Horizons Better settlements approach mechanics in Elite Dangerous

[lysan]

Ok this is not an autopilot or Docking Computer thread. I would like to point to the issue of approaching a landing pad on planets. When we drop out 7.5KM and if you're in a big ship, it's not the most practical distance. When we are in space this works just fine, however on the planets it's just not good enough.

I would say from 12 - 10KM would be a better distance to be able to get assigned to the landing pad you need.
We need to remember that this is also connected to a time limit, so this will occupy the landing pad anyway.

The next problem are when we need to align our ship to the pad, helicopter or airplane style landing approach do not matter, you still need to rotate you ship in the right direction so that you can lock on to the magnetic docking collars.

I suggest that we get some lights in the front of the pad that turn on when you get assigned.

Especially at the engineers landing pads, and when in a heavy slow turning ship it can be cumbersome if you don't know the layout of the pad in advance. It will help navigating around and also add a bit more to the immersion.

Another solution would be to make the planetary landing pads omnidirectional, this way you can land no matter what your ship direction would be. However I understand that this will bring new issues to the table and the "simple" solution will be to add some guid lights to the planetary landing pads.

A third solution could be to add a guiding system to the ship, a air highway virtual tunnel down to the pad.

 

[Shadowdancer]

I'd like a bit of approach lighting. Even a single green light on the approach side of the pad would be sufficient, no need to light up the Axemas tree or clutter the HUD IMO.

 

[lysan]

I'd like a bit of approach lighting. Even a single green light on the approach side of the pad would be sufficient, no need to light up the Axemas tree or clutter the HUD IMO.

true, a simple green visible light would be ok.

 

[Rubbernuke]

I'd love this. Along with voices from ATC saying pull up / down etc.

 

[Pville_Piper]

You can drop out further by just lowering your nose at the end of the glide. Most surface installations will have you land towards the tower or center of the installation.

What would be better would be to have a lock symbol like targeted ships do so you can quickly tell which one is yours.

And while we are wishing, how about a keybind to request docking...

 

[lysan]

You can drop out further by just lowering your nose at the end of the glide. Most surface installations will have you land towards the tower or center of the installation.

What would be better would be to have a lock symbol like targeted ships do so you can quickly tell which one is yours.

And while we are wishing, how about a keybind to request docking...

Awesome, what about moving it to the comms, that would be even better.

Good suggestions here.

then I could say,

Orion, request docking, and he will do so, and my head will not be forced into a 2 sec Hillary twist.

 

[777Driver]

My method (in large ships) has always been to drop out early, around 12km. You have to retarget the surface port during glide, the hologram of the surface port then acts like a real time display, you can make out each individual landing pad from the hologram and line up accordingly, you can even do the whole approach purely on instruments without looking out of the window.

The things we have to do to make this game challenging

 

[Pville_Piper]

Orion, request docking, and he will do so, and my head will not be forced into a 2 sec Hillary twist.

One of the few things I actually hate in this game is not having a keybind to do the docking call... Really breaks my mersion dude!

 

[777Driver]

One of the few things I actually hate in this game is not having a keybind to do the docking call... Really breaks my mersion dude!

It sucks, but voice attack does it for you, plus it does pretty much everything else except give you a happy ending massage.

 

[Pville_Piper]

It sucks, but voice attack does it for you, plus it does pretty much everything else except give you a happy ending massage.

I here they're working on that...

Yeah, voice attack does do it, and your eyeballs screw into your brain for a few seconds afterwards. Probably worse with VR... [wacky]

 

[MrFailfactory]

I'm not the best pilot or anything, but I'm not sure exactly what you are looking at on approach, because it can't be anything related to you landing the ship. A lot of what you are asking for is already there.

Look closer

What I have just said is most helpful on the floating parking lots, rather than inside a station or on a planet. Since you are specifically speaking about landing at planetary bases - you pull into the parking space nose-first, and from the *outside* of the complex. I don't have hundreds of planetary landings, but every one I have seen so far follows this pattern. VTOL or loop around, that's up to the individual, but your landing orientation (for me, so far) has always been the same. The only question was whether or not I was on the correct side of the complex when I got permission.

I hope they don't ever add some sort of *gate pathway* to landing...the only thing on the ground typically is the base itself, and you can see it from quite a ways away.

Yes please to an in-game bind for requesting permission to Dock.

Be safe out there.

