Boost-Crazy AI

Old Duck

Old Duck
I just watched Frontier's livestream video about the next update, and I see we still have a boost-crazy AI (crazy AIvan, LOL). Am I the only one bothered by this? I'm specifically talking about AI behavior around stations. Supposedly there is a speed limit, but every AI, be it a Wanted Viper or a Beluga full of passengers, consta-boosts as soon as they clear the mailslot, only to pull incredible G's once they reach the point to engage FSD.

This also makes a docking computer useless to me, as the docking computer constantly boosts TOWARDS the station until it lines up with the mail slot, and then it slams on the brakes. How is it legal to own a docking computer that ignores the speed limit? I first noticed this when I equipped my T9 with a docking computer, and it wrecked my immersion, my fragile cargo, and my neck. I'm tempted to put a DC on my enhanced Sidewinder just to see if it kills me...

So Frontier, please chill out with the boosting! If you are going to have an AI boost around the station, make it logical - for example, that Wanted Viper I mentioned, or a Cobra smuggling illicit cargo. It'll add "life" and meaning to NPCs if we can predict something about them based on behavior. Taxi Haulers and Belugas, on the other hand, should be slowly and carefully accelerating and turning for the sake of their passengers, and all legal ships should follow the speed limit. Let the CMDRs be Tom Cruise buzzing the tower, not the NPCs.

Oh, and if you're going to make the docking computer boost toward the station to shave off a few seconds (better yet, don't), then why is SC Assist stuck in the blue zone instead of being allowed to run at 100% throttle?
 

Burke

B
This is the new era of ED! Things that "take too long" are not wanted. Endless boosting is totally inline with this and i cant see how anything could possibly go wrong :)
 

Old Duck

Old Duck
Vardaugas said:
But... I thought that's how you're supposed to fly. The speed limit only exists for when you expect collisions.
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If CMDRs want to fly like Tom Cruise, okay.. But NPCs hauling cargo and passengers should fly realistically, and our docking computer should NEVER boost. It just makes the game feel broken...
 

Rubbernuke

Rubbernuke
At a guess is the AI using the period of boost to get the extra maneuverability, and I seem to remember that DCs don't incur fines when on (I think).
 

Lightspeed

Lightspeed
If you notice, the DC puts full pips to shields, which is a good practice I have copied. Prevents .... ahem .... disasters in the slot.

It also uses side thrusters to line up, which is another good tip for aligning to get through the slot at speed with contraband (not that I do that, officer).

In a Beluga it may feel like a roller-coaster at times, but it has been my experience that the passengers enjoy the thrill at the end of their journey and are relieved only too pleased to disembark more efficiently when the bay doors are opened.
 

Riverside

Riverside
Situational awareness helps. I'm currently spending a lot of time in a shieldless (784t) Cutter, A-B trading to repair stations and the slightest scratch costs thousands. The ambient NPCs in a station instance are really good atm, makes the place feel alive (apart from the occasional stuck Beluga exploding). I get the impression the AI exiting the stations now are how we'll see the new docking computer work - boost straight out then release the controls (back to the normal AI in this case) to line up & jump away.
 

Riverside

Riverside
Lightspeed said:
Whoa ! That's Elite Dangerous for sure ... o7 Commander !
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I prefer to think of it as a calculated risk ;)

The ship has reactive armour and some reinforcements, rail guns and because it doesn't need shield boosters, loads of heatsinks. Most of the hull damage comes from scrapes in the letterbox or a less than perfect landing. The modules are reinforced too but it wouldn't stand up well against a determined player (ideal candidate for piracy though :D).

I absolutely DO NOT RECOMMEND the approach I am taking, I am gambling a 43mCr rebuy with every player encounter. Not lost it yet though ;)

Stealthie said:
Have you repaired your ship's integrity recently?
That's when you'll feel the real bite.
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I can't repair it at the damaged port but I generally always repair my integrity at every opportunity for a non-exploration ship, it costs around 5,000Cr each time on this hull. I'm not doing this for the money, I bought this ship just because it could carry the most cargo (792t is the maximum possible)
 

Hank

H
I've wondered about the speed limit issue since "the beginning". My RP ethos is to play as a law abiding citizen. So for years I flew under the speed limit (unless in an anarchy system), coming and going. Now I just check my speed while approaching the station. When leaving, I retract landing gear after clearing the toaster rack and speed off like everyone else.

I also get a laugh when the station warns me about something the ship's doing, when the station is flying the thing. ... and yep, the DC speeds all the time. Is there any consequences to speeding?

