Why is it there? Why do certain ships have a bigger max speed limit. Is there any explanation lore wise? I'm sure gameplay wise you could add a button that zeros the speed to whatever you have targeted. Is this one of the dumb ones like we do not have a accelerometer or back mirrors type of thing?
Speed limit?
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I think you're confusing one of two things here. A speed limit is a speed limit regardless of the ship you're in. I've never seen, a Type 7 for example, have a higher speed limit than a Cobra. The speed limit is 100 m/s at all stations and outposts. Over that when you hit something (or something hits you because computers are stupid) you get a speeding fine.
Now max speeds per ship is dependent on the thrusters equipped, number of pips in ENG, and tonnage of your ship (to name a few things).
Now max speeds per ship is dependent on the thrusters equipped, number of pips in ENG, and tonnage of your ship (to name a few things).
I mean max speed then.
I know it is dependent on thrusters and mass but it still does not make sense. In space you should be able to accelerate well beyond 400 m/s, in-fact we have planes that can reach many times over that in the atmosphere of Earth.
It has been bugging me for quite some time that a game that sells itself on being scientificly accurate to a point add a max speed to space ships.
I know it is dependent on thrusters and mass but it still does not make sense. In space you should be able to accelerate well beyond 400 m/s, in-fact we have planes that can reach many times over that in the atmosphere of Earth.
It has been bugging me for quite some time that a game that sells itself on being scientificly accurate to a point add a max speed to space ships.
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Robert Maynard
Volunteer Moderator
Primarily for gameplay - combat was judged by the Developers to be better at relatively low speed.
Also due to "the internet" - above c.500m/s, delayed / lost packets can cause rubber-banding problems.
Mike Evans has posted on this previously.
Yeah makes sense.
There is no official lore reason, but I feel your pain. We know it is the way it is because of "game" but it's nice to have a reason for lore purposes too.
I came up with my own handwavium/technobabble on the subject:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=167453&page=7&p=2984227&viewfull=1#post2984227
In addition, this residual SC field idea can be used to explain things such as the highly limited radar ranges (7km?) while in normal space (in SC space, planets are either uploaded to your database or honked via discovery scanners, but all the ships you see there are you picking up other SC bubbles)
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Ok, I see.
Its there to basically make sure people don't fly recklessly in a port where they can hit others? but it isn't a 'limit' per say, you can fly faster and as long as you do not hit anyone you are fine, but if you do hit anyone and are speeding then you will be fined and if they are destroyed, bountied.
Back before xbox release, on PC there was a time that we could hit our ships top speed, then boost to the ships top boost speed and the moment we hit the peak...... flip FA OFF, and we would continue to move at that speed. Now I'm no scientist, or the smartest man in the world by any means. Never been to space. But my assumption with space is there is no drag, so if there is no drag and you hit a speed unless your thrusters are slowing you down, you would continue on that trajectory much like an astroid. So in the end ppl ( as in pc ) complained about this for their own reasons and sadly FD folded and changed it. But what are we to do, nerf this nerf that. The life of a modern day gamer
With a bit of work it could be a fairly comprehensive explanation for many in-game mechanics.
People always talk about realism in SF without appreciating that SF often involves shaping reality to work withing story/game expectations. There is nothing wrong with this.
Sure you got your Science Fantasy end of the spectrum like Star Wars, but even then there have been excellent explanations made for how things work, from hyperspace to blasters (a lot of it in the great West End Games edition of their RPG).
But even on the harder Science Fiction scale, like David Weber's Honor Harrington series, you're changing reality to work in your favor. I love how their method of FTL conveniently also protects ships from incoming fire from all directions - except a narrow band between where the top and bottom of the impeller wedge meet - this effectively makes it so that combat has to occur in a more 2 dimensional way, allowing space combat to be feel like naval combat. That's no accident. You think about how you want things to be, then come up with a good reason for things to be that way.
I think the Residual SC field could help "explain" game mechanics in a similar way. I would say FSD field, but if we're trying to keep as much previous Elite games in lore as possible, this clearly never happened in Frontier/First Encounters, so I'd say it's a unique new experience related to Supercruise.
From a scientific perspective there really shouldn't be a "max" speed in open space...
But from a game play perspective good luck hitting something doing 500m/s. Also bearing in mind the turn around time/distance for a conda at that speed would be insane. I'm betting nearly 30KMs. Seems most games have speed limits to ships. Colony wars, Free space etc.
But from a game play perspective good luck hitting something doing 500m/s. Also bearing in mind the turn around time/distance for a conda at that speed would be insane. I'm betting nearly 30KMs. Seems most games have speed limits to ships. Colony wars, Free space etc.
Going full simulation in space games just doesn't work. There has to be some compromise for gameplay's sake, and ship speed limits are just one.
Even in so-called driving simulators, there's alot of smoke and mirrors.
Fly safe Commanders (because no one can hear your tyres screech in space)
Even in so-called driving simulators, there's alot of smoke and mirrors.
Fly safe Commanders (because no one can hear your tyres screech in space)
Mossfoot, how does that explain stations moving as fast as they do while having an FSD themselfs?
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I'm sorry? Where do they have FSDs? I know Jaques Station can jump, but most are in geosynchronous orbit around a planet and not using hyperdrive or supercruise at all. They might use an FSD while moving to their location, or getting built, but not once in orbit.
However, in general I'm thinking the residual SC charge bleeds off with surface area, so the larger it is the faster the charge dissipates. For ships, even up to Anaconda size, this effect is very slow. So, for example, a Sidewinder might keep a drag for a month, while an Anaconda might only last a week. However, at a certain point of surface area you hit the J-curve and it starts dissipating faster than it can accumulate. Therefore stations are able to "bleed" off said charge regardless of how many ships dock with it.
Is there a link to that?
Also, that's some nice writing, mossfoot. I like your style.
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On a less science-y note, I smacked into a transport ship last night. Sucked. Knocked my cobra into a tail spin and bounced off the entry way of the station. Felt like a pinball. Derp Doc, derp.
Edit: my point originally was, got a fine for reckless flying as I was speeding into the station with illicit cargo. Fail.
Edit: my point originally was, got a fine for reckless flying as I was speeding into the station with illicit cargo. Fail.
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Robert Maynard
Volunteer Moderator
Some quotes I collated previously:
I'm not a programmer or engineer (I'm a designer) and I never worked on the original games and they're massively old. What worked and was perceived as good then doesn't necessarily apply any more so it's up to us to reassess what works and what doesn't in the now. Often what worked then still works but not always. I've said many times here on the forums that total realism really isn't what any of us (the design team) are going for. Elite is a romanticised science fiction and other than the realistically populated and scaled galaxy and star systems everything else is designed to provide a good game. If it happens that it comes out seeming plausible or even realistic then that is a bonus. Also if we can use fiction to make a mechanic more realistic or plausible then we will. I get slightly annoyed when I see fans declare that we're trying to make the most realistic space game possible because we really aren't (Kerbal Space Program is probably the most realistic I've played). If I had my way I'd have scaled the universe and star systems down to a comic scale (something akin to the way No Man's Sky is doing it) but obviously that wasn't a decision the design team got to make but it's something we've had to deal with (and meant that super cruise became a thing as it was needed to ensure there was a point to the massive scale of everything; all that realistic space would be wasted if it were just boxes and corridors). Look at any mechanic or feature in our game and it quickly becomes apparent that any veneer of realism is paper thin and doesn't stand up to close scrutiny but the game play is pretty good for it (in my opinion).