Riôt

 

[the100thmonkey]

Heh.

I like to drop out on top of the station; I make the docking request as the ship is coming out of glide. I must be a freak....

 

[Red Anders]

My method (in large ships) has always been to drop out early, around 12km. You have to retarget the surface port during glide, the hologram of the surface port then acts like a real time display, you can make out each individual landing pad from the hologram and line up accordingly, you can even do the whole approach purely on instruments without looking out of the window.

The things we have to do to make this game challenging

Have to admit I do the exact opposite, I like to manage my rate of descent during orbital cruise so that I drop into a glide at the right distance to be able to stay in glide until I'm as close to the settlement as possible, request docking as soon as I hit the distance and then throw it over to the pad post-haste, usually cutting throttle and yawing with the manoevering thrusters at an appropriate time to drift sideways over to it whilst rotating and then applying opposite thrust to try to hit a dead stop at about 100m above the pad. This is obviously because I'm a fool; however when I get it just right and slide into that spot it's a pretty fine feeling for a game. I'm discovering it's especially fun in my newly acquired T-9. I have to admit I'm jealous as hell of anybody playing this in VR because I just know planetary landings must be awesome using it.

Still, you're obviously at something of a professional advantage when it comes to instrument landings considering that you're a pilot and I'm a 45 year old tax officer whose most recent real-life experience involves gliders and a 28 year time gap Personally I think I'll stick with the windows for now, other than in the Anaconda since it pretty much forces you to go to instruments on account of not being able to see the settlement at all from about 2K out.

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Heh.

I like to drop out on top of the station; I make the docking request as the ship is coming out of glide. I must be a freak....

At least you have company.

 

[Tom Melegaris]

I just fly the corners. I put the target station in a corner of my windscreen and spiral down in altitude in a circle when approaching from space or if taking a "scenic route" I will try an triangular approach, station is lower corner, altitude and distance are others. And like the 100thMonkey, I make my request at the end of my glide. Every pad I am assigned lights up in orange and as I approach closer the Nixie lights in orange display my pad number, just like a station in space.

 

[lysan]

My method (in large ships) has always been to drop out early, around 12km. You have to retarget the surface port during glide, the hologram of the surface port then acts like a real time display, you can make out each individual landing pad from the hologram and line up accordingly, you can even do the whole approach purely on instruments without looking out of the window.

The things we have to do to make this game challenging

Oh didn't know that, thank's super advice. Ahh can't rep you, here have some virtual rep +1

 

[DragoonKnight]

I just tend to buzz the landing pad and flip the ship the other way if I have to. Works ok with small ships. Not so great when you are trying to do an FA-OFF flip of a Corvette 500 meters above the ground.
Admittedly it is annoying to someone like me who is OCD about coming in the right way and I like the OP's suggestion.

 

[domaq]

My method (in large ships) has always been to drop out early, around 12km. You have to retarget the surface port during glide, the hologram of the surface port then acts like a real time display, you can make out each individual landing pad from the hologram and line up accordingly, you can even do the whole approach purely on instruments without looking out of the window.

The things we have to do to make this game challenging

Wondered if anyone else treated the settlement picture like a makeshift TCN approach for the big ships. I aim for 10k but you can still do about a 5deg 60/60/60 approach to final. It's just a little more aggressive. On higher G planets, I'll use 12k as well.

 

[Jimmy Joe]

I like the idea a lot, it sure would be nice to have flight path marker on the HUD to point you into the right landing pad and larger distance at which you can ask for permission to land.
This way you set on the right vector approach and with the landing lights you should be good to go. Totally with you on that..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkugVZfKTk0

 

[Turranius]

I just look at the number floating above the pad. The number is always where you should point your nose.

 

[CMDR Zhon Daeli]

I like to come in low (< 20m from the ground) and fast (PIP to ENG/Boost), then as I approach I request docking (thanks VoiceAttack), reattach my eyeballs that have fallen out of their sockets because of no "request docking" hotkey (thanks Frontier) and then I do a single flight around the settlement to get my bearings and show off for the ladies in the buildings with a little wing dip that may or may not cause me to crash, burn and die. Assuming successful flaunt of my ship vents, I bank hard, thrust to the left/right annnnd... over-shoot by a substantial margin which results in me spending inordinate amounts of time realigning and thrusting my ship into position with a hard bang on the landing pad.