Newcomer / Intro Tip for supercruising long distances...

Kahuna Nui

Kahuna Nui
I realise this is probably something that everyone already knows or does, but this being the newbie section of the forum, I thought I'd share my technique. If it only helps one other person, that's good, right?

Anyway, if I'm travelling to a mission area or somewhere that's maybe 80k Ls or more away, I'll engage supercruise+assist, but I'll point the red triangle directly at the object, so assist doesn't activate, which to me seems to accelerate faster, and spend a lot more time at higher speeds. Then, when I get to around 10k Ly away, I'll just pull back slightly on the stick to engage assist, and let the computer take over.

I haven't experimented to see how much time I save...mainly because I can't be arsed...and it might not make an appreciable difference, but it feels like it does.
 

Ant hill

A
Certainly a system that works. Most experienced CMDRs travel a full throttle until they are 6 to 8 seconds away then set throttle to 80%. So long add you dethrottle before 5 seconds from the object you don't overshoot.
 

Kahuna Nui

Kahuna Nui
Ant hill said:
Certainly a system that works. Most experienced CMDRs travel a full throttle until they are 6 to 8 seconds away then set throttle to 80%. So long add you dethrottle before 5 seconds from the object you don't overshoot.
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Yeah, I tried that, but I wasn't entirely successful most of the time.
 

Caramel Clown

Caramel Clown
Ant hill said:
Certainly a system that works. Most experienced CMDRs travel a full throttle until they are 6 to 8 seconds away then set throttle to 80%. So long add you dethrottle before 5 seconds from the object you don't overshoot.
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There's not even a need to dethrottle, if your assist is on auto throttle. Just punch it to the max, but aim slightly off your target. When your time hits around 8 seconds, aim at your destination. Few extra seconds it will take for assist to activate time will drop to 5-6 seconds. This way you can drop from SC at colossal speeds. I suppose works with manual throttle assist too, just slightly different approach.
 

Ant hill

A
Kahuna Nui said:
Yeah, I tried that, but I wasn't entirely successful most of the time.
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I'm not saying I'm 100% on it every time either. 😀 Dethrottle ahead of 6 seconds to be sure. I use the keybindings in the beginners guide in thus forum area. Absolute speed also depends on where you are in the gravity well more than your time with the throttle up. So best travel times are sometimes not the shortest route.
 

Para Handy

Para Handy
I find it hard to accept that F D have left SCA using 75% throttle for the whole trip - it must really "urinate"-off lots of new players who don't realise that the reason their trips are taking so long is because they are not at full speed. I mean, seriously, it can't be hard for SCA to operate at 100% then cut to 75% as the ttg drops under 0:10 or so so why not code it that way?

(How long to Hutton with SCA I wonder. :ROFLMAO: )

I know that some people like the SCA - personally, I sell them off.
 

Kahuna Nui

Kahuna Nui
Para Handy said:
I find it hard to accept that F D have left SCA using 75% throttle for the whole trip - it must really "urinate"-off lots of new players who don't realise that the reason their trips are taking so long is because they are not at full speed. I mean, seriously, it can't be hard for SCA to operate at 100% then cut to 75% as the ttg drops under 0:10 or so so why not code it that way?

(How long to Hutton with SCA I wonder. :ROFLMAO: )

I know that some people like the SCA - personally, I sell them off.
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Most of the time, I play ED with a guitar on my knee, so I use SCA to save me having to constantly reach for my joystick when the ship drifts off target. It's something to do when travelling long distances, seeing as none of the ships have in-flight movies.
 

aRJay

aRJay
Kahuna Nui said:
Most of the time, I play ED with a guitar on my knee, so I use SCA to save me having to constantly reach for my joystick when the ship drifts off target. It's something to do when travelling long distances, seeing as none of the ships have in-flight movies.
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I am sure in some cases it isn’t that our ships are drifting but that the destination is moving.
 

GJ51

GJ51
I usually cut to 75% at 12 secs.

Yes you can cut at as low as 6 secs., but at 12 - you never overshoot and it only costs less than a sec or two on the approach.
 

Zoglet

Zoglet
SCA on, target at top of the screen, watch it count down as it it approaches 10, pull back so you engage SCA at around 8 (7-6 in some cases). If you repeat a run lots, experiment with timing, speed and distance to lock onto target and you can tear in to the destination without a slow down.
 

d8veh

d8veh
It's daft to stick to fixed rules. The 75% throttle at 7 seconds rule is OK for absolute beginners, but it's a complete waste of time when you're in the vicinity of planets at final approach because they'll slow you right down again. Also, it doesn't work for steep (quick), say 45 deg, planetary approaches. It works as a general rule to reduce the throttle when the timer reaches 7 secs, but after that, you need to be more dynamic, adjusting the throttle as the timer goes up and down unless you don't mind wasting time.
 

Para Handy

Para Handy
d8veh said:
It's daft to stick to fixed rules. The 75% throttle at 7 seconds rule is OK for absolute beginners, but it's a complete waste of time when you're in the vicinity of planets at final approach because they'll slow you right down again. Also, it doesn't work for steep (quick), say 45 deg, planetary approaches. It works as a general rule to reduce the throttle when the timer reaches 7 secs, but after that, you need to be more dynamic, adjusting the throttle as the timer goes up and down unless you don't mind wasting time.
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Exactly - plus of course for planetary approaches a 50% throttle setting* is very useful - switching between the two presets allows for very controlled entry to OC.

* ... also a boon in combat, even though I am rubbish at that.
 

Zoglet

Zoglet
yup i agree that it totally depends also on in-system distance of destination and subsequent speed reached at the necessary slow down point but this is beginners tips and if you want to tweak your technique you have to start somewhere right? i would say as a beginner i mess up a fair bit but for sure, using this method is still a good deal faster than leaving sca to do it’s thing from the get go, and it’s extremely satisfying to cut out that whole drag from around 10ly to fsd exit, especially with an interdictor on your six. i still need tons of practice but i’m getting pretty good at a couple of routes i use regularly and if you’re grinding repeatedly between a and b, the time you save is worth the experimentation and can be reapplied to other routes of similar distance down the line.
 

khalismur

K
Tyres O'Flaherty said:
I use SCA a lot but I'm with Para Handy on the 75% thing. And it needs to be able to steer around planets instead of sayin "Oh look, there's something in the way. Wake up CMDR; I need you to steer my autopilot away as I'm incompetent".
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Wow hold on commander, let's stick to being lore-friendly... The game takes place in the 34th century. AI was not yet so advanced as to be able to calculate a route different than a straight line.
Decreasing throttle from 100% to 75% based on distance is out of reach as well.
 
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