Hi all, newbie here, but the game asked if I would be willing to offer suggestions and I said yes. So here goes.

I like the dual flight mode approach and have started to use it more frequently, switching back and forth, depending on the situation: tracking/shooting multiple targets, dodging asteroids etc., but I find that sometimes, particularly in the heat of things, that I can either forget which mode I'm in, or perhaps hit the '" key by accident (maybe I'm switching mouselook but the fat finger syndrome hits the adjacent one). And of course laptop keyboards keys are more closely spaced than full size desktop ones.

Anyway, while the flight mode is listed in the text screen when toggled, it scrolls out of view, and I was thinking of some sort of simple visual indicator in the HUD. Perhaps just changing the color of the cross hair depending on flight mode. (Mouselook is more obvious)

Speaking of the HUD and flight mode, I noticed that this has been mentioned in other posts, but I think some sort of direction of travel indicator might be of use when in Physics Mode. I know a lot folks have suggested watching space junk, dust, whatever, but that's not always obvious or clear especially in a busy area like an asteroids field where stuff is traveling around in many different directions at once.

As for the Linux issue; I'm running SuSE 10.2 on a laptop (IBM T30) and I ran into an issue when I first started playing, and thought that it might be nice to be able to call up system console messages. I ran into a problem where, because the game steps up the processor, I was getting kicked off because the processor was overheating. I heard, or thought I heard some system beeps, but wasn't sure if it was system or game related and was trying to switch back to the desktop to see when it went into emergency shutdown in the middle of things. Fortunately, everything is saved server side, so I didn't lose anything.

(It turns out that I had neglected to keep my vents clear of lint, hair and other stuff, so it forced me to take apart the system and give it good cleaning, which is a good thing.)

This is a trivial matter and may not be feasible, but it was a thought that it might be nice to easily monitor the system console from within the game.

Welcome to the VO Webboards.

"Anyway, while the flight mode is listed in the text screen when toggled, it scrolls out of view, and I was thinking of some sort of simple visual indicator in the HUD. Perhaps just changing the color of the cross hair depending on flight mode. (Mouselook is more obvious)"

This has been suggested a few times before, and perhaps now is a good time to renew that discussion, though I'm sure there are threads out there somewhere that could be revived rather than starting a new one....

Same goes for the directional indicator - that one came up twice just recently IIRC, and I don't really recall what the response was, if anything. For me, between the space junk and stationary objects (roids, stations... AFK miners) I don't have any trouble telling which way I'm moving, and if I was so far out that the latter objects didn't apply, I don't think it would matter much which way I was going.

Well after seeing the number of pages in the suggestion forum, I decided to just start a new one. I did check the (more or less) "official" listing of topics that have been discussed, and didn't see it.<P>

Hey, I'm a n00b, cut me some slack. :-))

Basically, people will yell at you, no matter if you continue an old post (you'll be accused of thread necromancy) or if you start a new one (you'll be called a n00b, as one of the nicer things). I would be one of the ones yelling at you, I guess. Scratch that, I know. The trick is to build a time machine, go back to when the game started out (publicly), make an account and let it rot, only to be able to say that you knew all this before anybody else.

As for the flight mode indicator: you can determine which mode you are in if you are willing to allow a little delay. Just decelerate and accelerate a bit, and the velocity indicator will show what mode you are in (Flight Assist On has this light green/red highlighting zone on the velocity indicator whe you change direction or thrust).

Finally, there's a search function, and it works. You have to read the instructions for it, but it does work, and although I'd like to think of myself as 'extraordinarily talented', the other people finding stuff with it, too, crumbled my hopes. So it should work for everyone.

Well, if people are going to yell at me no matter what, us n00bs should probably just ignore it and post away. One wonders if The Guild minds hearing from "new customers"; I suspect they don't, or if they do, they keep it to themselves, unless people are ignoring the painfully obvious and it's getting out of hand.

I did try looking for information, and did notice it discussed some, but they were old posts. Forums are always going to rehash old issues from time to time when new people are introduced; it's the nature of the beast. If it's old news for you, just ignore it, or offer a suggestion as you did. Besides, if The Guild sees an old issue come up again and again over time, they might give it more consideration. (which does not mean that I'm suggesting the bombing the suggestion box.)

Quite frankly I think the suggestion of changing the reticle colors depending on mode is elegant in its simplicity. They're already piping that change in mode to the UI in the form of a non persistent text message, why not change it to an instruction for a color change of the crosshair or something similar that is persistent?

BTW: I did go check out the viability of your suggestion, and it is a sort of work around, but quite frankly when one is jinking around, firing, scanning for other enemies, or obstacles, playing with throttle settings to get some idea of my flight mode is cumbersome. I may actually like my throttle settings just the way they are and have better things to worry about. Now as I become more familiar with the game and the UI, it may not be that big an issue, but the Guild is trying to improve their product and solicits suggestions. I'm glad to take the time to help.

For instance, when dealing with issues of trade and Notes, I ran into a problem and came here looking for info and to report what I think is a bug. I did notice that Notes was a topic and it had been flagged as implemented. While reading that thread I ran across a post that basically mirrored an idea I had regarding the implementation of a download to you PDA of station's visited, along with a listing of needed goods. Now that post is over a year old, but it's a damn good idea IMHO. So what should I do, Resurrect an old post, or start a new thread?

Here's what I found:

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Wed, Aug 24, 2005 Sable Phoenix

I'll go one better. I've been trying to find the best trade goods for free trading to raise my trade license quickly, but there's no way I'm going to remember all the items from the "Local Items In Demand" list for every station even in one sector, let alone several. We need a logbook to which we can download the trade manifest for each station that we visit, sorted by sector and station. Naturally we'd have to keep visiting the stations to re-download the manifests and keep the logbook up to date, but this would make things a lot easier and more convenient than writing everything down by hand on a paper notepad.

In the same vein there ought to be a way to log onto a "HyberWeb" or something similar that stations would use to put out advertisements of what they need, categorized again by system and station, so you could scan through a list of what's needed and where it's needed before leaving the docking bay. Also, have a filter so you can search for specific products (say you've picked up some Purified Water by chance and want to get the best deal, for example). Naturally all of this would only be accessible in-station, you'd have to download it to your logbook to take it with you.
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I think that's a good idea. I mean after all, this is supposed to be a futuristic hi-tech universe and it's kinda silly to have to sit here with a notepad and pen to take notes to remember things that should be automatically upload to the pilots PDA.

Don't worry, jbtrial. The Search functionality of this board is not what I would call... adequate. I can't find threads that I posted in last month, much less last year. Even when I search for the exact phrase.

Anyway, don't worry about making suggestions. Just read the "READ ME FIRST" suggestions thread... first. ;)

The developers at Guild Software enjoy very much hearing from new customers. In fact, probably moreso than hearing from longtime subscribers.

And I like the idea that you mentioned about trade goods and prices.

Hey LeberMac, thanks for the moral support. Appreciated!

Naw, I'm not going to worry about it. I've been surfing BBS's, forums - the net, for a while now.

All my underwear is asbestos. :-))

Kinda itches though.