[POLL] Sticky Reduced Game Speed

[alt3rn1ty]

The new Reduced Game Speed (Settings - Accesibility) (needs a Key binding to toggle it on/off) is not sticky.
Currently the Game Speed setting (I have mine at 75%) gets saved ..

.. But the state of the toggle (on/off) does not get saved.

Personally I would prefer to run the game at 75% all the time .. But have to toggle it on every time I load up the game.

Would much prefer if the state of the toggle for this feature became sticky in our save.

Why?:
I much prefer the Game Speed being at 75% of its normal speed for a few reasons ..
1. SETA also runs at 75%, so instead of speeding the whole game up to 6 times normal game speed, it also gets cut down to 75% .. so circa 4 times normal game speed instead of 6 = Laptop gets less hot when SETA is running.
2. Is more of a perception thing, landing a ship feels/looks more majestic and less rushed.
3. I'm old

Also (though I do not have any empirical data on this) I think the games Collision Avoidance behaves better at 75%, maybe it's just placebo because I think the game engine has more time to think about manoeuvres. I swear the game (with an AI NPC Pilot for the ship you are on) has less incidents of smacking into asteroids as one example, than it does at normal Game Speed.

I'm probably one of the few that regularly uses it so I guess this request for change is a bit niche.


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[Raptor34]

Where is the I have no idea what this is option?
But anyway, this does sound like an interesting option that seems kinda hidden, especially considering late game lag. Is it helpful for that? Like do things still work smoothly? I'm thinking of late game battles for this, or even if sometimes you need to say visit your HQ which might be built a tad too much, though not to kills your computer levels.

[alt3rn1ty]

Where is the I have no idea what this is option?

But anyway, this does sound like an interesting option that seems kinda hidden, especially considering late game lag. Is it helpful for that? Like do things still work smoothly? I'm thinking of late game battles for this, or even if sometimes you need to say visit your HQ which might be built a tad too much, though not to kills your computer levels.

Yeah I thought this might be something people are not so aware of.

Ref your questions - No idea, I haven't done a before and after of any scenario. All i know is dogfights are slightly less twitch reactions, I have a bit more time to think in them as an old timer, and the feeling without definite proof that the AI avoides collisions a little better.

I doubt using it would help performance as you still have the same amount of ships / bullets etcetera flying around in sector.

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There have been a few responses to the poll so far that want to leave it the way it is, but no reasons posted as to why keeping it on after a reload of the game would be a bad idea.

I guess like yourself nobody so far has used it to any great extent that they realise why keeping it on would be a good idea if they took advantage of using it.
Its not like you are not going to realise it is still on, as there is a HUD indicator showing that Reduced Game Speed is active (The SETA busy icon, rotates at a slower speed than it does when SETA is active).

[GCU Grey Area]

But anyway, this does sound like an interesting option that seems kinda hidden, especially considering late game lag. Is it helpful for that? Like do things still work smoothly?

That's essentially how I use it. Like to play the game at 4K & have as many of the pretty graphical options turned on as I can manage while maintaining a reasonable fps. Sometimes however local conditions (fog, lots of asteroids, large fleets, etc) result in rather fewer fps than I can put up with. Rather than degrade the graphical quality, for the sake of what is often a temporary situation, I prefer to turn game speed down to mitigate.

[Raptor34]

Where is the I have no idea what this is option?

But anyway, this does sound like an interesting option that seems kinda hidden, especially considering late game lag. Is it helpful for that? Like do things still work smoothly? I'm thinking of late game battles for this, or even if sometimes you need to say visit your HQ which might be built a tad too much, though not to kills your computer levels.

Yeah I thought this might be something people are not so aware of.

Ref your questions - No idea, I haven't done a before and after of any scenario. All i know is dogfights are slightly less twitch reactions, I have a bit more time to think in them as an old timer, and the feeling without definite proof that the AI avoides collisions a little better.

I doubt using it would help performance as you still have the same amount of ships / bullets etcetera flying around in sector.

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But the topic is not about that, its about having the toggled state of the feature remain on in a save, so for those of us who do use it we don't have to keep switching it back on every time we load the game.

There have been a few responses to the poll so far that want to leave it the way it is, but no reasons posted as to why keeping it on after a reload of the game would be a bad idea.

