Elite: Game talk

Light-Hawk
08 Jan 2022, 7:38am
I agree that their should be an entry port, and exit port. As for the landing bays all being inside, I'd just assumed that was more for protection from any debris the station may encounter. The mail slot we deal with is indeed a rather tight fit to have large class ships passing each other. I do remember someone on reddit commented that the stations were originally intended to be larger, with an even bigger mail slot. But supposedly had to be scaled down for reasons. Supposedly that's part of why the Panther Clipper was never fully released in the game. Not sure if any of that is actually true or not but I could see FDev deciding to just scale things down if it meant taking a short cut to the development of the game.
Episparh
08 Jan 2022, 7:40am
Honestly, I think the orbital station design in E:D is very smart and reasonable.

Let me explain:
The stations are rotating to provide some level of artificial gravity for various reasons. The artificial gravity achieved by rotation is directly proportional to the distance to the center of rotation. (e.g. the most outer facilities will have the highest artificial gravity while the inner will have less). Ideally, human inhabitants will prefer living in outer parts of a rotational space facility for obvious reason. This is also the reason behind those huge rings of Orbis stations and occasional hammers of the Coriolis (although those are less common) - the gravity in such structure is far greater. In some of the official books, I have read that the living quarters prices in such station rise with the distance from the center of rotation, which makes perfect sense to me. On the other hand, the advantages of lower gravity of the inner parts is ideal for loading and unloading. You still need low gravity but low enough that you won't waste too much power to lift things with machinery or by hand.
Lastly, those are small cities with their own economy controlled by various minor faction. The mail slot or single entry point is ideal to keep the station secure. It is far easier to control the access. It is also far easier to defend - put guns outside and evacuate personal and valuable assets inside and any attacker will have hard time taking control of it.

Edit: I will add a video as a spoiler bellow. It is anaconda in the trenches of Coriolis. Keep in mind that this ship height is 32m - roughly the size of a building with 10-11 floors


Last edit: 08 Jan 2022, 8:17am
Light-Hawk
08 Jan 2022, 8:35am
EpisparhThe mail slot or single entry point is ideal to keep the station secure. It is far easier to control the access. It is also far easier to defend - put guns outside and evacuate personal and valuable assets inside and any attacker will have hard time taking control of it.


I'm pretty much in agreement on all points here, other than the single mail slot idea. While yes, it can make it easier to defend, it still creates a single point of failure potential. Should the mail slot get blocked, there's no alternatives. Having two mail slots, one for entry, one for exit, would also allow them to double as emergency exits and a backup exit if one gets blocked. It would also allow for faster evacuation.
Episparh
08 Jan 2022, 8:48am
Light-Hawk
I'm pretty much in agreement on all points here, other than the single mail slot idea. While yes, it can make it easier to defend, it still creates a single point of failure potential. Should the mail slot get blocked, there's no alternatives. Having two mail slots, one for entry, one for exit, would also allow them to double as emergency exits and a backup exit if one gets blocked. It would also allow for faster evacuation.


Two mailslots will also double the energy consumed for the energy shield that keeps the atmosphere inside. You are still talking as if you do not know the dimensions of that thing:
W: 222m H:52m = 11544 sq. m. That is like two soccer fields next to each other.

"Blocking mail slot is a terminal offense and will result in lethal response!" is a thing , you know
Utmouse08
08 Jan 2022, 8:56am
First time responder, but I have to agree with Episparh here, it goes back to the Castle Doctrine. What we dont see are all the smaller more "personnel" vehicle sized exits along the outer spline. Those airlocks and doors are alternative exits. Just like any medieval castle or settlement. One main entrance, alternative exits that are much easier to defend and lock.
Kurakil
08 Jan 2022, 9:37am
Episparh
Light-Hawk
I'm pretty much in agreement on all points here, other than the single mail slot idea. While yes, it can make it easier to defend, it still creates a single point of failure potential. Should the mail slot get blocked, there's no alternatives. Having two mail slots, one for entry, one for exit, would also allow them to double as emergency exits and a backup exit if one gets blocked. It would also allow for faster evacuation.

