FDev, I want Autopilot

[HBK]

Edit : That being said if you just want it "easy" you stay at 75% throttle (50% for planetary landings) and you'll never overshoot (unless you fall asleep).

To elaborate on that, I realized the other day that some of my friends called the blue zone "autopilot". I was quite surprised to hear that but then I just thought "it makes a lot of sense". It's the zone that adjusts the speed with maximum safety, if not maximum efficiency (i.e. minimizing travel time).

 

[Old Duck]

To elaborate on that, I realized the other day that some of my friends called the blue zone "autopilot". I was quite surprised to hear that but then I just thought "it makes a lot of sense". It's the zone that adjusts the speed with maximum safety, if not maximum efficiency (i.e. minimizing travel time).

Agreed. I think of it as cruise control. If we could just had the stay-in-lane features modern cars have, that alone would make me happy. I can even live with disengaging from supercruise myself, just give me some audio feedback like "1 minute to destination" from my lovely ship computer.

That said, the amount of value some place on pressing that triangle when the computer tells them to still baffles me... That's one thing I like about RES - the computer does drop you out of SC automatically to avoid collision with the rings, so that proves our ship's computer already has ability to drop out of supercruise on its own.

 

[HBK]

If you do that with RESes though you won't have locked your destination and may need to travel a few dozens kilometers to reach the RES center.

It's also a basic safety mechanism. If you do the same while going too fast you'll take damage (replace the "dropping - too close" message by "emergency stop - too close" message, and it hurts your ship). It's also the same mechanism with all "forbidden" bodies (i.e. non-planetary landings). If under 1Mm/s you drop safely, but over that you trigger an emergency stop and take damage (and a long FSD cooldown).

 

[MrFailfactory]

Agreed. I think of it as cruise control. If we could just had the stay-in-lane features modern cars have, that alone would make me happy. I can even live with disengaging from supercruise myself, just give me some audio feedback like "1 minute to destination" from my lovely ship computer.

That said, the amount of value some place on pressing that triangle when the computer tells them to still baffles me... That's one thing I like about RES - the computer does drop you out of SC automatically to avoid collision with the rings, so that proves our ship's computer already has ability to drop out of supercruise on its own.

Ultimately, what you are asking for just isn't needed. In time, you will learn how long it takes to travel various distances, and as such, you will be able to determine your allowable length of AFK time. The autopilot you speak of, is already there, since there are no manual components to flying in Supercruise - no tunnel, no active mechanics, just engage, point, and travel. In an earlier post, I tried to help you iterate on your request, in the hopes that you would come to certain conclusions on your own, but since that didn't work, I'll be more direct this time.

Let's assume your request is implemented - not only that, but Frontier, being awesome, also anticipates a future need by allowing the autopilot to drop you out directly in front of the mail slot. There would be nothing unreasonable about that functionality, and a nice quality of life improvement in some opinions.

Here's what comes next, and very soon after - why do I have to fly this short distance before I can engage my Docking Computer? Can't you just tie the two together? Again, another perfectly reasonable request on its own, but now everything from the moment of arrival in the system has been automated. It doesn't stop there, though;

At this point, you will start to hear the Traders asking for the ability to queue up their selling and buying while on approach. Yet another very reasonable request, especially since those functions are done immediately and automatically with a couple of clicks anyway. Now, Traders have a really nice quality of life improvement, that by itself wouldn't break anything, but coupled with the aforementioned improvements, becomes something awful. There's more;

Next, you will start to hear a revival of the ghostly whispers from the Explorers who want an autopilot for plotted routes. This is something that should never become reality, but how do you legitimately argue that they couldn't have their (very similar) quality of life improvement, when these others exist?

Each of the things I just mentioned are already on the forums from time to time, waxing and waning, but always there. Automating too much of this game will destroy it, and Supercruise is one of the core components that perhaps should be improved, but never automated.

Riôt

 

[Old Duck]

In an earlier post, I tried to help you iterate on your request, in the hopes that you would come to certain conclusions on your own, but since that didn't work, I'll be more direct this time.

With all due respect, I've seen enough of your posts to believe that you're something of a troll. A troll who wears a tuxedo, but a troll nonetheless. You use elegant words to basically say, "If you agree with me, then you are an intelligent thinker, and if you disagree with me then you are a selfish child who needs my guidance." I'm going to save you the effort in the future by letting you know that I'm adding you to my ignore list. You're obviously welcome to continue posting your view of reality as if it's gospel truth, but I for one won't see it.

 

[tanner1ie]

I'll put down the dish I'm washing, rush over to the controls, and give that pirate what-for (or my cargo, depending on the pirate).

