How to conveniently travel between sectors?

[typhen]

Hi! I've just completed the training and I'm starting to play the game as a Federation pilot. But I'm struggling to find a way to navigate between sectors that isn't tedious, fiddly and error-prone.

Everything else that I've encountered so far in the game has been... ruthless, difficult, and challenging in a good way. Inertia's a bitch, and it's great.

But these long-range warps seem risky in ways that don't create any meaningful challenge, just bland and time-consuming obstacles.

Hopefully as a complete newbie I'm just missing some information about the convenient ways to travel!

I'm following one of the Quests, and it's asking me to move to locations that are about 100 sectors away from me, each time.

As soon as I started attempting these quests I've been having several problems with long-range travel. And I have three associated questions for you, experienced player!


Problem 1: The autopilot takes lots of realtime to jump 100 sectors.

During those many minutes the game is totally non-interactive... I can't even go into inertial mode and swing my camera around to get a look at the sectors I'm skipping through... because the autopilot needs to control my heading. So... I go off and wash the dishes or tidy up my desk until the game is ready to interact with me again.

I started with a 4x sector jump drive.... maybe the solution is to wait until I can afford a 40x sector jump drive? (hoping that exists!)

To solve problem 1, I suppose the best solution is to use warp gates whenever I can.

But how do I find warp gates? If there isn't one in my sector, do I need to look through nearby sectors one-by-one (in three dimensions) to try to find another gate, then check each warp gate to see if it happens to be going in the right direction? There doesn't seem to be any quick way to find that info using the in-game map. (Slide mode in the map would be almost good enough, but for some reason it requires me to be fully zoomed in... ugh)

I'm sad that the autopilot system can't factor in the warp gates that it has in its map database when it travels

So my question 1 is:
How do you find warp gates when you want to go somewhere? Do you keep notes on paper to keep track of where convenient jump gates are in the sectors you're familiar with? Or do you use the in-game map every time?



Problem 2: I presume that it's possible to get attacked during autopilot jumps, right?

If so, how do you solve this? Since it takes ages and I can't do anything while it executes, I have mostly been going and finding something to occupy myself while my ship jumps from sector to sector. But, if hostile ships are likely to ambush me while I'm travelling, then maybe I should sit and stare at the screen for several minutes each time I do a long-range jump on the off chance that hostiles show up?

So, my question 2 is:
If getting ambushed during autopilot warps is a threat, how do you mitigate the risk? (I play the game with headphones, so I won't hear combat unless I'm sitting in front of my computer...)


Problem 3: Last time I did a 16-sector jump, I materialised inside something in the final jump... and died instantly. Huh. Well. Shit. That was... underwhelming.

I plotted the warp by punching in sector coordinates that the quest gave me, but I didn't adjust the x/y/z coordinates.

The reason that I didn't check my coordinates in the destination sector is because I haven't found a way in the map interface to move the current sector view to the sector that contains my nav point. Erm, what? Hopefully that button exists somewhere and I just missed it? Or maybe there's a mod that adds it? It seems completely essential...

So far, it appears that the best solution to this is to ignore the ability to type in sector coordinates, and instead navigate with the mouse through the 3D map until we arrive at the destination sector. I sure hope I'm wrong about that

Punching in sector coordinates into my navigation computer and firing up the warp drives makes me feel like an awesome space captain, ala Battlestar Galactica.

Punching in sector coordinates into my navigation computer? and then warping into a moon because the navigation computer couldn't check its own mapping system makes me feel like going to play something else...


So my question 3 is:
When you're plotting a jump to another sector, what's your go-to technique to try not to warp into anything? Do you always save before warping? Or do you normally just warp blind and hope for the best?

So those are my three questions...

bonus question: am I approaching it wrong? Is the game trying to communicate to me, via interface tedium, that I should be crawling slowly toward quest points, not jumping more than a couple of sectors at a time (avoiding autopilot), and looking for contracts in between, rather than skipping quickly between sectors?

[Vice]

Hello and welcome.

