I'm not against that idea.
Travel Methods
- Thread starter avarusbrightfyre
- Start date
Instant turnoff. There are already player run FC taxis that transport ships to major POIs in the galaxy that not only help breathe life into the community and the lore, but also don't block you from the game.
Your Idea would be a Great solution, and maybe more in line with the Odyssey update.
But I think a Auto Pilot for long distance travel would be better for active game play,
because you could drop out or pause at any time, in order to investigate a system,
after which you could proceed with your trip.
Actually, I think both should be added, in order to cover all the bases, for all the players.
Last edited:
Indeed. Not prohibited by the lore as autopilots have been a thing since the 2b drive.
I'm not sure I like that solution. As much as it sounds like I don't want to have to fly at all, what I'm really looking for is a happy medium between what we have now and a completely hands off approach. I don't think I'd be comfortable committing to even a couple of hours of being unable to login. And of course, what if you change your mind after you start? You're stuck being unable to play until you get where you're going, potentially for a couple of days. With the system I'm proposing, at most you'd be stuck for like 15 minutes while you wait to arrive at the next waypoint. I still want to have control of the ship, just not as much of the manual grindy jumping as we have now. You can if you want, like if you're doing some serious exploration in an area, but you can also just go straight for the furthest star you can reach if you're just trying to get from A to B.
I don't really see this type of FSD being all that hard to implement. All that's really required is to have a different set of calculations that the client uses if you have that drive/module equipped. So it would be something like a ship with X mass and Y tons of fuel can reach a system Z light years away, and travels at a speed of ZZ based on size and mods of the FSD and total mass of the ship, with the goal being that the speed of ZZ gets you there in about the same amount of time as the current method does. The further you go, the slower ZZ becomes so that shorter jumps still take only a few seconds while longer jumps can take several minutes to compensate for the time you would normally spend swinging around stars and recharging your drive multiple times. The same animations that we already have would be used, so the changes would just be adding a new calculation for jump range and the time it takes, as well as creating the files for the new FSD type or module. The only real difference the player would experience would be that you're held in the witch space loading animation for ZZ seconds instead of just dropping in as soon as loading is complete.
Having limited experience with programming, I'm sure it's probably not quite as easy as I just made it sound, but I can't imagine it's so hard they couldn't just include in a regularly scheduled patch if they decided to go for it. And if you make it about the same price as the bigger fuel scoops, it addresses your concerns about newbies. I think it could be a minor change to the game that brings a huge boon to those of us who want a bit less tediousness in the end game.
but not in all modes - you should think as well of the other modes than just OPEN, And not everybody plays every day for hours - there are a lot of people, who play just on weekends - for them it would be fine for example.
you see, i tried to find a solution which has a chance to be implemented, because it is
1. based on an existing system, which just needs to be extended
2. can be done with minimal interference with the current system
3. is an option for those, who don't have that much time to play - and would be happy, if the transfer happens offline
4. can be used by everybody - as long as he/she visited the destination before
5. is not messing with the mission system
6. is useful in all game modes, at an appropriate fee (normal transfer fee)
7. does not make exploration beforehand obsolete
8., has by these reason a chance, to be adapted by FDev
The transfer system has as well in it's current implementation no "what if I change my mind" option - you commit or the transfer will not happen. So my suggestion is compatible with the current transfer system.
the problem with you - to be frankly - is that you want everything and give up nothing for it - and in the end you will get nothing at all, because FDev has to consider, if that is something what is helping the game or not. A private solution which is just fitting your needs and no one elses, will not be implemented.
Last edited:
Fleet Carriers work in all modes and CMDRs can simply hop on, log off and arrive at their target 15+ hours later.
The only hindrance is communication works over external thirdparty tools like discord. And abduction into slavery is a risk
My suggestion meets all those criteria.
1. It's a slight modification to the existing jump system
2. It requires zero interference to implement, as it only adjusts the jump calculations for ships equipped with the new item, and doesn't change anything fundamental about the jump system itself
3. it's an option for everyone, regardless of how much time they have to play
4. they still have to physically visit a destination
5. it will not mess with the mission system, as travel time would be exactly the same for both types of drive
6. it's useful in all game modes, and it's part of the ship so no additional fees required...you paid it up front with the purchase
7. it does not make exploration beforehand obsolete because you still have to physically go to a system to get the exploration data
8. so if these are the criteria you're using to predict FDev would adapt it, then it looks to me like my suggestion ticks every single one of the boxes
I'm not exactly sure what your issue with the suggestion is. It sounds to me from most of your posts that your main concern is there absolutely must be some sort of cost associated with a convenience. I'm sorry, but that argument is dead on arrival for me. No one in real life creates a convenience and then says "oh wait, we made our life easier...let's make something else harder to balance it out". We're just grateful that something is easier now and it becomes the new normal. I'm not sure why an attitude of tradeoffs for conveniences should be applied to a game intended to be fun. It just doesn't make any sense.
It's also not a private solution just for me. If you read back through the now 7 pages of posts, there are many people who have suggested similar changes, or even much bigger changes that would fundamentally change the game, so I'm certainly not the only player who wants to see a change. I started this posts with zero expectation that anyone would agree with me, and I've been pleasantly surprised at the positive contributions to the discussion. I fail to see how that's just about me.
Well some get it and some don't, for whatever reason.
But you hit the nail on the head, and I can not see any reason, not to add these to the game.
People need to realize there is a Factor called "Attention Span", where true balance between "Fun" and "Chore" exists.