GL HF Commanders
 

Riverside

Riverside
Northpin said:
That's the "glass half full" view.
The half empty one is "it could lose the most cargo" :))
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I earned 1.3 Billion Credits in January from an exploration trip using the new tools, and for the first time in ~6,000 hours of play I had more money than I knew what to do with so I bought this ship (and other stuff) to repair stations, not to make even more money. It does still run at a profit though.

I have my existing (512t) trade Cutter, my regular 736t T-9 plus another T-9 (also shieldless) for hauling, I change ships when I get bored with one, but the shieldless Cutter is taking the lions share of the work atm. Flying shieldless does reinforce the need for situational awareness and maintaining control.
 

Schmack

Schmack
It's my understanding (perhaps wrong) that the station itself has control of your vessel while using the DC. It even tells you this "we'll take it from here", or something like that. In that regard, they can move at higher speeds since the automation isn't going to do a crazy Ivan mid mail slot with a cutter, we hope.
 

Old Duck

Old Duck
Rubbernuke said:
At a guess is the AI using the period of boost to get the extra maneuverability, and I seem to remember that DCs don't incur fines when on (I think).
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From my observations, NPCs just chain-boosts in a straight line until they clear a certain distance, then they hard bank towards the star they are jumping at. Sometimes this brings them right back towards the station, and on occasion they'll jump surprisingly close to the station, ignoring any mass-lock the station should give. It makes the AI feel very amateurish, and it didn't used to be this way. I'd much rather that most ships followed the speed limit (laws exist for a reason), and when I see an NPC boosting out of a station, I could rightfully think, "What's his hurry?", and scan him to see that he's either wanted or carrying "bad cargo".

As for DC, it just feels screwed up to me. I never feel the need to boost in any of my ships for "extra maneuverability" when docking, if anything you sacrifice maneuverability on the deceleration curve of a boost on larger ships. At the very least give me a switch to turn off boosting, similar to the new switch that turns off Supercruise Braking. Boosting while docking is like flipping on the turbocharger to park at Walmart. Sure, the Tom Cruises of the world might do this, but not your average driver. Save the Top Gun maneuvers for CMDRs and Wanted NPCs.
 
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Lightspeed

Lightspeed
Old Duck said:
From my observations, NPCs just chain-boosts in a straight line until they clear a certain distance, then they hard bank towards the star they are jumping at. Sometimes this brings them right back towards the station, and on occasion they'll jump surprisingly close to the station, ignoring any mass-lock the station should give. It makes the AI feel very amateurish, and it didn't used to be this way. I'd much rather that most ships followed the speed limit (laws exist for a reason), and when I see an NPC boosting out of a station, I could rightfully think, "What's his hurry?", and scan him to see that he's either wanted or carrying "bad cargo".

As for DC, it just feels screwed up to me. I never feel the need to boost in any of my ships for "extra maneuverability" when docking, if anything you sacrifice maneuverability on the deceleration curve of a boost on larger ships. At the very least give me a switch to turn off boosting, similar to the new switch that turns off Supercruise Braking. Boosting while docking is like flipping on the turbocharger to park at Walmart. Sure, the Tom Cruises of the world might do this, but not your average driver. Save the Top Gun maneuvers for CMDRs and Wanted NPCs.
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You realise they are flown by minions, trained personally by SJA, right ?
 

Old Duck

Old Duck
Hank said:
I've wondered about the speed limit issue since "the beginning". My RP ethos is to play as a law abiding citizen.
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My RP ethos is also to play a law-abiding citizen, the law of physics, and that means purposefully flying passenger ships in a way that is comfortable for the passengers and crew. At the very least the acceleration of passenger and cargo ships should be reasonable for the protection of what they carry. I sometimes even wonder why these ships have the equivalent to afterburners - I get it on an F-18, not so much on a 767.
 

Lightspeed

Lightspeed
Hank said:
m
I also get a laugh when the station warns me about something the ship's doing, when the station is flying the thing. ... and yep, the DC speeds all the time. Is there any consequences to speeding?

GL HF Commanders
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200 Cr fine for scraping someone else's paint.

But if they die as a result of your carelessness ......
 

Old Duck

Old Duck
Lightspeed said:
You realise they are flown by minions, trained personally by SJA, right ?
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Really? I thought NPCs were flown by hamsters living in ED's new building! I learn something new every day in this forum...

On a serious note, I'm hoping MoM takes my observations to heart, as it would improve the game to adjust NPC behavior to match their profession (passenger ships fly smooth, pirates and smugglers fly like a "minion"). As for the docking computer, a switch to turn off the boost would be nice. Speaking of, lowering the landing gear before turning on the DC - would that work to stop the boosting?
 
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