Minor modification to Supercruise: “SLOW DOWN” warning should appear earlier.

[AtotheCtotheG]

This isn’t a huge issue, but it’s a minor irritation, and might be easy to fix as well. Currently, I feel like, when we’re in Supercruise and approaching a target too rapidly, the light that comes on telling us to SLOW DOWN only appears a second or too after it’s too late to actually slow down—or at least, too late to avoid overshooting the target.

Again, not a huge issue, particularly for experienced players. But it would’ve been helpful when I was first starting out, learning to fly.

 

[Azmuth Divarchchron]

Agreed

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

"Slow down" is not actually telling you to slow down. Lol

It's telling you something is slowing you down, which is usually gravity.

I'd prefer it if they changed it from SLOW DOWN to GRAVITY WELL.

Or remove the silly message altogether, because the other audio cues work plenty well enough.

 

[Azmuth Divarchchron]

"Slow down" is not actually telling you to slow down. Lol

It's telling you something is slowing you down, which is usually gravity.

I'd prefer it if they changed it from SLOW DOWN to GRAVITY WELL.

Or remove the silly message altogether, because the other audio cues work plenty well enough.

Actually its telling you to slow down because the displacement of space by a nearby astronomical body is going to affect the FSD's ability to accelerate or decelerate. Since the FSD and astronomical mass both displace space the FSD is forced to compensate for quantum friction.

The ship AI throttling the relative FSD is just supplementary to its functionality

 

[AtotheCtotheG]

To add to what Azmuth Divarchchron said, I agree that it means “you should slow down”, because it also happens when you are approaching signal sources in deep space. They can’t possibly have significant gravity wells (not most of them, anyway).

 

[Azmuth Divarchchron]

To add to what Azmuth Divarchchron said, I agree that it means “you should slow down”, because it also happens when you are approaching signal sources in deep space. They can’t possibly have significant gravity wells (not most of them, anyway).

Building on this, local displacement of space affects the range of safe disengage. Which is why some signal sources have a safe disengage far greater than 1MM as well as some stations. Because the quantum friction the FSD experiences is far lower than it would be near astronomical bodies

 

[CaptainKremmen]

To add to what Azmuth Divarchchron said, I agree that it means “you should slow down”, because it also happens when you are approaching signal sources in deep space. They can’t possibly have significant gravity wells (not most of them, anyway).

Ah, that is the "virtual mass" thing. When you have something like that selected as a target, the ship acts as if the selected item has mass.

It's meant to give you finer control over your speed in supercruise as you approach your chosen destination. Otherwise, any flick of the throttle will make you zoom past it in a fraction of a second.


Try this:

- Select a USS or something (it's your target selection that invokes "virtual mass" behaviour).
- Approach the target at 75% throttle, then overcook your speed, so that you go below the 0:06 safe deceleration timer. The engine will sound strained, and you'll be about to overshoot.
- Ensure your throttle is zeroed out.
- DE-select the target.

You will decelerate immediately, and shouldn't overshoot.

Then...

- Avoid re-selecting the target.
- Touch the throttle a bit.

You will overshoot in a flash.


That's "virtual mass".

 

[Azmuth Divarchchron]

Ah, that is the "virtual mass" thing. When you have something like that selected as a target, the ship acts as if the selected item has mass.

It's meant to give you finer control over your speed in supercruise as you approach your chosen destination. Otherwise, any flick of the throttle will make you zoom past it in a fraction of a second.


Try this:

- Select a USS or something (it's your target selection that invokes "virtual mass" behaviour).
- Approach the target at 75% throttle, then overcook your speed, so that you go below the 0:06 safe deceleration timer. The engine will sound strained, and you'll be about to overshoot.
- Ensure your throttle is zeroed out.
- DE-select the target.

You will decelerate immediately, and shouldn't overshoot.

Then...

- Avoid re-selecting the target.
- Touch the throttle a bit.

You will overshoot in a flash.


That's "virtual mass".

Virtual mass is the ship AI automatically throttling the FSD
But quantum friction still affects the FSD's preformance.
Thats why your ship's hull starts creaking over a planet when it is decending like how a plane expirences creaking during signifigant areodynamic activity.
The FSD needs to work harder to retain its accuracy when it is close to a planet because it has to displace space that is already being displaced by something else which can affect its ability to retain the quantum density of your ship hence the creaking.

Theres only so much the Ship's AI can do in terms of throttling the FSD because the quantum physics takes priority.

Its also why you can stop on a dime in deep space but take time to decelerate or accelerate near an astronomical body