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Why is ORBIT not tangential?
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Arla Sarain
#1 - 2014-08-26 10:46:14 UTC
You are far off, you press orbit. The effect is the same as if you'd approach - the game moves you to the closest point on your defined orbit, and when you are far its the same point that passes through a line between and your selected object. Then once you reach it, it turns you around into a random direction (preparing to orbit clockwise or anticlockwise), slowing you down, and then attempts to orbit.

Why is orbit not tangential? It would approach on a path that is the closest perpendicular line from the centre of the orbit. It would be smoother and less viscous. Le "2 mach kalkulatn" ?
Lugh Crow-Slave
#2 - 2014-08-26 11:37:00 UTC
I would assume it's because its old code. However I don't think it should be changed as it rewards experienced pilots who understand how to spiral in

BLOPS Hauler
The 16.8km Bubble
Lothras Andastar
Garoun Investment Bank
Gallente Federation
#3 - 2014-08-26 13:47:46 UTC
Legacy Code.

Because the Legacy Code has too much Psssssssssssssssh, nothing will ever get fixed until CCP stop wasting money on failed sparkle MMOs and instead rewrite the entire backend of EvE from scratch.
Jon Joringer
Republic University
Minmatar Republic
#4 - 2014-08-26 13:55:06 UTC
Lugh Crow-Slave wrote:
I would assume it's because its old code. However I don't think it should be changed as it rewards experienced pilots who understand how to spiral in

Pretty much this. The same reason why 'Keep at Range' will send you flying towards your enemy until you hit the desired range and then have you turn around (which of course means you get a lot closer to your enemy than you wanted to if you do this) instead of remain still until that range is reached.
Odithia
Ministry of War
Amarr Empire
#5 - 2014-08-26 14:08:29 UTC
Lugh Crow-Slave wrote:
I would assume it's because its old code. However I don't think it should be changed as it rewards experienced pilots who understand how to spiral in

What I don't like is that if you manualy go to the distance where you want to orbit (or manualy start to orbit) then want to use the auto orbit, it will potentialy destroy your transversal by going into a random direction.
hmskrecik
TransMine Group
Gluten Free Cartel
#6 - 2014-08-26 17:01:31 UTC
Arla Sarain wrote:
Why is orbit not tangential?

My guess is that it's because there are many trajectories and this particular one is the simplest to implement. CCP could have spent significant time finding other, better solutions and then implementing such, the time which in turn couldn't be devoted on doing other features or fixing actually annoying bugs.
Arla Sarain
#7 - 2014-08-26 19:10:01 UTC
Lugh Crow-Slave wrote:
I would assume it's because its old code. However I don't think it should be changed as it rewards experienced pilots who understand how to spiral in

Tangential would make it a lot softer without alleviating the skill ceiling. The main point of spiraling is to approach from a very long distance whilst maximizing angular velocity. Tangential orbit would still trash your angular from far distances.

If you have 500 orbit any effort you put into spiraling in usually ends up being for nothing - as you spiral in you are still close to an extremely high velocity, then as you set up orbit when you are close it sends you to the closest point, overshoots dramatically because of the speed, and ends attempting to turn you at a steeper angle to get back to the closest point on the orbit. If it were a tangential orbit the turn angle wouldn't be as steep.

Seems like they simply didn't bother reviewing the practical scenario. As pretty much everything related to tracking/sig tanking.
Rowells
Pator Tech School
Minmatar Republic
#8 - 2014-08-27 00:09:29 UTC
Are you referring to moving away from orbit object or moving toward it to reach orbit distance? I believe if you at farther than the orbit it already does this.
Derrick Miles
Death Rabbit Ky Oneida
#9 - 2014-08-27 00:22:46 UTC
The age of the code shouldn't have much to do with the implementation of this.
Lugh Crow-Slave
#10 - 2014-08-27 11:22:32 UTC
Derrick Miles wrote:
The age of the code shouldn't have much to do with the implementation of this.

It can depending on how it was coded who coded it and how well the code was documented. Likea lot of things with old code it may be tide to other things in strange ways

BLOPS Hauler
The 16.8km Bubble
Ix Method
Doomheim
#11 - 2014-08-27 13:18:00 UTC  |  Edited by: Ix Method
Derrick Miles wrote:
The age of the code shouldn't have much to do with the implementation of this.

Only in so much that stuff like this was implemented and left for so long those behind it are long gone and starting from scratch seems to be something they actively shy away from. Same reason why drones got their numbers tweaked but still orbit/chase like retards.

Think we're all hoping that since they've finally committed to tackling some of the horrible POS/Corp stuff it might be the start of a push to fix some of the underlying mechanics instead of just shuffling numbers. We'll see but I wouldn't hold your breath, even if it does happen you'd imagine it'd take years rather than months.

Travelling at the speed of love.
Lyra Gerie
Garoun Investment Bank
Gallente Federation
#12 - 2014-08-27 15:37:45 UTC
Because it's automatic which leaves room for manual piloting. Sure there are technical reasons but even though we could probably move past those now the fact remains that it would remove some of the skill involved in manually piloting.
Similar to why you still warp 15km away from a gate if on auto pilot.
Kell Braugh
Caldari Provisions
Caldari State
#13 - 2014-08-27 18:19:43 UTC
I think we all know the true reason. Math is awesome, but math is complicated and doesn't add a feature point.

I'm not saying some developer at CCP didn't want to write some awesome code for ships to pull a Fibonacci spiral till proper orbit was reached and then perform the vector maneuver to circularize the ships orbit, just that some business guy came in and took that PostIt off the wall and replaced it with 'Walking In Stations'.

Sadly, the developer was unable to convince them that "Performs realistic, graceful orbital insertion maneuvers around other pilot's ships" was a good enough marketing phrase.