Two mailslots will also double the energy consumed for the energy shield that keeps the atmosphere inside. You are still talking as if you do not know the dimensions of that thing:
W: 222m H:52m = 11544 sq. m. That is like two soccer fields next to each other.

"Blocking mail slot is a terminal offense and will result in lethal response!" is a thing , you know

Energy generation does not seem to be a problem in the game universe. The entire structure of the stations is not too unreasonable from what I can tell. But having no alternate/secondary/redundancy means of entry/exit is begging for a disaster. Imagine an airport where arrivals and departures use the same runway but in opposite directions. Even if you still have one slot, it would be partitioned so that incoming/outgoing traffic is segregated. If you can guard one entrance with an automated defense system, you can guard two.
Episparh
08 Jan 2022, 9:46am
Two mailslot will be a convenience, but not advantage in anyway. In case of disasters first evacuation is one directional of all crafts inside and then we have the regular rescue ship traffic such as with evacuation of damaged stations.

I have no problems with one slot concept even with cluttered stations such as Jaques - occupied by Orca and Beluga gang.
Kurakil
08 Jan 2022, 9:59am
EpisparhTwo mailslot will be a convenience, but not advantage in anyway. In case of disasters first evacuation is one directional of all crafts inside and then we have the regular rescue ship traffic such as with evacuation of damaged stations.

I have no problems with one slot concept even with cluttered stations such as Jaques - occupied by Orca and Beluga gang.

I guess that depends on the purpose of the station.
Episparh
08 Jan 2022, 10:01am
Kurakil
I guess that depends on the purpose of the station.

42
Gryphnn
08 Jan 2022, 10:02am
KurakilImagine an airport where arrivals and departures use the same runway but in opposite directions. Even if you still have one slot, it would be partitioned so that incoming/outgoing traffic is segregated. If you can guard one entrance with an automated defense system, you can guard two.


It is already segregated, just not physically, you should only fly through one side of the airlock (indicated by the red and green lights). It wouldn't make sense to put a steel rod in the middle of the airlock so you get your physical segregation. A big airport also doesn't have a big wall between runways to segregate them.
Kurakil
08 Jan 2022, 10:06am
Gryphnn
KurakilImagine an airport where arrivals and departures use the same runway but in opposite directions. Even if you still have one slot, it would be partitioned so that incoming/outgoing traffic is segregated. If you can guard one entrance with an automated defense system, you can guard two.

It is already segregated, just not physically, you should only fly through one side of the airlock (indicated by the red and green lights). It wouldn't make sense to put a steel rod in the middle of the airlock so you get your physical segregation. A big airport also doesn't have a big wall between runways to segregate them.

Tell that to the Type-9, Type-10, Beluga, Clipper, Cutter. :3
Episparh
08 Jan 2022, 10:13am
Only Beluga is problematic thanks to her useless wings. Orca and clipper are almost medium ships. And if you have problems with type-9/10, cutter, Vette or conda - you just need practice.

Sharing that link for Nth time:
Will it "mailslot"?
Gryphnn
08 Jan 2022, 10:14am
That's just a heavy transport event where you have to block the whole road for it to pass
Kurakil
08 Jan 2022, 10:30am
EpisparhOnly Beluga is problematic thanks to her useless wings. Orca and clipper are almost medium ships. And if you have problems with type-9/10, cutter, Vette or conda - you just need practice.

Sharing that link for Nth time:
Will it "mailslot"?

I don't have a problem piloting them through. The NPCs seem to however. I'm just saying the single mailslot is not a good idea for bidirectional traffic. If there was a legitimate queueing system like the Apex shuttle pilots mention, and a clear indicator as to whose turn it was, then it would be more plausible. It is more or less freeform as it stands. Doesn't matter too much except when NPCs block the entire slot with wide ships. I am curious... if an NPC gets stuck do they get shot and destroyed? I always just relog when I see them stuck.
GryphnnThat's just a heavy transport event where you have to block the whole road for it to pass

All it needs are a few escort ships in its entourage.
Meowers
08 Jan 2022, 11:12am
Episparh Sharing that link for Nth time:
Will it "mailslot"?
Docking Thargoids made me smile, honestly.

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