Measurements and Where to Find Them

[H.J. Fleischmann]

Out of curiosity - in a game where basic measuring unit is stated in light years and light seconds - what is the point of converting km into miles? To see that your ship goes 327 yards per second?

I do not want to change light minutes and seconds, that would be... Yeah, I do not want to see the massive numbers that would arise from that and I also am fairly certain those are not actually Metric, but a third type of measurement which both Metric and Imperial use. The kilometres thing only shows up in dogfighting. It is kind of important there, since I do need to keep track of distances more as I can and do move in and out of weapons range quite a bit. Plus, it is always nice to pull off a high speed strike and starting my attack run at the earliest possible moment means I get a few extra shots in.

Also, the main reason is because I prefer Imperial measurements. See the list of measurements I put together below.

 

[Rubbernuke]

People are missing the bigger question: since Tesco bananas are uses for scale, all measurements need to be in Galactic Bananas.

 

[H.J. Fleischmann]

People are missing the bigger question: since Tesco bananas are uses for scale, all measurements need to be in Galactic Bananas.

Just a reminder... The Metre was originally defined as one one-millionth of the distance from the Equator to the North Pole. All forms of measurement are arbitrary and based off of convention.

Edit: Sorry, it was one ten-millionth.

 

[MarkAusten]

Just a reminder... The Metre was originally defined as one one-millionth of the distance from the Equator to the North Pole. All forms of measurement are arbitrary and based off of convention.

Edit: Sorry, it was one ten-millionth.

As long as the meridian goes through Paris

 

[Shiro Akai]

I do not want to change light minutes and seconds, that would be...

Wasn't thinking about converting those and the only case of distance being measured in km was orbiting and planetary POIs approaching. Tho converting to imperial wouldn't affect LYs and Ls since it's a measure on its own:
Ls = 299 792.458 kilometers
Ls = 186 282.397 miles

The kilometres thing only shows up in dogfighting.

Ah, forgot 'bout that since it's been years since I done combat.

Also, the main reason is because I prefer Imperial measurements. See the list of measurements I put together below.

Fair enough, probably I'd ask similar conversion from miles to km if ED had imperial system. Being rised in metric it's all natural for me to use it but doing some hobby things I often use imperial units, tho just focusing on inches.

And thanks for the .pdf, finally know what this cryptic fl. in fl. oz means.

 

[Drelthar]

There is no thou, decimalise, or decimalise knot.

 

[777Driver]

Does anyone know where the measurements are stored in the game files? I would like to change kilometres over to miles and such. Since there is no in-game option to do so, I am planning on seeing if I can just do it by editing the files directly.

You can't edit the files. The game uses metric like many space agencies (and a fair bit of airspace outside of US) The game switches to km for anything below 1Mm (1000km)

It is easy to do a quick calculation to convert km to miles or m/s to mph/knots etc. I prefer altitude readouts in feet, so do a conversion when canyon running or cruising over a surface.

Forgot to mention, you can use voice attack or similar program to give you conversion readouts, I used it for altitude until the conversion was burned into my brain.

 

[H.J. Fleischmann]

You can't edit the files. The game uses metric like many space agencies (and a fair bit of airspace outside of US) The game switches to km for anything below 1Mm (1000km)

It is easy to do a quick calculation to convert km to miles or m/s to mph/knots etc. I prefer altitude readouts in feet, so do a conversion when canyon running or cruising over a surface.

Forgot to mention, you can use voice attack or similar program to give you conversion readouts, I used it for altitude until the conversion was burned into my brain.

It is a shame that it is not an option to just edit the names myself... Well, hopefully Frontier adds them, though I do not expect it. I do not actually need anything to convert the readouts for me for practical reasons thankfully, it is all just preference here. Thank you for your reply.

 

[777Driver]

It is a shame that it is not an option to just edit the names myself... Well, hopefully Frontier adds them, though I do not expect it. I do not actually need anything to convert the readouts for me for practical reasons thankfully, it is all just preference here. Thank you for your reply.

In all honestly I can't see it changing mate. A lot of stuff that would be considered waay higher in the QoL list, most of us have accepted we are not seeing them added in the near future.

 

[H.J. Fleischmann]

In all honestly I can't see it changing mate. A lot of stuff that would be considered waay higher in the QoL list, most of us have accepted we are not seeing them added in the near future.

I still hold out hope that they might one day finally add the ability to just trade items and money between players... It really makes no sense forcing everyone to get into mining and what is effectively crafting (Engineering) in order to get superior equipment. That said, I am apparently a rather optimistic person, so I hold out hope for a toggle for measurements too.

 

[777Driver]

I still hold out hope that they might one day finally add the ability to just trade items and money between players... It really makes no sense forcing everyone to get into mining and

Nobody is being forced to do anything. I have 7 billion, a carrier full of tritium, and 68,000LY on the carrier. Not sure what all this mining talk is about. I've mined around 1400 tonnes in 6 months.

