Should life support timer be reworked? (not unlike temperature/heat damage was)

[mossfoot]

If it hasn't happened to you it happened to someone you know. Running out of air in the life support.

The problem is, it just doesn't feel fair to have it hit zero and BAM you're dead. Yes, you hear your breathing get labored and whatnot beforehand (which is awesome) but it feels too absolute.

Some suggestions for immersion factor:

- Keep the Life Support times the way they are, BUT shift it over by a minute and give a 1 minute grace period for "holding your breath". For example, if your LS had 7 minutes before, it would show 6 minutes when activated, giving all the typical warnings as it currently does. When it hits zero, the life support warning turns red and starts flashing "Warning - Air Supply Depleted! Warning - Air Supply Depleted!" and starts counting up from zero. Maybe add some more effects like vision going red or black as time goes on. Once you hit +1 minute, destruction happens as normal.

So just to note: this isn't about MORE time, just about rejiggering the time we already have (not unlike how the way temperatures and damage was reworked for the better)

- Another cute idea - why not have a heart monitor ECG under the blue air timer readout, something that starts off fine, but gets erratic as it reaches 0 (and if the above idea was used, would flatline just as it hits +1 minute)

 

[Minoo Minou]

That's a nice idea. And what about a gas to put you to sleep to avoid the pain of suffocation?

 

[mossfoot]

That's a nice idea. And what about a gas to put you to sleep to avoid the pain of suffocation?

Self destruct?

 

[ralf_maeder]

Sounds like a good idea. Another thing I would recommend is to show more cockpit glass effects. I love it when I see some opaque parts from cold, but it shows very rarely and it's a nice effect. And I also love it how the surrounding get blurred when entering Supercruise, why not show more of these effects more time?

 

[chesdj]

it just doesn't feel fair to have it hit zero and BAM you're dead. Yes, you hear your breathing get labored and whatnot beforehand (which is awesome) but it feels too absolute.

Most people that suffocate or drown probably feel the same way, but for some reason they don't get chance to complain later about it being a bit 'Absolute'... <Facepalm>

 

[chesdj]

Also if we're talking 'Immersion' here surely SC or Hyperspacing without a canopy is a bit silly tp be honest and we're already given enough chances to survive?

 

[smsKONG]

Sounds good
1 last gulp of air then a minute of struggling not to do an impression of a fish out of water.

Maybe some zero g blood effects from the last exhalation of vaccumn

 

[geoffrey.hdt]

Yep, that would be nice and improve the immersion!

However I would hate to see the concept of headshot implemented once the canopy has been broken... :-/

 

[mossfoot]

Most people that suffocate or drown probably feel the same way, but for some reason they don't get chance to complain later about it being a bit 'Absolute'... <Facepalm>

Also if we're talking 'Immersion' here surely SC or Hyperspacing without a canopy is a bit silly tp be honest and we're already given enough chances to survive?

You're clearly missing the point - how does the computer know when you die? You've run out of air, yes, but there is a bit of time between running out of air and dying. Consider in the movie Gravity, Sandra Bullock's O2 counter ran out and she was taking in more and more CO2 after that. She didn't drop dead the moment O2 ran out.

The fact is the mechanics stay the same - no goal posts have changed, only adding a visible boundary around the goal posts. If you had 7 minutes before, you'd still have 7 minutes now. You're still dead after 7 minutes in both cases. It's just the impression that is given during those allotted minutes that would change.

 

[bladebss]

I always thought it was strange that the ship blows up cus you ran out of 02.

In fact the life suport is a module, but if it gets blown up you still have x minutes of 02... so how does up grading it alow more time? If your canopy is blown you need life support for 02 but if the slife support is blown and the cannopy, you still seem to have 02.

where is this oxygen stored? Why does it make no difference what size the module is? Class 4 or 7 makes no difference only rateing e to a does, soemthing just doesnt add up. 02 supply should be ship and personal as two seperate things personal say 3 mins and thats that and then have the life support module be from the ships 02 supply so cannopy goes and you have the ships supply but if life support goes you only have personal supply? Or something?

 

[OnyxStone]

If your canopy is blown you need life support for 02 but if the slife support is blown and the cannopy, you still seem to have 02.

The life-support module's only upgradable feature currently is the amount of emergency oxygen that is stored when either the life-support generator is knocked out or the canopy is breached. In either case your mask is 'put on' and you begin drawing from emergency reserves.

 

[Jmanis]

Also if we're talking 'Immersion' here surely SC or Hyperspacing without a canopy is a bit silly tp be honest and we're already given enough chances to survive?

Based on my understanding of how the FSD works, it's not that silly. I can't find the link, and have to go to work, but apparently it's much like an Alcubierre drive, which basically "moves the space around it" rather than actually moving itself.

 

[Loskene]

Based on my understanding of how the FSD works, it's not that silly. I can't find the link, and have to go to work, but apparently it's much like an Alcubierre drive, which basically "moves the space around it" rather than actually moving itself.

