Supercruise - i am lovin it!

Kyokushin

Kyokushin
I would to share with you about my opinion about flight model and supercruise in Elite. I think it is good time, on one day before premiere.
I play ED from Augut, Beta 1.03.

On start my career i thinked there should be totally Newtonian model etc. I was wrong. Realy wrong and it would be mistake.

Supercruise is totally awesome and it have a much gameplay of every space games i played. I played x rebirth today, and flying in ED gives a much more joy.
Flying in FTL around star system is extraordinary, i like to fly and fly.

Sublight flight limit should be a bit higher than 2 machs but even now it is very good to play.
Route planner is what i waited to. Long range escapades are now more friendly.

In one sentece - entire model of flying in ED is best of all space sims i played (i played almost everything, trust me)
 

Colonel Kenney

Colonel Kenney
IN theory yes it is good. It is good to get around somewhat quickly considering the real times it would take.

In delivery... it still needs a lot of work and I'm afraid they don't agree.
 

Alymon

Alymon
I wasn't sure about it at first, but I'm digging it. Frontier: Elite 2 had time acceleration iirc, and this allows essentially that while solving the problem of it being a multiplayer environment.
 

Tinman

Tinman
Colonel Kenney said:
IN theory yes it is good. It is good to get around somewhat quickly considering the real times it would take.

In delivery... it still needs a lot of work and I'm afraid they don't agree.
Click to expand...

Kenny, Kenny...you were doing so well with trying to stay positive... :p

Personally I really like SC, but sure, improvements can always be made. Why do you assume they don't agree? As the game evolves I'm sure there will be plenty of improvements to all aspects of the game, supercruise included.
 

FuZion

F
I agree. The thought that's gone into it, how the masses of stars & planets affect it, for me, give an absolutely perfect balance between travelling massive distances, travelling very fast & being able to control the ship speed as you arrive at your destination. Quite therapeutic too.

I really think it's a masterpiece of DDF contributions & Frontier programmers/refining.

Cmdr FuZion.
 

Dethmunk

Dethmunk
The whole flight model is awesome. As a semi-casual player not a hardened SIM fiend I love the accessibility of ED's flight model and its flexibility. SC is great, I was a bit skeptical at first, but its just perfect, great way to get around a system. I wouldn't want Frontier to change this at all. Elite II: Frontier was all Newtonian physics and although I loved that game the flight model was horrible. Gone where the tight/intense dogfights and in came turret shooting and almost impossible rubber banding around enemies, I will NEVER want to go back to those days. :)
Well said OP I completely agree with your sentiments. ELITE DANGEROUS RULEZ!!! :)
 

BigBossLucas

BigBossLucas
The only thing that I'm crossing fingers to have someday is being really affected by space bodies's gravity, it doesn't seem to affect your travelling a lot, and I wish I could being catapulted when approaching a star.
 

Rikk

R
BigBossLucas said:
The only thing that I'm crossing fingers to have someday is being really affected by space bodies's gravity, it doesn't seem to affect your travelling a lot, and I wish I could being catapulted when approaching a star.
Click to expand...

Oooooh, how about a mechanic to slingshot round a star to increase the jump range a bit, reduce fuel use, or something?

No idea on the physics of this but it has cool factor...
 

Sav112

Sav112
I keep reading as I’ve been out of games for a while they only use a few cores games still and some people have six and eight cores these days. So maybe you might get your gravity affecting travel if they can shove it onto a spare CPU.


Having never played yet I’ve still to crank the SC on but cant wait……Seen it on twitch and love the sound and look.
 

Zvanya

Z
I think SC needs faster acceleration and deceleration. Hops across normal interplanetary distances is OK but over long distances it gets tedious. I recently spent 15 minutes going about 250,000 Ls.
 

