Respawn point should not be the last station you docked at

[Cmdr Travers]

I've been thinking that the respawn point when your ship is blown up should NOT be the last station you docked at. Instead, it should be the physical location in space (or in a station) that you were in, say, one week ago.

The reason I'm thinking this is when I was grinding my Imperial rank at HIP 10716, I'd do what many of you do/did, in that I'd blow my Sidewinder up at the end of the mission to avoid having to fly all the way back to take on more attack missions.

Not only would changing the respawn point stop people doing this, which is technically cheating, but it would also help explorers as, if something went horribly wrong on a long trip they'd still lose all their exploration data (though there's an argument to be made that this is part of your command module and should be retained), but they wouldn't be transported all the way home, so they could continue their exploration.

Thoughts?

 

[Chrystoph]

I believe there should be a range of options that can be set.

• Respawn at last dock
• Designated respawn (home base)
• Respawn at current - x (5, 10, 15, 20) locations back, determined by jumps or docking
• Random in bubble location

By doing it this way, the player can determine what they want to accomplish.

As to your comments on cheating, I understand the argument, but it is a trivial type of occurrence, and it is costing the player money while not harming anyone else, commonly referred to as a victimless crime. I think it would not worth the effort to fix as compared to other development options.

 

[vernonator]

Since its an "insurance" re-buy the location SHOULD be at the closest station with a shipyard that carries your ship. Lets try and keep a bit of the immersion going here eh?

 

[EdzUp]

Unfortunately its the same in all Elite's it was always the last station you docked at so its been that way for decades. To actually change the respawn point to 'one week ago' wont help explorers as they would still lose all their data and changing the respawn point from the last docked point will also to some appear to be cheating as you could 'warp' around the bubble without doing anything all you have to do is pay a numinal fee if that for a suicide winder and then if you dont like the location just do it again and again thus cheating.

I prefer it to be the way it is as its always been.

 

[MickyG1982]

Hmm, the way Frontier Elite 2 & Frontier First Encounters were (the last 2 Elite games) unless you saved your game at the last station you were in you were dead & had to start the game again.

That was until you could afford an Escape Capsule, which would only take you to a station (not necessarily the nearest one) in the system and be swapped out for a basic Eagle in FE2 or your old ship in FFE.

A much better way of doing things I think, in either case you never had to worry about rebuy, though FE2 did make it so you had to build yourself back up. It was also far more immersive than simply re-spawning at the last station you docked at.

 

[Tatwi]

Since its an "insurance" re-buy the location SHOULD be at the closest station with a shipyard that carries your ship. Lets try and keep a bit of the immersion going here eh?

That makes a lot more sense that the way it is now. Good suggestion.

 

[Lestat]

I like how it is now. It make people think. Should I dock here before going into a dangerous area.

 

[Tatwi]

I like how it is now. It make people think. Should I dock here before going into a dangerous area.

vernonator's suggestion would make people think whole lot more. We might actually care where ships are sold, beyond if we can get a discount on the initial purchase.

 

[X-Terminator]

I think: Spawn at either Nearest Base in System but if non there then it's the last base you docked at. As why would it be a closeby system you never even been to?
PLUS it will take 6hours for all your parts to be refitted again but you would need to be at a dock after this time rather than simply magic!

 

[Lestat]

vernonator's suggestion would make people think whole lot more. We might actually care where ships are sold, beyond if we can get a discount on the initial purchase.

What if that station you go to is the one your wanted in. Because your a pirate or different Faction? At least right now. If you die and respawn 95% of the time you are not wanted in that system.

 

[Chrystoph]

I think: Spawn at either Nearest Base in System but if non there then it's the last base you docked at. As why would it be a closeby system you never even been to?
PLUS it will take 6hours for all your parts to be refitted again but you would need to be at a dock after this time rather than simply magic!

Ridiculous notion; hey, punishing the player for dying once wasn't enough, we should do it twice.

 

[DocLooshkin]

Hello, Cmdr Travers.

I have to say this doesn't seem like an exploit that's worth the effort of fixing at the moment. Later on, if and when the devs get to implementing the full escape pod experience, they might look again at the most engaging mechanics for the job. We might see some changes then, or not as the case may be. It's a rare and trivial matter, so they might just leave things as they are.

If we're being all simulationy, then respawning at the nearest station with a currently-working shipyard, in a Sidey, with the insurance money in your account would be the way to do it. Having said that, as much as I am all for simulation, the way we have it now is much more convenient.

 

[Tatwi]

What if that station you go to is the one your wanted in. Because your a pirate or different Faction? At least right now. If you die and respawn 95% of the time you are not wanted in that system.

