General Why don't we have a Master Supercruise Assist/Docking Computer?

[CMDR Correa]

You know, one that can auto-launch your ship, take you through the plotted route, circumvent the stars, take you to the station you want to dock, and auto-dock. Is that so hard to implement?




P.S.: Yes I'm lazy and I know you are too, and I also know you watch Youtube while supercruising so don't pull that one on me.

 

[Elliot Coleman]

Because some bright individual at FDev thought 2 tons worth of computers were needed to do the job of a smartphone.

It's the 34th century, sure...be we do enjoy our 1950s computing technology.

 

[Taifu]

The audacity of FDev, expecting people that bought their spaceship flying game, to actually fly the spaceships.

I can't wait to see threads complaining that Odyssey didn't come with autorun, autojump and autoaim, and why can't FDev just put them all into one suit mod.

And come to think of it, why do the missions not just autocomplete as soon as I take them?

 

[LeoBartlet]

You know, one that can auto-launch your ship, take you through the plotted route, circumvent the stars, take you to the station you want to dock, and auto-dock. Is that so hard to implement?

The developers of the game probably imagined some might want to play the game from time to time and not leave it to a computer to do all the work.

P.S.: Yes I'm lazy and I know you are too, and I also know you watch Youtube while supercruising so don't pull that one on me.

Im also lazy but if I leave everything to the computer what's the point in even playing the game.

 

[Riktar]

Some want a hands on experieince, some might prefer a screen saver.

No judgement, to each their own....

 

[varonica]

The developers of the game probably imagined some might want to play the game from time to time and not leave it to a computer to do all the work.


Im also lazy but if I leave everything to the computer what's the point in even playing the game.

I mean, if you are just going to tell the computer what to do and watch youtube why even bother simulating the galaxy? They could have done it all on a spreadsheet and asked you to use your imagination to fill in the missing graphics.

 

[here_it_comes]

The dissenters all cry out against OP not over his suggestion, but over the modules themselves having been implemented by FD. I have zero interest in auto computer myself but good Lord, the kneejerk defensiveness of people here is so over the top.

OP, yes. It would make sense to combine them, but don't hold your breath. We still have to have separate Limpet Controllers for each type and Sensors that weigh 160 tons are barely different from Sensors that weigh 1.3 tons. On top of that, this is the Suggestions forum. Where nothing is ever listened to, let alone implemented.

 

[T200]

at the very least I should be able to cram both computers into a size 2 slot.

 

[Amanojaku]

I mean, if you're talking realism, in 3300 would there even be human pilots? By then I'm sure AI could do everything better, but this is a sci-fi video game. For now, humans flying spaceships is par-for-the-course in pop culture.

Still, I would like to see docking/SC assist as integral features of ED ships. Fuel Scoops too, which could still be upgraded by buying higher class scoops (but every ship would have a class limit based on size). Imo they shouldn't be optional and shouldn't take up a module slot. They should be integral and mandatory.

 

[here_it_comes]

Imo they shouldn't be optional and shouldn't take up a module slot. They should be integral and mandatory.

+1. I'd never us it personally, but it should be there.

 

[Tikanderoga]

Because some bright individual at FDev thought 2 tons worth of computers were needed to do the job of a smartphone.
It's the 34th century, sure...be we do enjoy our 1950s computing technology.

That sounds about right.
In comparison:

2 tons of hardware to control ONE limpet! (watches it crash into the next rock)
8 tons of hardware to control two limpets. (hang on, isn't double to two 4 and not 8?)
32 tons of hardware to control and coordinate 3 limpets! (Even Nasa's computer in 69 weighed less than that and it landed a moon lander).
and to top it all off:
128 tons of hardware to control 4 limpets! 4 measly limpets, that happily crash into an asteroid, or start buzzing around the rock, not able to get to a chunk until the rock spins enough for them to get smashed.

In comparison, the Apollo guidance computer weighed a whooping 32kg.