I think he's more worried about navigational hazards and shrapnel. The FSD should vaporise any particles that cross the warp field but you would be exposed to extreme levels of radiation without a canopy, unless the warp field deflects that too. But if it did we wouldn't be able to see, so I dunno.

 

[mossfoot]

The life-support module's only upgradable feature currently is the amount of emergency oxygen that is stored when either the life-support generator is knocked out or the canopy is breached. In either case your mask is 'put on' and you begin drawing from emergency reserves.

Of course if you're using my Pilot's Ejection Table (https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=107694), then Life Support can increase (or decrease) your chances of survival too

 

[CATPAIN KIRK]

- Another cute idea - why not have a heart monitor ECG under the blue air timer readout, something that starts off fine, but gets erratic as it reaches 0 (and if the above idea was used, would flatline just as it hits +1 minute)

You'll faint way before heart failure occurs and unless suffering from CHD, it's highly unlikely you'd be able to witness signs of myocardial ischemia in your own ecg during asphyxiation.

I agree that death due to anoxia should be depicted as gradually blacking out rather than ship explosion (unless the ships computer is programmed to euthanise the pilot in case of hypoxemia, which would raise the question how the imaginary immortality escape pod manages to keep you alive to respawn you at the station after that).

 

[Innigo]

The current system is dumb. You're sitting in a ship that has enough oxygen to sustain you for weeks (actually indefinitely, but we'll ignore that), but if the cockpit canopy goes you're down to minutes of air? Why can't you hook your suit into the ship's air system? It's obviously designed to create drama, which is fine, but you have to find some way that at least makes some kind of sense.

Sorry, but really, really not a fan of the current mechanic.

 

[SteveLaw]

I don't like the way is now. I'd like to just see a fade out as you suggest, and then possibly a muted explosion (if the ship has to blow up at all) barely audible just before it blacks completely.

And then what though? What's the justification for continuing then? Getting blow up while conscious is one thing, you can eject to your emergency escape pod or whatever, but when you suffocate you should probably die. Unless the idea is that you get to eject, automatically, once your air runs out. So maybe you should see an eject animation as you approach the end of life support? Eject animation for all "deaths" please.

Count down to zero, eject, fade to black, dull explosion as the suspended state kicks in and the escape pod takes you to safety.

 

[Ydiss]

You'll faint way before heart failure occurs and unless suffering from CHD, it's highly unlikely you'd be able to witness signs of myocardial ischemia in your own ecg during asphyxiation.

I agree that death due to anoxia should be depicted as gradually blacking out rather than ship explosion (unless the ships computer is programmed to euthanise the pilot in case of hypoxemia, which would raise the question how the imaginary immortality escape pod manages to keep you alive to respawn you at the station after that).

Makes more sense that the ship self destructs when you're out of oxygen, as a last resort, hence putting you into the pod which keeps you alive.

You're all assuming you die when oxygen runs out but we don't die at all. It makes total sense how is now.

 

[mossfoot]

I don't like the way is now. I'd like to just see a fade out as you suggest, and then possibly a muted explosion (if the ship has to blow up at all) barely audible just before it blacks completely.

And then what though? What's the justification for continuing then? Getting blow up while conscious is one thing, you can eject to your emergency escape pod or whatever, but when you suffocate you should probably die. Unless the idea is that you get to eject, automatically, once your air runs out. So maybe you should see an eject animation as you approach the end of life support? Eject animation for all "deaths" please.

Count down to zero, eject, fade to black, dull explosion as the suspended state kicks in and the escape pod takes you to safety.

Yeah, ship destruction is simply something that's necessary for gameplay right now (dunno if that'll be the case when/if ship boarding occurs in a future update, though). But I like your idea of fading out and hearing a muted explosion.

As for surviving it - in my Pilot Ejection Table, I postulate that part of the features of the ejection seat is a stasis field. The stasis field doesn't keep you alive, per se, but does keep you in suspended animation so you can be revived when returned to the station. That's why you're not aware of it while ejecting.

 

[CATPAIN KIRK]

Makes more sense that the ship self destructs when you're out of oxygen, as a last resort, hence putting you into the pod which keeps you alive.

You're all assuming you die when oxygen runs out but we don't die at all. It makes total sense how is now.

Given the choice, I'd rather redirect the escape pods oxygen reserve to my life support system and risk permadeath instead unless I'm thousands of LY away.

The current system doesn't make any sense in the slightest. Does the escape pod put us into cryostasis? Probably, but then it should be months/years to be recovered before we can play that character again if we get ejected on a long exploration trip.

I am all too aware the game is taylored towards casual arcade players preferring lack of consequence and it's evident that it gravitates towards that demographic at an increasing rate.

I'm not blaming FD - they're a business and I have to agree that e.g. making the RES space invaders minigame (without the increasing speed and defense bunkers - that would be too complex) entirely idiot-proof will mitigate future customer support cost more efficiently than addressing complaints about the lack of a proper ironman mode, AI and lack of the slightest bit of risk would do.

It's just something I personally don't like, but I'm a minority, so that's fine .