How attached is everyone to the mail slot?

[Teh Smoo]

Yes, I know the mail slot is there because of old Elite games. Nostalgia, etc. It's an iconic thing to have kept from the old games.


But it's simply not a good design. Wouldn't it be better to have TWO one-way slots, that are large enough to fly even the bigger ships through comfortably? Do traffic jams add to gameplay?

The AI obviously has severe problems navigating the slot. This is what happens when the AI is left alone for a while, docking and undocking.

Spoiler

That, or have stations be pass-through, fly in one end, fly out the other, without turning around. You even save a bit of time that would have been lost spinning ships.

 

[space voyager]

With the traffic frequency it would make A LOT of sense to have a one way opening on each of the sides. The station design would be much simpler and probably cheaper. The only downside would be the need to guard two points.

 

[Ozram]

Yes, I know the mail slot is there because of old Elite games. Nostalgia, etc. It's an iconic thing to have kept from the old games.


But it's simply not a good design. Wouldn't it be better to have TWO one-way slots, that are large enough to fly even the bigger ships through comfortably? Do traffic jams add to gameplay?

The AI obviously has severe problems navigating the slot. This is what happens when the AI is left alone for a while, docking and undocking.

Spoiler

https://i.imgur.com/xk3dndU.jpg

That, or have stations be pass-through, fly in one end, fly out the other, without turning around. You even save a bit of time that would have been lost spinning ships.

Take your logic and close the door behind you! That sort of thing does not belong here.






...oh, and yes that makes perfect sense.

 

[Captain Willard]

The slot is the weak point in any station. You would have two? SRY to make you waste 30 seconds. Instant gratification is not good enuff for this one.

 

[fsdraconis]

personally I would argue in a different direction.

The lights and queuing system have been added in on top of the original classic idea. The voice teleprompters even mention "follow the greens and the queue" on the way out. But currently, there is no actual queuing system to use or be instructed by with in the station.

So I would personally say that could use more fleshing out. If it was a real world, they would be tracking in bound and out bound and timing them off based on size and mobility. A small Imperial Courier can pop off the pad and be out before an Anaconda has gotten to the door from the same distance.

I also think it would be really neat if the pads had an exterior flip in addition for heavy traffic. The whole landing pad and ship could rotate and then lifted out a large airlock door on the side of the station.

I would also love if the ranks we have earned were also used in the Station traffic control. Having ground up such and such with the Empire and then getting referred by that at Imperial stations would be great. Same with the Federation side. It would be that added reward for having earned the rank.

 

[Raino]

ähm guys

its the spot where its at which limits the count


IT DOES NOT MOVE - it only turns, cause its dead center on the turning axis

this concept is unbeatable, i want see you guys flying into an off center one

must be fun to watch

 

[aDuz]

ähm guys

its the spot where its at which limits the count


IT DOES NOT MOVE - it only turns, cause its dead center on the turning axis

this concept is unbeatable, i want see you guys flying into an off center one

must be fun to watch

nobodys talking about an off center one that would be silly, he's talking about an exit slot at the end of the station

 

[Raino]

nobodys talking about an off center one that would be silly, he's talking about an exit slot at the end of the station

oh

ok didnt get that

 

[Ozram]

nobodys talking about an off center one that would be silly, he's talking about an exit slot at the end of the station

This ^^. The suggestion is instead of a piggy bank jar, it will be shaped like a section of pipe, open at both ends.

 

[dunno]

Single is good, just wish the AI would not try to squeeze past/overtake during approach AND in the aperture, "*bump* you have a fine", really "but but I was overtaken in the aperture Officer".

Whilst the dev's are surely implementing all whims, please make the Green exterior aperture lights more visible for early lane selection in order to avoid opposing traffic.

 

[NorMonsta]

i once got attached to death to the slot


learnt not to turn too early from that

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

Depending on the ship, usually very attached to the mail slot.

Despite its size, I have a habit of getting my FDL, of all things, wedged in there good and proper.
T9 or Anaconda? Nope, that's fine. Lol

As for "RoRo" (Roll On, Roll Off) stations, that would be fun and interesting.
I'd see how fast I can burn though both mail slots. Lol

And come in the wrong way of course.



CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

 

[Ozram]

Depending on the ship, usually very attached to the mail slot.

