Long range docking computers?

Liquidator · Post by **Liquidator** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 11:31 am

Hello all!

Is there any specific reason that the docking computers can only be activated (for docking with space stations) when you are within the "S" zone?

As far as I remember from back in the days of Elite for BBC I could at any time press C and have the docking computers function as an autopilot.

Now I am beginning to miss this feature as it seems unavoidable having to visit planets with little chance of any action taking place. It would be nice & convenient not always having to pay too much attention to the game

Perhaps as an extra equipment-OXP, "Witchpoint-to-target autopilot"?

Captain Hesperus · Post by **Captain Hesperus** » Sat Dec 01, 2007 12:01 pm

If you are wanting to get from the Witchpoint to the station quickly, by far the easiest option is to fly at a right angle from the planet at full power for 10 seconds or so, then re-orient on the planet and activate the in-system Torus drive (press j). This will get you from Witchpoint to station in less than a minute and a half in most systems, without mass-locking.

Captain Hesperus

Commander McLane · Post by **Commander McLane** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 5:56 am

Yes, you should follow Hesperus' advice. Leaving your ship unattended on autopilot wouldn't be a good idea even in the most harmless systems, because you may have to face a sudden pirat ambush everywhere.

nijineko · Post by **nijineko** » Mon Dec 03, 2007 4:49 pm

or a certain trumble salesman.... ^^

Liquidator · Post by **Liquidator** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 7:43 pm

I understand. The insurance. Maybe if I get rid of my escape pod?

Cmdr. Maegil · Post by **Cmdr. Maegil** » Tue Dec 04, 2007 8:56 pm

Erm... the pod has nothing to do with it... It's just that since about all the traffic is concentrated in a lane between the wichpoint and the station, if you get away from the lane you won't be mass-locked by other ships and can get to the station in a single run.

Post by **Micha** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 5:19 pm

I think this should be in as well.

I often find myself in a busy system surrounded by traders and police so I put Oolite into a small window and do other stuff (keeping a reasonable eye on the scanner though!) Would be nice to just autopilot until you get there or something requires your attention.

If you've got an Advanced Space Compass it should take you to whatever you've got the ASC locked on and, if possible, dock you when it gets there.

As this was in original Elite, do people think this should be a function of the existing Docking Computer (as it was back then), or a new piece of equipment?

Lestradae · Post by **Lestradae** » Fri Oct 10, 2008 6:20 pm

As people will usually have a hard time to all agree on something

perhaps it would be the best to make it a new piece of (oxp-) equipment.

Now you just have to find someone who creates the oxp for you

Cheers

L

Commander McLane · Post by **Commander McLane** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:51 am

Micha wrote:
I often find myself in a busy system surrounded by traders and police so I put Oolite into a small window and do other stuff (keeping a reasonable eye on the scanner though!) Would be nice to just autopilot until you get there or something requires your attention.

If you've got an Advanced Space Compass it should take you to whatever you've got the ASC locked on and, if possible, dock you when it gets there.

As this was in original Elite, do people think this should be a function of the existing Docking Computer (as it was back then), or a new piece of equipment?

It seems I play Oolite in a completely different style, so I don't really see a need for any kind of autopilot. If there is too much trader/police-traffic in the corridor I either use my injectors to get past it (until I reach the next uninhabited part of the corridor, where I can activate the torus drive), or I circumvent the corridor altogether and fly directly to the station with the torus drive. In any case there are no long periods of inactivity on my side. Either I have to switch between I-speed and J-speed constantly, or I arrive at the station in a couple of seconds.

Technically I just want to say that showing the direction of a target in the Advanced Space Compass and automatically turning to that direction and flying to that target are two completely different things. The Advanced Space Compass is made for the former, but I don't see how it could possibly do the latter.

Also I don't remember that there was a functionality like that in the versions of Elite that I played (C64 and Atari ST). Maybe you could activate your docking computers from the witchpoint, but if you did that you were certainly doomed, because the docking computers never disengaged automatically. So if anything got in your way (asteroids), you would collide with it and probably die (and as Elite was player-centred, all asteroids were invariably spawned exactly on your path, some kilometes ahead of you), and if anything attacked you (pirates), you would just continue on your course to the station without any defense and probably die.

Post by **Micha** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 9:49 am

All valid points.. As for the C64 version, yes you could activate the autopilot from the witchpoint and yes it was totally dumb - it flew you towards the planet until in range of a station and then it docked you there. I can't recall asteroids spawning directly in front of you (they usually had a speed) but it certainly didn't care either and would fly you straight into it.