Long-range jumps are not necessary to complete much of what is available early in the game. They are optional for those interested in performing fixed objectives in quests that may require them and/or exploring deep space. But you don't have to utilize the option if you find them to risky, challenging, time consuming, or error-proned for your liking at this stage of the game. You can stick with shorter range local jumps, a longer range jump drive when the time comes, jump gates, and/or more populated space as may be desired. That said, here are answers to your specific questions/issues:

Problem 1: The autopilot takes lots of realtime to jump 100 sectors.

Yes it can. Two points here that may help. First, you may want to wait until you acquire a Mantis jump drive which shortens a 100 sector trip to 10 jumps. Second, be sure to boost the energy bias setting to full 'W' +5 as that shortens the recharge time (the jump drive waits until weapon energy reserves are at full as it uses that power to engage).

But how do I find warp gates? If there isn't one in my sector, do I need to look through nearby sectors one-by-one (in three dimensions) to try to find another gate, then check each warp gate to see if it happens to be going in the right direction? There doesn't seem to be any quick way to find that info using the in-game map. (Slide mode in the map would be almost good enough, but for some reason it requires me to be fully zoomed in... ugh)

Jump gates are indicated by the purple circular icons on the nav map. It sounds like you might be trying to manage map navigation using alternate control modes fully zoomed in. Keep the map in the 2D flip mode and simply use zoom/snap zoom to check the space around you for gate locations and their destinations. Use the mouse wheel (or 'Zoom Out' button) to zoom out a bit to bring more sectors in view, then right click on a nearby sector to snap zoom to one with a gate icon in it to analyze its destination (just hold the mouse pointer over the gate icon). The sector destination will appear next to 'Dest:' in purple letters at the bottom of the map and the name of the system (if applicable) will appear below that. Then if you want to return to a centered map, just click on the 'Center' button at the lower right of the nav console. This way, you can check any gates in the area in a matter of seconds.

I'm sad that the autopilot system can't factor in the warp gates that it has in its map database when it travels

If it did, then the game would be playing itself more and one of the design objectives of this game is to involve the player in flight/navigation decisions and control as much as feasible.

How do you find warp gates when you want to go somewhere? Do you keep notes on paper to keep track of where convenient jump gates are in the sectors you're familiar with? Or do you use the in-game map every time?

It's easiest to just use the in-game map. If you switch to the quadrant view mode, you'll find lines that show the gate paths to each system. Those lines indicate which systems are connected to each other by the jump gate network. And in general, gates are placed in those systems in the directions of those lines. So for example, if you wanted to travel from Pearl to Rucker, you'll see a line that goes in the direction of Rucker starting from the lower left of the Pearl system. That is the direction (from the center of the Pearl system) where you will find a jump gate to take you there. The return gate is then in the upper right from the center of the Rucker system also in the general direction of the line on the quadrant map.

Problem 2: I presume that it's possible to get attacked during autopilot jumps, right?

Not really if you properly prepare. That is, keep your IDS setting and jump drop speed very high to keep your ship's speed faster than they can intercept and hit you with cannon fire/missiles. You can do that by setting the IDS to 5X or higher (9X is fine) and keeping your throttle/set speed at maximum even if the IDS is turned off so that you are drifting between jumps.

When you're plotting a jump to another sector, what's your go-to technique to try not to warp into anything? Do you always save before warping? Or do you normally just warp blind and hope for the best?

Jumping can be a challenging proposition and is intended to carry some risk with it. The keys to success are situation awareness on plotted jump points and mitigating risk through optional selection and configuration mechanisms. If you want to 'jump' into the deep end of the pool right away with long range autopilot jumps, I would suggest hiring a navigator crew member. They will help correct navigation errors you or the computer makes while performing jumps. Try to find the highest skilled navigator you can and pay them well to keep them on board and build their skill level (the better they get, the less chance of a mistake they will make when performing corrections for you). For more manual control options, keep the nav map zoomed out by at least beyond the range of the jump drive you are using at the time. Watch for obstacles that come into view and adjust your arrival point as may be needed. This is one thing you can do in the time between jumps while you are waiting... it gives you an opportunity to review your jump travel path before the next jump to plan for any corrections that may be needed (such as if you don't have an adequate navigator in place). You may need to temporarily turn off the autopilot to provide more time to make course corrections or not, depending on how fast you are. Also, rather than just activating the autopilot with a sector destination, change your in-sector arrival point to something more toward the edge of each sector where there is less chance of an object getting in your way. For example, change your in-sector Y and/or Z destination location(s) to something closer to the edge of the sector and keep it there until you get close to your destination sector, then adjust as desired to arrive where you want to be after the last jump.

bonus question: am I approaching it wrong? Is the game trying to communicate to me, via interface tedium, that I should be crawling slowly toward quest points, not jumping more than a couple of sectors at a time (avoiding autopilot), and looking for contracts in between, rather than skipping quickly between sectors?

