Instant ship transfer is ok, but Auto pilot is not.
- Thread starter lysan
- Start date
Every time you drop into a system, your ship is pointed directly at the star. Every time you drop into a system you would be warned. Every time you drop into a system you would have to take control. We are right back to where we are. Unless you expect the computer to cover this for you.
FD has recently taken away the pause the game gave you if you Alt-Tabbed out of the game during a jump. I assume they did that to make sure we are actually playing the game, and not expecting some system to keep us safe. Why would they then create a whole module to do just that?
im with you on this 100%. The ship travel systems in Elite are great, but keeping a little dot centered in your crosshairs for hours at a time is NOT what makes it great. Even if the extent of autopilot were JUST keeping you locked onto a destination so that you won't overshoot it or drift off course, this alone would be a huge improvement. I like the long transit times across systems, but I want to spend that time looking at galnet, poring through the galaxy and system maps for interesting future locations, adjusting my module configurations, looking at the stats on passing ships that are within scanner range, and just freelooking out of the canopy at the beautiful sights as they go by. (And of course fiddling with the debug camera to take screenshots).
I'd prefer if autopilot options were tied to a module that you had to buy and install - maybe the docking computer could be extended in function to be a mor generalized "flight control computer", or maybe it would be a separate module altogether.
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I don't think you can compare the two. Assuming by auto-pilot being the middle man in super-cruise (so you're still taking off/docking/scooping/attacking/mining/cannister-gathering etc...etc... the auto-pilot is JUST for that part of the journey where you don't want to look in signal sauces, it's "point ship and go"), then FD can introduce other things:
1. If they allowed us to have market-data computers, we could plan our trades, scan for good routes.
2. When space-legs comes, we can unbuckle and walk around our ship. Maybe check on the slaves.....
3. Spend some time in the galaxy map/system map checking out the neighbourhood.
In short, there's plenty to do whilst your auto-pilot flies in a mostly straight line until you're in some range of your destination where you get a bleep or something to let you know that being back in your seat might be a good idea.
So no, I do not think it's fair to compare it to an AI racing game or an AI FPS because both of those games are highly interactive at all points. During super-cruise, you've usually just got a lot of down-time depending on your distances.
In my opinion, the ANP would be responsible for efficient navigation, to include avoiding gravity wells. Veering slightly off course to avoid gravity wells is below the attention threshold for a pilot in my opinion.
Like I said, I know some truly love the things I find boring, and may Odin bless you for that
Pilots should have to manage the threats posed to their ships. Otherwise why not just have queues established so players can just simply do the 'fun stuffs'? I can't agree with your assessment in the slightest.
Then, don't use it. Again...another player using autopilot, be it for long distance travel, or docking........how does that affect you enjoying YOUR gameplay? Why is it even a concern to you? Its a feature added to those that want to use it, and it doesn't impact others AT ALL.
I good with that
See, I'd be quite happy coming up with a much more detailed version but frankly - wasting my time. Frontier is making the game they want to make (as must of the forum is keen to remind us) and srsbsnss heavy duty ideas don't get that kind of traction now the DDF is mostly coated in a layer of dust thick enough to sculpt the Eiffel Tower out of.
Actually you are only in risk with certain stars, my VA are doing most of it now, I just want this to be more incorporated as it would improve the quality of life for us that travel vast distances.
If you could plan your route, insert refuel points, POI drop outs and so on, the game would become less repetitive, as someone said, I like to read the GalNet, look at the starmap, by jumping from star to star you are not piloting anything,
you're just a dude in a seat pressing J. Not engaging nor fun.
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Sorry running out of Rep here, virtually Repped+1
That's fine, we don't have to agree, we're simply talking about personal preferences to a completely non-existent thing
'fun stuffs' appear to be very different from player to player 
Sigh - this comes up again and again and has been refuted using the 'doping' argument.
I actually have another reason which may or may not wake people up to what is happening here.
People support these features because they find that part of the gameplay a bit boring.
I understand it - jump, jump, jump, jump, is kind of repetitive even if you add refuel and honk steps.
SC is the 'slow' part of getting from A to B so I can see that many people want to speed that up or skip it to get the the 'twitch' stuff at B.
However, there are two approaches to addressing the underlying issue:
1. you can add ways to bypass or shortcut a particular feature
2. you can add things to the feature that make it more engaging
Once you've done option 1, what are the chances of option 2 ever happening?
Maybe not eliminated entirely, but definitely reduced because FD have already made a decision that this particular feature is one that can be 'skipped'.
That sets a very bleak picture of what the development plan is, especially for the large subset of players who enjoy the 'non-twitch' aspects of the game.
I think this is a good idea, as a matter of fact. I am all forward into solutions that automate some kind of repetitive tasks, but not with some drawbacks and probability of failure. This should not be a "macro recording feature" but just a way to chain jumps and save some manual effort. Scooping, honking and other specific tasks would be only be done by the player, and the autopilot route should be carefully planned in order to prevent the ship being stranded for no fuel after the final jump in sequence.
"Winning" in Elite Dangerous is subjective to each and everyone.
No, the auto-pilot would carry on or abort after the ship is fired upon. This ship would be vulnerable in this mode.
And no for the second question. While you picture someone watching the screen after the autopilot is engaged, I find this an excellent feature for breaks or playing while working. During the Distant World's Expedition, I can't tell how many times I was multi tasking, doing simple work tasks while jumping and honking.
For long distance explorers, this would be a great feature to save personal time and even to prevent muscular injuries due to prolonged time doing something as repetitive in the same posture (yes, it happened to me and was a direct result of DWE and my lack of physical fitness by then).
