Is freedom similar to SpaceEngine?

Commander Keen

Commander Keen
Hi All

I guess most of you know or at least heard about amazing program named space engine. Can someone (i think this is probably question for developers as they have access to full galaxy) please help me with this question?

In space engine if i want to travel to ANY star i see on my screen i can. Any. I mean fluently travel from any point in the galaxy to any other.There is no static prerendered background.
Is this gonna be the case in ED as well or if i want to travel i need to pick a star from a list on a map screen then do a hyperjump and then i will suddenly appear in vicinity of that particular star ? Also can i fly around the planet or a sun im near? Thanks so much guys really ;)



ps: i realize that traveling the "spaceengine" way would be much much much slower than in SE but im interested whether its even possible
 

Snowbunnies

S
Space Engine is not a game per se. It's rather a program that let you enjoy beautiful images but there's hardly any gameplay mechanics that let you do anything with those views.

E: D is a video game that will give you a wide range of freedom but you should expect some limitations that you will not encounter in Space Engine.
 

Tinman

Tinman
Commander Keen said:
Hi All

I guess most of you know or at least heard about amazing program named space engine. Can someone (i think this is probably question for developers as they have access to full galaxy) please help me with this question?

In space engine if i want to travel to ANY star i see on my screen i can. Any. I mean fluently travel from any point in the galaxy to any other.There is no static prerendered background.
Is this gonna be the case in ED as well or if i want to travel i need to pick a star from a list on a map screen then do a hyperjump and then i will suddenly appear in vicinity of that particular star ? Also can i fly around the planet or a sun im near? Thanks so much guys really ;)



ps: i realize that traveling the "spaceengine" way would be much much much slower than in SE but im interested whether its even possible
Click to expand...

Flying around within a system in a freeform way is possible with the help of supercruise. Everything will be true to scale and have realtime orbits. So in that sense, yes it will be similar, but I expect it to be much better looking! Especially when planetary landings comes along later. :cool:

Traveling between stars won't have quite the same freedom since you won't be able to fly manually across the gap. The hyperspace jump will however feel seamless most likely even if you aren't in control while doing it. It's going to be similar to what happens in Space Engine when you select a star and press the G key twice I guess, but once again it's going to look better with more effects wizzing about.

We have been told that what we see in the beginning of the video below is a hyperspace jump. I have a feeling that the final result will be even better.

http://youtu.be/VE8B4KptyVI?t=21s

What you see the ship moving towards is suppose to be a star system (I'm guessing with a protoplanetary disc around it.)
 

Cmdr Eagleboy

Cmdr Eagleboy
We will see soon enough about freedom of traveling. However, as others have said, Space Engine is just beautiful void viewer. In a game, it is implicated that there's commander's body which travels, and it puts certain limitations. First, traveling between systems is lock on, pilot can't interrupt process. Ship can't misjump though. Supercruise won't be instant 10 times C. It will accelerate and brake, but while doing so you will be able to enjoy beautiful sights of systems.
 

Erimus Kamzel

Erimus Kamzel
Commander Keen said:
In space engine if i want to travel to ANY star i see on my screen i can. Any. I mean fluently travel from any point in the galaxy to any other.There is no static prerendered background.
Click to expand...

Its the same in ED. Every star you can see out of your cockpit window will be a real point in space that you can travel to (depending on your hyperdrive and fuel). There are no false backdrops in ED.

Obviously space engine allows you to zip across the entire galaxy in a few seconds, but in Elite if you see a star out of your cockpit window that you want to travel to it may require you to plot a course that takes several hyperspace jumps to complete - depending like I say on your ship, hyperpace engines, and fuel.

Months ago I suggested an idea where we can simply right click on a star and bring up a holographic readout of its name, characteristics, and details, and initiate a hyperspace there (if possible). A sort of short cut as opposed to bringing up local navigational charts all the time. Something akin to how space-engine allows it.
 

Oss133

Oss133
They are not similar because you can take our SpaceEngine, but you will never take our FREEDOM!!!!

main-qimg-5bf1b6fd724cc4ad1e6ec088e4e6af05
 

Dante80

Dante80
Commander Keen said:
Hi All

I guess most of you know or at least heard about amazing program named space engine. Can someone (i think this is probably question for developers as they have access to full galaxy) please help me with this question?

