As someone who has been adamently opposed to auto pilot and fast travel, this has got me thinking more about this.
A few things first though...unless the ship is specifically designed for it, maintaining the minimum 42 seconds between jumps indefinately is nigh on impossible. There will always be a point where the ship will need to slow and refuel beyond the next jump countdown, and I have a feeling the majority of people who want this autopilot are not flying ships designed to 42 second jump scoop indefinately.
Given the logic and reasoning many have presented in justifying open only power play, i.e. the ability to directly oppose other players, the auto pilot feature should not be available to purchase or use while a pilot is in open. Unless of course a mechanic is created and implimented that allows for a pilot who is actually at the controls of their own ship to see and interdict autopiloted ships.
So, since the ideas have been presented as a way to automate long range travel, and not as a fast travel mechanic, I think it would be perfectly fine to impliment if the ship is outfitted with a fuel scoop, and have the time the autopilot trip would take calculated based on the fuel scooping rate, not allowing for any scanning to be done, even basic honking, and the route would have to be made using only previously tagged star systems, so no autopiloting off into unexplored territory.
A few things first though...unless the ship is specifically designed for it, maintaining the minimum 42 seconds between jumps indefinately is nigh on impossible. There will always be a point where the ship will need to slow and refuel beyond the next jump countdown, and I have a feeling the majority of people who want this autopilot are not flying ships designed to 42 second jump scoop indefinately.
Given the logic and reasoning many have presented in justifying open only power play, i.e. the ability to directly oppose other players, the auto pilot feature should not be available to purchase or use while a pilot is in open. Unless of course a mechanic is created and implimented that allows for a pilot who is actually at the controls of their own ship to see and interdict autopiloted ships.
So, since the ideas have been presented as a way to automate long range travel, and not as a fast travel mechanic, I think it would be perfectly fine to impliment if the ship is outfitted with a fuel scoop, and have the time the autopilot trip would take calculated based on the fuel scooping rate, not allowing for any scanning to be done, even basic honking, and the route would have to be made using only previously tagged star systems, so no autopiloting off into unexplored territory.