Razor5543]

Just to let you know, if you do decide to get a docking computer, in Outfitting it is "Standard Docking Computer". In the early days I was sure there was a docking computer (as the original and sequels had them), but I had to look through the whole list at several locations before I found it.

 

[DHMeyer]

Zenith say it all. It's just practice. Or buy and fit a 'Docking Computer' -

BUT: There is one inconsistence in the game!
The ship's already own a auto landing Computer build in from scratch.
How else would a ship - without a Docking Computer fitted - manage to land on a planet when you sit in your SRV, send the ship away and then call it back?

So I would vote for using this already fitted (but not to see) auto landing system for docking in stations too, activated with a key like 'D' for example.

This inconsistency they have introduced in Horizons. But yeah, it is a good reason for reworking standard docking computer somewhat.

 

[miket357]

You say you are a VETERAN !! then you must remember in the originals -
By the time you can afford a docking computer, You DON'T need one.
You always needed to be able to manually dock back then. As in real life, sometimes the computer failed. Even today it does some strange things, mine has crashed into to station exterior more than once. ED never was a quick fix arcade game. It takes time, determination and practice, and that's just to fly the ship(s), then it needs discipline, patience and a work ethic, anything you want you have to work for. Sometimes very hard and you have to assess the risks against returns. very much like real life.
All teenagers should be forced to play it at least five hours a week. Teach them a bit of respect for life, the world owes you nothing.

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

I've been playing ED for over 6 months.
I've never found docking or landing particularly difficult, ever.

It's very easy to fly, through a slot, which in most cases is much bigger than your ship (T9 and Anaconda require some care). Landing is as easy as finding your pad, lower your gear and hit it. Literally. I've landed almost every ship using the pad as a buffer atleast once. Lol
Landing gently is easy, just slow down and aim for your pad. Line up over the middle. Then drop.

Horizons planetary landings on high G world's can be challenging however.

 

[Shadow_Frost]

You can even land fairly hard as long as your shields are up.

 

[JohnnyDangerous]

Auto-pilots were available to help land men on the Moon in 1969 but seem to have gone out of fashion a millennium later.

Agreed, I've tried to wrap my head around this one for a while to get into the "lore" of this world. The autopilot is good enough to land on a planet, but not a platform/station, unless you buy one that is as big as the SRV and as heavy which makes no sense as it would just be software upgrades and maybe a few hundred pounds of sensors.

As you say, autopilots have been around for years. I fly 737s, and the autopilot can land by itself AND it's from the 1960s! But, I also flew C-17s and even though it was fly-by-wire its autopilot couldn't land itself. So, I'm going with "somewhere in time it because illegal to let a computer fly a ship in controlled space unless it had so many redundant mechanical non-computer based systems that you got where we are now."

 

[DHMeyer]

Agreed, I've tried to wrap my head around this one for a while to get into the "lore" of this world. The autopilot is good enough to land on a planet, but not a platform/station, unless you buy one that is as big as the SRV and as heavy which makes no sense as it would just be software upgrades and maybe a few hundred pounds of sensors.

As you say, autopilots have been around for years. I fly 737s, and the autopilot can land by itself AND it's from the 1960s! But, I also flew C-17s and even though it was fly-by-wire its autopilot couldn't land itself. So, I'm going with "somewhere in time it because illegal to let a computer fly a ship in controlled space unless it had so many redundant mechanical non-computer based systems that you got where we are now."

That's probably because humanity in 3300s decided they don't want to use that semiconductor, silicon based c**p any more and decided to go old school. They dug out ENIAC and all computing is done on direct copies of that. Programming is done using perforated cards.
Apparently, AI is forbidden in Elite universe. Which is fine and probably the way to go. The thing is... you don't need a sentient computer to perform highly sophisticated tasks. And we had such computers for quite a few decades now. Currently we carry pretty dumb computers in our pockets and these little toys have quite significant computing power without being sentient...