Leaving during SuperCruise

[Leadfoot]

I had the pleasure of accepting a mission to deliver a contract to Hutton Station that required me to deliver it within 35 minutes. Yeah, ok, I think I can get something delivered in 30 minutes or so (this is pizza, right??).
Well, then I find out that it's .22 LY out of Alpha Centauri. 80-90 minutes with everything maxed out to the engines. Odd that they stated that it had to be delivered within 35 minutes when the minimum travel times is around 80 minutes or so. Yes, the mission failed (failed to deliver the contract in time).

So now I'm a little older and a little wiser, question regarding such a long SC sequence: Is it possible to alt-tab out of the game, do something else while the ship is still blazing along? I wanted to go put on some music but didn't know if alt-tabbing out of it would break something or not. Thanks.

 

[Cmdr Eran Mintor]

I alt-tab all the time so no afaik it doesnt break anything but if you're turning or whatever the action will stop. Speed will stay the same however.

 

[Tarman]

Just for factuality, the timers aren't related in any way to the distance of your mission.

This used to be much more of a problem for people before the station distances were implemented on the system map. And Hutton Orbital is probably THE worst offender on the "omg really that far" list. Now I check distances most of the time, especially on missions with short timers. Skipped on a really lucrative short-timer mission I saw recently for example, because the destination was on the donkey-end of a tertiary star at about 785k from drop-in.

On the topic of alt-tabbing, just watch yourself somewhat when doing so, especially when you're running multiple monitors. No death feels more stupid than the one where you grab the controls to avoid immediate danger and realize you're still focused on Winamp or your browser.

 

[Leadfoot]

I alt-tab all the time so no afaik it doesnt break anything but if you're turning or whatever the action will stop. Speed will stay the same however.

Ok, good to know, thanks. I still play Flight Simulator X and leaving the game (alt-tab) will pause it. Since this is my first time playing anything on-line, just wondered what happens when there's suddenly no brain attached to the thing in the cockpit.

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Just for factuality, the timers aren't related in any way to the distance of your mission.

This used to be much more of a problem for people before the station distances were implemented on the system map. And Hutton Orbital is probably THE worst offender on the "omg really that far" list. Now I check distances most of the time, especially on missions with short timers. Skipped on a really lucrative short-timer mission I saw recently for example, because the destination was on the donkey-end of a tertiary star at about 785k from drop-in.

I also found it curious that they gave you a 35 minute time-limit to complete this mission when the game mechanics should realize it's going to take much longer than that to just get to the station, not including finding the right pad and locking down on it. Talk about someone making unrealistic demands - typical CEO...

On the topic of alt-tabbing, just watch yourself somewhat when doing so, especially when you're running multiple monitors. No death feels more stupid than the one where you grab the controls to avoid immediate danger and realize you're still focused on Winamp or your browser.

Understood. Only one screen but if I ever get a second one I'll keep that very much in mind, thanks.

 

[ForeverN00b]

Ok, good to know, thanks. I still play Flight Simulator X and leaving the game (alt-tab) will pause it. Since this is my first time playing anything on-line, just wondered what happens when there's suddenly no brain attached to the thing in the cockpit.

Leadfoot, that option in FSX can be changed, so you can alt-tab without it pausing if you so wish. It's in the options menu, can't remember which tab specifically but it's in there somewhere.

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[Schmack]

Anytime I've exited while in SC (never done so in HC, that would be suicidal), I've come back to a ship that's dropped out of SC and have to engage the FSD again. Not sure if that's normal.

 

[Leadfoot]

Ok, good to know, thanks. I still play Flight Simulator X and leaving the game (alt-tab) will pause it. Since this is my first time playing anything on-line, just wondered what happens when there's suddenly no brain attached to the thing in the cockpit.

Leadfoot, that option in FSX can be changed, so you can alt-tab without it pausing if you so wish. It's in the options menu, can't remember which tab specifically but it's in there somewhere.

You know, you're absolutely correct - that option (under options, no less). I'll have to experiment to see what happens. Then again, unless I'm on autopilot, never know what'll happen when the brain isn't connected to the hands on the yoke.

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Anytime I've exited while in SC (never done so in HC, that would be suicidal), I've come back to a ship that's dropped out of SC and have to engage the FSD again. Not sure if that's normal.

I've had that happen to me if the connection to the server dies. Restarting back to SC only takes a few seconds. I was just wondering if the ship continues on in SC and for how long before something odd happens. I'll play with it this evening just to see.