I am quoting Sandro from a live stream: "It is supposed to be a process."
Is there a docking request shortcut yet, or is it still 1-e-e-s-spacebar-s-spacebar-q-q-1
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Blackcompany
Banned
Oh no, it IS poorly designed. Whether the design was deliberate or not is another matter. But it absolutely IS poor. From a strict UI design standpoint, that's pretty close to objective truth.
Anything the user interacts with this often, in a situation where taking their eyes off of another key activity is a very bad idea, needs to a context menu that pops up for them in a convenient spot, or to be bindable in a location or manner of their preference.
This is like placing the control for opening communication in a fighter jets beside the seat, so the pilot has to look AWAY from flying to initiate communication.
That's...not good design.
Blackcompany
Banned
Yes, because asking permission to land an aircraft should ALWAYS require the pilot to look AWAY from the actual landing for several seconds at a time...
Wow. This...explains a lot.
Want to make it a process, Sandro? Fine. How about you make it a GOOD process next revision.
Blackcompany
Banned
That people like and approve of this design is, I think, a sign of how desperate people are for interaction with their ship and the flight process outside of combat, where actual, hands on flight is nearly non existent.
That, or they're paid by the word. Because there is no other way a reasonable human being could see this as food design. It's just not possible.
I have to disagree with you there, it is perfectly designed to fit the criteria required of it. That the underlying specification for the design could be said to be poor, well, I can agree with you there. However, to my mind, if the design of a system implements the specification correctly then it is not poor.
As for the jet fighter analogy, quite a lot of the information systems in the cockpit require the pilot to look away from flying, the HUD can only display so much information before it becomes too confusing to use, so the analogy falls down here.
But I take your point. The decision to bury the request/cancel docking under several menus is now considered to be poorly thought out even though it originally fitted the "process" requirement.
Which really just shows that you miss the point entirely.
You are meant to be flying a ship. There would not be a big red button to press to request docking clearance.
You do so via your ship computer and it's interface - I'd prefer it if it was even more involved but, no doubt, many would cry that it's too cumbersome and they just want a button.
Do you want a space flight/exploration/combat/trading game with some semblance of credibility or do you just want a button to do it all for you...
Geez, enough already.
Technically, it would be beside the seat, on the throttle grip usually but no need to look away. However, in order for the pilot to tune radios etc. to the correct channel, yes, they would need to look away.
They'd generally program the most used Frequencies (UHF and VHF) in prior to flight and they could be selected from the Throttle...but even more complex data entry would typically be done via an Up Front Display so a Pilot could do it without going "Head Down"
(Hehe Oh PLEASE PLEASE Frontier...make Elite be Falcon 4.0 in Space)
You mean like TODAY...where you'd program Tower Frequency in prior to take off and then access it by selecting UHF comms from your HOTAS (Single Click) Has technology REALLY gone SO FAR backwards by the time of Elite?
Not at all.
The docking sequence can be easily programmed to a switch/ button on your HOTAS. I do it with T.A.R.G.E.T., but there are other software methods that can be used, for example: JoyToKey.
Short cut for docking request has been shot down multiple times by FD since launch. I have no idea why.
I've got a macro for it too...but that DOESN'T mean its not a particularly elegant solution...
I don't understand why Frontier don't just give us OPTIONAL key bindings for all these kinds of Functions...
It would make programming things like your G13 or Cougar MFD panels much easier...
Love is finite.
There is no rejection of an interface design more biting or sincere than the use of a macro to work around it.
I use Voiceattack 'cos I play in VR. I didn't find I needed it when I played mouse and kb.
Approach station say "request docking" done.
Ahh, bad design by design!
Stunning! it was intentional...
I can only blame it on the multiple satanist influences found strewn about in this game
- an engineer's base or planet called Lucifer
- Zorgon Hauler cockpit sounds
- Station background sounds with chopped, halting human speech fragments (only starts after sitting in the station for a quite a while and that is not coms chatter).
- disgusting stuff in the hyper jump animation.
- The various logos / symbols used throughout the game.
- the ever present, asinine readiness to violence and hostility of stations.
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I like the sequence. It's kind of a ritual by now.
I guess many people never played or appreciated space sim.
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are you trying to ask if one of the most used standard procedures in the future would have a shortcut? lol yeah as if 3304 is in any ways about beeing efficient.
I select the contacts tab before dropping out of SC, then when I do drop to the station and get within 7.5km, left thumb, press thumb, down thumb, press thumb, press pinky all from right hand stick. Takes a fraction of a second and quite often I've gained the docking permission without ever having "seen" the docking request screen..! That's HOTAS for you though - hate flying without it!
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