Quality of Life Improvement: Input LAT/LON Co-ords and have a Surface Waypoint appear, similar to the surface scan mission Waypoint.

[who?]

Oh absolutely I wouldn't want EVERYTHING to be spoon fed....but there are occasions when a marker would make sense and improve QoL. If we know the co-ords we want, then a manual waypoint would be fine, same as if we're heading to a crash site with an active transmitter. If we're hunting for a hidden base with an active transponder or something then the existing method of finding it is perfectly fine...mission marker points you to roughly the right area then you gotta search for it - in fact I'd argue the current method is a little too easy as searching just involves pointing your ship at the marker until it moves and it'll keep moving until it takes you straight to it.

+1

IMO, a sort of mix 'n' match would be great. The first explorer 'finds' an interesting POI using existing methods (and/or new ones, such as a ship wave scanner), then drops beacons as markers. He/she can then share them (or sell them?) so subsequent visitors can just follow the marker.

It both makes things easier for general players, and adds some value/gameplay for explorer/pathfinders.

 

[CyberOcelot]

I'm late to this party and so my post will likely never be seen or considered, but here goes...

I don't hate the coordinates system entirely. I rather enjoy approaching a planet for the first time and having to navigate to specific coordinates I find posted by the several Elite communities (including this one). I don't really like the idea of using the Bookmarks system for coordinates. I feel that it would make a mess of the maps, especially for those in VR that are navigating the maps using a HOTAS.

I DO love the idea that another poster had to be able to plant a beacon. I think it would make for a great gameplay enhancement and QOL upgrade if we can plant beacons at places we've visited before, and have those accessed separately from bookmarks on the maps.

 

[Ulysses_W]

Signed and repped.

 

[insanephoton]

Searching for stuff you don't know the exact location of is fine but it shouldn't be necessary for things you've got co-ordinates for. Seeing as FD are keen to have people playing together, it would be much easier for people to meet up on planets. It would also be nice if they moved the trolling 'crash site' beacon to somewhere close to the actual crash site and not on the other side of the planet.

 

[fly_slightly]

Please FDev, listen to this man.

 

[-VR- Max Factor]

I'm late to this party and so my post will likely never be seen or considered, but here goes...

I don't hate the coordinates system entirely. I rather enjoy approaching a planet for the first time and having to navigate to specific coordinates I find posted by the several Elite communities (including this one). I don't really like the idea of using the Bookmarks system for coordinates. I feel that it would make a mess of the maps, especially for those in VR that are navigating the maps using a HOTAS.

I DO love the idea that another poster had to be able to plant a beacon. I think it would make for a great gameplay enhancement and QOL upgrade if we can plant beacons at places we've visited before, and have those accessed separately from bookmarks on the maps.

I use VR and would love to have bookmarks available on planet surfaces. I am not sure how it would clutter things up at all to be honest.

 

[Sepp]

I'm 100% behind this suggestion. Planetary nav is appalling atm.

 

[Bladefeather]

I'm late to this party and so my post will likely never be seen or considered, but here goes...

I don't hate the coordinates system entirely. I rather enjoy approaching a planet for the first time and having to navigate to specific coordinates I find posted by the several Elite communities (including this one). I don't really like the idea of using the Bookmarks system for coordinates. I feel that it would make a mess of the maps, especially for those in VR that are navigating the maps using a HOTAS.

I DO love the idea that another poster had to be able to plant a beacon. I think it would make for a great gameplay enhancement and QOL upgrade if we can plant beacons at places we've visited before, and have those accessed separately from bookmarks on the maps.

I agree that that likely would be a better solution. Also, there could be something in our nav panel to enter coordinates and get a heading, not unlike the current web based one, but in game.

 

[Asadaine]

Endorsed!

 

[SushiCW]

In short, this is a terrible experience.

I actually really like the current experience, and feel like it's appropriately challenging without being overly difficult. For me, it's quite fun as-is.

That said surface bookmarks would also be occasionally handy. The "Beacon planting" idea is really nice in particular.

 

[Mostly Hamless]

I'm late to this party and so my post will likely never be seen or considered, but here goes...

I don't hate the coordinates system entirely. I rather enjoy approaching a planet for the first time and having to navigate to specific coordinates I find posted by the several Elite communities (including this one). I don't really like the idea of using the Bookmarks system for coordinates. I feel that it would make a mess of the maps, especially for those in VR that are navigating the maps using a HOTAS.

