Supercruise Acceleration Curves - Existing curves enhance flight

[NyanTurian]

Why does it seem like Supercruise has been forgotten again?

A possible way to change supercruise for the better would to improve its acceleration. Changing acceleration would likely solve most of the issues without touching top speed, only extreme cases like Hutton Orbital would be somewhat problematic. Once you accelerate through the usual gravity wells, surpassing the blue zone, suddenly the ship would accelerate to a higher degree. At this point if there are no significant gravity wells and there is enough distance before the next gravity well, the ship will attempt to maximize its speed. It would use an acceleration curve similar to what is available when you are between stars, 50,000 ls - 200,000 ls out. The sort of acceleration that increases from 30km/s to over 100c in a few seconds.
This way a trip between planets of 300,000 ls wouldn't take 15 minutes, but a few minutes. Similarly, the ascent from the surface of a planet and cruise out of orbit should be longest part of flying between nearby worlds.

Of course, I don't know what the technical limits to implementing this are but it seems like once the planets are rendered as fuzzy dots is when they are no longer producing a significant load? At that point, is this possible for supercruise? This would hopefully prevent any sweeping changes or incompatibilities by retaining the existing acceleration curves up to the upper end of the blue zone.

I know this has been discussed countless times but it has never received enough attention for what it means for the game.

 

[varonica]

That's not the way SC works. The speed you are traveling in SC is the max speed possible for the current gravitational conditions. SC acceleration is almost infinite, you can go from 0c to over 1,000c in seconds, but you can only accelerate up to the maximum possible in the current location. What you are talking about is changing the was gravity behaves, and that would produce unwelcome changes in other areas of the game.

 

[CMDR Rabbit]

What might be easier to implement, but end up having a similar effect (reducing time spent in SC), would be to optionally extend the amount of time you spend at the "local top speed" before your nav starts applying decel.

So you spend more time at higher speed, you just start to come back down a little later/closer to your destination.

Raises the risk of loop of shaming of course, easier to miss non graviational targets like USSs if you aren't careful.

 

[NyanTurian]

What might be easier to implement, but end up having a similar effect (reducing time spent in SC), would be to optionally extend the amount of time you spend at the "local top speed" before your nav starts applying decel.

So you spend more time at higher speed, you just start to come back down a little later/closer to your destination.

Raises the risk of loop of shaming of course, easier to miss non graviational targets like USSs if you aren't careful.

Seems about the same to me, flying at higher speed most of the time is better. Sounds like a decent alternative, maybe not as fast.

That's not the way SC works. The speed you are traveling in SC is the max speed possible for the current gravitational conditions. SC acceleration is almost infinite, you can go from 0c to over 1,000c in seconds, but you can only accelerate up to the maximum possible in the current location. What you are talking about is changing the was gravity behaves, and that would produce unwelcome changes in other areas of the game.

I don't see those as rules, but assumptions on what the developers want. Either way why be so strict and enforce people spend time staring at dots?
Edit: Gravity and everything else would unaffected.

 

[Taifu]

I don't see those as rules, but assumptions on the developers want.

Do you see gravity as a rule... in real life I mean?

Also, how dare FDev create as realistic a recreation of the Milky Way galaxy as they want.

I mean, how dare FDev create their game the way they want?

 

[NyanTurian]

Do you see gravity as a rule... in real life I mean?

Also, how dare FDev create as realistic a recreation of the Milky Way galaxy as they want.

I mean, how dare FDev create their game the way they want?

I see gravity as a rule, definitely. Gravity is being respected. This is why I said after reaching the blue zone is any of this possible because at that point you are certain distance away away from these bodies that their gravity can be easily neutralized by this fictional drive system.

 

[NyanTurian]

What might be easier to implement, but end up having a similar effect (reducing time spent in SC), would be to optionally extend the amount of time you spend at the "local top speed" before your nav starts applying decel.

So you spend more time at higher speed, you just start to come back down a little later/closer to your destination.

Raises the risk of loop of shaming of course, easier to miss non graviational targets like USSs if you aren't careful.

I would settle for this implementation over the idea of boosting acceleration. It would cut a lot of time off the longer trips.

Supercruise isn't perhaps the most important thing at this time with Odyssey but it is an important quality of life improvement?

 

[Ameeleean]

It would be enough for me if supercruise assist would be able to go below or above ecliptic in case where destination is obscured and do one more check once this new target is close enough at which point course correction would be applied. That would allow it to reach target in most of the conditions I've seen in game.

I have also seen a video once with attempt to cross "the void" between two nearby systems which were close enough for supercruise to get through it within hours so I do think speed is more than enough.

 

[fishevi]

It would be enough for me if supercruise assist would be able to go below or above ecliptic in case where destination is obscured and do one more check once this new target is close enough at which point course correction would be applied. That would allow it to reach target in most of the conditions I've seen in game.

I have also seen a video once with attempt to cross "the void" between two nearby systems which were close enough for supercruise to get through it within hours so I do think speed is more than enough.

Isn't SC between systems impossible?
"Jump" to another system is loading screen between 2 game areas, right?!

 

[NyanTurian]

It would be enough for me if supercruise assist would be able to go below or above ecliptic in case where destination is obscured and do one more check once this new target is close enough at which point course correction would be applied. That would allow it to reach target in most of the conditions I've seen in game.

I have also seen a video once with attempt to cross "the void" between two nearby systems which were close enough for supercruise to get through it within hours so I do think speed is more than enough.

For closer targets, I agree going below the ecliptic does help in avoiding gravity wells on final approach and avoiding asteroid belts near stars. However, it's not the top speed in question but how the ship handles acceleration. If our ships could accelerate to and maintain top speed much longer based on current rules, most of the least pleasant journeys would be greatly shortened.

Isn't SC between systems impossible?
"Jump" to another system is loading screen between 2 game areas, right?!

There are some videos about that, likely not possible because it's not practical.

 

[varonica]

For closer targets, I agree going below the ecliptic does help in avoiding gravity wells on final approach and avoiding asteroid belts near stars. However, it's not the top speed in question but how the ship handles acceleration. If our ships could accelerate to and maintain top speed much longer based on current rules, most of the least pleasant journeys would be greatly shortened.


There are some videos about that, likely not possible because it's not practical.

It's not possible because it's not possible, if you don't do a proper jump the system doesn't appear. You can be sitting right next to the star location you have traveled to in SC and see nothing, no star, no system, nothing, then if you implement a jump it will use the same amount of fuel it would take you if you were jumping from the start system and that will load the system. It's not that it's not practical, it's that it simply doesn't work.

 

[NyanTurian]

It's not possible because it's not possible, if you don't do a proper jump the system doesn't appear. You can be sitting right next to the star location you have traveled to in SC and see nothing, no star, no system, nothing, then if you implement a jump it will use the same amount of fuel it would take you if you were jumping from the start system and that will load the system. It's not that it's not practical, it's that it simply doesn't work.

Of course, I was being imprecise. Videos on Youtube show supercruising to another system is not possible.