Supercruise Rework

I agree with OP though: SC is in no way "engaging gameplay" and really, to some extent just a waste of time watching the clock tick down.
I know, space game, space needs traveling, etc, but within reason.
What is a reasonable time frame one is willing to stare at that counter reach down to 6 sec to know, now it's another 20 seconds until I drop out of SC?
Of course, there is everyone's favourite love/hate station: Hutton orbital.
90 minutes of SC is in no way "engaging gameplay".

The topic of in-system jump has already been discussed to death.
The addition of FCs already cut this mess down to some extent, as it's fairly easy to scout a system ahead and then jump to the distant bodies with the FC. Of course, 15 minutes spin up time and "engaging gameplay of staring at a garage wall" included.

So if a carrier can jump to any stellar body, how about we get an extra module, that consumes Tritium, and allows us to do the same?
I'd give my left something for a feature like that.

Yeah yeah, piracy, power play, interdiction, I know. Guess what? Can you interdict an FC? Can you pirate an FC? No? Well then, moving on.
 
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Every time this comes up I come back to the Interplanetary Transport Network.

These are known algorithms that can be used to plot non-linear paths of least resistance around planetary systems.
Subtle indicators in the SC View could mark these paths, and if you’re following them, you get an acceleration boost.

The positions of the planets are constantly changing, affecting the layout of the network, so no system would be the same and every visit to the same system would vary.

I don’t think SC needs to become another twitch based element, there’s plenty of that elsewhere in the game, but more could be done to make SC a bit more engaging and reward attentive pilots.
 
Comes to Spaceship Flying game - complains there is too much flying spaceships.

The complaint is that a significant part of the 'flying spaceship' part is excruciatingly boring, involves no skill whatsoever and is absurdly uneventful. Now, if that is just the epitome of gaming to you: good for you! For everyone else it may be a meaninful idea to discuss what could possibly improve on this absolute garbage-tier aspect of ED. After all: do absolutely nothing for [insert time] is to many people not that exciting.

If this blasphemy is allowed, Braben be praised, of course. To ble clear: coming up with excuses why a boring and crappy experience is 'rEaLiStiC' and 'iMmErSivE' is not very convincing.
 
Every time this comes up I come back to the Interplanetary Transport Network.

These are known algorithms that can be used to plot non-linear paths of least resistance around planetary systems.
Subtle indicators in the SC View could mark these paths, and if you’re following them, you get an acceleration boost.

The positions of the planets are constantly changing, affecting the layout of the network, so no system would be the same and every visit to the same system would vary.

I don’t think SC needs to become another twitch based element, there’s plenty of that elsewhere in the game, but more could be done to make SC a bit more engaging and reward attentive pilots.
In general agreement, but the ships in the game handle like beached whales. Maybe a slight exaggeration...

 
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There was an FSD expert on here a number of years back that would be a real asset (and also possibly a huge downer) on this thread.

I once asked him how the FSD could accelerate away from stars so easily but struggled so much around tiny planets, he replied back with several paragraphs of science that I couldn't even begin to describe here. I remember not even knowing how to reply...

The point I'm trying to make is that unless FD decide to throw their version of science out of the window and fully accept that this is 'just a game' we aren't likely to get a quick/exciting version of supercruise....ever.

Like I said earlier in the thread, supercruise could be made more tolerable if there was a way to directly interact with the game from the cockpit that doesn't necessarily involve changing course, such as an in flight mission board or other distractions that could potentially add a general bustle to a system and make the galaxy feel richer and more alive.

Edit:
If FD do throw science out of the window then I totally vote for something cool to do with the boost button while in supercruise. Hammer it down, use 4x as much fuel, arrive twice as fast... 😎

... I just single handedly solved everything in ED. The fuel rats would be busy for years rescuing FDL's and the galaxy would be free from gankers. That'll be a tenner from each of you..😊
 
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Nothing realistic about super cruise whatsoever.