I DO love the idea that another poster had to be able to plant a beacon. I think it would make for a great gameplay enhancement and QOL upgrade if we can plant beacons at places we've visited before, and have those accessed separately from bookmarks on the maps.

It would only 'make a mess of the maps' if you made it a mess! Don't set bookmarks, and hey presto the issue instantly goes away!

 

[Genar-Hofoen]

I'm late to this party and so my post will likely never be seen or considered, but here goes...

I don't hate the coordinates system entirely. I rather enjoy approaching a planet for the first time and having to navigate to specific coordinates I find posted by the several Elite communities (including this one). I don't really like the idea of using the Bookmarks system for coordinates. I feel that it would make a mess of the maps, especially for those in VR that are navigating the maps using a HOTAS.

I DO love the idea that another poster had to be able to plant a beacon. I think it would make for a great gameplay enhancement and QOL upgrade if we can plant beacons at places we've visited before, and have those accessed separately from bookmarks on the maps.

You might like hunting for the LAT/LON coordinates - and that's fine.

I personally find it a frustrating experience and dims my enjoyment of the game. I wouldn't even go as far as bookmarking the LAT/LON coords - I could very easily code up such a system for Captain's Log and I'm sure the most excellent EDDiscovery chaps could do the same.

Keep it simple - just 2 inputs for LAT & LON, and BLEEP! a waypoint for you to aim at. This has the advantage of less work for the devs, and for the likes of your good self who enjoy manually navigating to a set of coordinates, keeps it entirely optional.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Honestly, it's not hard at all to fly to any given set of coordinates.

0, 90, 180, 270 is all you really need to know.

If you are at 100,-80 and need to get to -50, 20, you can do it "the hard way", and align yourself with 0, 90, 180 or 270 on the bearing indicator and fly in that direction and watch what your lat and log numbers do - either increase or decrease, until you reach your destination, or you can use something like: https://edbearingcalc.neocities.org/ and it will tell you to align to a course of 146 degrees and fly that way until you reach your destination.

That's it. That's all there is to it.

Yeah, it might be nice to include this kind of functionality, but.. the math involved in calculating a heading is somewhat complex - here's an example:

"Bearing from point A to B, can be calculated as,β = atan2(X,Y),
where, X and Y are two quantities and can be calculated as:
X = cos θb * sin ∆L
Y = cos θa * sin θb – sin θa * cos θb * cos ∆L
Lets us take an example to calculate bearing between the two different points with the formula:

• Kansas City: 39.099912, -94.581213
• St Louis: 38.627089, -90.200203

So X and Y can be calculated as,
X = cos(38.627089) * sin(4.38101)
X = 0.05967668696
And
Y = cos(39.099912) * sin(38.627089) – sin(39.099912) * cos(38.627089) * cos(4.38101)
Y = 0.77604737571 * 0.62424902378 – 0.6306746155 * 0.78122541965 * 0.99707812506
Y = -0.00681261948
So as, β = atan2(X,Y) = atan2(0.05967668696, -0.00681261948)
β = 96.51°
This means, from Kansas City if we move in 96.51° bearing direction, we will reach St Louis." (source: http://www.igismap.com/formula-to-f...-angle-between-two-points-latitude-longitude/)

 

[Tikas]

While you are at it FDEV (because this would be wonderful), please make the system have multi-waypoints for ship/SRV races (mayby a mini-map of the planet that can be opend up/in the top right corner?) and can be shared between commanders. Ive seen someone create a program once that hacked the ram and could already sort out these kind of things (can anyone remember the name of that program? It had speed indicators and RPM as well... Seems he didnt really like anyone to have it...), so it couldnt be to hard to create. You would do us a HUGE favour with this ei not having the need for human markers all the time...

 

[Mostly Hamless]

Honestly, it's not hard at all to fly to any given set of coordinates.

0, 90, 180, 270 is all you really need to know.

If you are at 100,-80 and need to get to -50, 20, you can do it "the hard way", and align yourself with 0, 90, 180 or 270 on the bearing indicator and fly in that direction and watch what your lat and log numbers do - either increase or decrease, until you reach your destination, or you can use something like: https://edbearingcalc.neocities.org/ and it will tell you to align to a course of 146 degrees and fly that way until you reach your destination.

That's it. That's all there is to it.

