Navigation Computer needed ?

[Hanz Sorensen]

" do think it could be offered as a module (similar to the Docking Computer) and then it's up to the pilot whether they equip it.

If you chose to use the autopilot you accept the fact that if you go AFK then you will die if you are interdicted, since your onboard A.I. is apparently too stupid to perform basic escape and evasion."

I agree, it should have a downside or two. And as long as it doesn't add some big advantage I can't see why it shouldn't be an option.

Either way it's a great game. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Itaki]

Don't we have autopilot refueling today on military jets? The game DID F22 had one, back in the 90s. In this case it's even easier because the refueling target is "stationary" compared to an airplane: jump off, point at star, approach, refuel, jump again. Autopilot could disconnect automatically when interdicted, so players still have to monitor and cannot just leave the game. And you could take control back at anytime if for example you wanted to stay longer in a system to scan planets, then resume autopilot. BTW in most scifi movies i watched, they don't stop every 30 seconds to jump again, do they? Maybe I haven't watched enough of them but don't they just jump and jump off at destination? Maybe give people an option to use autopilot and people who don't want one do not have to use it?

ED is first and foremost a simulation except when it is first and foremost not a simulation. )))

 

[shadragon]

No hands, launch to land. Make the Grind better.

If it's a grind, then this isn't the game for you.

 

[Itaki]

Try a Hutton run where the station is 0.22 LIGHT YEARS away from the main star. Over an hour in supercruise, having to constantly adjust your trajectory slightly, and wondering when you're going to get interdicted (knowing it will be as soon as you go for a pee or make a brew). The Hutton run is how you find your max spped in supercruise before turnover, and those of us that have done it wear the pain with pride.

I agree that in the 34th centruy it seems ridiculous that there is nothing in a ship which (if you read the background lore) has an A.I. called Astra as the onboard computer, that can't deal with the dull bits of supercruise. I can live without an automated pilot for jumps (I had a bad experience with this in EVE where I set a route to exclude anything lower than 0.5 sec and left the autopilot moving a trade vessel on a run that would have taken over an hour of jump, warp, jump, warp... I came back to it about 10 minutes before I expected the end and found my pod sat in a random station. I'd been dragged out of warp and killed whilst on autopilot, losing a couple of billion in cargo and a 3 billion isk ship!), but I do think it could be offered as a module (similar to the Docking Computer) and then it's up to the pilot whether they equip it.

If you chose to use the autopilot you accept the fact that if you go AFK then you will die if you are interdicted, since your onboard A.I. is apparently too stupid to perform basic escape and evasion.

At least autopilot was offered in EVE. It was also common knowledge that you didn't fly expensive ships while afk in autopilot.

 

[Werewolf13]

Don't you want to fly your ship?

Yep...

When it requires the intervention of a human brain to do correctly or better than the computer code can. Otherwise leave the boring grunt work to the computer.

 

[Luponator]

As long as there is nothing to do when a a computer takes over, there is no point to it. If you prefer nothing over what ED offers, best look for a different game. Once spacelegs is around I wouldnt mind strolling around a corvette while the computer flies around. It could be easily be balanced by making the computer peform much slower than a human would.

This is the main underlying issue actually. I guess people ask for a nav computer as the rinse & repeat 'flying' from star to star is so challenging that watching a movie by the side is well possible. A nav computer makes the tedious repetitiveness bearable by not doing it. 'Looking for a different game' is the always brought up killer argument when no other arguments are left.

Or let's put it this way- if I could find a way to AutoHotKey pressing 'J' x times in a row to jump I sure would. The answer 'look for a different game' doesn't cut it. Pressing 'j' for 30 times while doing absolutely nothing what-so-ever in between pressing 'j' is the issue.

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Don't you want to fly your ship?

Moving the joystick 3 seconds to get a circle centered on the screen, speeding up, pressing J, waiting, pressing x, moving the joystick.... for N times in a row qualifies as flying these days?