In space engine if i want to travel to ANY star i see on my screen i can. Any. I mean fluently travel from any point in the galaxy to any other.There is no static prerendered background.
Is this gonna be the case in ED as well or if i want to travel i need to pick a star from a list on a map screen then do a hyperjump and then i will suddenly appear in vicinity of that particular star ? Also can i fly around the planet or a sun im near? Thanks so much guys really ;)
Click to expand...

Three points and a comment.

1. Every dot in the sky in Elite Dangerous will be indeed a star system, just like in Space Engine. There is no static prerendered background, what you see is what you get.

2. Jumping from one star to the other has some limitations in Elite Dangerous, since this is a game and not just a galaxy viewer/browser. So, you have a certain jump-range limitation for your ship that governs the maximum amount of distance you can cover in a jump, and you also have a seamless hyperspace effect that will move you from one star system to the other when you want it.

3. You can freely fly around the star or the planets that are in a star system, using a second mode of travel to move from one to the other that is called frame shift drive, or super-cruise. As in Space Engine, stars, planets and other celestial bodies have realistic values (size, mass, rotation, gravitational field, orbit etc), and the distance between them is also realistic.

comment:I love the work that Vladimir has done, he really deserves your support guys and gals. Drop him a little love if you can...:D
 

Tinman

Tinman
Well well...it seems like we need to update this thread after the latest Newsletter (21). :)

We refer to this mode of travel as ’super-cruise’. It allows you to free-form travel the real distances within a star system (and between them if you really want – though it will still take an inordinate time) without taking up your whole evening (or weekend... or month!).
Click to expand...

So free-form travel with super-cruise will be possible within a star system but ALSO between them it seems! :cool:

Will still take to long for it to be really useful in terms of gameplay, but still possible nonetheless. So it turns out it will indeed be pretty much like Space Engine in this regard, especially since Michael confirmed that the hyperspace jumps also will be seamless. :)
 

Im_Lost

I
I think the galaxy is seamless like space engine. From what I've read you may not start with a hyperdrive, so if you want to travel between systems early on you will need to use super-cruise to take the long route through the void. Also by not having a hyperdrive the ship can carry more cargo and will be more agile etc.

You can "free roam" with super-cruise but not with the hyperdrive. The hyperdrive can only jump close to stars, not go any where you like.
 
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Tinman

Tinman
OriginalBadBoy said:
Technically there is nothing stopping you from doing that though ... It would just take a while!!
Click to expand...

Yes, we know that now since we got hold of the latest newsletter...we did not know that for sure back when I wrote that. Actually, there had even been comments by the devs themselves of it not being possible. This is why I resurrected this thread in the first place. ;)
 

Daeron

Daeron
I like the little touches like that. The ability to go out there, just because you feel for it. That is why I liked "Daggerfall" more than these newer and more cramped offerings from Bethesda. They had this huge area, allowing you to just do something silly. Like walk for hours, in a random direction. No borders to be found. No "turn back mortal, or feel the wrath of our limited engine".

Sure, you could use fast travel. But that is the fast way. The rigid way. The linear not-so-circular way. :cool:

And now in 2014, we are back to genuine world creation. I am sure companies like "Origin", or "Weyland-Yutani", would be proud. ;)
 

Dante80

Dante80
If frame shift drive maximum speed depends on your distance to a big gravity field (celestial object), then we will be able to see some very large speeds if you want to travel between systems that way. If a 2000c quote is accurate it would take you about a day I think to get to a near star.

BUT, if the increased fuel consumption for the FSD is true, I think you will not be able to do that practically.

Which is not bad btw. The main thing here, is that there is no "map" or arena in the game. Its just you and the Milky Way...:)
 

Zieman

Zieman
Michael Brookes said:
You cannot travel between systems in frame shift, it is for in system travel only, although some systems are huge, in the 10,000 AU range.

Michael
Click to expand...
o_O - is there a blooper in the Newsletter then...? :S

Newsletter 21 said:
We refer to this mode of travel as ’super-cruise’. It allows you to free-form travel the real distances within a star system (and between them if you really want – though it will still take an inordinate time) without taking up your whole evening (or weekend... or month!).
Click to expand...
 
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