I suppose they could add some checks in there for issues such as that.

Closest location that sell this ship is?
- Is the player wanted in this system?
- Yes?
- Check next closest location.

Programming that sort of logic is pretty elementary, so it could be done.

 

[Lestat]

I suppose they could add some checks in there for issues such as that.

Closest location that sell this ship is?
- Is the player wanted in this system?
- Yes?
- Check next closest location.

Programming that sort of logic is pretty elementary, so it could be done.

What if the player in a ship that has a short jump range. It a station that don't sell fsd. Even if player sold all their cargo and cargo rack they are stuck on that system. What then? We could have a lot of issue with support tickets.

 

[Schmack]

I don't think the game mechanics should be focused toward stopping individuals from finding loopholes. The OP said he used the loophole. Here's a suggestion: Don't use it if you think it ruins the game. If you're out at Hutton and you get whacked, you have a 2 hour journey to get back. I see no benefit in fast warping to the last station where you were, even if you have another ship on standby there. What did it save you, a few minutes of time zooming around from star to star? Big deal.

Besides. I like to pick up an Eagle now and then and have some fun around the station. If you had to stay there for a week to spawn there, one death and you have to figure out a way to get back to your ship since you died in an eagle that doesn't have the LY capability perhaps to get back to where you are now, and maybe the station you were doesn't have a ship or mods that meet that criteria either (we've all been there).

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Hello, Cmdr Travers.

I have to say this doesn't seem like an exploit that's worth the effort of fixing at the moment. Later on, if and when the devs get to implementing the full escape pod experience, they might look again at the most engaging mechanics for the job. We might see some changes then, or not as the case may be. It's a rare and trivial matter, so they might just leave things as they are.

If we're being all simulationy, then respawning at the nearest station with a currently-working shipyard, in a Sidey, with the insurance money in your account would be the way to do it. Having said that, as much as I am all for simulation, the way we have it now is much more convenient.

It's not an exploit that affects other people's game experience. If you want to cheat yourself out of gameplay, have at it.

 

[Cmdr Travers]

Since its an "insurance" re-buy the location SHOULD be at the closest station with a shipyard that carries your ship. Lets try and keep a bit of the immersion going here eh?

Excellent idea!

 

[CMDR Cosmic Spacehead]

I think either:
You spawn at your last docked station, in a sidewinder, and your insurance money. Then sort your ship out yourself.
No idea what this would mean for engineered modules.
Or you respawn at the nearest(or select your own) shipyard that stocks your ship.
Maybe even both options.
It should be cheaper to die, and just get a payout, than have your insurance sort out a ship at your chosen shipyard.
So maybe the 'rebuy' for a freewinder and the cash could be 3-4%. Instead of 5%
Doesn't make much difference lower down the food chain, but on big ships, you might opt to save money and buy the ship and modules yourself.
Of course, if you're loaded it doesn't matter.
"Jeeves! Fetch me my Cutter! I wish to go swashbuckling!"

 

[DocLooshkin]

If you want to cheat yourself out of gameplay, have at it.

To be clear, this thread is the first time I've heard of this specific exploit. As far as I can recall, the closest I've come to it was allowing a Type 7 to be obliterated by an NPC pirate: I found it preferable to waste 30 million credits and get a Sidey from wherever the hell I was last docked, than continue to fly the rancid heap of <expletive deleted> back to Jameson. Given that I most likely sacrificed half a dozen uneventful jumps in the way of gameplay, I doubt I shall lose much sleep over it.

 

[Jaiotu]

Totally against this idea. Totally against suicidewinders as well. Death in Elite: Dangerous is far, far too lenient.

During the livestream pre-2.1 release David Braben didn't sound enthusiastic about implementing an Iron Man mode. This is too bad.

I'd love to see death = death. Knowing that you are about to lose everything would put a stop to suicidewinders and a lot of the griefing that goes on. Players would be more hesitant to take undue risks if they knew that failure would lose them more then just an insurance rebuy.

Right now we have a galaxy full of immortals. What do immortals do? Anything they want. Bill Murray's character in Groundhog's Day was cursed with imortality. He could suicide all he wanted and *poof* respawn back at the bed and breakfast. Eventually he realized that his immortality meant he could spend eternity learning new skills and improving them. Even though he respawned every day he eventually became a piano virtuoso.

So what do we have in Elite: Dangerous? Tons of immortals flying Clippers, Corvettes and Anacondas boasting a rank of "Elite" but with a double digit rebuy stat. Congratulations. The rank means nothing now. It doesn't matter how bad a pilot you are as long as you keep playing the game eventually you'll make it to Elite.