Indeed, I'm pretty sure instantly moving from one point in space to another at least has a basis in theoretical physics, whereas magically displacing space from the front of your ship and popping it out behind you so you can achieve speeds in excess of light is pure fantasy.
This isn't true at all, and for macro interstellar travel in the real-world, is exactly how it would work.
 
Supercruise is the worst game mechanic ever.

SIT AND DO NOTHING for any distance over 3kls.

Think about that. A VIDEO GAME, that has the player sit and do NOTHING for extended periods of time.

Yeah space is big - go shout your argument in the vacuum you treestump.

Distance travel can be represented by wear and tear on the ship, fuel, taxes, whatever.

SIT AND DO NOTHING over and over and over, in a VIDEO GAME.

Best design decision ever, right?
 
Edit:
If FD do throw science out of the window then I totally vote for something cool to do with the boost button while in supercruise. Hammer it down, use 4x as much fuel, arrive twice as fast... 😎

It would be disappointing if FDEV did something like that, people keep complaining about SC acceleration when that's not and never has been an issue, you can accelerate from nearly 0 to hundreds of C in seconds in the right conditions, and that's where people get it wrong, there's a maximum speed based on gravitational effects, and all bodies in the system are used to calculate that unless you are in the capture zone of a body. But using a single star example, if you flew in SC around the star in a circle at a given distance your speed would be the same no matter where on that circle you are, if you move away from the star your speed will increase to the max allowed at that distance, of you move closer your speed will decrease, it only feels like acceleration because people generally move to and away from objects and rarely circle them.

If you travel far away from any gravitational source until your speed reaches in excess of 1000c and change throttle settings you will actually see and can measure how fast acceleration and deceleration is, but any experiments in a gravitation field will only demonstrate the max SC speed for that location. There are pages where calculations are posted on how it all works.
 
Distance travel can be represented by wear and tear on the ship, fuel, taxes, whatever.

So instant travel from system entry to station right? That will make CG's a lot easier, and PP impossible.

My questions is, if you hate it so much, why are you playing ED? If I hate a game that much I just stop playing it.
 
It would be disappointing if FDEV did something like that, people keep complaining about SC acceleration when that's not and never has been an issue, you can accelerate from nearly 0 to hundreds of C in seconds in the right conditions, and that's where people get it wrong, there's a maximum speed based on gravitational effects, and all bodies in the system are used to calculate that unless you are in the capture zone of a body. But using a single star example, if you flew in SC around the star in a circle at a given distance your speed would be the same no matter where on that circle you are, if you move away from the star your speed will increase to the max allowed at that distance, of you move closer your speed will decrease, it only feels like acceleration because people generally move to and away from objects and rarely circle them.

If you travel far away from any gravitational source until your speed reaches in excess of 1000c and change throttle settings you will actually see and can measure how fast acceleration and deceleration is, but any experiments in a gravitation field will only demonstrate the max SC speed for that location. There are pages where calculations are posted on how it all works.
-holds hand up and backs away-
I was just jesting...

I've got no issues with supercruise...
Since missions got the nice little tag that lets us know our travel times in advance I've never really gone anywhere I didn't really want to go. 👍

It's interesting though, have any of you ever watched the original launch trailer?

Source: https://youtu.be/dwvjElmFCfE


What might have been. I especially like the part when the Cobra scoops up cargo at 400m/s...
 
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So instant travel from system entry to station right? That will make CG's a lot easier, and PP impossible.

My questions is, if you hate it so much, why are you playing ED? If I hate a game that much I just stop playing it.

look at the truth is that it matters little how it works, everything feels just as tedious ... and the truth is that we are in 2020 and we continue using propelled rockets to go into space and move through it ... have you seen any engine of alcubierre or if it would really work and if it would do it this way?Please, get out of that bubble in which all you live of false realism ... then you jump or a system to a 1ly and I see a lot of stars and nebulae on the way (hyperspace) how do you explain that?




I just hope that one day, if frontier really leaves the game for solo player and release the code, and we start to modd the game making it more cool and entertaining, and it will prove how wrong you were all lovers of traditions and that nothing is touched.
 
-holds hand up and backs away-
I was just jesting...

