How to maintain a selected route, while deselecting some Star types...?

[jpjeffrey]

My question is: is there an easy way to do this..?
(if not, well there ought to be! )

I've actually found a way to do this, but it doesn't seem to work all the time
(or mebbe I've got it wrong.... Doh! as Homer Simpson would say..)

But let's backup a bit... what is it I want to do, and why would I want to do this anyway...?

Here's the scenario:
I'm pottering along towards a distant nebula - let's call it TARGET NEBULA. I've bookmarked a system in the Target Nebula, and selected only scoopables in the Star Class tab.
Clicking the APPLY FILTER TO ROUTE box sets the line of jumps to the target. So far, I'm happy with this.
BUT... occasionally I want to open the Galaxy Map to see if there are any Neutron Stars around. If there are, I can divert there and make a supercharged jump.
Opening the Galaxy Map is ok, and if I have the NON SEQUENCE STARS box ticked, then Neutron Stars will be included among the display. It can be a real PITA sorting through all the available stars in the hope that one of them is a Neutron Star.
So.... what I want to do is uncheck all the scoopables, leaving only the Neutron Stars displayed; then I can make an instant decision whether or not to divert from the selected course. BUT if I uncheck the scoopables, the target route immediately recalculates. (It does no good to first uncheck the box with APPLY FILTER TO ROUTE )

I found a workaround, but there must be (ought to be!) an easier way...
First, I bookmark a star within the TARGET NEBULA.
Then, I plot a route with only the scoopables checked, and also the box referring to NON SEQUENCE STARS
After the route calculates, close the Galaxy map, and make AT LEAST 1 JUMP in the chosen route.
Arriving in the new system, get to a safe distance from the star, and MAKE SURE YOUR TARGET IS THE NEXT IN THE CHOSEN ROUTE
Open the Galaxy Map - the display will be centred on THE NEXT TARGET IN THE CHOSEN ROUTE
Now it's possible to UNCHECK ALL THE SCOOPABLES without the chosen route disappearing, leaving only the NON SEQUENCE STARS (if any)
(NB I'm afraid this workaround doesn't seem to work all the time.. )
Zooming the Galaxy Map out a bit helps here.

Let me know if you have any success, (and mebbe there's something I missed and there really is an easy way.... )

 

[Dr. Nagi]

Never ever thought about doing this.
I usually leave non-main sequence stars enabled on the filter when I plot routes, that way they can even end up directly on my route (that's how I got my first black hole btw). And they're rare enought hat I will never get into a "running out of fuel" scenario.

 

[LifesAJourney]

I've tried to achieve something similar many times and failed. At least two years ago I even suggested allowing to use two filters at a time, one to plot and another one to view the systems. That would solve the issue for me.

Since my suggestion was not implemented (whatta surprise! ), I barely use GalMap plotter for more than 2-3 jumps in a row during my exploration trips. I make a bookmark on the target system hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands Ly away and then keep plotting the route manually, jump by jump or in several-jumps stints, aligning the general direction manually, too. This way I have full control of where I jump into and I don't miss anything interesting around me.

 

[varonica]

Every time you enter the galmap it will recalculate your route, every time you make a change to the settngs it will recalculate your route, there's no way to fix a plotted route, and if there was it wold cause issues because sometimes even the actions of forgetting to refuel before plotting a route can be an issue. There are times I have plotted a route in the galmap, exited and fueled up from a station and exited the station to jump, only to find my first jump is now to long and I needed to recalculate the route.

This recalculation is handy because quite often while traversing the bleak reaches of the neutron fields or dwarf layer I have to do a manual jump to a scoopable star, then all I have to do to reset my route is enter and leave the galmap, it's very handy.

 

[jpjeffrey]

, there's no way to fix a plotted route,

Well, the procedure I described will work (sometimes!) to allow the route to be retained while unchecking some of the Star classes... (see the workaround set out in the OP).
I agree that the recalculation used by the game is handy - MOST OF THE TIME
Trouble is, for this particular purpose, it works against you
There ought to be an option to 'LOCK PLOTTED ROUTE' or suchlike to enable certain Star Classes to be unchecked without having the route automatically replotted. This could be helpful in various situations (ie not just highlighting Neutron Stars as I mentioned in the OP, but also when searching for various Star Classes to complete the list in the Codex (turn 'em from orange to blue.... ))

Anyhow, thanks to all for your interest

 

[varonica]

There ought to be an option to 'LOCK PLOTTED ROUTE' or suchlike to enable certain Star Classes to be unchecked without having the route automatically replotted. This could be helpful in various situations (ie not just highlighting Neutron Stars as I mentioned in the OP, but also when searching for various Star Classes to complete the list in the Codex

And when removing the star classes means that there is no longer a valid route because some of the jumps are to long for your ship? You know what happens then? Yes normally the entire route is discarded!

 

[Deleted member 38366]

Basically there is no way to "lock" a Route over any meaningful distance when Filters go into effect.

The only way to make the routing a bit more "sticky" would be to setup plenty of Waypoints, this keeps the route as straight to the originally intended plot as possible.

