real autopilot: question to frontier development

[Jer the Stampede]

Does anyone actually have a official statement regarding this? Crew members are AI, a helmsman will basically be an autopilot.

I love hand flying these ships, but I had to resort to programming my own Autopilot for my bigger ships. I want to issue orders in a 2000T ship lol!

There was a post asking the same question and FD person (not sure who now) did say they wouldn't implement an autopilot, but then again they also said they weren't going to implement FSD drive slaving either,, and ..

EDIT - I see Robert Maynard has dug up the quote..

 

[CloneWarrior85]

I see your point, this explanation in fact gives me some plausible excuse about the lack of an autopilot. Still, being in a spaceship the lack of that gives me to think...

edit: actually our shuttles and our space rockets have autopilot... so I don't understand why in this futuristic view of space travel there isn't ANY.

Rockets and shuttles have them because it's pretty hard to keep making small corrections during the travel and not crash, remember that a minimal incorrect correction on a shuttle can lead to it's incineration.

Anyway, FD stated that they want players to play the game and not have automation made for them, which leads for the lack of tractor beams too.

As already said, SC already is a close autopilot.

 

[Mr Duffo]

lets make it more fun. Add crew that can pilot your ship

 

[Bruce Warren]

Imagine the fun:

<Alarms go off>

1st mate :- Sir we've been interdicted.

Captain :- Take evasive action

1st mate :- Helm not responding

Captain :- Please tell me you disengaged the autopilot

1st mate :- The what ?

Captain: The autopilot. The device steering ... Oh never mind.

<ship explodes under a hail of multi-cannon fire>

 

[AnnuverScotinExile]

Imagine the fun:

<Alarms go off>

1st mate :- Sir we've been interdicted.

Captain :- Take evasive action

1st mate :- Helm not responding

Captain :- Please tell me you disengaged the autopilot

1st mate :- The what ?

Captain: The autopilot. The device steering ... Oh never mind.

<ship explodes under a hail of multi-cannon fire>

... of course, if there was an autopilot, the player would not see any of that, as they would be AFK making a cup of tea or emptying the last one from their bladder. And then we would get all these posts about autopilot costing them their ships ...

 

[Vi.king]

... of course, if there was an autopilot, the player would not see any of that, as they would be AFK making a cup of tea or emptying the last one from their bladder. And then we would get all these posts about autopilot costing them their ships ...

jokes on you.. I already am mostly afk during SC watching a stream or video on my second monitor or browsing the forum...

 

[Cageman]

Hmm...

I don't see why an autopilot would be a bad thing. If you ever jumped 15 jumps (because the route is what it is), it is kind of weird that the ship can't navigate that route by itself, or at least have an option to do so (just like there is a Docking Computer, a Nav Computer would be a cool thing). Because, in such a route, the only interraction you have with the game is (steer away from the star, allign the ship for the next jump, wait for FSD cooldown, hit FSD). Repeat 15 times. It becomes a waiting game with very little interraction.

Not sure what "gameplay" would be lost in such a case?