 

[Susanna]

Mikah Wolfson, can I be a camel please

 

[-Joe]

If you really want a navi computer you could make one yourself. Use Voiceattack to monitor and actvate all keys and joystick movements, estimate player ships position and orientation, read API events.

ie. long distance nav

Exit hyperspace..
Read API event
Auto set zero speed
Auto Pitch ship 180 degrees
Auto Full speed
Auto Honk!
Remind pilot to align with jump star
Auto Next jump if not destination system then hyperspace else say "you have arrived."

Or super cruise

Read API and figure distance to destination.
Ask pilot to acuratly point the ship at the destination and zero their speed.
Automatically apply correct speed adjustments to reach it.
Any turns to avoid gravity wells or human corrections could be learned to fine tune effectiness of the nav computer for that system.

Or let the wife drive for a while.

 

[The space tyrant]

If this occupied an outfitting slot (optional?, utility?) then it might be helpful for very long range exploration missions, but would be impractical for other ships as It's wasting a slot.

Might be self-balancing.

 

[Moonax IRL]

So I'm thinking that by the year 3302 we should have the option to upgrade to an Advanced Navigation Computer that would allow us to plug in a route and it would fly/navigate the entire route from Launch to Docking.
Nav Computer that can do multiple jumps, as soon as you arrive it points ship away from star used to navigate and aims towards next destination. No hands, launch to land. Make the Grind better.

NO, play something else if you can't be  expletive    piloting your ship.

 

[The space tyrant]

NO, play something else if you can't be expletive piloting your ship.

I've been on these forums less than 2 weeks and it seems like "go play something else" appears in nearly every thread. lol.

This community...

 

[Itaki]

Auto-pilot: Bad!
Auto-aim gimbals: Good!
Auto-shoot turrets: Good!

 

[veryinky]

I've been on these forums less than 2 weeks and it seems like "go play something else" appears in nearly every thread. lol.

This community...

The problem is people who haven't played the previous elites so all they know is the release of Elite Dangerous, which means they don't know that all but one of the previous Elite games had a navigation computer. You can also tell that these are players that don't even play Elite Dangerous much in the first place, so it's not like other players having a nav computer would affect them in any way.

You'll notice that they can't even acknowledge the existence of the manuals of previous games, even when these manuals are directly quoted in this or other threads, showing that, yes, contrary to what they believe, there were nav computers in the previous games. It goes against the narrative they've built up.

 

[SatansMittens]

The problem is people who haven't played the previous elites so all they know is the release of Elite Dangerous, which means they don't know that all but one of the previous Elite games had a navigation computer. You can also tell that these are players that don't even play Elite Dangerous much in the first place, so it's not like other players having a nav computer would affect them in any way.

You'll notice that they can't even acknowledge the existence of the manuals of previous games, even when these manuals are directly quoted in this or other threads, showing that, yes, contrary to what they believe, there were nav computers in the previous games. It goes against the narrative they've built up.

How dare you! Facts and evidence have no place here!

 

[CMDR Welshy]

Hell knows why I'm choosing this for my first post...

I like the idea. At the very least what would be nice is something that would keep the ship aligned while in long supercruise sessions, so you don't have to adjust the trajectory every 30 seconds. Maybe have the module not usable if you're within a certain range of solar bodies, much like we can't jump into cruise without being out of G.Lock.

 

[drzdeano]

This is such a simple concept how are so many people confused. A navigation Computer does nothing except steer your ship in the right direction and adjust throttle.

If I click plot course on a port in the galmap. There should be a navicomp upgrade that will get my ship to fly there by its self.

Like a real autopilot, you would still need to stay at the controls but it would allow you to take hands off the wheel.

It would not honk for you, it would not raise Sheilds but yes it should be able to steer you away from a sun upon system entry , maybe it fails upon difficult systemscto enter.