Personally i never surrender cargo to pirates as they've done nothing to deserve it.

If a pirate has the temerity to try and rob me, i do my best to rid the Universe of their menace.
If i find they're too tough to kill, i'll do a fighting retreat away for them, but i've no intention of giving them my generally either hard earned/purchased cargo or very often items which i'd fail missions for surrendering, but maybe that's just me .

 

[StephanieABT]

Hope you guys do not mind but I am going to weigh in here a little.

Would Autopilot be a nice addition?...Yes it would and when I am about to nod off during a flight could very well be a life saver.

Is Autopilot an absolute necessity?....No but it would be nice to have the option.

Thats my 2 pence worth.

Fly safe Commanders.

 

[Dantedante]

Flying with all the details on our hands is the beauty of this game. I don't know why would I want to avoid this with an autopilot. Fly mechanics is the important part that makes this game wonderful.

 

[krylite]

Oh definitely implement an autopilot effect apart from the player someday. I can understand initially why it wasn't included (even though full autopilot existed in Elite2: Frontier, and Elite3: FFE) probably because of "balancing" the mmo aspect where players are supposed to keep "busy" while building up their pilot's assets. Also the variable automatic changes of velocity thrusting in supercruise already has the autopiloting aspects that was in FFE only in the automatic changing thrust and not the entire vector for navigating direction. (There were also the challenging times in FFE where you were close to out of fuel and you had to manually do your approach with stepwise changes as the autopilot approach would empty the fuel faster, or you could elect to not use autopilot at all where you had to change the velocity vectors yourself (kind of like a FA-off in SC) all of which is still pretty much automatic in ED supercruise now depending on your thrust % setting)
But maybe they can include autopilot when spacelegs comes about. Mainly have one of the overpaid npc pilots be able to navigate the ship while you're off in the lounge of your ship reading up your favored subscriptions or admiring the wondrous vistas from the windows. Of course have red alert klaxon lights and sounds when interdicted or some other mishap. The spacelegs addition could also include stats and skills for the player or npc's hired, among other things, a skill characteristic for navigating the ship or even npc'd winged ship.

 

[Doktor Molotov]

Agreed. I think of it as cruise control. If we could just had the stay-in-lane features modern cars have, that alone would make me happy. I can even live with disengaging from supercruise myself, just give me some audio feedback like "1 minute to destination" from my lovely ship computer.

That said, the amount of value some place on pressing that triangle when the computer tells them to still baffles me... That's one thing I like about RES - the computer does drop you out of SC automatically to avoid collision with the rings, so that proves our ship's computer already has ability to drop out of supercruise on its own.

I'm with you.

Autopilot in supercruise. That's fine. I'm basically a human autopilot anyway when I'm in supercruise. I'd still have to keep an eye on the tiller for interdictions. Other games have done it. It doesn't sound like an outrageous request.

 

[Old Duck]

It doesn't sound like an outrageous request.

But haven't you heard? It will destroy the game, ruin people's lives, and cause the extinction of panda bears

 

[Karashin]

But haven't you heard? It will destroy the game, ruin people's lives, and cause the extinction of panda bears

 

[Racetrack]

But haven't you heard? It will destroy the game, ruin people's lives, and cause the extinction of panda bears

And the earth will turn backwards and the Alliance will invade the Federation!

To be fair I will be happy just to have my flight computer lock onto my navigation target, if I have the feature turned on. I doesn't even need to drop from SC for me. Just point at the compass for me so I can check the system map or my side panels or whatever.

 

[DevCMDR]

I don't get why this is such a contentious issue.

Just have it full stop at the targeted destination, not drop from SC, making you an easy interdiction target if you went AFK, if it actually had speed reduction.

On top of that, all it needs to be is "move mouse to centre of circle", ZERO evasion of interstellar bodies, adjusting speed, etc.
I just need my ship to not be completely from point A to B, so that I can get some work done on another screen.
I feel like playing E is wasted time, since so much of it is spent doing a task that l can automate with a dumb script.


If this is such a big dealbreaker for FDev, just make SC INTERESTING. Put in large glowing "crime reported" beacons, so players can assist other players/NPCs being attacked for system controlling faction rep, or something.
In the meantime, I'll just write a script that points the mouse at the centre of the targeting reticle, because holy , this is such a non-issue for a computer to do that I can have it done with spare CPU cycles on a machine more than a thousand years older than anything in E.
For console users: https://blog.gimx.fr/
Get a RasPi with a camera module.