• make conventional plot to determine desired routing
• while on that plot in GALmap, use Bookmarks to setup intermediate Waypoints (the more the better)
• set Filters as desired and move from Waypoint to Waypoint

Now under optimal circumstances, FDev would have given us what many Explorers have requested since a very long time :

• ability to combine multiple Filters
• ability to setup a fixed Route (Filters tenporarily interrupting the original Route will return to the original plot as often as possible)
• ability to setup a custom Route (move any part of a route to a selected Star System and it'll replot the required segment via the chosen Systems
• ability to setup Route Waypoints (outright, without any need for workarounds or manually fiddling with Bookmarks)
• smarter Route plot (have the plotter suggest an alternative Route incl. Detour if Jumprange or Permit-Locked regions interfere with a normal plot)

Basically all the stuff I'd expect to see had we ever gotten Software Upgrades for our Ship's Computer.
Above would represent part of what an Advanced NAV Computer Upgrade could do for Explorers for example...

 

[jpjeffrey]

Thanks Falconfly
The purpose of the OP was to find out if this procedure was actually in the game and that mebbe I had missed it...
As the post by LifesAJourney mentioned, he attempted to have such a procedure implemented but it never was. When I read this I knew for certain that the procedure probably wasn't in the game (if it was, the devs would have simply replied to him telling him how to do it)

Actually, it CAN be done; here's a screenshot I took yesterday. As you can see, using the 'workaround' set out in the OP I've managed to retain the plotted route while unchecking most of the Star Classes. On this occasion I was hoping to find some nearby Neutron Stars, but no luck.
(NB the 'workaround' doesn't seem to work all the time, but from observation it seems to me that it's important to uncheck the Star Classes in a particular order. Specifically, it seems important to look at the Star Class of your next jump (G Class in this case) and uncheck it LAST.

Of course, a hit-and-miss 'workaround' shouldn't be necessary - there should be an option to simply lock the existing route while checking and unchecking Star Classes
(for some reason, this can't be achieved by unchecking the APPLY FILTER TO ROUTE box)

This would be very useful, as it would enable you to search nearby for certain Star Classes without affecting the plotted route
(on this occasion I was looking for Neutron Stars, but the same procedure could be used to search for any Star Class - say for example, a Star Class that you're looking for to fill a Codex entry)

Hope this helps....

 

[Mr T]

As a side note, I've also found sometimes the auto-plotter fails even when I've found it is possible to get there without additional help (ie. neutrons / dwarfs / or jumponium). To get around it I manually plot each jump as it will show a an unbroken line of everywhere you can do a single jump to. Not sure if not being able to plot the whole route is a bug or just a limitation of the galaxy map. It only tends to happen where the systems are widely spread apart.

 

[jpjeffrey]

Thanks Mr T
I've noticed that intervening 'permit' systems can defeat the autoplotter (and I've seen this mentioned in other threads)
So far, I've been unable to identify the (sometimes huge) areas of space occupied by clusters of these 'permit' systems.
Up to now I just guess my way around them until the autoplotter gets happy again
(It would be really helpful if these areas were displayed in the Galaxy Map, perhaps as a sort of 'red nebula' or suchlike)

 

[varonica]

As a side note, I've also found sometimes the auto-plotter fails even when I've found it is possible to get there without additional help (ie. neutrons / dwarfs / or jumponium). To get around it I manually plot each jump as it will show a an unbroken line of everywhere you can do a single jump to. Not sure if not being able to plot the whole route is a bug or just a limitation of the galaxy map. It only tends to happen where the systems are widely spread apart.

A few years ago the auto-plotter was adjust to avoid large detours from the direct path to get around locked regions. This was done due to the slowdown in areas with extremely dense star groupings like the core, it was possible to try and plot a route and find oneself sitting there for 30 minutes waiting for it to complete the plot. This was because the plotter attempted to plot all possible routes to determine which one was the shortest. Removing large deviations from the plotted route meant it could plot faster, but also meant it couldn't plot around permit locked areas. So it's quite possible for there to be a viable route to a system on the far side of a permit locked region, but still be impossible for the route plotter to plot a route to it.

When systems are widely spread apart sometimes it requires the plotter to take a path that violates these restrictions so yes then it is necessary to manually plot.

Thanks Mr T
I've noticed that intervening 'permit' systems can defeat the autoplotter (and I've seen this mentioned in other threads)
So far, I've been unable to identify the (sometimes huge) areas of space occupied by clusters of these 'permit' systems.
Up to now I just guess my way around them until the autoplotter gets happy again
(It would be really helpful if these areas were displayed in the Galaxy Map, perhaps as a sort of 'red nebula' or suchlike)

These are all mapped and detailed extensively, the most well known is of course the Col 70 sector around Witch Head because it's close to the bubble and many people decide to do the first long range trip in the direction of that lovely landmark Barnard's Loop. Having them marked in the galaxy map would be annoying and unrealistic since the reason for thier locking is not and in game reason, that is there is not real connection with the actual game lore or story, they are locked for future game development. Nevertheless there are sites on the net where you can see them displayed.

 

[Mr T]

A few years ago the auto-plotter was adjust to avoid large detours from the direct path to get around locked regions. This was done due to the slowdown in areas with extremely dense star groupings like the core, it was possible to try and plot a route and find oneself sitting there for 30 minutes waiting for it to complete the plot. This was because the plotter attempted to plot all possible routes to determine which one was the shortest. Removing large deviations from the plotted route meant it could plot faster, but also meant it couldn't plot around permit locked areas. So it's quite possible for there to be a viable route to a system on the far side of a permit locked region, but still be impossible for the route plotter to plot a route to it.

Sure. I wasn't near any permit locked systems when this last happened. I tried plotting the route to my fleet carrier and it failed so I thought that's Ok, I'll just do it 1 step at a time, as I was exploring everything anyway so not in any hurry. To my surprise I discovered eventually that I made it to my destination without having to use any boost assistance. As I said before, the systems were quite far apart from each other so I think the plotter just got confused.