Yeah, it might be nice to include this kind of functionality, but.. the math involved in calculating a heading is somewhat complex - here's an example:

"Bearing from point A to B, can be calculated as,β = atan2(X,Y),
where, X and Y are two quantities and can be calculated as:
X = cos θb * sin ∆L
Y = cos θa * sin θb – sin θa * cos θb * cos ∆L
Lets us take an example to calculate bearing between the two different points with the formula:

• Kansas City: 39.099912, -94.581213
• St Louis: 38.627089, -90.200203

So X and Y can be calculated as,
X = cos(38.627089) * sin(4.38101)
X = 0.05967668696
And
Y = cos(39.099912) * sin(38.627089) – sin(39.099912) * cos(38.627089) * cos(4.38101)
Y = 0.77604737571 * 0.62424902378 – 0.6306746155 * 0.78122541965 * 0.99707812506
Y = -0.00681261948
So as, β = atan2(X,Y) = atan2(0.05967668696, -0.00681261948)
β = 96.51°
This means, from Kansas City if we move in 96.51° bearing direction, we will reach St Louis." (source: http://www.igismap.com/formula-to-f...-angle-between-two-points-latitude-longitude/)

No one has really said it's that hard.

It's just fiddly and not much fun. There are much more enjoyable things I could be doing in-game rather than going square-eyed looking at a set of coordinates tick by as I slowly orbit a planet

 

[Genar-Hofoen]

Honestly, it's not hard at all to fly to any given set of coordinates.

0, 90, 180, 270 is all you really need to know.

If you are at 100,-80 and need to get to -50, 20, you can do it "the hard way", and align yourself with 0, 90, 180 or 270 on the bearing indicator and fly in that direction and watch what your lat and log numbers do - either increase or decrease, until you reach your destination, or you can use something like: https://edbearingcalc.neocities.org/ and it will tell you to align to a course of 146 degrees and fly that way until you reach your destination.

That's it. That's all there is to it.

Yeah, it might be nice to include this kind of functionality, but.. the math involved in calculating a heading is somewhat complex - here's an example:

"Bearing from point A to B, can be calculated as,β = atan2(X,Y),
where, X and Y are two quantities and can be calculated as:
X = cos θb * sin ∆L
Y = cos θa * sin θb – sin θa * cos θb * cos ∆L
Lets us take an example to calculate bearing between the two different points with the formula:

• Kansas City: 39.099912, -94.581213
• St Louis: 38.627089, -90.200203

So X and Y can be calculated as,
X = cos(38.627089) * sin(4.38101)
X = 0.05967668696
And
Y = cos(39.099912) * sin(38.627089) – sin(39.099912) * cos(38.627089) * cos(4.38101)
Y = 0.77604737571 * 0.62424902378 – 0.6306746155 * 0.78122541965 * 0.99707812506
Y = -0.00681261948
So as, β = atan2(X,Y) = atan2(0.05967668696, -0.00681261948)
β = 96.51°
This means, from Kansas City if we move in 96.51° bearing direction, we will reach St Louis." (source: http://www.igismap.com/formula-to-f...-angle-between-two-points-latitude-longitude/)

I have already coded a Bearing and Distance calculator into Captain's Log, I know what's involved

 

[Hasaf]

I think it would add a bit to the game if, after a Point Of Interest has been discovered, a mission is generated to place a beacon at that POI. This would both create an interesting mission and make it easier to find the POI.

 

[Sardu]

Dear People Who Decide What Gets Done in Frontier,

Planetary navigation is terrible.

This becomes apparent when trying to reach a set of LAT/LON coordinates on a planet surface, when there is no waypoint (like in a surface recovery mission).

Try reaching a LAT/LON from space, to glide, to the surface. It is nigh on impossible.

Sure, we can get into Orbital Cruise, and we have a display of LAT/LON. But then you're trying to change direction of orbit relative to planet surface and the coords. Trying to get the coords to go up/down/positive/negative at just the correct rate so they will converge at the desired LAT/LON.

Then, even when you're getting close to the target, you have to try and judge the right moment when to come out of orbital cruise to glide down to the surface - you'll probably overshoot badly.

In short, this is a terrible experience.

So for 2.4 - please, please allocate some dev time to marking a surface waypoint we can target, by way of the 3D surface map in the System Map.

Please!?

Yes please!

 

[Kyokushin]

+1 please add surface bookmarks.

 

[Raile]

While I personally agree with the OP, a planet nav system would be nice, that's just not the way things are done around here, so I want whatever would make the most people angry.