Parking "Brake" for Unoccupied Ships

[Valiant70]

Happily, Ragnarok Galaxy has returned to using zero friction. However, there is one disadvantage. If a ship is nudged, it will float until it reaches an unloaded sector. For now, we'll just dock our ships so that doesn't happen, but I think it would be fairly easy to implement a feature similar to a parking brake that ships may set to prevent a ship from drifting very far if it is nudged or rammed with no one on board.

When active, the parking function would automatically slow the ship to a halt as if someone were inside holding the shift key. (Shift uses the thrusters to stop the ship in a realistic fashion; I'm assuming default key bindings.)

The parking function would have three modes:

• ON basically locks down the shift key and continues to slow the ship until disengaged by the pilot.
• S-AUTO (for Safety Auto 0r Standard Auto) engages the parking function when the last player logs out or unaligns from the ship and disengages it when someone enters the core. This is the default mode.
• P-AUTO (for Pilot Auto) engages the parking function when the leaves the core and disengages it when someone enters the core.
  
• OFF prevents the parking function from working until it is re-enabled manually. This is risky to use but the option should be included to give players full control.

EDIT: A config setting called "parking safety mode" could be added to server owners can choose to prevent "forgot the brake" scenarios. 0 enables all settings. 1 disallows OFF and 2 disallows OFF and P-AUTO.

 

[lupoCani]

This suggestion does pop up every once in a while, and is generally regarded as the best way to implement zero-friction as a default config. Personally, I support it.

 

[zigyzigy]

Agree witg the principle though I think it might be more simple to just have 2 configurations for server friction , 1 for ships that are occupied and 1 for ships that are unoccupied.

 

[Valiant70]

Agree witg the principle though I think it might be more simple to just have 2 configurations for server friction , 1 for ships that are occupied and 1 for ships that are unoccupied.

Why? If a ship uses its thrusters to stop it makes more sense.

 

[Snk]

As always with your ideas, a top notch suggestion. +1

 

[zigyzigy]

Why? If a ship uses its thrusters to stop it makes more sense.

Mainly so admins can chose to not have to deal with 'oops I forgot the parking break' situations

But then I suppose there could simply be a server config to disalaow certain functions of your suggested idea... like the off setting.

 

[Valiant70]

But then I suppose there could simply be a server config to disalaow certain functions of your suggested idea... like the off setting.

I think that's a better idea. Adding to OP.

 

[Auriga_Nexus]

This is a good idea for ships, but planet chunks and asteroids are going to have issues. When playing on ElywnEternity I have had several instances where I've gone into an asteroid field too hot and rammed the roid I was trying to mine. Because it has no thrusters and therefore no means of propulsion it will keep spinning off indefinitely into space.

Perhaps we can implement a despawn function for asteroids and other non-moving entities, where they automatically despawn when they get a certain number of sectors away from their original spawn point, preventing them from spinning off into infinity (or at least the maximum universe size the server can handle after which it crashes)

This would more or less solve the #1 major drawback to playing on a 0.00 friction coefficient server, having ships spin off indefinitely.

 

[Valiant70]

This is a good idea for ships, but planet chunks and asteroids are going to have issues. When playing on ElywnEternity I have had several instances where I've gone into an asteroid field too hot and rammed the roid I was trying to mine. Because it has no thrusters and therefore no means of propulsion it will keep spinning off indefinitely into space.

Perhaps we can implement a despawn function for asteroids and other non-moving entities, where they automatically despawn when they get a certain number of sectors away from their original spawn point, preventing them from spinning off into infinity (or at least the maximum universe size the server can handle after which it crashes)

This would more or less solve the #1 major drawback to playing on a 0.00 friction coefficient server, having ships spin off indefinitely.

Don't worry. Anything that drifts stops when it hits an unloaded sector. Your 'roid stopped somewhere when the game engine decided no one was looking.

 

[ltmauve]

What about activating drag only after a collision, until the pilot accelerates or the object stops?

 

[Cryptex]

This is basically like what a shuttle in real life does - it uses internal reaction wheels and small RCS thrusters to hold a certain position or prevent unwanted kinetic movement. I find it funny that ships in this game are unable to at least hold themselves steady or remain at a certain angle/alignment. The simple translation to this game would be for a ship to constantly do the equivalent of the player holding down shift. Of course I would like it if it went a step further and there was a way for the vessel to keep itself in its current alignment too. Rather than getting pushed around and spiraling crazily to a stop, it would make more sense if the vessel attempted to hold itself in its current direction/angle as well as slowing to a stop. (Current position being determined by the direction the vessel was facing when the player left the core).

 

[Valiant70]

What about activating drag only after a collision, until the pilot accelerates or the object stops?

What if the pilot leaves the cockpit en route and then falls out of the ship?

 

[Auriga_Nexus]

What if the pilot leaves the cockpit en route and then falls out of the ship?

Well I do know that a player aligned to a ship but not in the ship's core still shows up on the navigation panel as that ship's crew. Since the game already detects the astronauts inhabiting a ship based on that, why not make to where the automatic dampeners do not kick in unless there are no crew members detected aboard?

 

[Valiant70]

Well I do know that a player aligned to a ship but not in the ship's core still shows up on the navigation panel as that ship's crew. Since the game already detects the astronauts inhabiting a ship based on that, why not make to where the automatic dampeners do not kick in unless there are no crew members detected aboard?

• S-AUTO (for Safety Auto 0r Standard Auto) engages the parking function when the last player logs out or unaligns from the ship and disengages it when someone enters the core. This is the default mode.