Witchspace development

Guest 161958

G
I think one of the most important features everybody might love (possibly even more than space legs) for elite dangerous is to actually have gameplay in witchspace instead of a loading screen.

Instead of jumprange, we could have a fuel efficiency/ witchspace speed stats for how much time we can spend in witchspace, which will in turn affect how long we can stay in witchspace before needing to go scooping.

Something like the red shifted hyperspace in Star Control II, which I feel was the best and most compelling way to keep a pilot on his toes regarding managing fuel in a space game.

Just an idea which may be connected and integrated to the thargoid storyline. Discuss.
 

Rubbernuke

Rubbernuke
I always liked the idea of having jumps that acted like interdictions- you had to keep lined up throughout the jump while forces jostled you.

If you got it wrong maybe you use more fuel, or you drop early to a nearby star.
 

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead
The problem is, it would get old very quickly, if you're forced to interact with it every time.

A good way to implement gameplay in hyperspace is to allow you to leave the game to jump itself with no penalty, or have a mini game to give you a bonus should you chose to accept it.

The bonus could be something like being able to redirect to another massive object, so you can drop out at a different star, or even a gas giant, or very large planet if you can nail it.
The smaller the object, the harder the mini game. Getting it wrong can range from an emergency drop straight to normal space with some damage, to just exiting in the middle of nowhere fairly harmlessly, to even dropping out way too close to your target.
 

metatheurgist

metatheurgist
I always thought it should work like Andromeda's jump. You get a series of tunnels and you have to react quickly. The better you do the closer you get to your target. If you can't be bothered you just get the default.
 

Burke

B
metatheurgist said:
I always thought it should work like Andromeda's jump. You get a series of tunnels and you have to react quickly. The better you do the closer you get to your target. If you can't be bothered you just get the default.
Click to expand...

And then a few months down the line they could introduce a jump computer that does the tunnel flying for you? No, i jest of course but i feel that "minigames" have done enough damage already. To quote interstellar "the controls wont work here.......all you can do is record and observe"
 

varonica

varonica
RolloTreadway said:
If you changed the loading screen so it wasn't a loading screen, when would the loading happen?
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During the 25 second count down they would need to implement before the jump started of course, but then some wag would want to use that 25 seconds for some other sort of fuel managament mini-game to reduce fuel use on the hyperjump, so we would then need another 25 second countdown added before the fuel saving mini-game before the hyperjump mini-game, and then.....well you get the idea, before we know it a hyperjump would take 5 seconds with a 15 minute wait before it could initiate.

Leave it as it is, it's fine.
 

Bloodsign

Bloodsign
varonica said:
During the 25 second count down they would need to implement before the jump started of course, but then some wag would want to use that 25 seconds for some other sort of fuel managament mini-game to reduce fuel use on the hyperjump, so we would then need another 25 second countdown added before the fuel saving mini-game before the hyperjump mini-game, and then.....well you get the idea, before we know it a hyperjump would take 5 seconds with a 15 minute wait before it could initiate.

Leave it as it is, it's fine.
Click to expand...
Though I would like to be able to play tic-tac-toe against my ship AI while jumping...
 

Tygra

T
Orr....... Jumps work like they do now... except when you pick a single target jump that's further then your current jump ability, which would make a pesudo jump (not loading yet) but a mini game thing as described above, and if you win the game, you actually make the jump, at a high fuel cost, (maybe bonuses reduce the cost?) But. if you fail the game, you get tossed out at some random point. (maybe a module enables this mini-game, a Xeno Jump Booster?) Once you complete the minigame, you continue through witchspace (i.e. loading....) and come out where ever you wound up depending on your success. So, the game is optional, but if you are good at it, you can cover a larger distance with less jumps, but now flying skill could be involved. Maybe the mini-game works like the interdiction UI, (so they could barrow part of that?) so, you have to stay aligned with your destination, but in the background is the witchspace animations, to have the appearance of where you are. The difficulty of the game is based on your distance selected, too far, and you almost sure to fail, so a game of risk involved too, plus, if you don't do well, you take module or even hull damage. Risk/Reward.
 

Interstellar Overdrive

I
Lex Fernetti said:
Reducing interstellar travel to a minigame or a loading screen is very limiting. If this is what the community wants, Elite will always be in an unresolved potential state imo.

Has anybody even cared to check Star Control 2's mechanics to understand my proposal?
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Looks exceedingly dull. Not to mention difficult to implement in Elite.
 

Maymo

Maymo
I’d maybe be up for seeing some more witchspace scenarios like we got with the Thargoid interdictions...

Aside from that I think the best improvement they could make to jumping would be better wing jump mechanics. Similar to how we get bonus pips when multi-crewing, a bonus synchronised jump range while winging...

I felt for the guy who recently got stuck without manganese on the DW trip, would be nice if someone could have dropped in and actually performed a proper rescue by flying him out in a wing...

Plus, it would give people more reason to travel/explore together, which can only be good for the game.

Does look sweet when the npc’s jump together, big boom...
 

Bob McBobblehead

Bob McBobblehead
Have an option in the ships control panel to toggle auto and manual hyper-jumps.

Auto-jumps: Works the way it is now.

Manual jumps: (Works similar to the FSD-interdictor but in hyperspace)
Lets say your fuel tank at full can manage 5 jump and you have plotted a route that requires 11 jumps. Each time you pass a system in the hyper-jump it gets harder to control. You get kick out at the last successful system you passed if you fail or if your fuel runs out.
In the case above, you could jump past 5 systems in your plotted jump route if your good enough. You could do the 11 jumps in just 3 if you were good enough.
It does come with added dangers, you could end up with no fuel in a system with no scoopable stars if you're careless. Extra work for the Fuel Rats.
 

Ronzer

Ronzer
Currently, if I want to go to a place that takes 7 jumps, that means 8 systems have to be 'loaded/unloaded', if you know what I mean.

Implementing something where, you'd need to be in control and make choices, but if done right, that allows me to do the 7 jumps, then I'm only having to load/unload the 2 systems...my starting one, and my destination.

So lets say it takes that 54 seconds to load, if I execute the jumps right, it may take 3 minutes total, so that is enough time to load the systems, but still way less time than 7*~54. The added risk to 'messing up' is that if I make a wrong move, and it drops my out at wherever, once the wrong move is made I have to wait the 54 seconds to load wherever that is. That's an added incentive to git gud at jumping multiple systems.

Ultimately, though, this may mean way less work server wise.
 

varonica

varonica
Lex Fernetti said:
Has anybody even cared to check Star Control 2's mechanics to understand my proposal?
Click to expand...

Well no I haven't, so I spent a few minutes after reading this post to try and find some sort of information about it, but after bumpingnto endless you tube videos of star control 2 hyperspace remix music videos my mind melted and I couldn't be bothered with it anymore. If there is something you want us to look at to support your proposal then it's up to you to link to it, not us to search for it through the internet.
 

[VR] M4st0d0n

[VR] M4st0d0n
I wish there was some kind of piloting needed to be able to chain jumps, so you could focus on the next star until you're out of fuel or want to scoop or map.
 

Marra Morgan

Marra Morgan
No, I like having those moments to flex hands / check reports on the next system / sip drink / whatever.
 
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