I guess like yourself nobody so far has used it to any great extent that they realise why keeping it on would be a good idea if they took advantage of using it.
Its not like you are not going to realise it is still on, as there is a HUD indicator showing that Reduced Game Speed is active (The SETA busy icon, rotates at a slower speed than it does when SETA is active).

Thanks.
And because I'm assuming you could use it even while not on a ship? In such a case I would rather not have used it previously and then later forget about it which seems highly likely.
If it's like SETA and it's only on while at a ship or console and turns off otherwise, then I'll vote yes instead. Though in such a case it'll also feel less useful too, but whatever, I've lived without it previously anyway.

[alt3rn1ty]

Thanks.
And because I'm assuming you could use it even while not on a ship? In such a case I would rather not have used it previously and then later forget about it which seems highly likely.
If it's like SETA and it's only on while at a ship or console and turns off otherwise, then I'll vote yes instead. Though in such a case it'll also feel less useful too, but whatever, I've lived without it previously anyway.

You can use it while not on a ship, just press the keys you bound to toggle it on/off anytime.

You will not forget about it being on, as the UI Indicator makes it known it is in use. (Made a few screenshots for the OP)

[Raptor34]

Thanks.
And because I'm assuming you could use it even while not on a ship? In such a case I would rather not have used it previously and then later forget about it which seems highly likely.
If it's like SETA and it's only on while at a ship or console and turns off otherwise, then I'll vote yes instead. Though in such a case it'll also feel less useful too, but whatever, I've lived without it previously anyway.

You can use it while not on a ship, just press the keys you bound to toggle it on/off anytime.

You will not forget about it being on, as the UI Indicator makes it known it is in use. (Made a few screenshots for the OP)

But what about in person view? That's a ship view.

[alt3rn1ty]

But what about in person view? That's a ship view.

Oh yes, fair point, in person view you do not see this indicator at all.
I asked Egosoft once before if they would do something you could see when not in a ship, but "no answer" was the reply

[Raptor34]

But what about in person view? That's a ship view.

Oh yes, fair point, in person view you do not see this indicator at all.
I asked Egosoft once before if they would do something you could see when not in a ship, but "no answer" was the reply

I suppose make it optional could be a setting then.
Like this and pause on load. Speaking of which, can you toggle it on the loading screen like pause?

[alt3rn1ty]

Like this and pause on load. Speaking of which, can you toggle it on the loading screen like pause?

I just tried it, loaded up the game while not in the pilot seat, paused the game, used the toggle keys to activate RGS, unpaused the game, jumped in the pilot seat and the RGS indicator was slowly turning.

I also just found what I think is a bug though viewtopic.php?t=468615

[Duncaroos]

Poll is not mutually exclusive, so I can't vote "no preference" as I don't use this feature

[alt3rn1ty]

Poll is not mutually exclusive, so I can't vote "no preference" as I don't use this feature

Ok, Poll amended.

Anyone who previously voted needs to vote again if you will kindly oblige.
Sorry for any inconvenience.
There will be no further changes.

[LameFox]

Given the unobtrusive indicator—and the fact most of those UI elements are pretty opaque if you don't already know what they mean—I do think there's a risk of people forgetting they have this on in a save and coming to steam/here/reddit like "why is my game slow??", but that's probably not insurmountable.

[alt3rn1ty]

Given the unobtrusive indicator—and the fact most of those UI elements are pretty opaque if you don't already know what they mean—I do think there's a risk of people forgetting they have this on in a save and coming to steam/here/reddit like "why is my game slow??", but that's probably not insurmountable.

Yes, and as has been mentioned we could do with a UI indicator that is not just displayed on the Cockpit heads up display, but everywhere, when walking or on the map. The only way to tell currently is if you know that the SETA indicator is the RGS indicator when it goes slower than normal, which you have to be really used to being able to tell the difference. If you have the setting at 75% also its not a big difference from normal game speed, so to tell if its on when just walking around, you can run across a set distance, if it takes longer than normal you know RGS is on. Bit of a pain in the butt.
Egosoft did not answer last time I asked the question.

[LameFox]

Given the unobtrusive indicator—and the fact most of those UI elements are pretty opaque if you don't already know what they mean—I do think there's a risk of people forgetting they have this on in a save and coming to steam/here/reddit like "why is my game slow??", but that's probably not insurmountable.

