Ground landing

[JonahFalcon]

I know this may seem confrontational, but seriously, I hate landing on ground targets. Because if I don't enter at the right point, I'll have to spend an hour circumnavigating a small moon to land.

I have a frame ship drive that can cross light years, but it takes an hour just to go from one side of a moon to the other? No. Just... no.

My ship is armed with a computer, right? Putting aside the idea of letting a computer autopilot to a landing site, can you at least have the computer plot out the descent?

 

[ZuluOscarAlpha]

I have a frame ship drive that can cross light years, but it takes an hour just to go from one side of a moon to the other?

For the record, it's significantly faster to fly back up into orbit to get to the other side of the body you're landing on rather than flying at a constant speed at a lower altitude.

I'm all for an auto-descent feature! It seems they've figured out how to do it with the Apex shuttles in Odyssey, and they're also implementing auto-landing once you're already close to the surface, so I don't see why we couldn't make the push for auto-landing from space.

 

[varonica]

I know this may seem confrontational, but seriously, I hate landing on ground targets. Because if I don't enter at the right point, I'll have to spend an hour circumnavigating a small moon to land.

I have a frame ship drive that can cross light years, but it takes an hour just to go from one side of a moon to the other? No. Just... no.

My ship is armed with a computer, right? Putting aside the idea of letting a computer autopilot to a landing site, can you at least have the computer plot out the descent?

It takes a few minutes to get around a planet, and a similar time to get to a target a few hundred klms away, you just need to use SC to your advantage. If it's less than a hundred klms away fly up to SC height, only a few klms on most bodies, drop your climb angle to around 5% and point in the direction of your target, if it's around the other side of the body go up to Orbital Cruise and swoop around the planet and drop down on top of it. I can get to anywhere on a small body in minutes, it just takes practice. Having the computer do everything for you, well that's simply a refusal to learn how to actually fly your spaceship, in a spaceship flying game!

 

[metatheurgist]

Why are you travelling around a moon at gump speeds when you can fly around it at superluminal speeds?

 

[JonahFalcon]

Why are you travelling around a moon at gump speeds when you can fly around it at superluminal speeds?

Um, who said I wasn't? Frame drive, have to go to escape velocity. There's no cameras under the ship (WHY?!) so I can't eyeball it which the game seems to want me to.

There really should be a computer assist to ground targets. A holographic tunnel that guides me to target.

You have autodocking for space stations, right?

And again, why are there no ship cameras to look at under, above, behind the ship? Do cameras not work in outer space?

 

[metatheurgist]

You are if it's taking you an hour. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes. I'm not getting your point with cameras. Why do you need to see around your ship to find your target?

If the location marker is dashed then some part of the planet is between you and it - going anywhere out of orbit at this stage will take forever. Keep flying around in space until it's sold, now you are on the right side at least. Now check your approach angle (it's in the hud). A shallow angle means a slower approach, a sharper angle means faster, but, you have to watch the G since a fast approach is not always a good idea.

If you're stuck in the g-well and need to escape the angle is always perpendicular to the surface. Your compass shows you where to point.

If you really can't work it out come to the Galactic Academy and someone will arrange a demo.

 

[Chrystoph]

Um, who said I wasn't? Frame drive, have to go to escape velocity. There's no cameras under the ship (WHY?!) so I can't eyeball it which the game seems to want me to.

I would hope that you realize that you can rotate the ship so that the planet is not below you?

 

[Batwingsix]

I would hope that you realize that you can rotate the ship so that the planet is not below you?

 

[fishevi]

Maybe check some tutorial/guide and/or video if having trouble landing?!
It's not hard or time consuming when you get a grip.
There's "compass" next to your target holo which tells you where is your target poi in reference to your current position.
If it's random spot landing, you need to watch your approach angle, speed and check g-force prior to landing so you don't crash when approaching.

Auto dock/launch stations and outposts is ok for me, but auto landing on planets is maybe bit too much.
I mean outside combat flying and canyon racing, sc-ing and launching/landing is only thing left from flying.
So if player don't race or fight, not much left to do in terms of piloting.

 

[varonica]

You have autodocking for space stations, right?

And again, why are there no ship cameras to look at under, above, behind the ship? Do cameras not work in outer space?

And you have auto-docking at ground stations as well, you just have to be the exact same distance away as you are from space stations.

Turn it upside down, get a ship with good view ports like a Type 6, look at your angle of climb to determine where the ground is. The fact is manouvering around planets isn't difficult, but it is a learned skill.

