Orrery!

[Cosmo]

It's a good addition. The planets should be fully visible after discovery (with textures such as in the old sideview map). Currently it's only wireframe afaik.

If the orrery is fully functional, with everything selectable such as stations and planetary bases directly (as in, zoom right into the planet surface...omgomgomg....) as in the standard 2d view - it will be absolutely perfect. And if they updated it with USS and other 'things' in real time... that would be epic.

The celestial bodies shouldn't be more detailed than the old system map imo.

 

[Alec Turner]

Still reeling from the shear hutzpah of FD keeping this a secret from the "Blessed 17's" visit to Frontier a few weeks ago.

Well played chaps ... very well played!

[yesnod]

 

[Mengy]

ORRERY!!!!!!!

Welp, I guess I won't be able to use my meme pic anymore:

Thank you so much Frontier. It looks like it will do exactly what I'd like it to do: identify systems with unusual layouts and structures, like moons orbiting ringed worlds off axis for example.

My only gripe is that all bodies are wireframes. I wish they would display surface graphics in the orrery, but maybe they can't for performance reasons?

It's a good addition. The planets should be fully visible after discovery (with textures such as in the old sideview map). Currently it's only wireframe afaik.

In the stream, the planet which Adam had fully mapped was still a wireframe in the orrery, so unless that was a bug I don't think so.


Still, it should be a very useful tool. Finally!!!!!

 

[Caramel Clown]

I just wish it had a different name... I'm having hard time pronouncing orrery

 

[Ralph Vargr]

The longer Frontier remains stone silent on something....

 

[wizzpig]

I must admit, a little bit of wee escaped when I saw this, along with some really excited noises
Top notch FD!

 

[RymdLazer]

I like the hard tech presentation. Might be there will be a visual layer implemented, but as is it gives meaning to flying up to planets to see their visual splendor "irl".
Lovely stuff.

 

[Lestat]

The only problem I have with the Orrery map is it should be the main system map not secondary. So Please frontier save our preferred setting.

 

[Yure]

Woot!

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Saw it in the stream. Probably be the last time I look at it. Well, I'll have to test it during the beta, but... yeah, doesn't really do anything for me.

 

[Jezzah]

Lovely to see this included. This along with the other changes will have me back playing.

 

[CMDR Karrde Sun]

Im not sure what that's supposed to do.

When i thought about it, i mapped the 'orbit lines' button to 'orrery' in my head and moved on (actual space is orrery enough). Is there some function of this im missing other than a different system map view?

 

[wstephenson]

To revive a tradition from ye olden alpha and beta times:

ORRERY!

Now I miss Tinman. I hope he's still reading...

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

I hope the orrey shows us where the USS's are within th3 system in relation to other places. Much easier to judge whether you will want to visit the place.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

So glad this is in. I hope it works in VR

So long as functional this could be really useful for Issues and tagging POIs with relation to where we are

 

[willisit]

Looks nice; the one thing they said they'd not do, so that gives me some hope for other... features. I doubt I'll use it all that much - the current map "works", but maybe with exploration changes it'll have more of an effect.

 

[NeilF]

Saw it in the stream. Probably be the last time I look at it. Well, I'll have to test it during the beta, but... yeah, doesn't really do anything for me.

Well it does help you to see what planets are nearest/furthest more easily.

Be nice to see more of a purpose to it. And also be nice to see a "Combined" view too IMHO. Orrery but with "artistic" planets from the standard view.

 

[Muetdhiver]

I must say I was pleasantly surprised to see the orery in. I like how it makes you appreciate the scale of things,
that's really cool IMO. Esp with all the "nope, orery not gonna happen" talk we got before hand ^^

As for purpose : please let us send probe to distant planets using gravitational slingshots ala KSP. (or, not (?))

One thing it would be good for is show comets and persistant wrecks and debris fields on their orbit. That would be cool.

 

[Jack Schitt]

It also didn't help that when they showed an example of it, most of the planets were undiscovered and therefore just wire frame.. That's going to give a massive false impression.

I got quite excited when I read that because it hadn't occurred to me that the planets might ever be rendered as anything but wireframe. I figured it was a stylistic / performance choice. But as others have said, that was the system they'd already scanned with the zoomy-scope, so maybe it really is wireframe only.

The planets should be fully visible after discovery (with textures such as in the old sideview map). Currently it's only wireframe afaik.

Is that wishful assumption, or based on a dev comment somewhere (I haven't read the official feedback thread yet)? Now that the idea's been planted, a fully skinned orrery view -- even if it's just the basic generic skins from the classic system map -- is very compelling.

Thank you so much Frontier. It looks like it will do exactly what I'd like it to do: identify systems with unusual layouts and structures, like moons orbiting ringed worlds off axis for example.

Yes, very much this. I know there are players who can do all this from the system map and planetary data, and that must be great, but it's something I've never dived too deeply into. I love that the Stellar Forge is so scientifically solid but I'm ultimately here to enjoy a game and not do an OU astrophysics module every night. If the orrery is as quick and easy to use as the stream suggested, it's going to speed up my game considerably. Fully mapping a big system will take less time than the old method, and the orrery in conjunction with the zoomy-scope should help me determine the likelihood of a good photo op without the risk of flying out there and being disappointed.

I must admit, a little bit of wee escaped when I saw this, along with some really excited noises

Hopefully the noises didn't come from the same place as the wee, otherwise I'd book a doctor appointment.

Is there some function of this im missing other than a different system map view?

There are a few examples in this very thread, but whether you accept them as potentially useful or not will depend on how closely your gameplay style matches those of the posters who mentioned them. As with a lot of stuff related to exploration, sometimes you either get it or you don't.

I can't imagine the orrery is going to be more than a novelty when navigating the bubble on trade runs or missions (although that may be because I haven't thought it through enough) but for finding and directly visualising particular planetary configurations, especially newly discovered ones, it's going to be great.

 

[Micha]

Well played, FDev, kept that one very quiet indeed!

Really great to see an Orrery in the game at last!

---

And _please_ don't see this as me being ungrateful, but I hope this is only the first step towards the full implementation for it. At the very least, please consider the following:

* logarithmic scale button - allow switching between realistic and log scales for a more compact system overview

* will we be able to use the Orrery -instead- of the System Map; ie, for setting destinations, bookmarks, etc?

* fast forward / rewind time to see the system in action and to plan re-visiting it when interesting planetary alignments occur


There's obviously going to be other wishlists a mile long (enhanced graphics, display of dynamic items, etc), but the above items would be nice QoL improvements for me.