Yes, and as has been mentioned we could do with a UI indicator that is not just displayed on the Cockpit heads up display, but everywhere, when walking or on the map. The only way to tell currently is if you know that the SETA indicator is the RGS indicator when it goes slower than normal, which you have to be really used to being able to tell the difference. If you have the setting at 75% also its not a big difference from normal game speed, so to tell if its on when just walking around, you can run across a set distance, if it takes longer than normal you know RGS is on. Bit of a pain in the butt.
Egosoft did not answer last time I asked the question.

tbh I feel they ought to replace the SETA one entirely. I guess they chose it for the association with time passing or something, but seeing a loading animation on my HUD does not intuitively communicate altering the rate that time is moving, even though I already know what it is in this context. Maybe they could unify these into something a bit more recognizable to convey current game speeds from paused onwards.

[Scoob]

While I've not used the feature, it makes sense that the game remembers the player's choice in this regard, same as anything else.

Tell me though, what utility does this feature have for you? Is it literally just running the game slower, so combat etc. is easier (for example) or are there other benefits? I know when performance is bad, such as in a large battles - about the only time I'm unhappy with the performance - ships perhaps don't behave as well flight-mechanics-wise. Also, with low-fps, if the player wants to dogfight too, it's a rather horrible experience. With a lower "Sim speed" does FPS stay more stable as the game has less work to do, proportional to the % setting.

I admit, I didn't quite get the point of this setting when I first became aware of it. I mean, if I need to slow things down, I Pause and issue commands before resuming again. I wonder where the game just running more slowly might benefit. Genuine question, I've not tried the feature myself as I didn't quite get it lol.

I need to test this when I next get chance...

[S!rAssassin]

All toggle states of game must be saved. Also toggle off Flight Assistan must be saved.

[alt3rn1ty]

Tell me though, what utility does this feature have for you? Is it literally just running the game slower, so combat etc. is easier (for example) or are there other benefits?

Why?:
I much prefer the Game Speed being at 75% of its normal speed for a few reasons ..

1. SETA also runs at 75%, so instead of speeding the whole game up to 6 times normal game speed, it also gets cut down to 75% .. so circa 4 times normal game speed instead of 6 = Laptop gets less hot when SETA is running.
2. Is more of a perception thing, landing a ship feels/looks more majestic and less rushed.
3. I'm old

Also (though I do not have any empirical data on this) I think the games Collision Avoidance behaves better at 75%, maybe it's just placebo because I think the game engine has more time to think about manoeuvres. I swear the game (with an AI NPC Pilot for the ship you are on) has less incidents of smacking into asteroids as one example, than it does at normal Game Speed.

Having posted that, I have since found a bug, so I now dont believe that SETA is also running at 75%, as it cancels RGS when you engage SETA .. but imho it shouldn't, as CBJ said RGS affects everything in game. Probably technical reasons, will have to wait and see what Egosoft do with the bug report.

So .. revised list of things I like about it :
50% is a bit too much, but 75% is sweet, for me anyway
1. It's more of a perception thing, landing a ship at docks feels/looks more majestic and less rushed.
2. Also (though I do not have any empirical data on this) I think the games Collision Avoidance behaves better at 75%, maybe it's just placebo because I think the game engine has more time to think about manoeuvres. I swear the game (with an AI NPC Pilot for the ship you are on) has less incidents of smacking into asteroids as one example, than it does at normal Game Speed.
3. Your bullets/lasers/bolts feel more awesome.
4. This may be just me but my Hydra Regal with a 5* Pilot seems to have a better hit ratio when in a furball with a few Kha'ak.
5. I'm old , so fighting in dogfights with game speed at 75% I have a little more time to think/reaction time. I'm not as good at twitch reactions as I used to be.

No.5 is what this feature was designed for ..

The setting is primarily there for accessibility purposes. There are some players out there who need to be able to slow games down in order to deal with the more frantic combat situations, etc., and this is for their benefit. If other people want to play around with it then that's fine too, of course. And yes, it takes the form of a reverse SETA, slowing down everything in the game.

[alt3rn1ty]

While I've not used the feature, it makes sense that the game remembers the player's choice in this regard, same as anything else.

All toggle states of game must be saved. Also toggle off Flight Assistan must be saved.

At last, people get it

[Khugan]

I had no idea about this. So glad I saw this post. Thank alt3rn1ty!