Not really. It sounds like you are simply trying to complete more complicated/risky navigation operations with a starter ship, no crew, limited jump drive, and limited console utilization. With a little practice and some upgrades, you'll likely find the process much easier and safer.

As you advance in the game and acquire more tech/equipment, you'll also find that such distances become less of an issue and you will be able to travel farther in shorter time. But it can take a while to get to that point, so more local objectives and jump gate travel routes are generally preferred until that time. But eventually, you'll be able to travel farther with a longer range jump drive and even be able to optionally build jump casters that can take you 1000 sectors in one jump. There are also a few wormholes scattered about for shortcuts that you can discover.

[Marvin]

...even be able to optionally build jump casters that can take you 1000 sectors in one jump. There are also a few wormholes scattered about for shortcuts that you can discover.

Read up on the jump casters. They are free with a deploy constructor (personally, I thought they should be harder to get) and are a real boon to exploration or long-range travel. But you need to read up on how they work ... or you'll probably end up wasting a lot of metal. As for wormholes, if you're in a sector where one might exist, check the Navigation map ... it will be listed on the left-hand side.

[typhen]

Hello and welcome.

Hi!

Thanks for the detailed and thoughtful response. It helps.

be sure to boost the energy bias setting to full 'W' +5 as that shortens the recharge time (the jump drive waits until weapon energy reserves are at full as it uses that power to engage).

Oh! That wasn't clear to me at all. Super useful to know.

Keep the map in the 2D flip mode and simply use zoom/snap zoom to check the space around you for gate locations and their destinations.

OK, i'll give it a shot that way.

Question: are all jump gates at Y=0, or can they be anywhere in 3D?

I'm sad that the autopilot system can't factor in the warp gates that it has in its map database when it travels

If it did, then the game would be playing itself

OK, that's fair. I would certainly prefer it if autopilot warping is engaging to actively manage rather than something I need to step away from the keyboard for. Hopefully that's the case.

If you switch to the quadrant view mode, you'll find lines that show the gate paths to each system. And in general, gates are placed in those systems in the directions of those lines.

Interesting.

Problem 2: I presume that it's possible to get attacked during autopilot jumps, right?

Not really if you properly prepare. That is, keep your IDS setting and jump drop speed very high

Cool I'll do that! Though I guess it greatly increases the odds that I'll slam into an asteroid during autopilot warps!

If you want to 'jump' into the deep end of the pool right away with long range autopilot jumps, I would suggest hiring a navigator crew member. They will help correct navigation errors you or the computer makes while performing jumps.

Hmm, good advice to hear, although if they're going to reduce my chance of collision from "low" to "slightly lower but still nonzero" then I'll have to put them in the "expensive luxury" category...

But at least I'll have someone to blame that is a character instead of a computer.

For more manual control options, keep the nav map zoomed out by at least beyond the range of the jump drive you are using at the time. Watch for obstacles that come into view and adjust your arrival point as may be needed.

OK, this would give me something to do while autopiloting while also solving the risk of death -- this is pretty much what I was looking for. This is good.

So, from this, should I assume that this risk of death isn't only on my final destination sector -- it can happen during any of the intermediate autopilot jumps too?

Actually, from my current knowledge this still seems like a bit of a pain in the current interface, to actually move to the destination sector for each jump:
- i can press the arrow buttons to move one sector at a time, but I'll need to figure out when there's a SY sector change, flip to rear view, press the arrow button again, flip to top view. Seems doable, but really fiddly!
- i can use Slide Mode to pan through the SX/SZ dimensions, but I'll need to know exactly where I'm sliding to, because I can't zoom out in Slide Mode... SY changes will still require some clicking and fiddling as far as I can tell.

