Long time no viddy droogs

[The New Number Two]

Hi.

Just wanted to say I took a long break but I've been playing ED everyday for a few weeks now so basically, hi.

I'm loving most of the Beyond changes. What I really want to commend Frontier for is kind of silly, but the auto-orbit function of the Supercruise assist module is fantastic. Orbiting finally feels like, well, orbiting. Good job.

Looking forward to what's next. See you in the black, CMDRs.

 

[The New Number Two]

Good to see you're still here Wolf! They fixed the decal grossness so I figured I'd come back. 07

 

[Fray]

What I really want to commend Frontier for is kind of silly, but the auto-orbit function of the Supercruise assist module is fantastic. Orbiting finally feels like, well, orbiting. Good job.

Not to nitpick, but--- well, kinda yes to nitpick... but not with you. I've not tried that cruise assist feature yet, as it seems like a waste of module space, but I did notice the O-word used in-game, and wondered what it actually meant.

Wouldn't it just be an insertion into an SC flightpath a certain distance from the body? Surely a true insertion into orbit would need normal flight and FA-off and thrusters off, with a specific velocity relative to body mass and distance?

Like I said, it's a nitpick... Maybe my definition is too restrictive, but it seems like whoever wrote the module info used the wrong term. SC has nowt to do with orbital mechanics between body and ship, only conventional flight tries to model that. I remember seeing Scott Manley get an Imperial Eagle into an orbit around one of either Saturn or Jupiter's moons, and I'd love if that was an option via automated systems, even if it doesn't have much practical purpose.

 

[Pailzor]

Not to nitpick, but--- well, kinda yes to nitpick... but not with you. I've not tried that cruise assist feature yet, as it seems like a waste of module space, but I did notice the O-word used in-game, and wondered what it actually meant.

Wouldn't it just be an insertion into an SC flightpath a certain distance from the body? Surely a true insertion into orbit would need normal flight and FA-off and thrusters off, with a specific velocity relative to body mass and distance?

Like I said, it's a nitpick... Maybe my definition is too restrictive, but it seems like whoever wrote the module info used the wrong term. SC has nowt to do with orbital mechanics between body and ship, only conventional flight tries to model that. I remember seeing Scott Manley get an Imperial Eagle into an orbit around one of either Saturn or Jupiter's moons, and I'd love if that was an option via automated systems, even if it doesn't have much practical purpose.

Supercruise orbit, yes.

It's not especially a waste of module space, since a size-1 optional was added onto every ship in the game specifically so a supercruise or docking assist can be added, without wasting existing module spaces. And if a player doesn't want a flight assist, they still have the option of using the slot for something else, as do you.

 

[Fray]

Supercruise orbit, yes.

Ah. That's a bit of a shame, if understandable.

It's not especially a waste of module space, since a size-1 optional was added onto every ship in the game specifically so a supercruise or docking assist can be added, without wasting existing module spaces. And if a player doesn't want a flight assist, they still have the option of using the slot for something else, as do you.

Sure, I just meant personally I think fitting an SC assist is a waste given - depending on ship/role/etc - what else that size 1 could still be used for (an FSD booster of that size still adds 4Ly. then there's the detailed surface scanner for two examples).

 

[The New Number Two]

... wouldn't it just be an insertion into an SC flightpath a certain distance from the body? Surely a true insertion into orbit would need normal flight and FA-off and thrusters off, with a specific velocity relative to body mass and distance?

In a perfect Newtonian simulation of gravity and velocity mechanics, yes. This ain't that. I just like that you can aim at a body and your ship can now auto-rotate around it in a perpetual loop, simulating the act of a spaceship orbiting. Previously you had to hands-on your trip around the horizon.

Truth be told, I think this should be a standard left panel selection function on all ships, available via FSD or thruster, and not require a separate module. But hey- baby steps, I guess.

 

[Fray]

Previously you had to hands-on your trip around the horizon.

I found lining up long/lat when trying to find documented alien ground sites quite enjoyable... So yeah, I've done some serious SC 'orbiting' in the past.

Truth be told, I think this should be a standard left panel selection function on all ships, available via FSD or thruster, and not require a separate module. But hey- baby steps, I guess.

I agree, with perhaps the restriction being navel craft. Just like Stasis, I think docking and exiting/take-offs should've been a feature on all ships (again, barring some military ships. a Beluga being under station control makes sense, but a bucket-of-bolts Dropship doesn't).

 

[The New Number Two]

I remember picking up a dumpware port of the original Elite on a single floppy in a bargain bin in the early 90s. Of course by then, I had a 386 and the game was in no way optimized for my advanced hardware, so my first flight resulted in ludicrous, uncontrollable speed and a horrific crash into the station wall within seconds. I tried over and over to get out of that station, only to eventually wreck all my progress on my first landing attempt. My eventual rage quit was made all the worse by the fact I knew I was missing something pretty special, and it was neither my nor the game's fault.

Fast forward to 2015, when I repeated this learning cycle over and over in my Sidey while accidentally smacking the booster trying to get my landing gear up or down. Fortunately, the software build matched the machine capability this time, and eventually I moved past this phase of noobhood and on to the constant spastic emergency dumping out of Supercruise portion of the program.

Thousands never made it. Echoes of their rage quit are heard to this day in review comments across the web. Imagine if auto launch, docking and supercruise had been an option for them all those years ago.

We'd have had the manpower to find Raxxla by now, and Fat Eddie Mahon would have married a Thargoid.

 

[Ackley 280]

.....so my first flight resulted in ludicrous, uncontrollable speed and a horrific crash into the station wall within seconds. I tried over and over to get out of that station, only to eventually wreck all my progress on my first landing attempt.

I had the original elite on the c64 and if I recall correctly that was my experience when first taking off and landing as well I couldn’t contemplate the original elite on anything more powerful than the early computers especially without some form of emulator to the clock speed. Crazy

Steepest learning curve in any game I have tried equivalent to some of those early flight sims