Match target speed

The Dreamcatcher · Post by **The Dreamcatcher** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:10 am

One of the features that I would love to see in Oolite is the ability to match your speed with that of your target (where possible). I've seen it in a few games before and it is usually quite useful - especially when wanting to keep a steady distance between the two of you. I wouldn't mind wether this is implemented as standard, or available as a ship upgrade.

If I was aprogrammer I'd do it myself, but unfortunately I'm not so have to plead to the wise ones here.

Commander McLane · Post by **Commander McLane** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:39 am

Although I can see why you would like to have this ability, my immediate reaction is: Don't make a pilot's life too easy. What is left of the game, if the computer does it all himself? It's your piloting skills that allow you to pursue another ship, matching its direction and speed. If your skills are not up to this, then train them.

The Dreamcatcher · Post by **The Dreamcatcher** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 10:53 am

Sometimes I like to fall in with a convoy of traders en route to a planet and then pop off to make a cuppa rather than pausing the game. The problem is it's very difficult to match another ships speed perfectly and will normally end up dropping behind or moving out in front. i know it's only a minor thing, but it really bugs me.

Wiggy · Post by **Wiggy** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 11:44 am

Get an automated tea-making device instead.

The Dreamcatcher · Post by **The Dreamcatcher** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:39 pm

Wiggy wrote:
Get an automated tea-making device instead.

I had one, but she left me.

TGHC · Post by **TGHC** » Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:47 pm

The Dreamcatcher wrote:
Wiggy wrote:
Get an automated tea-making device instead.
I had one, but she left me.

Along with the diswasher etc

Commander McLane · Post by **Commander McLane** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 10:15 am

TGHC wrote:
The Dreamcatcher wrote:
Wiggy wrote:
Get an automated tea-making device instead.
I had one, but she left me.
Along with the diswasher etc

That's what happens if you confuse your girlfriend with a household machine and always play computer games instead of caring for her.

The Dreamcatcher · Post by **The Dreamcatcher** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 10:22 am

Commander McLane wrote:
That's what happens if you confuse your girlfriend with a household machine and always play computer games instead of caring for her.

Actually, she spends far more time playing computer games than I do, and it was her that introduced me to Oolite. The only reason we split up was that I didn't want to move to London (she had to move there for a new job).

ho hum.

Commander McLane · Post by **Commander McLane** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 10:34 am

The Dreamcatcher wrote:
Commander McLane wrote:
That's what happens if you confuse your girlfriend with a household machine and always play computer games instead of caring for her.
Actually, she spends far more time playing computer games than I do, and it was her that introduced me to Oolite. The only reason we split up was that I didn't want to move to London (she had to move there for a new job).

ho hum.

So then the real reason was that you could not decide who would keep the Oolite?

Helvellyn · Post by **Helvellyn** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 12:28 pm

Matching speeds wouldn't make the game too easy, because I don't think that it would be a great deal of use in combat (unlike in some other games).

JensAyton · Post by **JensAyton** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 1:13 pm

The “match target speed” command usually actually matches velocities. This isn’t possible in the same way in Oolite, since a ship’s velocity is intimately tied to its heading. A “match target heading and speed” command would be possible, but it’s Yet Another Key. Oolite’s supposed to be simple.

The Cobra Ball Run · Post by **The Cobra Ball Run** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 8:15 pm

Could it be a reuse of the docking computer key - becoming the "autopilot" key instead.

The key would make you fall into formation when you were on an escort mission - and only then. Any other functionality would be OTT - unless you use the missile targetting to decide which ship to follow.

On second thoughts - it's probably more effort than its worth.

nijineko · Post by **nijineko** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 4:20 pm

i have a different take on this idea. what about having the reticle display not only the name of ship, legal status, and distance, but also speed? that way you could match to it if you wanted to.

of course, that would also require the addition of a numerical speed display to the gui.

myself, i just keep an eye on the distance indicator, and judge the speed by the rate of change. a bit of fiddling and i'm pretty much matched to it's speed. of course, i have to adjust it myself if something changes, but hey. pilot skillz, ne? ^^

Commander McLane · Post by **Commander McLane** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 4:46 pm

nijineko wrote:
i have a different take on this idea. what about having the reticle display not only the name of ship, legal status, and distance, but also speed? that way you could match to it if you wanted to.

A display of the speed is useless without giving also the exact direction to which the ship is heading. (Ahruman said that already above.)

Have a look at a target-dump of any NPC. The information is there. But we are talking about three-dimensional vectors here. So just to know the current velocity of an object doesn't help you much. It makes a difference whether it is heading towards you with that velocity (="speed") or away from you with the same velocity (="speed") or anything in-between.