SirAdelaide, thank you for your comment and support for an idea that you may never use, but can see the benefit of. The conversation with Mr Romeo regarding Wings may seem off topic but it stems from his opposition to my suggestion, to whit, all modes should be the same. When I pointed out that Wings were not available in Solo mode, well, post #18 handily covers it. Now if you'll excuse me one moment...
I understand how instancing works, but we're not talking about instancing - we're talking about wings. I am waiting for proof that the functionality to wing up was removed from the game, making one mode functionally different than the other (excluding exclusions).
I certainly hope the functionality hasn't been removed as one day I hope to be able to request NPC wingmen to tackle Strong Signal Sources. But for the moment...
You know how instancing works, good. You know how to Wing up with fellow Commanders, good. Now how are you going to Wing up with another player when the matchmaker is
never going to put you in an instance with another Commander,
ever, because Solo mode has been selected? You can Wing up in Group and Open, but not in Solo.
You cannot log out while being shot at - you are given a 15 second timer instead of being logged out. The last minor bounty I got was seven and a half minutes. The difference between pausing and leaving the game is about instances. By pausing I can keep my instance. By logging out my instance is reset. As dirty as it is, being able to pause your instance instead of let it run for a few minutes or drop it all together is extremely beneficial.
So, yes you can log out while being shot at, there's a 15 second timer then you log out. While getting shot at.
If I pause the game during combat, those NPCs are still there. When I unpause, that hot laser death continues to seek me. I could then log out, subject to a 15 second timer. If I'd logged out instead of pausing, guess what, 15 second timer then back to the Main Menu. Same overall result. Player subject to 15 second countdown, same amount of time logged off from the game to avoid a bounty. Do you perhaps know what the minimum bounty time is? Is it less than the minimum requested pause time of 5 minutes?
In some of my 4k screenshot experiments I tried it outside a ringstation just after requesting docking - the instance and docking timer paused for the 53 seconds it took for the screenshot to save and then everything continued as normal. Perhaps low level bounties could also have their timer paused?
Managing systems while the game is paused was not the emphasis - reparation was. Managing these systems and evaluating these systems is something that is supposed to be hand in hand with combat. (I'm assuming) The point of the game is to deliver a rich and intense experience. Pausing the game detracts from that. This alone is enough of a reason to not implement the suggestion. Again, just because it affects nobody else does not mean it's a good idea to be implemented. Combat logging could affect nobody but yourself, that doesn't give one player any more of a right to do it than another.
Peripherals have nothing to do with this thread. If you wanna argue that players can't use peripherals because it's unfair, make a new thread.
You can't manage ship systems while paused, glad you got that. So your argument is pausing in combat to have a
bit of a think about things. Well, I've played a few space combat games similar to Elite Dangerous, stuff like: Elite, Starglider 1&2, Frontier: Elite 2, Federation of Free Traders, Frontier: First Encounters, Epic, Inferno, Wing Commander 1,2,3&4, X-Wing, Tie Fighter, X-Wing Vs Tie Fighter, X-Wing Alliance, Battlecruiser 3000AD series up to Universal Combat, Descent 1,2&Freespace, Freespace 2, Freelancer, I-War 1&2, Starshatter TGS, X 1,2&3, Evochron Alliance, Babylon5 IFH, Battlestar Galactica, Colony Wars 1&2, Diaspora, Privateer 1&2, just to name a few off the top of my head, not to mention all the other games like flight sims that feature dogfighting style combat, and do you know how many times over the past 30-odd years I've
ever paused in the middle of combat to give myself a bit of mental breathing room and a look at the situation? Is it something you, or anyone you know, does?
Your comment, "the point is that by relieving the pressure, the experience has changed." My point about HOTAS and VR users is that arguably their experience is changed, made easier, with better control and more spatial awareness. I don't think they're unfair in the slightest, indeed, how other people play their game is of no concern of mine whatsoever. If your opposition to my suggestion is based on things that change the game experience, then there are many other things you should take into consideration.
Let's not forget that by pausing the game (and or chain pausing the game), astronomical bodies can move and potentially melt you/instead not melt you.
Tried it, didn't happen. Plonked myself in front of a station, near a star, near a planet, in an asteroid field and while in SuperCruise then spamming the screenshot keys. I think you'd have to try really, really hard to get run over by a planet.