The drone minimap thing

Discussion in 'Experimental Features Discussion' started by Pach, Jun 2, 2021.

  1. Pach

    Pach Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2017
    Messages:
    588
    Likes Received:
    701
    In looking at the changelogs/fixes, I don't see this was an intentional fix... or if it was, it wasn't included (or I missed it).

    Before 1.5, while you had your drone out, you used to be able to press tab twice, and you could see the minimap while driving the drone. This function appears to have been removed (or fixed if it was considered a bug).

    This presents a problem, as using the minimap was a fix for another problem in the game.

    When you are standing in a ship (but not manning it), you have no indication when it is attacked.

    When you are actually driving the ship, there's lots of indicators: you get those lovely little !s and eyeballs to warn you. You can see incoming fire, and see the refraction of the shield hits from the cockpit.

    But when you are just inside the ship, there is no indication that anything is amiss, unless you HAPPEN to see a shield hit, or hear a defensive gun go off (assuming you have them--some early SVs don't).

    Which is why people used the minimap: you could at least watch for red dots, and if you saw one approaching, you had a chance to respond.

    The problem isn't the absence of the minimap: it's the absence of notification.

    Example:
    When I'm standing on the surface of the planet, and some creature attacks me, I:
    • hear the attack sound of the creature
    • hear my character yelp in pain
    • see the blood effect around the perimeter of the drone screen
    There's plenty of warning signs right there, that I'm under attack. Shame on me if I miss all three!

    However, when I'm drone-drilling in my ship, unless I HAPPEN to be facing my ship and see the incoming fire, there is no sound effects of the hits at all, no visuals, nothing to alert me that my ship is under attack.

    The first audible clue you get, is when your shield is gone, and blocks are being destroyed (or perhaps turrets going off if you have them, but even then, it could be "too late").

    We need something to fill this gap, so we have *some* chance of noticing an attack and having a chance to respond to it (fleeing a more powerful foe should always be a valid response :) ). A few ideas/options:

    • restore the minimap while in drone mode. I can see my quests and external temps, but no longer the map, which is baffling. With the minimap, I can watch for enemy ships. It's on me to see them in time and react appropriately, and shame on me if I don't pay close enough attention!
    • give an alarm (a "red alert") when a hostile vehicle is in perimeter (as soon as they have an eyeball on you). This would be like the base attack alert: a big red box on the screen "Enemy vessel approaching" and a loud alarm sound effect. Anyone inside the "boundary" of the vessel would get this alert. Shame on me if I don't respond as soon as I see it.
    • A sound effect when shields are hit (I really don't like this idea: it would be horribly spammy in combat, and again, if you are taking damage, it can already be "too late" to get back in the command chair and escape if you are outgunned)
    • Other ideas?
    I think the "red alert" option when a vehicle approaches is the best option, but having the minimap to have to watch for yourself is fine, too.

    Or some other idea, as long as it gives us some way to monitor the status of the ship while we aren't actually manning it. Considering we have such automation today to monitor proximity of vehicles, it's not unreasonable to assume such would exist on space vessels.

    Thanks for listening.
     
    #1
    cmguardia, Arthmoor, Spoon and 5 others like this.
  2. Timothy Smith

    Timothy Smith Lieutenant

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2016
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    12
    Thanks for pointing this out, I would like to add that I found the minimap useful and used it frequently when in drone mode. It has saved me a few times spotting incoming drones.
     
    #2
    Germanicus, GoldDragon and Pach like this.
  3. Zenopath

    Zenopath Lieutenant

    Joined:
    May 5, 2017
    Messages:
    30
    Likes Received:
    25
    I actually had no idea you could do that, now I find myself wishing I could, lol.
     
    #3
  4. Arthmoor

    Arthmoor Commander

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2020
    Messages:
    195
    Likes Received:
    141
    The red alert notice sounds like the best option to me too. I was drone mining an asteroid and didn't realize my CV was being torn apart by a destroyer until I lost contact with the drone only to find half the ship had gone missing.
     
    #4
    Germanicus and Pach like this.
  5. cmguardia

    cmguardia Captain

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2018
    Messages:
    269
    Likes Received:
    316
    Since current drones are operated from manual controls and with screens on them, it could well be that what is presented as a drone camera is seen as a remote control screen. Presenting data such as distance to the character, height to the ground and having your own radar centered on the drone.

    Screenshot_20210609-143541.png

    Ya q los drones actuales se manejan desde controles manuales y con pantallas en éstos, bien podría ser que lo que se presente como cámara del dron se vea como una pantalla del control remoto. Presentando datos como distancia al personaje, altura al piso y tener su propio radar centrado en el dron.
     
    #5
    Germanicus likes this.

Share This Page