Apollo Guidance Computer - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

So if a 128t computer cannot control 4 limpets, to avoid rocks, i think the odds of a 2t computer being able to get us out of the mail slot (make that thing bigger!), into SC, around a star and to our destination, drop out of SC and land us at a station, are fairly low. and by low I mean SUPER low.
Consider your ship a limpet. A highly expendable limpet.

 

[varonica]

OP, yes. It would make sense to combine them, but don't hold your breath. We still have to have separate Limpet Controllers for each type and Sensors that weigh 160 tons are barely different from Sensors that weigh 1.3 tons. On top of that, this is the Suggestions forum. Where nothing is ever listened to, let alone implemented.

No, no it wouldn't, they are separate modules for a reason, just because you fail to undestand that isn't our problem!

 

[Robert Maynard]

at the very least I should be able to cram both computers into a size 2 slot.

If that were the case then I would expect that the Class 1 slots added to ships when the SCA and ADC modules were added to the game would be removed (two from small ships and one from medium and large ships).

 

[here_it_comes]

..they are separate modules for a reason...

Do enlighten us.

 

[varonica]

Do enlighten us.

Not going to repeat everything I said in the last, was it 8 or 10 threads the last times this came up over the last few years, you want enlightenment you need to look for it, that's the only way to enlightenment, it's not just given to you!

 

[Elliot Coleman]

The audacity of FDev, expecting people that bought their spaceship flying game, to actually fly the spaceships.

If keeping Hutton Orbital centered on screen for an hour is your idea of fun...well, who am I to judge?

Some of us would rather do other things during long, boring supercruise times.

 

[CMDR Correa]

You know, one that can auto-launch your ship, take you through the plotted route, circumvent the stars, take you to the station you want to dock, and auto-dock. Is that so hard to implement?

P.S.: Yes I'm lazy and I know you are too, and I also know you watch Youtube while supercruising so don't pull that one on me.

I'd like to add: Some people commenting like: "Oh, this is a simulator, you should go along and not leave everything to the computer". I used to go by that idea, but now that my available playtime shrunk substantially, I've noticed that it takes more time to actually get to the mission site than to actually perform it, maybe time is not an issue for some but.... Plus, it gets boring really fast (especially when you stack missions), unless you're actually exploring.

Furthermore, if the problem was about having to actually do the supercruise I would have suggested something like "Oh, just find a way to transport me to the required system instead of making me go there myself!!".
And it would probably be implemented....
And you people would then complain about the lack of gameplay during that time....

wait a second.......

 

[Tikanderoga]

If keeping Hutton Orbital centered on screen for an hour is your idea of fun...well, who am I to judge?

Some of us would rather do other things during long, boring supercruise times.

Movies need to be watched, house need to be vacuumed, and dinners need to be cooked.
Aren't we glad this "emergent gameplay" caters to a busy lifestyte?

 

[here_it_comes]

Not going to repeat everything I said in the last, was it 8 or 10 threads the last times this came up over the last few years, you want enlightenment you need to look for it, that's the only way to enlightenment, it's not just given to you!

Your opinion is important enough for you to poke your head in and proclaim so, but not important enough to give.

 

[FX2K]

re: the slot requirements... I'm pretty sure (might be mistaken though) that ships where given an additional slot to house the SC module, so essentially nothing was lost with that.
re: the fly it for you... well, I'm all for having my NPC be able to take temporary control of my ship, like they can in combat (if I go out in an SLF) but there needs to be downsides, like perhaps, unable to avoid interdictions and/or limited route planning. I don't think it would benefit the game allowing it to "play itself" completely, at all.
Other than that.. there are taxi's

p.s I would really like to engineer my ships SC acceleration/deceleration though, or a global change for all.. not a fan of instant, but a percentage faster for sure.
Makes space seem a bit smaller, sure, but not as much as longer jump range modules/engineering. Plus we have engineering for normal flight speed and handling. SC (the most boring aspect, imo) has not received any of that love.