POLL: Should ED have an Auto Pilot?

Should Elite Dangerous have an autopilot that can only be used for jumping to systems (and be able t

  • YES

    Votes: 242 30.6%
  • NO

    Votes: 550 69.4%

  • Total voters
    792
  • Poll closed .
Status
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If you were developing the game then it'd be enough. You're not. If you want the feature you have to convince FDev that it's worth spending the time & money on and that their plans for it are wrong. If you want public support for the idea you have to convince us that it's worth fdev spending the time and money on. Thus far you've done neither, therefore we don't NEED to show why it's a "bad plan" because noone has sufficiently shown why it's a good one.

And what about my other comments about being able to engage with other aspects of the game that I currently can't? I just can't see a reason not to have AP, there's already route finding scripts in the game for AI. and Docking Computers, and external scripts that can manage to AP a ship just from game outputs.
 
Hell NO!
This is one of the times I hope FD doesnt listen.

And as others have said..go get that third party auto pilot and move the f on.
goodday sirs.
 
Nope, I know I'm lazy but that's a step too far.

The furthest I would go is something like a taxi to where one of your other ships is parks (like reverse ship transfer), though this could be open to abuse and I'm not sure I like it after typing it out.

So yeah, no I wouldn't want it.
 
Two questions:

a) If autopilot was implemented, what would be the benefit and what could go wrong?

b) If autopilot was not implemented, nothing would change. Same people would be still happy with things how they are and same people would stay unhapppy with things as they are.

The game is not finished yet. There will be a lot of features that will be implemented. None here has any more power or right to make any decissions about those features. We can discuss pro and cons. And if there should be some ideas that would bring a better game-experience to some and withou any negative effect for others, then I don't understand why there should be any harsh oppositon to this idea.

If there is any reason a idea would be harmful to the gameplay of others the of course it is to be discussed. I just don't see it here and don't understand the high emotions some are rolling here.
 
Here's a thought.

I like the idea of having an NPC pilot (some conditions apply), but when there's a module called autopilot, why would someone still want to hire a more effort-intensive NPC? So an autopilot would render a possible feature, which I do feel adds to gameplay, irrelevant.
 
Here's a thought.

I like the idea of having an NPC pilot (some conditions apply), but when there's a module called autopilot, why would someone still want to hire a more effort-intensive NPC? So an autopilot would render a possible feature, which I do feel adds to gameplay, irrelevant.
Taking up a module slot that could be used for other things, whereas NPC crew don't but require ongoing 'Maintenance'. Trade off losing a slot for recurring fees.
 
When piloting a smaller ship, every slot counts, in larger ships, cost is probably not an issue anyway.
I fly a T-6 :)

If the autopilot would be a 1 or 2 slot, I'd lose 2 or 4 tons of cargo. Not really that much of a trade off in my opinion.

But even then, slot management to me is less interesting than crew maintenance.
 
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And what about my other comments about being able to engage with other aspects of the game that I currently can't? I just can't see a reason not to have AP, there's already route finding scripts in the game for AI. and Docking Computers, and external scripts that can manage to AP a ship just from game outputs.

It's not just "is there a reason NOT to have it" though... it's "is it's going to be enough of an improvement to warrant the effort, and is it the direction we want to go?". You don't just get features coz there's no reason to NOT have them. They must provide an improvement, but at best an AP is neutral and at worst it's a reduction of content. There's no reason to not have invisible teapots orbiting every earth type planet either, but coding them wouldn't advance the game and would be wasted effort.

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I struggle to read 'rubbish', its a difficult dialect to translate. Have another go with a response of substance... lets see if it can hold some merit on the topic.

I never left the topic, you're the one insulting opinions that disagree with yours because you're unable to argue with them effectively.
 
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An autopilot module or any autojump system will lower the merit of exploration.
Also, it will provide a lot of "out of fuel pilots"... Good news for Fuel rats after the update of the galaxy map :D
 
I fly a T-6 :)

If the autopilot would be a 1 or 2 slot, I'd lose 2 or 4 tons of cargo. Not really that much of a trade off in my opinion.

But even then, slot management to me is less interesting than crew maintenance.