Most arguments against this idea are automatically invalid due to the fact elite 2: frontier actually had a (semi) functional autopilot. Tho I'd never trust it to dock in normal time, always sped up docking so it didn't splat me against the station.

 

[Gravity Drive]

The day something like this gets implemented is the day I quit Elite and never touch it again.

Good thing Frontier would never implement something like this. At a certain point, you have to design your game according to your vision instead of what certain "fans" think they want - even if in the short term it would attract more people.

 

[veryinky]

The day something like this gets implemented is the day I quit Elite and never touch it again.

Good thing Frontier would never implement something like this. At a certain point, you have to design your game according to your vision instead of what certain "fans" think they want - even if in the short term it would attract more people.

Sorry to see you leave, I'm sure your contributions will be missed.

Your ship has three basic modes of flight: Autopilot, Manual and Engines

Off which can be selected by using the Flight Control icons F7 in View mode. The Autopilot is by far the easiest way to control your craft but does not give you a sense of achievement. Manual flight may take some getting used to, but is more rewarding. Flying with engines off does not get you very far, but has some advantages as you will see.

THE AUTOPILOT

This most useful device, although not usually fitted as standard, has been included with your Eagle. It can be bought and fitted at a shipyard if ever you need another one. Your Autopilot, the Robocruise automatic navigation system, superseded the Celestial Pathfinder which was less reliable.

The Autopilot can only be used to select a destination in the system through which you are currently travelling. For longer journeys, a hyperspace jump needs to be made.

If you are in flight click on the Flight Control Icon F7 and cycle to Autopilot to engage it. To return to Manual flight, use the Flight Control icon F7 and cycle to Manual or Engines Off.

The Robocruise will automatically plot and maintain the course to your destination. It will also lower the undercarriage and dock or land for you, having automatically asked for clearance, while you freshen up. Some pilots find it disorientating when the Robocruise engages and swings the ship round. The true Spacehound knows that it is only locking on to the new course.

Remember you can only trade and do business in cities or at space stations.

If you do land anywhere else the console will indicate Landed (Rough).

The Robocruise really comes into its own when used in conjunction with the Stardreamer Time Control unit which is fitted as standard on all ships due to regulations regarding Wilbron's psychosis. This condition is known to afflict the space traveller who endures lengthy, uneventful journeys. Boredom becomes so intense after all leisure pursuits have been exhausted that pilots have been known to fly their craft into the odd star or planet just to liven things up a bit.

 

[Brownshortz]

The day something like this gets implemented is the day I quit Elite and never touch it again.

Good thing Frontier would never implement something like this. At a certain point, you have to design your game according to your vision instead of what certain "fans" think they want - even if in the short term it would attract more people.

Wow...you couldn't like the game very much. So you are seriously saying that if FD introduced a auto pilot module you would quit the game?? I mean its your choice I guess but I have trouble understanding how this could possibly affect you in any way shape or form. No one would be forcing you to buy the module and it can't in any way be construed as being an "I win" button....in fact I imagine many commanders would get themselves blown up because they were AFK whilst being interdicted.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the percentage of people who would be against this idea is very small...maybe 5 to 10 % of the player base, they just happen to be a vocal minority....someone do a poll.

 

[BigBANGtheory [VR]]

This is such a simple concept how are so many people confused. A navigation Computer does nothing except steer your ship in the right direction and adjust throttle.

...because they want to inject confusion they cannot engage in a rational debate because there is no counter argument that holds any strength so they hide behind over dramatic and confusion. Some people just h8 change or oppose it like a sport including any discussion that follows. God forbid anyone comes up with ways to enhance and improve the gameplay experience.

You can go through all 8 pages of this thread and I'd wager all those before it and not find one just one really good reason why a simple Nav computer offered to high ranked players is a bad thing. Any legitimate concerns I've seen can be easily addressed and you could even give advantage to those who choose to fly manually all the time i.e. make net journey times faster for them.