Elite / Frontier Hyperdrive Alternatives

[Bounder]

...now there's an idea for the "group dynamics" engine - a personal hygeine score / stenchometer. It'd be cool if NPCs have a sense of smell too (like Dog's Life) - it's gonna get a bit whiffy living in a box for months on end, recycling your own waste etc... that's what i tell the landlord anyhoo...

 

[Turbo Beholder]

True. But imho not very userfriendly.

With some effort, it can improve the spirit. Including demonstrations of allegiance, like "I'm <glowing> freelancer in the <glowing> frontier - and it's <glowing> neutral zone, and i don't give a <mildly radioactive> asteroid pebble for whatever 'throne time' that Emperor likes", or "4:00 by Dry Herring's time", etc.

That is to say : if the game can enforce attackers to play the accepted mission(s). Your raidinggroup being complete or not.

Well, more time they lose, more chances that someone in target system would detect lurking arrival group (for extra-longrange detection systems size matters, and large stationary ones have great advantage), then they can send welcoming party to take a close look at suspicious activity... or just have more time to track those invaders' course and concentrate forces in addition to usual defences.

 

[MisterHalt]

This is all technobabble to me, but one thing that I haven't seen mentioned is Wing Commander's hyperspace system. Set points in space that you need to fly to and activate via Jump Buoys in order to open the Jump Gates. I don't know if time passes, but if it does, it seems to be not much.

 

[Raven]

wing commander was for the snes though, where only the later versions had timers to keep time. imo if you're going to use wing commander then X and Darkstar shoud be thrown in there.

both are alright using jumpgates, but personally i foujnd travel very unrealistic.. i mean 5minutes to get to a jump gat ethen 20seconds to make it to another system. how the hell long would've it been to setup thes ejump gates in the first place!!?

elite is awesoe cause of it's hold on being a realistic future. even if it is a millenia and a half in the future.

 

[Turbo Beholder]

one thing that I haven't seen mentioned is Wing Commander's hyperspace system. Set points in space that you need to fly to and activate via Jump Buoys in order to open the Jump Gates.

Yes, but it has common incompatibility with Elite setting. If travel route is stable, large caravans with specialized guards have great advantage, so they should quickly displace high-risk single ship carriers on most transport operations (save few courier missions).

both are alright using jumpgates, but personally i foujnd travel very unrealistic.. i mean 5minutes to get to a jump gat ethen 20seconds to make it to another system. how the hell long would've it been to setup thes ejump gates in the first place!!?

There can be “physical” reasons why jump gate must be placed at specific area. But even then it's still enigma why they didn't placed large space station near each gate.

 

[Prycon]

both are alright using jumpgates, but personally i foujnd travel very unrealistic.. i mean 5minutes to get to a jump gat ethen 20seconds to make it to another system. how the hell long would've it been to setup thes ejump gates in the first place!!?

I don't like the X and Freelancer jumpgates works, it makes space look 2D and not 3D. It is really annoying to have to go through many system to get to your destination, why not jump directly to your destination? Babylon 5 hyperspace is more the way I like it, but mostly for babylon 5, I don't want it for Elite4. In fact I wouldn't want any form of jumpgates...

...But if there no way out of it, I would like jumpgates to work just like hyperspace does in Frontier. And by this I mean that the jumpgates are like a external and wireless hyperdrive that pushes you through hyperspace with out having a hyperdrive, you could have a interplanetary drive and still jump into hyperspace. You will end up just like you would with a normal hyperdrive, floating in space some 8 - 9 AU from civilization. This should only be limited to small ships and stable systems with high population.

 

[Steve O B Have]

I don't like the X and Freelancer jumpgates works, it makes space look 2D and not 3D. It is really annoying to have to go through many system to get to your destination, why not jump directly to your destination? Babylon 5 hyperspace is more the way I like it, but mostly for babylon 5, I don't want it for Elite4. In fact I wouldn't want any form of jumpgates...

...But if there no way out of it, I would like jumpgates to work just like hyperspace does in Frontier. And by this I mean that the jumpgates are like a external and wireless hyperdrive that pushes you through hyperspace with out having a hyperdrive, you could have a interplanetary drive and still jump into hyperspace. You will end up just like you would with a normal hyperdrive, floating in space some 8 - 9 AU from civilization. This should only be limited to small ships and stable systems with high population.

The B5 system in the game annoyed me - too much drifting around in red crap.

 

[Prycon]

The B5 system in the game annoyed me - too much drifting around in red crap.

I agree, it could have been done better. But I guess it had to be like that because of the possibility to get lost in hyperspace.

But that wasn't what I like about it. I like the idea that you could travel in hyperspace with your own propulsion. And you don't have to go through other system on your way, like you do in X2. Anyway it's not for Frontier games. I love the freedom of Frontier hyperspace.