How much money do you make in a run? Is the cost of a crew mate going to be any real issue to you, and coupled with the benefits of (presumably) being able to rank up the crew mate's abilities, I'd suggest that anyone who can take on a copilot would be better off doing so. What about an Eagle? Can't shoe-horn another crew in there, and I've not got many module slots to play with, so taking an auto-pilot module would be a major trade off.

Even in my Cobra, I can't think of a module slot I'd swap out for an auto-pilot, especially not when I've a perfectly good seat next to mine I could sit a co-pilot in.

It's about choices, and for the constant 'but it doesn't add game-play' / 'disengages from gameplay', well, I'm either going to engage with maneuvering around in SuperCruise and investing USS, adjusting course and throttle changes, or I'm just trying to get to a station as painlessly as possible. If the latter, my gameplay experience is what exactly? With the option to have an auto-pilot or co-pilot, I can do other things while ignoring the USS's flashing past my cockpit, like checking out the starmap, messaging a pilot, etc. Things I can't do now simply so I can adjust my throttle, and press 'j' when I get a 'Safe Disengage' message?

It allows me to engage with the game, it allows me to make gameplay decisions about my loadout. Fly a ship that can take crew? Then I'll probably pay them a wage and be done with it. Fly a smaller ship? Do I sacrifice the few slots I've got for an AP?
 
How much money do you make in a run? Is the cost of a crew mate going to be any real issue to you, and coupled with the benefits of (presumably) being able to rank up the crew mate's abilities, I'd suggest that anyone who can take on a copilot would be better off doing so. What about an Eagle? Can't shoe-horn another crew in there, and I've not got many module slots to play with, so taking an auto-pilot module would be a major trade off.

Even in my Cobra, I can't think of a module slot I'd swap out for an auto-pilot, especially not when I've a perfectly good seat next to mine I could sit a co-pilot in.

It's about choices, and for the constant 'but it doesn't add game-play' / 'disengages from gameplay', well, I'm either going to engage with maneuvering around in SuperCruise and investing USS, adjusting course and throttle changes, or I'm just trying to get to a station as painlessly as possible. If the latter, my gameplay experience is what exactly? With the option to have an auto-pilot or co-pilot, I can do other things while ignoring the USS's flashing past my cockpit, like checking out the starmap, messaging a pilot, etc. Things I can't do now simply so I can adjust my throttle, and press 'j' when I get a 'Safe Disengage' message?

It allows me to engage with the game, it allows me to make gameplay decisions about my loadout. Fly a ship that can take crew? Then I'll probably pay them a wage and be done with it. Fly a smaller ship? Do I sacrifice the few slots I've got for an AP?
The idea is that you cannot simply pay a wage and be done with it.

As an example, lets say you have an Imperial Pilot. But then you start causing havoc in an imperial system. There needs to be a chance that the NPC crew decides not to want to fly with you if you cause too much mayhem. Or, you have an NPC that has a preference for large inhabited systems. If you take that one on an exploring trip, he will likely flee the ship after getting back. This is adding gameplay. Buy module, fit in slot ... not so much. Hire crew, pilots ship, not so much.

If you read the link I posted, I did state that, if the AI crewmember is also pay and forget, it's on par with the autopilot and I don't want it.
Nope. The auto pilot is a module you slot in, end of gameplay. If an NPC pilot just means hiring and of you go, I'm also opposed to that.

If however the NPC has adequate gameplay involved, that makes all the difference. Want a skillful pilot pilotting your ship, that pilot will charge you proportionally. But good pilots are also a rare commodity, so some crew statistics like loyalty, chemistry with other on board NPCs need to be taken into account. Probably not a good idea to have a Federation pilot and an Imperial gunner in the same boat. Longer serving NPCs loyalty will increase over time. You could also hire a cheap rookie and invest time in training him so you'll end up with a cheap loyal pilot. Stuff like that.

I don't see the possibilities in gameplay with regard to an auto pilot.

And I answered you because you asked. :) Other people just state: it's the same thing.

It's not just monetary.

And about shoe horning crew in an Eagle:

46BX3Xb.jpg
 
The idea is that you cannot simply pay a wage and be done with it.

