Could Frontier please demonstrate how to use the FSS enjoyably?

[M0rty]

I came this >.< close to taking a T7 to Hutton on my first trip.

#guilty

Maybe it was an Asp-X i don't remember lol

 

[IndigoWyrd]

#guilty

Maybe it was an Asp-X i don't remember lol

Jumped into Alpha Centauri once with a Type-9, and went "Oh, frell, can't take this out there...". Came back with my cargo Courier and loaded up on mugs and gin and transferred them to my Type-9 before heading off to the far end of the bubble, along with a huge load of other rares to sell. Quit running to Hutton after my 56th trip. There's no more X-Files to be watched.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

So you stop inside the corona and then FSS from there, far enough out that you can scan the system without cooking.

Remember, I'm not using the FSS for anything other than the spectrum, so parking in the corona makes no sense for me. I line up on my exit trajectory (to skim the top of star at full throttle) while honking, then open the FSS to view the spectrum. This is only a minor adjustment from the ADS days, where I'd point at the center of the star and view the System Map while DSSing. 30,000 systems brings a lot of muscle-memory with it.

My view looks like this:

https://imgur.com/a/zBGwTiD

Source: https://imgur.com/a/zBGwTiD


There's a moment when the FSS opens that I can see the spectrum, before the star appears, but it really wouldn't take much for FDev to add a bit of shadow behind the spectrum so it stands out better.

Yep, I can see how that's a problem. Of course, looking "down" or off to either side will keep the spectrum visible, but I do concur - a bit of opacity behind the spectrum would resolve this completely.

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

Yep, I can see how that's a problem. Of course, looking "down" or off to either side will keep the spectrum visible, but I do concur - a bit of opacity behind the spectrum would resolve this completely.

I could probably train myself to fly to the side of the star (I can't go underneath, it gives me the heebie-geebies) but then if I screw up I need to pan to get out of trouble - and pitching is much faster. I took a T7 to Colonia (full of rares, including Hutton Mugs) and had to scoop that way, because T7s yaw better than they pitch.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

I could probably train myself to fly to the side of the star (I can't go underneath, it gives me the heebie-geebies) but then if I screw up I need to pan to get out of trouble - and pitching is much faster. I took a T7 to Colonia (full of rares, including Hutton Mugs) and had to scoop that way, because T7s yaw better than they pitch.

Type-7's a very nice ships. Bought my first one by accident, wound up making more than enough with it to pay for it and profit and then some. Used it for a long, long time after that, until I could afford a Type-9.

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

Type-7's a very nice ships. Bought my first one by accident, wound up making more than enough with it to pay for it and profit and then some. Used it for a long, long time after that, until I could afford a Type-9.

Bought a Black Friday paintjob for mine.

 

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

Bought a Black Friday paintjob for mine.

I was fooled for the longest time thinking the type9 had the king of canopies as well.. awestruck by the size. The type7 is best in truth.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

Yet the most reasonable and often made request, could we see the spectrum in the cockpit ui, wasn't even acknowledged they had even read the idea. People even did mock up screenshots for them.

Given the explosion of new hud content they proved very well its not technically impossible to add new content into the space right infront of you on your ship.

I know. But that may have been much more difficult to add. Hopefully it's something they will look at in the future.

 

[lenna]

As a developer, yes you would. But the person who signs your paycheck is the one who says "This launches on that date, or there are no more of these for you."

"Also, it needs to be bug-free and no, you can't have any more resources until it's too late for them to be any use and they'll actually make things worse"

The problem with the bean-counter-do-or-die mentality being described is that in the end it hurts the product, the customer, and the company. Assuming that what is being described happened as writ, FD is not be the first company to fall foul of this and almost certainly will not be the last.

An alternative narrative is that some-one/some-people went rogue on the design/implementation team and rather than publicly demolish the schedule (and internally wreck budget/resource allocations) to allow time to correct the mess created by them the executive team decided to release it as-is. This is also not an unknown situation.

Ultimately, it does not matter what transpired at FD to get us to this point - what matters is that there are still issues that FD need to address and the ostrich manoeuvre is not an acceptable response.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

The problem with the bean-counter-do-or-die mentality being described is that in the end it hurts the product, the customer, and the company. Assuming that what is being described happened as write, FD is not be the first company to fall foul of this and almost certainly will not be the last.