Despite its size, I have a habit of getting my FDL, of all things, wedged in there good and proper.
T9 or Anaconda? Nope, that's fine. Lol

As for "RoRo" (Roll On, Roll Off) stations, that would be fun and interesting.
I'd see how fast I can burn though both mail slots. Lol

And come in the wrong way of course.



CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

I'd also like it if it was double sided as in, you dock as you do now, but when you go to undock you're flipped to the other side and leave through the outer shell.

 

[Mr T]

Yes, I know the mail slot is there because of old Elite games. Nostalgia, etc. It's an iconic thing to have kept from the old games.

and this is why it won't change no matter how many bright ideas you have.

However, it doesn't mean there couldn't be a whole new kind of station with some of these ideas implemented.

 

[Limoncello Lizard]

I like the way it works at the moment. It's not like it's hard to dodge other ships.

However, it doesn't mean there couldn't be a whole new kind of station with some of these ideas implemented.

I like this idea. More variety in stations wouldn't be a bad thing.

 

[dogsolitude_uk]

How attached is everyone to the mail slot?

After playing for the first time in ages the other day I got very attached to the mail slot, specifically between the railings and the wall just underneath it, and it took me quite a while to unattach myself.

It is a shockingly poor design, utterly infuriating, but as a player of the original Elite I have become quite fond of it's quaint, charming inconvenience over the years. But yes, a tube-shaped station would be much more sensible.

 

[Teh Smoo]

Or, have the mail slot just be a little bigger, and have the other end of the station with an ACCELERATOR that zooms everyone through the entire station and out!

Apply an overshield to exiting ships, so they one-shot anything in their way, as they exit at 1,000 m/s. No fines. Overshield provides invulnerability until the ships start to turn/decelerate, and are out of the path of any other exiting ships.

That, and something like a fighter acceleration tube is always fun to zoom down. That's the real reason. The rest is just to keep people from parking in the lane with sidewinders and giving people fines and such.

 

[Stellar Gambit]

After playing for the first time in ages the other day I got very attached to the mail slot, specifically between the railings and the wall just underneath it, and it took me quite a while to unattach myself. - HAHA this made me laugh

It is a shockingly poor design, utterly infuriating, but as a player of the original Elite I have become quite fond of it's quaint, charming inconvenience over the years. But yes, a tube-shaped station would be much more sensible.

I'm pretty sure, the design of the mail slot, is for the following reasons, and probably more.

1. control of the flow of traffic in and out... essentially.. left, right or middle... also this will assist local law enforcement in their duties
2. Smaller the entry point, easier it is to defend... or eradicate loitering vermin.
3. The power required by the station to maintain the atmospheric field one mail slot is orders of magnitude less than a great big circle, or a even a second exit mailbox.
4. An atmospheric field for a circle is far more complex than one for a letterbox. Design wise, it's efficient.
5. Advertising gets maximum exposure when you can, for the most part, guarantee the approach and departing vector of ships.
6. It's an excellent way of highlighting and removing lesser skilled pilots from the galaxy

 

[Lupus Exmachina]

It do would be cool to have more variation in stations.

Maybe something like a heavy traffic station where the barrel is three times as long and it has an entrance on the one and exit on the other side.

 

[Teh Smoo]

I'm pretty sure, the design of the mail slot, is for the following reasons, and probably more.

1. control of the flow of traffic in and out... essentially.. left, right or middle... also this will assist local law enforcement in their duties
2. Smaller the entry point, easier it is to defend... or eradicate loitering vermin.
3. The power required by the station to maintain the atmospheric field one mail slot is orders of magnitude less than a great big circle, or a even a second exit mailbox.
4. An atmospheric field for a circle is far more complex than one for a letterbox. Design wise, it's efficient.
5. Advertising gets maximum exposure when you can, for the most part, guarantee the approach and departing vector of ships.
6. It's an excellent way of highlighting and removing lesser skilled pilots from the galaxy

1: Blast doors work better.
2: Blast doors work better.
3: Likely. So have one entry and one exit, or exit people out the side.
4: Okay. So have 2. It prevents deaths.
5: Name one ad that you've seen entering a station.
6: Makes no sense, considering the tiny low-rank wannabe pirates that interdict MUCH bigger ships, this is obviously not working very well.