As an example, lets say you have an Imperial Pilot. But then you start causing havoc in an imperial system. There needs to be a chance that the NPC crew decides not to want to fly with you if you cause too much mayhem. Or, you have an NPC that has a preference for large inhabited systems. If you take that one on an exploring trip, he will likely flee the ship after getting back. This is adding gameplay. Buy module, fit in slot ... not so much. Hire crew, pilots ship, not so much.

If you read the link I posted, I did state that, if the AI crewmember is also pay and forget, it's on par with the autopilot and I don't want it.


It's not just monetary.

And about shoe horning crew in an Eagle:



Oh, the ship is physically large enough, and in the Beta, I read that they've just introduced passenger modules that will fit into Sidewinders and Eagles, but... That's not in the single seat cockpit. Where's the crew station in the smaller ships?

So, if the NPC is in a box inside the cargo bay taking up a module slot, what, other than trying to keep them happy, is the difference between a box of blinky lights taking up a slot in a module bay?

I accept that by saying "pay a wage and have done with it" I'm simplifying it massively, and if you read my posts, I'm not likely to bother with an AP myself. I just don't see how having one is breaking gameplay rather than adding to it?

Add wrinkles to the AP, I mean, just look how accurate the docking computer is? I'd imagine a similar thing with the AP, eg. the AP isn't clever enough to work out what to do if the destination is behind the sun/planet/giant mutant Space Goat, and you'll end up making a high energy impact on the surface.

Modules can be damaged - perhaps make it very susceptible to heat damage, meaning that it's not suitable for using close to a Sun (scooping is out).

For me, it's about choice. The choice between a basic inflexible AP that will try and fly me into a planet, but might allow me to pootle about on things on the ship systems, or hire a crew mate (on a ship that supports them) that can improve and is less likely to smash me into a small blue planetoid, but doesn't want to go stir crazy on a 5000LY run...
 
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The crew stations would be in the same quarters where our beds and bathroom and such are. If you hire crew for an Eagle to pilot the ship, you wouldn't need a dedicated chair on the bridge to accomodate them.

And I agree with how you describe AP behaviour should be. Full of potential SC emergency exits.


My point was just that I see more game mechanics potential in crew than AP, which is why I prefer it. :)
 

Jex =TE=

Banned
Factually incorrect.

Oh, just because you say it is?

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As it turns out there is just a core group of players that think it is important to respect the scale of the game, and the pilots job. All of this trying to paint those with different opinions to yours as unreasonable is just childish moping.

Not at all - you've yet to provide an argument that isn't basically "you don'ty like it" and we don't find that satisfactory.

Now the "scale of the galaxy" is going to get affected? How's that going to affect YOU again? We need to "respect the size of it" are you joking??? I don't even know what that's supposed to mean so please....

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no , altho i like the tears on the forum. ppl kill me while im autopiloting!

But you can't fight in SC.
 
The crew stations would be in the same quarters where our beds and bathroom and such are. If you hire crew for an Eagle to pilot the ship, you wouldn't need a dedicated chair on the bridge to accomodate them.

And I agree with how you describe AP behaviour should be. Full of potential SC emergency exits.


My point was just that I see more game mechanics potential in crew than AP, which is why I prefer it. :)

Oh I completely agree, I just remember someone saying that they'd be happy with NPC Crew if all they did was sit there in the seat and say "She cannae take any more cap'n!" ;)

Ultimately, I should point out that I really don't care either way. I'm happy flying my space ship, and I enjoy it. Since sorting out my dead zones, it's also far less likely to simply disappearing off in random directions unless I'm constantly correcting the stick.

Still have no ing idea what I'd be doing as the co-pilot come multi-crew tho'... ;)
 
The idea is that you cannot simply pay a wage and be done with it.

As an example, lets say you have an Imperial Pilot. But then you start causing havoc in an imperial system. There needs to be a chance that the NPC crew decides not to want to fly with you if you cause too much mayhem. Or, you have an NPC that has a preference for large inhabited systems. If you take that one on an exploring trip, he will likely flee the ship after getting back. This is adding gameplay. Buy module, fit in slot ... not so much. Hire crew, pilots ship, not so much.

Yeah I could see that could work and bring more AI-life and consequence into the game. If that is the condition of having autopilot-like function and more suited to the ED universe then so be it.
 
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