So, love the new orrery...

[Franc Kaos]

How about having it display on the left hand holo display instead of the generic static orrery? That would be super sweet.

Happy Xmas (and holidays for the non Christians), may 2019 bring us landable atmospheric planets, comets and multiple star lights (and - y'know, peace on Earth 'n stuff).

 

[Deleted member 115407]

Gotta admit, even for a non-explorer it has come in handy on a few occasions so far.

+1 for the Orrery

 

[Commander Regel]

I've had a look at Orrery and I'm pleased that it's been added to the game.

However, I don't have a "common" use case for it. How are other Commanders using it?

 

[moorison]

Having it as an alternative in the navigation menu might be a neat feature, it would certainly require real time updates. Right now the orrery shows the positions from the moment it is started.

 

[Cmdr Ultra]

I'm probably never going to use the Orrery that much - and I'm glad it's there.

I just thought it would be a bit prettier you know. Seems a bit basic. I expected little 3D fully rendered planets.

 

[moorison]

I've had a look at Orrery and I'm pleased that it's been added to the game.

However, I don't have a "common" use case for it. How are other Commanders using it?

I guess you can plan an optimal route for scanning several moons of a gas giant (usually the alphabetical order is the least efficient), you would still need external notes to check your progress.

It is nice to have a complete view of the system besides the first person view from cockpit. It also underlines the huge distances between bodies that are a bit skewed while flying in supercruise because the speed is not fixed.

 

[Arthur Z.]

I've had a look at Orrery and I'm pleased that it's been added to the game.

However, I don't have a "common" use case for it. How are other Commanders using it?

I use it to plan in which order to probe the planets. It is super helpful! A few glitches here and there, but I'm sure it will get better.

 

[nanite2000]

As an explorer, I haven’t found a great use for it yet. It’s only really needed to plan an optimal route through the system when surface mapping.

But until there’s a visual indicator on the HUD to keep track of which planets you’ve mapped so far, it’s safer to just go through the bodies numerically, even if it’s not an optimal route.

 

[lefty1117]

Yeah it's a good baseline but it's going to need more stuff to make it useful. One thing to add would be some sort of toggle or checkbox so that we can make it the default view when opening the system map.

Another thing I'd like to see is a way to have callouts for installations.

 

[Phazon Xenomorph]

I've literally not used it at all. I hit it once to see what the hell it was then never used it again.

 

[Madrax573]

turned it on once, switched back 5 mins later.

I can see the orrery being good for mapping large systems but the system schematic map is just much more useful imo.

 

[TheSisko]

If we had it before the FSS, it would have been more useful. Now, we can scan planets without travelling to them which diminishes the Oorrery's use somewhat.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Looked at it in the beta to make sure it worked. Haven't used it since. Serves no purpose.

 

[krylite]

I'm glad it's back. +1. And think it helps make ED feel more complete as a successor in the franchise. I also don't mind the orrery being more grid and "tactical" looking for now either.

 

[Flin]

It's a new function to build on.

Right now, I use it to get a view of orbits and plan routes.

Can see the possibilities. Faction territory view. Zoom all the way down to the mapped planet surface. Use as instructional tools in classrooms, etc.

Could be super useful if we have high level of customization to show data.

 

[Franc Kaos]

I've had a look at Orrery and I'm pleased that it's been added to the game.
However, I don't have a "common" use case for it. How are other Commanders using it?

For me, it gives a visual overview of the system which I don't get from the flat map / left console. Apart from Sol all other systems were an abstract idea, the orrery solidifies them into a cohesive system and gives them a reality in the game world.

I'm probably never going to use the Orrery that much - and I'm glad it's there.
I just thought it would be a bit prettier you know. Seems a bit basic. I expected little 3D fully rendered planets.

Maybe will come in time, but I would prefer function over form, we've got the nice planet view in the 2D map. Textured planets would only really be cool if we could move time and watch the planets orbit.

Looked at it in the beta to make sure it worked. Haven't used it since. Serves no purpose.

Aside from a rear view cam (so I could watch the departing station / planet) this was my most requested want, and has brought me back into the fray (even bought a paint job for the Krait II: The Suns of Sirius), it'll be the first time I've ever had an SLF , gonna take one of the long passenger missions and finally go explore - out there, in the black.
Sometimes the purpose is just in the joy of the thing... o7 [alien]

 

[Riverside]

I haven't felt a need to use it, it doesn't tell me anything I want to know that I don't already get from supercruise. I can appreciate it may be of some benefit if orbit lines are switched off but it does no harm & does not force itself on the player. No doubt the basic representation will be fleshed out to match the regular sysmap over time & it could become a VR selling point (I don't use VR).

 

[Jack Schitt]

I guess you can plan an optimal route for scanning several moons of a gas giant (usually the alphabetical order is the least efficient), you would still need external notes to check your progress.

A manual waypoint system would be nice, so you could use the orrery to set a route. "Go here, then go here, then go here..." At the very least there should be a visual indication on the orrery of which worlds have been mapped. AFAIK the only way to see that information is in the planetary information tab of the left panel, and it gets a bit lost in the body of text.

For mapping gas giant moons I tend to start at the furthest one and work my way in. It's not optimal but it's slightly more time-efficient than starting in and working out (largely an illusion since the distance covered should be the same, but you're also driving into a gravity well rather than climbing out). Unless you're really unlucky and the every other moon is opposite its neighbour, then at least the orrery will warn you of that.

 

[Franc Kaos]

Why I love the orrery: Instantly see where the station is in relation to the close by bodies (orbit lines never really did it for me nor lines of texts with numbers). This is why having it on the ships holo display would be fantastic, zooming in when close to stars / bodies etc...

 

[Alec Turner]

Why I love the orrery: Instantly see where the station is in relation to the close by bodies (orbit lines never really did it for me nor lines of texts with numbers). This is why having it on the ships holo display would be fantastic, zooming in when close to stars / bodies etc...

I was struck looking at that screenshot that the current Orrery looks like something from Elite II ..

Come on Frontier, sex it up a bit!