 

[H.J. Fleischmann]

Nobody is being forced to do anything. I have 7 billion, a carrier full of tritium, and 68,000LY on the carrier. Not sure what all this mining talk is about. I've mined around 1400 tonnes in 6 months.

If you want the superior engineered engines or shields or various other bits, you have to do them. Like I said, if you want superior equipment, you have to go through the process of mining and then what is effectively this game's crafting system. You can play without them of course (I have been ignoring them since they came out), but it does make it harder to be competitive in player versus player combat or just open play in general.

At least, to my knowledge, you can not obtain engineered stuff without doing engineering... And you can not do engineering without some mining.

 

[777Driver]

At least, to my knowledge, you can not obtain engineered stuff without doing engineering... And you can not do engineering without some mining.

No, only one engineer requires a mining unlock, you can mine whatever you want. Everything else has different unlock requirements, most now made easy with carriers.

Selene Jean wants 500 tonnes of any mined ore, then you can get some hull upgrades. You can also take a different path if you really don't want to mine 500 tonnes.

 

[Drelthar]

If you want the superior engineered engines or shields or various other bits, you have to do them. Like I said, if you want superior equipment, you have to go through the process of mining and then what is effectively this game's crafting system. You can play without them of course (I have been ignoring them since they came out), but it does make it harder to be competitive in player versus player combat or just open play in general.

At least, to my knowledge, you can not obtain engineered stuff without doing engineering... And you can not do engineering without some mining.

You can't do ALL of engineering without mining 500 units of mined stuff.

It's one engineer that requires that to unlock them.
One I only very recently unlocked - and have been engineering quite happily for a long time.

 

[H.J. Fleischmann]

No, only one engineer requires a mining unlock, you can mine whatever you want. Everything else has different unlock requirements, most now made easy with carriers.

Selene Jean wants 500 tonnes of any mined ore, then you can get some hull upgrades. You can also take a different path if you really don't want to mine 500 tonnes.

You can't do ALL of engineering without mining 500 units of mined stuff.

It's one engineer that requires that to unlock them.
One I only very recently unlocked - and have been engineering quite happily for a long time.

Ah, fair. I thought they all required some mining, sorry. Still, I wish there was a player economy.

 

[Darkfyre99]

You forget the continental empire sized mass of obstinance and conflicting urges known as the United States of America.

The corporations, military, and schools (though mostly in STEM classes) over here have been whittling away at that problem for generations. It's pretty much the politicians and the old folks who are holding us back now, insisting that our country keep using "Freedom Units." "It'll cost money to change all the signs," they say. More and more of us are unknowingly measurement "bilingual."

I just wish it was happening faster. I can't think of how many of my precious brain cells are being wasted on remembering how many feet are in a mile (both land and nautical are different ), the dozen or so different volume measurements and the ratios between them we're expected to remember, or any of other hundreds of bits of wacky trivia that comprise the Imperial weights and measures system. Metric is so much easier.

 

[H.J. Fleischmann]

The corporations, military, and schools (though mostly in STEM classes) over here have been whittling away at that problem for generations. It's pretty much the politicians and the old folks who are holding us back now, insisting that our country keep using "Freedom Units." "It'll cost money to change all the signs," they say. More and more of us are unknowingly measurement "bilingual."

I just wish it was happening faster. I can't think of how many of my precious brain cells are being wasted on remembering how many feet are in a mile (both land and nautical are different ), the dozen or so different volume measurements and the ratios between them we're expected to remember, or any of other hundreds of bits of wacky trivia that comprise the Imperial weights and measures system. Metric is so much easier.

The hilarious thing is that most Americans only know the most basic parts of the Imperial System. As soon as I mention stones or chains... Well, blank stares.

 

[BDelacroix]

When you find it, I'd like to have everything in cubits and hens. kthxbye

They tried to change us over to metric "its coming, it will be the norm" way back int he 70s. It never happened. Now I am one of the old folks, but I don't care what they use. So don't blame us old folks for this mess.

 

[Kelster87]

The hilarious thing is that most Americans only know the most basic parts of the Imperial System. As soon as I mention stones or chains... Well, blank stares.

A chain? IIRC, that's 100 links or 4 rods.. Or a shade over 20 metres. Learnt about those from reading old mining survey maps. Knowing you have a 3 chain drop in front of you makes you cautious.

 

[H.J. Fleischmann]

A chain? IIRC, that's 100 links or 4 rods.. Or a shade over 20 metres. Learnt about those from reading old mining survey maps. Knowing you have a 3 chain drop in front of you makes you cautious.

A lot of things would be a lot easier for people if they were taught more of the Imperial System... For one, the Metric System. It is easier to slot Metric measurements in once you know more of the Imperial ones. One thing I hate, is that they decided that it was best to mostly use feet and miles. As things go, remembering smaller numbers tends to be easier.