I've got no issues with supercruise...
Since missions got the nice little tag that lets us know our travel times in advance I've never really gone anywhere I didn't really want to go. 👍

It's interesting though, have any of you ever watched the original launch trailer?

Source: https://youtu.be/dwvjElmFCfE


What might have been. I especially like the part when the Cobra scoops up cargo at 400m/s...

that's the super cruise we should have, an instantaneous acceleration / deceleration, no more...but I think ,the LEP Council, decided to make it boring 😂
 
OK, but these are kind of like conflicting forces, and while I like the real-world analogy, it doesn't quite make sense for FTL travel (not that anything really does anyway, but here we are) where it's possible to travel faster than the gravitational acceleration effect of something from its current location and mass could reach you, and bearing in mind that even if they did, the effect would still be insignificant at the speeds and the scale of time players play the game in. For normal space travel this would make more sense, but then we'd be limited to 1c, of course (never mind the effects of time-dilation).

In supercruise we are currently limited to 2001c. Changing how much we are able to speed up and slow down within a system, basically lowering the force effect scaling at range of gravity wells, would let us travel faster between things without changing the current mechanics.

And if we had an optional gravity well field overlay, this would make it more interactive as well, as people could dynamically adjust and correct their courses.

On the other hand... I do like Star Trek IV. Warp 10 around the Sun anyone? ;)

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Orange bitty fall int the gravity well and get slowed down as normal, green bitty is where you could slingshot accelerate.
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In setion view this time...
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No worries. I understood what you were saying. I just don't agree that it really makes sense in the game. It's a nice idea otherwise though. From a game-play perspective it seems decent, certainly better than having little active piloting and feedback in supercruise between things currently.

Cheers.
 
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Supercruise is fine. Go do something else. Go to the bathroom. Hang up laundry. Cook. Eat. Get a drink. Watch tv. Immersion? Your pilot needs to do all of these things as well. They literally live in the ship. That ship is goddamn huge (except for sidewinder and eagle). There is a living area and galley in there somewhere. So for immersion purposes, life still needs to happen.

Of course, no one seems to complain about instantaneous repair, refuel, cargo transfer, ship switching, installation of modules, data transfer, mid-route messaging.........

But out in the real world? It's fine. It's a short break for you to get up and do literally anything else that you NEED to do so you aren't in front of the game for hours on end unable to stop because you need to be physically present every single moment. Same with auto dock. Honestly? should have been the same for planetary landings. There's no skill involved, no 'feel good' achievement to be had. Just annoyance (it does get old. In fact, during the first landing). It could and should have been automated as well.

Supercruise is a case where you literally DON"T need to be watching the distance/timer, so if you are and getting bored... that's on you. Read a book. Look up every minute or two. Message a friend. Chat with your twitch audience. Download . You have literally infinite options during supercruise, but you choose to watch the distance shrink....
 
that's the super cruise we should have, an instantaneous acceleration / deceleration, no more...but I think ,the LEP Council, decided to make it boring 😂

It already does, fly away from everything until you are doing over 1000c, set throttle to zero and see how long it takes, then set throttle to max and see how long it takes, it's literal seconds to 1000c. Now lets see, lets put you facing a planet and let the SC acceleration take you to max speed instantly, or drop out of warp facing a star, instant 1000c+? There's a reason you slow down near stars and planets, but lets not stop there, lets make crashing into something at 1000c instant death as it should be and then watch the salt flow.
 

I had some slight inconsistent drift on my controller before the previous one about 5 years ago. I had to check my heading every 10 minutes or so to stay on course. Generally not an issue. But there was that one supercruise jaunt that took something like maybe 8~10 hours back then. One of the more contextually realistic and exciting bits of game-play I've had in the game so far. The results, not quite so much unfortunately, but still exciting in their own way I suppose.

The system I was "in" (not Alioth) had the closest scoopable star and the other next closest one was a non-scoopable white dwarf, so I actually had to make two jumps with that much fuel to survive back into the same system that I started from. Luckily I was just able to. I'm not sure if the Fuel Rats existed yet back then.

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