GHDW

G
More braking power and faster acceleration in deep space would be really nice. Otherwise I love slinging around planets and stars at high speeds, just because it's real purdy.
 

mr.wolfie

M
SC:
  • Why do my engines need to be maxxed to enter SC?
  • If I have four pips to engines, why do the engines still need to be maxxed and not just going as quick as three pips will allow?
  • It's too long to charge engines followed by a counter just to get it going.
  • It's too slow to accelerate.
  • Without warning, sometimes, it will accelerate way past your speed indicator and become completely uncontrollable*.
  • It's too slow to decelerate when approaching your target, especially when trying to get to an Unidentified Signal Source.
  • Its method of acceleration and deceleration is cumbersome and lacks any real control by the pilot. These seem to be primarily governed by your target's distance, which involves a lot of turning around when switching targets in mid-flight.
  • I like the animation going into SC, but the exit is still fugly.


*I think this has something to do with climbing out of gravity wells, the ship breaking free and the SC computer not compensating.
But, surely if the SC computer can tell how fast it needs to be going to get me from A to B and figure out a safe speed to drop out and has access to sensors which show the planetary bodies it could also maintain a balanced speed when it leaves a gravity well and just adhere to the speed setting the pilot has selected. Bah, humbug!!
(don't tell me it's called "flying" and I need to compensate - there's no warning of sudden exit from a gravity well - if you hear the engines accelerate it's too late).
 

thorn-

thorn-
mr.wolfie said:
SC:
Click to expand...


Why do my engines need to be maxxed to enter SC?
Click to expand...


Due to the inherent design relationship between SC and normal flight, the power system requires that the SC initiator be "primed" to full-flow capacity. This prevents the system from overloading when the final SC power transfer engages


If I have four pips to engines, why do the engines still need to be maxxed and not just going as quick as three pips will allow?
Click to expand...


Maxing the relative engine output completely opens the exhaust discharge vents at every power level; the vents must be fully open for SC.


It's too long to charge engines followed by a counter just to get it going.
It's too slow to accelerate.
It's too slow to decelerate when approaching your target, especially when trying to get to an Unidentified Signal Source.
Click to expand...


In the early years of supercruise development - when it was just a theory, the general consensus was that the standard inertial dampers on ships would work quite well in supercruise, as travelling at that speed basically bends (but doesn't break) the theory of relativity and mass. Therefore, standard dampeners would actually have LESS mass to manage.


However, the first tests proved very problematic in this regard and led to the deaths of several pilots, due to their ships entering exploding upon entering supercruise. After extensive study of hull debris and cockit data, it was determined that taking the ship into supercruise in a linear velocity manner was overstressing the hull; hull integrity degraded at a exponential rate, not linear. The solution to this was to increase and reduce velocity in a logarithmic fashion, thus giving the hull an easier "flex" and much less prone to simply shear apart.


Thus, entering and leaving SC must be done in this way.


Its method of acceleration and deceleration is cumbersome and lacks any real control by the pilot. These seem to be primarily governed by your target's distance, which involves a lot of turning around when switching targets in mid-flight.
Click to expand...


As noted eariler, SC is bending the laws of nature to some degree. Because the ship literally DOES have mass (and is not converting to energy, ie e=MC2), flight controls can be somewhat touchy in the SC mode.


(All of these answers are purely fictional, of course. Then again, so is SuperCruise. ;)
 

DocMoriarty

D
Well SC is the aequivalent of timecompression translated to a multiplayer game. It's ok. What i don't like about it though is the orbit lines and gravity lines and the yellow "speed ladders" that kill immersion. It looks more like some tactical simulator than flying in space. I really wish they would implement that toggle to switch them off somewhat soonish, probably after fixing the insurance fraud.
 

CMDR Ashylnn D'Elyse

CMDR Ashylnn D'Elyse
honestly i wouldnt mind Mass Relays/Warp Gates to connect the more neutral areas of space so if someone started in alliance space and wanted to go empire space they dont have to fly 200+ Lys just to be in an area they want. heck if anything there should be a star system equivalent of Switzerland where there is a NAP between all 3 factions and have said Relays to each of the factions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom