Travel mode cheats - should they be removed?

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Bokuku
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Joined: Thu, 6. Dec 18, 08:36

Re: Travel mode cheats - should they be removed?

Post by Bokuku »

Best cheat is to hit Shift +1+4. Sometimes you have to try it a few times to stick... but it's travel mode+SETA :)
A5PECT
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Re: Travel mode cheats - should they be removed?

Post by A5PECT »

I agree that Zero Throttle out of travel mode should be normalized with Deactivate travel mode. But I'm not particular about which way it should be done: you can make Zero Throttle decelerate more slowly, or make Deactivate decelerate more quickly.

On the other hand, I rather like on-off course correction: it's fun, has some depth and requires a degree of skill:

You have to be quick or you lose too much speed. You have to be accurate to aim at your target as quickly as possible, while timing each input properly so you don't overshoot or undershoot the turn. Different ships will handle differently during the manuever, and some ships can utilize it more effectively or perform it more efficiently than others.

And I don't see it giving rhe player any massively progression- or difficulty-breaking advantage.
Last edited by A5PECT on Fri, 7. Dec 18, 17:52, edited 5 times in total.
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fcth
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Re: Travel mode cheats - should they be removed?

Post by fcth »

I'd like to see full stop do the same thing as zeroing the throttle. More importantly, I'd like to see the throttle actually do something while in travel mode. It's just annoying to kill travel mode too soon and then have to either wait, or spin it up again. And it would be nice when approaching a gate from the side or something to be able to make that turn at a manageable 1000m/s instead of a too fast 4000m/s or a too slow 200m/s.
kmunoz
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Re: Travel mode cheats - should they be removed?

Post by kmunoz »

I think this may have been changed for 1.30....? But toggling flight assist off while in travel mode no longer throws you out of travel mode.

It's the exact opposite of what I would prefer, but...actually...I'm happy with it. Because at least now the concept remains consistent.

(If it wasn't a 1.30 change, then I'm just a nincompoop who didn't notice before.)
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sd_jasper
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Re: Travel mode cheats - should they be removed?

Post by sd_jasper »

So I did a bit of testing and found it took about 20 seconds to get my Falcon from 0 to 3093 m/s. The last few m/s taking longer as the acceleration slows down toward the max. It takes about 3 seconds to go back down to 0.

Now disabling flight assist mode when at max speed then hitting <backspace> takes about 22 seconds. The falcon has rotating engines, so my next test is to try this with a ship that has rear facing engines only.

But what I want to know is... why doesn't travel mode accelerate you with flight assist off? Is this a bug?
kmunoz
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Re: Travel mode cheats - should they be removed?

Post by kmunoz »

sd_jasper wrote: Sat, 8. Dec 18, 02:49 So I did a bit of testing and found it took about 20 seconds to get my Falcon from 0 to 3093 m/s. The last few m/s taking longer as the acceleration slows down toward the max. It takes about 3 seconds to go back down to 0.
And this makes you wonder... if the reverse thrusters are so damn efficient at slowing a ship down, why aren't they being used as primary acceleration thrusters, so you can get up to speed just as quickly?

(Though I suppose one could argue that the boost engines are the same type as the reverse thrusters, and that they're both super efficient but can't be used for more than a few seconds. Hmm.)
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stopherr
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Re: Travel mode cheats - should they be removed?

Post by stopherr »

Travel Mode is awesome sauce. Haven't used the brake once yet nor the toggle on off flight assist. You just have to think ahead when your using it. Coming in to hot, just flip your ship around and hit the boost. Love me some space travel.
jacozilla
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Re: Travel mode cheats - should they be removed?

Post by jacozilla »

Why is it a cheat to use technology?

Any level of tech, once advanced enough, is basically 'magic' to those less advanced - I'm guessing sometime between 21st century and X4 future, the ability to do a 'handbrake' turn or stop isn't out of possibility.

Basically, what OP is saying is that by current limits of flight mechanics, the travel methods are 'magic' and a cheat in order to presumably put in some quality of life ease. What I mean by this is he's applying today's limits or understanding of flight mechanics to a future tech.

Aside from 'reasons' or game quality of life justification, I have no problems imagining accel/decel future tech that makes the feature plausible.
kmunoz
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Re: Travel mode cheats - should they be removed?

Post by kmunoz »

jacozilla wrote: Sat, 8. Dec 18, 05:35 Why is it a cheat to use technology?

Any level of tech, once advanced enough, is basically 'magic' to those less advanced - I'm guessing sometime between 21st century and X4 future, the ability to do a 'handbrake' turn or stop isn't out of possibility.

Basically, what OP is saying is that by current limits of flight mechanics, the travel methods are 'magic' and a cheat in order to presumably put in some quality of life ease. What I mean by this is he's applying today's limits or understanding of flight mechanics to a future tech.

Aside from 'reasons' or game quality of life justification, I have no problems imagining accel/decel future tech that makes the feature plausible.
That's sort of where this all ended up, but that's not what I was initially trying to say at all.

My argument at the beginning was that it appeared that the developers intended for travel mode to have two specific trade-offs in exchange for speed: very slow turning and very slow braking. Without those trade-offs, there is no real distinction between standard mode and travel mode. By "default" these trade-offs are part of travel mode, and so the mode makes sense in terms of game mechanics. However, it is also possible to circumvent the trade-offs by using the full stop option (fast braking) or turning off flight assist (fast turning) while in travel mode. If these two circumventions had their own trade-offs (for example, hull or shield damage as a result of using them while in travel mode), then the game mechanics would make sense. But as it stands right now, using full stop or the flight assist toggle have zero repercussions when used in travel mode. I find that strange, problematic from a game design perspective, and disappointing.

My original point has absolutely nothing to do with realism or physics. Travel mode as a concept doesn't conform to reality or physics anyway, so to argue my point on the basis of those things would be silly and counterproductive. The only argument I was making was about what I feel was a baffling game design decision.
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