Heck, I would even prefer this solution to the insta-transfer of ships between stations. The downside is that it lowers the hardcore value of reaching the other side of the galaxy by yourself... but not by much, in my opinion.
"Winning" in Elite Dangerous is subjective to each and everyone.
No, the auto-pilot would carry on or abort after the ship is fired upon. This ship would be vulnerable in this mode.
And no for the second question. While you picture someone watching the screen after the autopilot is engaged, I find this an excellent feature for breaks or playing while working. During the Distant World's Expedition, I can't tell how many times I was multi tasking, doing simple work tasks while jumping and honking.
For long distance explorers, this would be a great feature to save personal time and even to prevent muscular injuries due to prolonged time doing something as repetitive in the same posture (yes, it happened to me and was a direct result of DWE and my lack of physical fitness by then).
Heck, I would even prefer this solution to the insta-transfer of ships between stations. The downside is that it lowers the hardcore value of reaching the other side of the galaxy by yourself... but not by much, in my opinion.
Except save for interdiction and USS you can't really MAKE supercruise and jumps more interesting. You could drop more RNG events into them but that would pan out mostly as *annoyances* so that's not really a good plan either.
What you CAN do is add more interesting content to do at the places they arrive AT and depart FROM. Such as better missions, the concept of actual NPC contacts you develop loyalty with as opposed to just text which says "Go here do this", missions where you're not only attempting to deal with named enemies, but those named enemies have a bit of personality themselves, maybe they offer you a bribe to turn your head the other way. Not just allying with a minor faction just to tip the influence dial and get more moneys for hauling garbage but ACTUAL TANGIBLE benefits such as branded modules and ships which offer variant capabilities from the baseline that you can buy from just "anywhere". That kind of thing.
For explorers that means lots more POI's both in space and on planetary surfaces for example, and that's just a fraction of what COULD be done. Frontier elects to spend their time on stuff like "New station interiors" rather than actually making the BGS more autonomous because apparently that "Blows our faces off" >.>
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> I would love some more of this. To be honest with you in regard to supercruise (SC), if my destination is more than say 15K ls away, I set the throttle at max and walk away to use the WC, grab a drink, or let the dogs out. There is rarely anything to avoid, and the chance of a ship out accelerating you to interdict is slim to none. To me, that's not gameplay. I appreciate that is is gameplay to others, but sitting and waiting and watching the countdown timer is not very engaging. But how would you make that more engaging?
That just shows a lack of imagination on your part.
There are a few things you could do with jumps and an awful lot of things you could do with SC that would add something.
Ok, I think y'all are starting to convince me...autopilot would be kinda neat.
So, where would it stand on a level of priority to any of you?
For me, I want to see a lot more added to the galaxy first. Comets, rogue planets, planets in collapse, planets in formation, black holes consuming accretion disks, and star formation to name a few.
That way, when I am looking at system map during a long autopilot, there is even more to look at and study.
So, where would it stand on a level of priority to any of you?
For me, I want to see a lot more added to the galaxy first. Comets, rogue planets, planets in collapse, planets in formation, black holes consuming accretion disks, and star formation to name a few.
That way, when I am looking at system map during a long autopilot, there is even more to look at and study.
SC:
There's a fairly well developed concept of Space Lanes that models the gravitational path of least resistance for spaceflight in a planetary system:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Investigating-Space-Lane-and-Gravitational-Corridors-123290.shtml
Visualizing and magnifying the effect would be one way to make SC require some piloting skills.
Hyperspace:
A cheap and nasty way to add gameplay to jumping would be to introduce the interdiction game to the initiation of the jump.
The better you do at that, the safer your arrival point and the shorter your FSD cooldown period.
Just a couple of ideas off the top of my head.
I think you're both onto something here: more content.
SC travel could be made more interesting beyond interdictions. The whole USS system could be modified so that you actually encounter things in SC, not just if you drop into a USS.
And GOD YES for deeper interactions with NPCs. The multi-player aspect of this game isn't available to me (XBOX non-Gold subscriber), and the instancing system makes a very clumsy ability to link up with other players from what I understand. Which leaves NPCs as my sole other interactive element. There's so much potential in this game! Minor faction squabbles and allying with even minor factions to the point where becoming Friends with one can off those they vie against. More direct feedback on what my little BGS effects are so I am clear on WHY I want to support one faction over another. So much that could be added to gameplay.
Such as? Beacons? Points of interest? You get those regardless.
Being intercepted / opportunities to jump someone? Already happening
Mission opportunities? Possible, but they could be provided as a variant of USS
Special sites of Interest? See POI's, they can be seeded in regardless, you don't need anything special for that
As for jumps? What PRECISELY would you be expecting? To jump to one system and end up in another? I can assure you that would rile up a lot of people fast. Jumping is a well understood system, don't mess with it. Equally, no tyvm to interdictions during jump or being pulled out of FSD during jump prematurely because someone intercepted the hi-wake. These are all infinitely bad ideas.
Sure, I can imagine a lot of things very fast, but most of those things are *detrimental* to the game.
I'm only interested in stuff that would be beneficial.
Did I say lack of imagination?
All of your examples are 'things', there is more to the game than just the types of object in it, such as the mechanics of spaceflight in SC.
> If we're just talking about shaving a little time off your flight by veering slightly off vector here and there, I would rather grab a refreshment.
> That sounds like a step in the wrong direction. But then again we seem to be on opposite sides of this coin and are finding joys in very different aspects