 

[JonahFalcon]

I have landed before, thanks. I just don't like the system they use and they should implement something REAL space travelers have: computer aid. I mean, cameras are a thing. That's how all those pretty pictures from Voyager, New Horizons, etc were done.

Hell, I played Project Space Station back in 1988 and it did the old "go through a square corridor".

The way it is now is unnecessarily obtuse and clumsy.

Please don't say "it's not a bug, it's a feature!" It's just bad design, and the fact you're used to bad design doesn't make it a good design.

 

[Factabulous]

Ahem

....




<cough>

git gud



Seriously. It's fine - you'll get the hang of it, we all mostly did

 

[JonahFalcon]

"Seriously. It's fine - you'll get the hang of it, we all mostly did"

But I don't want to. I've been playing videogames in general for 45 years, space sims in general since Star Raiders, Chris Roberts' stuff from the 90's, and so on.

I know what bad design is.

If Odyssey doesn't improve on this, I simply won't buy it.

I know this may be hard for you to hear, but (whisper) Elite Dangerous isn't perfect.

There are far more design flaws and logistical inconsistencies I can list, but I won't, because they don't bore me.

This issue BORES me. And my philosophy is "It's a videoGAME, not videoWORK, and the last thing I want to be is bored." And frankly, I want the space tech that was available in the 1970's. I don't think anyone would deprive themselves of it in a real space ship because they'd want every advantage.

 

[Lugh]

"I'm a bad pilot and it's the games fault"

Also you do have a camera under the ship... it's just far easier to use instruments.

You have your targets location on the nav ball.
You have distance to target
And you have altitude.

The nav ball will tell you if the target is ahead of you. Distance- altitude will tell you how far you are from the target in terms of your location over the ground.

 

[ZuluOscarAlpha]

"Seriously. It's fine - you'll get the hang of it, we all mostly did"

But I don't want to. I've been playing videogames in general for 45 years, space sims in general since Star Raiders, Chris Roberts' stuff from the 90's, and so on.

I know what bad design is.

If Odyssey doesn't improve on this, I simply won't buy it.

I know this may be hard for you to hear, but (whisper) Elite Dangerous isn't perfect.

There are far more design flaws and logistical inconsistencies I can list, but I won't, because they don't bore me.

This issue BORES me. And my philosophy is "It's a videoGAME, not videoWORK, and the last thing I want to be is bored." And frankly, I want the space tech that was available in the 1970's. I don't think anyone would deprive themselves of it in a real space ship because they'd want every advantage.

I get where you're coming from. I don't think I would call the current landing system bad design, more like... lacking design? But yeah, everyone giving you s**t in the thread is missing the point of the "Suggestions" section. I like the idea of automated landing at planetary POIs and settlements from space. It is a good suggestion and an obvious next step in the existing systems.

 

[Ameeleean]

Good pilot can be lazy too, I would like to have this as an option when I'm tired of manual landings- it is as simple as this for me.

 

[metatheurgist]

I'm amazed anyone gets anywhere in 2021 without an augmented reality app on their phone telling them where to go. There's such a massive vein of comedy to be mined here.

 

[varonica]

I'm amazed anyone gets anywhere in 2021 without an augmented reality app on their phone telling them where to go. There's such a massive vein of comedy to be mined here.

You do know that's why people keep driving down train tracks and into canals right?

In a game that's about flying spaceships to much automation just makes it a game about pressing buttons to go places, may as well get rid of the ships altogether and just have teleports everywhere. But I guess that's what Apex is about, the good news is if you don't want to fly to "planets" Apex will take you to "planets", not the ones I go to mind you, just "planets"!

 

[N124Hawk]

I know this may seem confrontational, but seriously, I hate landing on ground targets. Because if I don't enter at the right point, I'll have to spend an hour circumnavigating a small moon to land.

I have a frame ship drive that can cross light years, but it takes an hour just to go from one side of a moon to the other? No. Just... no.

My ship is armed with a computer, right? Putting aside the idea of letting a computer autopilot to a landing site, can you at least have the computer plot out the descent?

I enjoy manually flying, especially landings. Making sure you have the right angles and direction to hit the glideslope is pretty satisfying too.

However, I agree that something like the supercruise assist and ADC could be combined to automate planetary approaches would be cool too, as long as it's optional (like SC assist and Docking computers)

 

[Greasetrap42]

Pretty much everything in ED could be programmed to be done automatically.

You could program PacMan to run around automatically too. Calculate optimal paths while avoiding the ghosts. No need for user to direct him around. More efficient but doesn't make a fun game to play.

ED is a space sim game where we fly spaceships.