Words mean things! (ATC/STC Related)

You know, when I'm coming in to land in any station, I'm paying attention to radar, using my eyes to look for other ships nearby, and listening for the ATC/STC controller to tell me it's all clear, or if there's heavy traffic I should watch out for. None of these things does me any good inside the station when I'm trying to leave. This afternoon, I was launching from a landing pad at one of many stations I visit daily, and I hear "corridor is clear." Well, silly me would figure that the definition of "corridor is clear" would mean the corridor is clear and that I can proceed. Instead, 3 seconds (I counted) after I hear these words, a Beluga comes sailing through the mail slot. As I wait for it to come through, a Hauler flies above and around me, from aft, and a Cobra Mk III plays a lovely game of "how close can I get to this Orca without taking some of his paint."

Is there any consistency to whether ATC/STC works or not? I think they just say this as part of the game atmosphere, because for the past two days, they've been wrong every single time they've told me that the corridor was clear. So far I've been lucky enough to move out of the way in time, and while some may think 100 credits isn't worth quibbling over, I think the principle of the issue matters. If the ATC/STC is worthless, why have it for anything other than ambiance? Unless, of course, it's a bug.

Thoughts?
 
The corridor was clear for the Beluga. :D

To me it is just atmosphere, keep your eyes peeled when leaving through the mail slot is the number one rule.
 
Some of the chatter does seem a reaction to me, and others not. I won't hear a Speeding warning when I'm not. But, as soon as I go over 100, I get the hook. I will just hear disembodied voices for the most part.
 
Fresh from another thread (concerning condos) and I do believe we need more ability to safeguard ourselves when landing or taking off from stations.

Chief
 
The corridor was clear for the Beluga. :D

To me it is just atmosphere, keep your eyes peeled when leaving through the mail slot is the number one rule.
Oh goodness, yes. When I flew my Beluga (I went back to an Orca for this reason), I would constantly get bombarded with tiny ships not paying attention to where they were going. I've said this before, but I think the AI is suicidal. The problem is that while I'm capable as a flyer, I can't do much when there's an NPC ship above me, one coming around the side, one coming right up my aft, and a Beluga or T9 coming through the slot. I can't move at all, so of course when one of them hits me (as I'm sitting still), I get fined.

In a more realistic setting, I think if this actually happened inside of a space station, people would get fired or shot. If this happened at a real airport, those flight controllers would be either fired or put under review, but it happens at every station, almost every time for me.

Some of the chatter does seem a reaction to me, and others not. I won't hear a Speeding warning when I'm not. But, as soon as I go over 100, I get the hook. I will just hear disembodied voices for the most part.
I love it when I use the docking computer, the ATC/STC acknowledges I'm using the docking computer, and then 5 seconds later I hear "you are in a speed restricted zone, throttle your speed, Commander!" when my DC jumps to 104 to come around. It's idiotic. I don't expect complete realism, but contextual awareness can't be that difficult, can it? That's not sarcasm, I'm really curious.

Fresh from another thread (concerning condos) and I do believe we need more ability to safeguard ourselves when landing or taking off from stations.

Chief
Exactly. Give us the ability to see what is behind, below, and above us without having to flick through half a dozen camera angles. Or at least give us an ATC/STC system that says "hold your position, Commander, there are ships coming from above/below/behind you."
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom