Signal Source time in Nav panel

[InfiniteDreamer]

Hi all
at the minute the time remaining we see for signal sources when you target them appears in the info box top right of our HUD.
the problem with this is if you are trying to maximise the no of signal sources you can attempt to get to - you have to target each one individually to get the times - do the one with the shortest time - then rinse repeat.

My suggestion would be to have signal sources [once fss'd or nav beacon discovered] show their time remaining in the nav panel next to their distance from you.
that way you can see at a quick glance which is going to expire sooner and make a quicker decision on which to go to first.

o7
Cmdr InfiniteDreamer

 

[CMDR Tony]

For me the really annoying thing about HGSSs is this:

1. I arrive in the system
2. Immediately scan the nav beacon
3. Plot a route to the nearest HGSS
4. Curse under my breath as they too often seem to be 200k+ LS away
5. Notice that there are only FOUR minutes left on the timer.

(facepalm)

 

[CMDR Yates]

Folk will hate this, but I've never been a fan of the existence of the explicit timer on signal sources. It's really... fake-seeming.

I totally get why it exists for gameplay reasons, but what does it actually represent within the game world? How does the ship's UI know, to the second, when a signal source is going to go dark? Of course, there's lots of things like that in this game, and you kinda gloss over them, but this one seems really in-ya-face.

I guess it's meant to be some kind of dissipating heat signature or failing power source that our sensors are locking onto, and then lose contact with when the energy level drops below a certain threshold.

They could ditch the explicit timer (numbers and seconds) and replace it with some kinda signal decay graphic indicator that appears alongside these sources (selected and un-selected) and drops in strength like a battery indicator, giving us an indication of how long we've got, so it maintains the fiction of we are detecting and sampling the characteristics of an unknown signal, and using that info to extrapolate the likely decay time, instead of you have precisely 03:22 before the selected asset is despawned by the game you are playing.

Of course, IRL a computer probably could extrapolate decay time down to a roughly accurate minutes and seconds duration given a large enough sample size. But it doesn't FEEL like that's what's happening here. I can't help but feel something less explicit would be a more elegant brushstroke towards achieving suspension of disbelief in this area.

Maybe not. I dunno.

 

[dm9290]

a signal strength decay mechanic actually makes suspension of disbelief even harder for me. If I know where a signal is, there is no reason I can't fly to that spot anyway even if the signal itself is gone. if I heard a distress signal, perhaps I would expect to find a dead ship ready for salvage?

At least the timer is honest. its just a game mechanic. Kind of like certain locations seem to get attacked shortly after I arrive. In the real world if that happened so frequently Id be accused of being an advanced scouting party.

just tell me whether or not the side-quest is there or not there. Don't try to explain it with science unless it is going to be scientifically accurate.

 

[InfiniteDreamer]

i'd just like to be able to see the timers all at the same time in nav panel - instead of having to click each one to find out how long it has left

 

[Susanna]

Folk will hate this, but I've never been a fan of the existence of the explicit timer on signal sources. It's really... fake-seeming.

I totally get why it exists for gameplay reasons, but what does it actually represent within the game world? How does the ship's UI know, to the second, when a signal source is going to go dark? Of course, there's lots of things like that in this game, and you kinda gloss over them, but this one seems really in-ya-face.

I guess it's meant to be some kind of dissipating heat signature or failing power source that our sensors are locking onto, and then lose contact with when the energy level drops below a certain threshold.

They could ditch the explicit timer (numbers and seconds) and replace it with some kinda signal decay graphic indicator that appears alongside these sources (selected and un-selected) and drops in strength like a battery indicator, giving us an indication of how long we've got, so it maintains the fiction of we are detecting and sampling the characteristics of an unknown signal, and using that info to extrapolate the likely decay time, instead of you have precisely 03:22 before the selected asset is despawned by the game you are playing.

Of course, IRL a computer probably could extrapolate decay time down to a roughly accurate minutes and seconds duration given a large enough sample size. But it doesn't FEEL like that's what's happening here. I can't help but feel something less explicit would be a more elegant brushstroke towards achieving suspension of disbelief in this area.

Maybe not. I dunno.

Atomic clocks....

Edit: that and anyway, the signal strength would be distance related so as you fly towards it, it would effectively get stronger and thereby last longer...