I fondly remember my first ever Thargoid encounter - I had no idea what it was. It didn't fire at me, just spawned the little Thargons. They didn't shoot either, just flew around me. Then I got called to dinner. Still a looong way from the planet, I optimistically turned on the autopilot and went. No surprise, I came back to a 'Game Over' screen

With gameplay I agree that we seem to have completely different styles. I hardly ever use the injectors unless I'm in a fight. For me getting to the planet is part of it, it's not just getting asap into the next fight/station/action-filled bit of the game. For me it's the entire atmosphere of jumping to a new place and then flying to it. In fact I often don't even use the jump drive. Far more relaxed this way

I also wasn't meaning the ASC should fly you somewhere - I suggested it should be the target for the autopilot. So instead of the autopilot always taking you to the main station it should take you to whatever the ASC is locked onto.

Wiki pages · Post by **Thargoid** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:44 am

Micha wrote:
I also wasn't meaning the ASC should fly you somewhere - I suggested it should be the target for the autopilot. So instead of the autopilot always taking you to the main station it should take you to whatever the ASC is locked onto.

And that I think will be the blocking point, at least if this was by OXP scripting rather than a trunk code change (or the latter to enable the former). I don't believe it's actually possible to read via script which beacon the ASC is pointing to.

It's simple to make a list of beacons within the system (a filtered entity list of entities for which isBeacon is true) but there's no way to select a specific player choice from that list, from the ASC setting or any other way without getting horribly complicated and using an in-flight mission screen.

Post by **Eric Walch** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:18 pm

Micha wrote:
All valid points.. As for the C64 version, yes you could activate the autopilot from the witchpoint and yes it was totally dumb - it flew you towards the planet until in range of a station and then it docked you there. I can't recall asteroids spawning directly in front of you (they usually had a speed) but it certainly didn't care either and would fly you straight into it.

I can confirm this on the C64. I also regularly switched on the docking computer from far away and start doing other business in my room.

It's not possible by oxp but changes in the core game would be small I guess. Currently you have to target the station you want to dock. In this case the computer puts the player in an dockingAI.plist. It is exactly the same AI.plist that is used by docking NPC ships.

You could add an equipment long range docking computer. When the player has it, the current docking computer first checks if a station is targeted. If yes and it is dockable, do it the old way. If no, set target to the object in the compass and start a longRangeDockingAI.plist. This is just an AI that guides the player until 15000 meters from the target object and than switches over to the normal dockingAI.
Avoiding asteroids will be easy as this is simply done with the normal AI instructions. The player is just put in a kind of traderAI.plist.
It is the responsibility of the player to selects a compass symbol that has a station nearby. e.g. when you select witchpoint, the AI script will bring you to the witchpoint and than docks at the closest station (what could be the main station)

Alternatively you could skip the docking part and just leave the player idle when reaching destination and there is no station around.

Post by **Micha** » Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:41 pm

@Eric: that is pretty much what I had in mind. In fact, interestingly enough, if your ASC is locked onto a ship, you effectively become an Escort for the ship

The main question from me to the community is - should it be another piece of equipment, or should it just be an extension to the existing docking computer?

RazorbackSnr · Post by **RazorbackSnr** » Mon Oct 13, 2008 3:15 pm

Are long range docking computers just being discussed because people cant be bothered to dog-leg from the witchspace beacon?

I remember putting Docking Computers on my C64 and if i went for my t or whatever, just like Eric says, i came back to find i was history.

I dog-leg it every time and i dont meet a soul. Switch ASC to N and put your gunsights "slightly" off from the station so you dont smack into it. Press j then 5 so your machine doesn't have to struggle with generating the frames and when it says Mass Locked the station is always in range.

After pressing 5 go do something else till she says "Mass Locked". Easy.

If people just want to potter along without J or I then shouldn't they be sat there anyway to admire the view???

Sounds like some people have got a death-wish. Like Cmdr McLane says:

QuoteYes, you should follow Hesperus' advice. Leaving your ship unattended on autopilot wouldn't be a good idea even in the most harmless systems, because you may have to face a sudden pirat ambush everywhere.Unquote

The Wormhole Analyser is a good idea. Its nice to know where your goin, especially a jump to an Anarchic system(6.8LY),which has already been mentioned, with full tanks.

Commander Old · Post by **Commander Old** » Sat Oct 18, 2008 9:47 am

Sorry to go slightly off topic-particularly on my first post-but I can't help thinking it would be better if ships came with a docking computer installed as standard. The biggest put-off for people with Elite was the frustration of spending a lot of time getting to Zaonce space station and then crashing.Thankfully, cheat upgrade programs with a docking computer included quickly appeared on the main formats, Commodore, Spectrum etc.
But I knew people who gave up the game after several hours of crashing and never went back to it-and I am sure it is still happening with Oolite.
Another consideration is that elderly and disabled people are often excluded from the game as they have not the ability to control a ship so precisely.
The use of the computer could be optional for those who wish to fly into a station manually.
Just my 2 credits worth.