It'll be less painful than what I was trying to do before, because now I'll only be moving 4 sectors at a time... but I suppose it'll still need a bit of searching to find my next jump target I'll try it out.

Read up on the jump casters. They are free with a deploy constructor (personally, I thought they should be harder to get) and are a real boon to exploration or long-range travel.

Nice.

---

Thanks for the info. Based on this, I'll try again and see how well I can navigate with this new info. (I'll also spend more time attempting local contracts rather than rushing to complete the quests.)

Based on the above exchange, I therefore have feature requests / suggestions:

Feature request 1: I'd love a button on the nav console to view the sector that my nav target is pointing at. (And/or whichever one the autopilot is about to jump to -- I'm not clear if the autopilot changes my nav target or not.)
That would be HUGELY convenient for previewing warp jumps that were plotted by the autopilot system, especially when those jumps aren't on my current SY level.

Feature request 2: Slide mode should allow me to be zoomed out; I can't see a reason why it does not. Let me zoom out and pan!

Feature request 3: Some seamless way to move through all of SX, SY and SZ in slide mode without changing orientation to rear view and without clicking the "go to next/prev sector" arrow buttons. Perhaps "hold both mouse buttons and drag up and down" to change SY in Top View of Slide Mode? If I had this feature then I wouldn't be too upset if I didn't get FR 1. I hate the "go to next SY" buttons as much as I hate clicking on those arrows at the end of a browser scrollbar when I'm trying to read text They're a total flow-breaker!

Feature request 4: When my autopilot is engaged and I'm in a third-person view, it would be super nice if moving the mouse would rotate my camera freely, instead of pointlessly firing my thrusters and fighting against the autopilot. (Or maybe there's already a keybinding that allows me to do this anytime? That would be even better.)

[Vice]

Question: are all jump gates at Y=0, or can they be anywhere in 3D?

Yes, as far as I recall, they are all on the SY 0 plane.

I'll do that! Though I guess it greatly increases the odds that I'll slam into an asteroid during autopilot warps!

Yes, although not too significantly more than simply jumping into an asteroid, high or low speed. But it's always a good idea to watch for obstacles like that.

So, from this, should I assume that this risk of death isn't only on my final destination sector -- it can happen during any of the intermediate autopilot jumps too?

Yes, you can arrive inside or on a collision course with objects along the way. Point-to-point jump drives are great for gameplay time efficiency, but they can require some attentiveness to reduce the chance of hitting an object in space. A few basic techniques and tactics as described though will help minimize the chance.

Actually, from my current knowledge this still seems like a bit of a pain in the current interface, to actually move to the destination sector for each jump:
- i can press the arrow buttons to move one sector at a time, but I'll need to figure out when there's a SY sector change, flip to rear view, press the arrow button again, flip to top view. Seems doable, but really fiddly!
- i can use Slide Mode to pan through the SX/SZ dimensions, but I'll need to know exactly where I'm sliding to, because I can't zoom out in Slide Mode... SY changes will still require some clicking and fiddling as far as I can tell.

Yes, I wouldn't use those more cumbersome map control systems during active jump drive sessions. They largely exist because of player requests to have such options as alternate viewing modes, but it's much faster and easier imo to manage using the 2D flip mode for precision navigation in open space (especially for plotting to begin with). I would suggest mastering the snap zoom mechanism first. Learn how to quickly zoom out (mouse wheel is fastest) and right click on a sector to immediately zoom in on it... rather than trying to toggle/slide your way around by scrolling the map with arrows or dragging (which is just slow and inefficient by comparison).

Feature request 1: I'd love a button on the nav console to view the sector that my nav target is pointing at. (And/or whichever one the autopilot is about to jump to -- I'm not clear if the autopilot changes my nav target or not.)
That would be HUGELY convenient for previewing warp jumps that were plotted by the autopilot system, especially when those jumps aren't on my current SY level.

I'll try to keep that in mind as I evaluate plans for a possible future update. I've tried to avoid adding any more buttons to the nav console by player feedback over the last few years (in efforts to reduce clutter/complexity). And the snap zoom mechanism referred to earlier can help facilitate that nav point alignment for closer proximity jumps (any time you snap zoom to the sector you want to plot a nav point to). For long range jumps, you can also use the quadrant map to snap zoom to a more distant sector location you may have plotted a nav point to. Just use right click on that map as well. The nearest rounded sector region center you are pointing to is displayed on the lower left of the console. Once you've snap zoomed to the region you select (which will quickly snap to 33X zoom), you can right click again to snap zoom to the sector that has the nav marker in it.