An alternative narrative is that some-one/some-people went rogue on the design/implementation team and rather than publicly demolish the schedule (and internally wreck budget/resource allocations) to allow time to correct the mess created by them the executive team decided to release it as-is. This is also not an unknown situation.

Ultimately, it does not matter what transpired at FD to get us to this point - what matters is that there are still issues that FD need to address and the ostrich manoeuvre is not an acceptable response.

This is beyond funny.

 

[Sunyavadin]

There's a moment when the FSS opens that I can see the spectrum, before the star appears, but it really wouldn't take much for FDev to add a bit of shadow behind the spectrum so it stands out better.

And maybe they could make it so Cutter pilots could see how close to capacity their cargo hold is through the blinding reflection of the station's lights on the glossy white cockpit interior behind the system panel.
But they won't.

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

And maybe they could make it so Cutter pilots could see how close to capacity their cargo hold is through the blinding reflection of the station's lights on the glossy white cockpit interior behind the system panel.
But they won't.

You buy an Imperial ship, you're gonna get blinding white cockpit interiors. Just be grateful they spoiled the aesthetic by giving you a nasty black window to look out of.

 

[askavir]

You buy an Imperial ship, you're gonna get blinding white cockpit interiors. Just be grateful they spoiled the aesthetic by giving you a nasty black window to look out of.

Incidentally, the Type-7 looked great in white paint. And it actually looks like a science vessel. A white Type-7 was my last exploration ship of choice back when I was still playing.

 

[biot]

An alternative narrative is that some-one/some-people went rogue on the design/implementation team and rather than publicly demolish the schedule (and internally wreck budget/resource allocations) to allow time to correct the mess created by them the executive team decided to release it as-is. This is also not an unknown situation.

What you are describing sounds a lot more buccaneering than the sedate world of software engineering I've experienced in my last 20 years as a developer. I've seen an awful lot of effortless incompetence in that time but never this sort of devilish intrigue. You make it sound a lot more exciting than it actually is.

 

[Riverside]

exciting

They do use that word a lot though

 

[Humbo]

I don't hate the FSS - but there could be simple improvements
1) Colour code the arrows pointing to to bodies the same way as the spectrum display
2) Allow (some/all) moons of a body to be scanned at same time as the parent planet - this could be a distance from parent planet that could be engineered. We get a bit of that with asteroid clusters, but it would save time for larger systems.
3) Allow FSS use at higher FSD speeds - this may require a tracking feature ( I can see parallax tracking being an issue though)

 

[Ralph Vargr]

I think theres just two things that needs to change that would fix the whole thing-
1. When you honk the system, it should mark every body as "unexplored" and they should show up (blank) in the system map.
2. when in FSS, have an indicator arrow pointing you to the direction of the spectrum signal you've tuned in.

With these in place, would anyone really have anything left to complain about?

The FSS's drinking habits, and bar tab.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

How? That is the most insanely unfathomable concept to be bothered by the ability to target something with no additional information. Mind blown that sounds so petty. All you would be achieving is PREVENTION of flying there.

I keep using this silly thing on a regular basis, and it is so apparent there is no value at all in the concept of presence of a body in a system. There is zero game impact, decision, anything, the presence of a body determines. It doesn't glow, it doesn't bite it doesnt make a sound. All it can possibly do is provide data to make another decision.

If you were making up some sort of dice based pen and paper rpg, you could pretend that its interesting, because its all in your head, but in just the context of the sandbox tools we have, the discovery mechanic is pointless. Just keep doing it. I do, and it really becomes apparent. You don't get get a sense of layout like the orrey because the field of the view of the fss is 360 degrees.. its impossible to appreciate the context without getting lost at the very next group of things.

I try every time. The last thing i tried was the zoomed in detailed view, since everything else is just junk to get to that within the fss. Its so inadequate. There's nothing to anchor onto even there. The detailed view in the system map.... why couldn't it even match that?

The fss is nothing but forced activity in exchange for the rewards you got previously after spaceflight now without spaceflight. Thats the only thing it achieves.

What you are talking about is Book 6, Scouts.

 

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

What you are talking about is Book 6, Scouts.

I never did Scouts. Maybe I should have?

 

[Ralph Vargr]

As a developer, yes you would. But the person who signs your paycheck is the one who says "This launches on that date, or there are no more of these for you."

That's Frontier.