It is the main reason Add agencies keep their adds below 2 Min, otherwise people get turned from Positive to Negative about a product.
Consider that today the Average person (ED players are above average), have an attention span less than a gold fish.
SEE: The average human attention span is now shorter than a goldfish’s
The Human Attention Span [INFOGRAPHIC]
A recent study found that the average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in 2000 (or around the time smartphones hit the scene) to eight seconds today. In comparison, scientists believe that the goldfish has an attention span of nine seconds.
So the further you extend repetitive parts or a "game play loop", beyond the Attention Span limit,
you will reach a point where you break immersion and notice it, and at that point it has become too much.
So, Then it comes down to whether the repetitive parts are the fun part or the chore, and as they say, Different strokes for different folks.
And that is why we need these Ideas put into the game, in a way that gives more options to players, to enjoy either way they choose.
FCs show up in all modes. Besides that, not everyone plays Elite Dangerous just to have it sitting in the library while an imaginary ship transports their ship.
If you remember, I've been against it from the start by exactly that reason you put forward again - it's purely convenient. If we continue like this, the game will be less and less interesting to play, because it more and more plays by itself. In my mind already the SC assistant has been a mistake - but I use it as well in some ships, because it's convenient and has just a tiny trade off. It plays the game for me - just like the docking computer. And now you want the next thing playing the game for me - and I might use it, even I don't want to, because it's convenient. The game will be less and less interesting to play, because it is full of convenient things, which play the game for me, instead me playing the game. i just sit and watch - and I have to be online and watch while it performs tasks for me.
That is why I was looking for something what happens whilst not being forced to sit and watch - what happens when I'm not online and fulfills your requirements as well. I'm not looking for another convenient feature, which makes me sit and watch instead to play the game while I'm online. But if it's there, I'm prone to use it, because it is convenient. Without a trade off I will use it - but I don't want to use it, because it is not playing the game, but watching the game playing itself.
that is why your approach and mine differ that much. I don't want another convenience hindering me playing the game while I'm online. If it happens offline, it's fine though. Ok, it's weak, that i would use it, if it's there, but I know myself, I will probably use it, even I don't want to - so it is messing with my enjoyment of the game. That is why it needs to have a big enough trade off to hinder me doing it. Without such a trade-off, I'm, strictly against it. As an offline transfer it is fine, because it doesn't mess with my enjoyment of the game and it comes at a fee, so it won't be used too often.
So, now you know where I'm coming from with this.
Last edited:
I had a friend that was an alcoholic, the Doc told him, the alcohol was not the problem,
it was holding the bottle too close to his lips.
Yeah, that is exactly how it feels, if there isn't a big enough trade off.
i would like to fly my ships into the station by myself like I did in the past, I'd like to launch and fly it out of the station by myself. I'd like to do the supercruise approach by myself - but I'm not doing it most of the time, because it is so convenient to just use the automatic. Any such feature is taking away a piece of what is fun in this game. I don't need more conveniences which come at nearly no or no costs. Because I'll liikely use them - and sit and watch.
Why am I playing the game again?- Ah, flying spaceships, but I'm not flying them, I'm invoking automatic flight routines.
Last edited:
Well, learning how to control ones self, is a personal exercise, unless your Locked Down.
Sometimes resisting temptation can be a good thing, but in this case,
freedom to choose outweighs no choice at all, with no penalties required.
I'm a strong willed person in real life - but not in leisure time playing a game - there I can be quite lazy. I fly a Robinson R66, it has a garmin cockpit with auto-pilot and auto-hover, because it was built in already, when we bought it - I'm just using auto-pilot for longer stretches and am never using auto-hover - i can resist there, but not in a game.
My suggestion is choice as well - but it seems to be too much for the addicted to commit to a few hours of having to stay offline.
Last edited:
I understand, being Vietnam Recon Vet, lot of patience needed, but to me doing the jump de jump, for long distance travel
in the game, is just wasted time I could be doing Prep in the game, or getting a quick coffee, and since the plotting is already
done via the map, adding a way to connect the dots, should not be too hard to do, while the ability to turn it off would still be there.
Although it could be considered a convenience, I see it as a more efficient way to achieve the same goal, while giving the opportunity
for other activities in the game.
And when Odyssey comes out, will you be stuck in your seat, or free to do things in the ship, while Traveling Long Distances ?
Again, that's a matter of perspective. Some of us just want the experience, not the work. For us, the interest is in the setting and the super cool space ships, not the mechanics. If we can come up with a way to serve both types of players that doesn't really take away from either, why not put it in the game? My use of super cruise assist has zero affect on you and makes a huge difference to me. The same would be true of a modified jump system, so I'm really just not understanding why it's such a big issue for you. You can still do all those things manually if you want to, thus preserving the interest in the game for you. If it's a matter of being unable to resist using it, then I think you have some deeper issues to work through. It's just a game.
I seriously don't understand your position. You talk about conveniences being a problem in the game, then you state how you use said conveniences most of the time. If you're as die hard about playing the game manually as you claim, then stop using the conveniences. That way you can play the game the way you want and we can play the game the way we want. Everyone wins.
As I stated previously, I too was a pilot IRL and that's one of the main stimuli that causes me to request more convenience be added to the game. Planes these days almost fly themselves, so why are we pushing for the most manual form of flight possible in a setting far in the future?
Were I addicted to the game, I would still be playing, and I haven't touched the game in many weeks. Nor do I have any plans to purchase Odyssey, as it just compounds the existing problem.