Honestly, the fact that we are asking for such functionality means that this gameplay feature is lacking any sort of interest value for the vast, vast majority of the time you spend in it, which when trading, is a ridiculously brutal amount of time... that you spend looking at nothing, with nothing more interesting to do than keep your mouse in a circle...
I mean, how many threads have you seen where people comment that they trade with Netflix/YouTube open on another screen?
This indicates that this content is BORING.


FDev, do SOMETHING about alleviating this tedium.
I'll take basically anything. ANYTHING!

 

[UFO Reality]

I have asked for an auto-pilot system for this game many times and have given up.
It falls on deaf ears so I found that the solution was to just play another game instead of Elite Dangerous to your time spent on being more productive.
To those that hate the idea of an auto pilot system and love the mindless aspects of spaceflight that in good sci-fi movies consists of pilots and crew going into suspended animation all I can say to you is "Have fun wasting many hours in doing not much".
Maybe when the game devs start addressing the issue it would once again be my favourite game but as of now I will only hope this game will actually be fun and interesting again.

 

[Old Duck]

Well, here is proof that auto pilot is the root of all evil. Surely if Han had been in the cockpit steering the ship instead of letting the auto pilot do his job for him, Alderaan would still be here today... In fact, the entire Republic would still be here, because his son would have grown up to respect his dad (real pilots never use auto pilot), and Starkiller Base would have never been built in the first place!

Great Caesar's ghost, auto pilot does destroy the galaxy as we know it!!!

AFK, Han, A.F.K!!!

 

[FaultyDroid]

I mean, how many threads have you seen where people comment that they trade with Netflix/YouTube open on another screen?
This indicates that this content is BORING.


FDev, do SOMETHING about alleviating this tedium.
I'll take basically anything. ANYTHING!

Trading by it's nature is tedious. Im sure people do watch Netflix or whatever, much in the same way the shopkeeper at the grocery store has a TV behind his desk, or on his phone all day playing Candy Crush. What do you expect FDev to do to allieviate the tedium exactly? Anyone who doesn't like trading can make money in other, more exciting ways.

 

[CMDR Argo]

I don't get why this is such a contentious issue.

Just have it full stop at the targeted destination, not drop from SC, making you an easy interdiction target if you went AFK, if it actually had speed reduction.

On top of that, all it needs to be is "move mouse to centre of circle", ZERO evasion of interstellar bodies, adjusting speed, etc.
I just need my ship to not be completely from point A to B, so that I can get some work done on another screen.
I feel like playing E is wasted time, since so much of it is spent doing a task that l can automate with a dumb script.


If this is such a big dealbreaker for FDev, just make SC INTERESTING. Put in large glowing "crime reported" beacons, so players can assist other players/NPCs being attacked for system controlling faction rep, or something.
In the meantime, I'll just write a script that points the mouse at the centre of the targeting reticle, because holy , this is such a non-issue for a computer to do that I can have it done with spare CPU cycles on a machine more than a thousand years older than anything in E.
For console users: https://blog.gimx.fr/
Get a RasPi with a camera module.


Honestly, the fact that we are asking for such functionality means that this gameplay feature is lacking any sort of interest value for the vast, vast majority of the time you spend in it, which when trading, is a ridiculously brutal amount of time... that you spend looking at nothing, with nothing more interesting to do than keep your mouse in a circle...
I mean, how many threads have you seen where people comment that they trade with Netflix/YouTube open on another screen?
This indicates that this content is BORING.


FDev, do SOMETHING about alleviating this tedium.
I'll take basically anything. ANYTHING!

Tedium to some is relaxing to others, there are different points of view, if something is getting tedious then change what you are doing, nobody is stuck on one path... It only becomes tedious if you don't change what you do. It's not up to FDev to entertain your every whim, it gave you the vehicle to make your own destiny in game, it just takes imagination to go the rest of the way

 

[Avago Earo]

Not sure if you are trolling? It ain't coming. Its been asked for many times before.

What, like an arena or third person control of ships, you mean?

 

[Cmdr Nemo]

Though they don't call it cruise control, when one goes into hyper, at the last second or two prior, the ship lines it self up on the center of the vector and stays there until falling out of hyper. Why can't there be the same thing in super cruise. Enter a system, line up the destination and push x. I mean some distances from the star to station take a loooooog time. And to sit there for the duration is a real chore. If it weren't for the fact that I have to adjust my drift, I'd having nothing to do for the 70 or 90 minutes it takes to get to Hutton for example.

At the present time, one can make a hundred jumps to a particular star they choose in less time then it takes to get to the station in the stars system. That to me is assine!