FDev, I want Autopilot

Old Duck

Old Duck
I've posted this to so many threads that I think it deserves its own. Dear FDev, please consider giving us an autopilot for supercruise. Please, please, please, please. Here's how it should work:

I arrive into a system, and I have to select my target station and point at it like always. I then activate the AP. It will take me to the target station by keeping the station centered and the speed in the blue. It will be smart enough to not drive me into a sun or planet. Once it's safe to disengage, it will disengage and alert me with a message that I've arrived and AP is off.

I don't expect it to fly me around in regular space, just supercruise. Nor do I expect it to be as fast as manually flying at full SC and dropping speed at the 6 second mark. In other words, there's a reward in terms of time saved by manually flying in SC over using AP. You could even make it like the docking computer where it takes up a size 1 slot, though personally I think it should be built into all ships just like the planetary approach system.

I find that SC is what's making things like trading and missions "grindy" for me (especially that last "7 seconds"). I'd love to just set the AP, get up, do some reps with my dumbbells, get a drink, take a quick wee, or just sit back and watch while I stretch. We have had AP IRL since the 20th Century! Even my little Cessna has AP. It doesn't land the plane or anything fancy like that, but it does keep it on course so I can relax a little. And yes, I know I can get interdicted while taking a wee, and that's fine; just give me a loud alarm and I'll zip up and rush to the controls.

Please please please please please! I love you FDev!!! [heart] [heart] [heart]
 
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KW001

K
At least gives us a mini-game to play in the hud while I make the 400K+ LS journey to the outer edge of a system for those damn terraformables.
 

=TK=

=TK=
I don't mind the supercruise flight - its especially fun in a Type-7 as there's no throttling back at 6 seconds, more like 10
 

Old Duck

Old Duck
stormyuk said:
Not sure if you are trolling? :) It ain't coming. Its been asked for many times before.
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Dude, I am SO serious. I am absolutely flummoxed at why this gets so much resistance... I don't expect many here to be actual pilots, but surely at least a few of you have played a flight simulator. Autopilot is a fact of flying. Why is this so controversial? I'm not asking for it to replace SC gameplay for everyone, I'm asking for it to be installed on ships so those of us who want it can turn it on. Just like flight assist...

So please, WHY is this so controversial? I've not seen these "it's been asked for many times before" threads you speak of. Give me some fresh perspective ;)
 

Old Duck

Old Duck
willowfan said:
Having an autopilot would mean the game would 90% play itself. Not my definition of fun.
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Hogwash. Did you read my OP? What' I'm describing is not 90% of gameplay.

But if you feel that way, it's okay. Don't use it. You probably don't use a docking computer or flight assist either, but guess what - those exist for those who want to.
 

stormyuk

Volunteer Moderator
stormyuk
Old Duck said:
Dude, I am SO serious. I am absolutely flummoxed at why this gets so much resistance... I don't expect many here to be actual pilots, but surely at least a few of you have played a flight simulator. Autopilot is a fact of flying. Why is this so controversial? I'm not asking for it to replace SC gameplay for everyone, I'm asking for it to be installed on ships so those of us who want it can turn it on. Just like flight assist...

So please, WHY is this so controversial? I've not seen these "it's been asked for many times before" threads you speak of. Give me some fresh perspective ;)
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Its not been asked for my PS4 people but it has in PC land. Docking is a small aspect of the gameplay sequence, and the docking computer was available in the original Elite. Autopilot was not. While I understand you might want it, I seriously don't think its coming. I am not like totally against it anyway. I just don't see it happening when its a old request and it has not been done. I am fairly neutral on the concept to be honest. If anything I would like some better/louder audio queues in SC so I know when I need to turn course or slow down as half the time if its a long one, I just get distracted and ending up flying right by....
 

Wyaston Hypatia

Wyaston Hypatia
I would like the opposite : more game play in SC. Deeper gravity wells. More need to navigate. USSs resolving over time (currently it's too much of a faff to id them on the fly). Other thing's I've not thought of.
As it stands I put the throttle at 75% and sit there, adjusting cause when near the target. Not a lot of fun so I can see the wish to automate it, but I think the solution is to make it more interesting, not less.
 

chrisw99

C
Old Duck said:
Dude, I am SO serious. I am absolutely flummoxed at why this gets so much resistance... I don't expect many here to be actual pilots, but surely at least a few of you have played a flight simulator. Autopilot is a fact of flying. Why is this so controversial? I'm not asking for it to replace SC gameplay for everyone, I'm asking for it to be installed on ships so those of us who want it can turn it on. Just like flight assist...

So please, WHY is this so controversial? I've not seen these "it's been asked for many times before" threads you speak of. Give me some fresh perspective ;)
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I can see both sides of the argument. After all, within the lore of the game if the technology exists to go through the actual docking automatically, that is surely far more complicated than auto-pilot flying through space.

On the other side, what happens when you are interdicted (and you are out making your cup of tea)?
 

Old Duck

Old Duck
stormyuk said:
I just don't see it happening when its a old request and it has not been done.
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Ever the optimist :D Anyway, I'm asking for it now, and FDev loves me, and I know they want to give me a little sugar called SC autopilot.

Seriously though, I do ask FDev to read carefully my OP (unlike some people responding to this thread) and perhaps talk to real pilots and give this request some thought. The irony is they give us the opposite of IRL, if I compare ED to say a Navy pilot. A navy jet has autopilot to cover those long, boring distances, but he's expected to land the bird on the carrier himself. In ED, we have a computer that lands our ship, but no simple AP to cover the long distances....
 

Cmdr Nemo

Cmdr Nemo
Real pilots don't use auto pilot on shourt flights. It's a tool one uses for long flights where as the tedious hands on to keep everything level is boring and causes fatigue. Which is bad mm'kay, passenger's don't like it when a pilot falls asleep. OK, if not an auto pilot, then a cruise control like one has in there cars. Why does one use it, they don't on short little runs around their bubbles, only on long drives between bubbles.
 
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