But you don't need to contend with that if you don't want to. You can simply keep the nav map at a set zoom level and observe the space coming into nav sensor range as you travel to the distant jump point. The nav system will auto-center the map to your location as you make each jump, so all you have to contend with is any object(s) that come in range that may be a collision risk. And for long range jumps, you'll want to do that anyway rather than staying locked on the destination sector only. The nav system is designed to work that way in conjunction with jump drives (that is, being able to zoom out and detect objects on nav sensors at over 3X the distance of the longest range jump drive).

Feature request 2: Slide mode should allow me to be zoomed out; I can't see a reason why it does not. Let me zoom out and pan!

It's a limitation of how the map has to be internally handled in order to facilitate the panning format (relating to cascading icon and index management). It would also still be slower and less efficient than snap zooming in 2D flip mode anyway, even if zooming were an option with it. So I'd highly recommend long range nav sensor observation with the centered perspective as you travel (snap zooming if/when needed) described above.

Feature request 3: Some seamless way to move through all of SX, SY and SZ in slide mode without changing orientation to rear view and without clicking the "go to next/prev sector" arrow buttons. Perhaps "hold both mouse buttons and drag up and down" to change SY in Top View of Slide Mode? If I had this feature then I wouldn't be too upset if I didn't get FR 1. I hate the "go to next SY" buttons as much as I hate clicking on those arrows at the end of a browser scrollbar when I'm trying to read text They're a total flow-breaker!

Interesting, I'd be curious to hear thoughts from other players on the idea.

Feature request 4: When my autopilot is engaged and I'm in a third-person view, it would be super nice if moving the mouse would rotate my camera freely, instead of pointlessly firing my thrusters and fighting against the autopilot. (Or maybe there's already a keybinding that allows me to do this anytime? That would be even better.)

Indeed, there are key options. Insert/Page Up is left and right, Home/End is up and down, Delete/Page Down is zoom in and out.

[typhen]

It's a limitation of how the map has to be internally handled in order to facilitate the panning format (relating to cascading icon and index management). It would also still be slower and less efficient than snap zooming in 2D flip mode anyway, even if zooming were an option with it. So I'd highly recommend long range nav sensor observation with the centered perspective as you travel (snap zooming if/when needed) described above.

OK, if zooming in slide mode is not likely to be feasible to be implemented anytime soon, then, in that case I'd feature-request the mousewheel to jump between SY levels in top-down Slide Mode! It'd be great.

[Vice]

I can likely include that (although I'm not sure what benefit it will provide in comparison with other control options/modes) as well as the ability to center the map to the selected nav point if it is not in the same sector as the player (the 'Center' button could simply toggle between the two locations). I'll plan on working on both of those, if you'd like advanced access to a test build with those options, send me a quick reminder e-mail in a few weeks and if it's ready, I can send over a download link.

[Marvin]

I've been an explorer through three iterations of the Evochron universe (making the installation of a Mantis drive top priority). Back in the old days, you could only zoom the Navigation map out to show 10 sectors. Now it's much more. Either way, I've never run into a planet or asteroid field while on long journeys. Mostly because I checked the map before going to grab something to eat or take a pee break. Zoomed all the way out, if you don't see anything along your flight path, you won't likely be hitting anything (not counting the very rare hidden planet which, admittedly, is a hazard to navigation) for a few minutes (the time it takes to make 3 or 4 jumps) at least.

By zooming the map all the way out, you can see objects which are above and below you, as well as what's along your flight path. This is great when exploring or trying to find an object described in one of the quests. Just remember that those objects which are above or below are ... above or below. Ergo, the only reason they show up is because the map, when zoomed out, zooms in three dimensions. If you zoom back in, those objects will seem to disappear ... until you select the applicable SY coordinate.

Yup, the only problem I had while exploring was with fuel. Which is why the Navigator's Assistant comes in so handy. It's fairly accurate in determining the amount of fuel needed to reach a specified destination.