Rocket Boots need one important tweak to make them more useful

[jlrmarin]

I use Rocket Boots extensively and I have a major peeve with how they work: if you're holding down the space bar (on PC) when you land with your jetpack (which you will be doing to ensure a soft landing as you tap the key), it make you impulse forward.

My recommendation: you need to double tap the space bar again to use the Rocket Boots. I routinely jump again when landing because I'm coming fast on an angle, or land very softly and I only have a split second to let go the space bar.

Making the boots automatically jump again when you hit a surface also make climbing mountains a chore, because the moment you touch the surface, it makes your boots go off, draining your jetpack fuel rapidly. On steep surfaces you start to jump repeatedly, making it hard to get straight again and just fly up.

Anyway, TL;DR - make it so that you have to hit space bar twice to get the rocket effect, and eliminate the boots going off if you're holding space while landing.

[Mr. Bufferlow]

That problem/feature is why a lot of us old timers don't use the boots. The melee chop is much more effective and you can make very precise jumps using a feathering technic on the jets...that action just makes the boots go on and off and makes things worse.

[Wizard of Woz]

Yeah I got the boots my second playthrough and that lasted around 5 minutes before they were removed. They serve zero purpose.

[AmberAnvil]

Originally posted by jlrmarin:

I use Rocket Boots extensively and I have a major peeve with how they work: if you're holding down the space bar (on PC) when you land with your jetpack (which you will be doing to ensure a soft landing as you tap the key), it make you impulse forward.

Can't argue with you, but I've been using Rocket Boots for years and have just gotten used to that behavior. Much better with the boots than without!

[Wizard of Woz]

Originally posted by AmberAnvil:

Originally posted by jlrmarin:

I use Rocket Boots extensively and I have a major peeve with how they work: if you're holding down the space bar (on PC) when you land with your jetpack (which you will be doing to ensure a soft landing as you tap the key), it make you impulse forward.

Can't argue with you, but I've been using Rocket Boots for years and have just gotten used to that behavior. Much better with the boots than without!

Have you tried without? Using the melee attack launch is much more effective and easier to control.

[AmberAnvil]

Originally posted by wizard_of_woz:

Have you tried without? Using the melee attack launch is much more effective and easier to control.

Nope! Can't teach an old dog new tricks. : )

[Rexxer]

Originally posted by AmberAnvil:

Can't argue with you, but I've been using Rocket Boots for years and have just gotten used to that behavior. Much better with the boots than without!

Using rocket boots is like the drunken lurching leap, uncertain path, stumbling landing, and downhill sliding one is accustomed to with a Mech suit on.
Jet-packing without rocket boots is more like the smooth, controlled and precise trajectory of an Olympic pole vaulter with the 10-point landing of a gymnast.

[Wiror]

I use it as a regular movement boost. Like it goes almsot horizontally so if you toggle em back to back you can travel pretty far before the jetpack have to recharge. That or its a satisfying illusion of progress :)

[periurban]

I always thought the rocket boots were just another upgrade for the jet pack! I guess the clue was in the name. I will need to try taking them off.

[jlrmarin]

Originally posted by wizard_of_woz:

Originally posted by AmberAnvil:

Can't argue with you, but I've been using Rocket Boots for years and have just gotten used to that behavior. Much better with the boots than without!

Have you tried without? Using the melee attack launch is much more effective and easier to control.

You cannot melee attack on space stations, Atlas interface, and the Anomaly, and I use the Rocket Boots to move fast in those spaces. At least in my experience, I have spent no small part of this game walking from the teleporter/launch pads to the module vendors/spaceship editor.

The Rocket Boots can boost in places where you can't attack, at least two of them places many of us visit with a lot of frequency, especially space stations. That's primarily how I use them, while doing melee attack + jetpack for moving around open planets.

[Galadhlinn]

I started using rocket boots as soon as I unlocked them. I experienced, like most folks, the lurching while trying to land and thought I'd eventually figure it out or get used to it. I didn't on both accounts. Ever try to jump up on the outpost roof while harvesting whispering eggs only to jump right off the other side thanks to the rocket boots? Or jump up on the roof while building only to jump right back off again thanks to the trusty rocket boots? There are many examples where they can be quite annoying.

The funny thing is, it took Expedition 3 for me to come to my senses and say enough! With rocket boots on, you loose the ability to climb up long, steep hills where your jet pack tank drain is put on hold while climbing. I uninstalled my rocket boots while on Expedition 3 and never put them back on, and I'm really glad I did. Life is better.

Having said that, I wish we could toggle it on and off with a key stroke, as there are situations where rocket boots do help, like navigating through lots of large plants/trees and rocks. But in the big picture, I traverse NMS worlds better without them.

[Rexxer]

Originally posted by Galadhlinn:

With rocket boots on, you lose the ability to climb up long, steep hills where your jet pack tank drain is put on hold while climbing.

This is exactly why I finally dumped rocket boots from my inventory, too. Why would anyone give up unlimited fly time on vertical slopes? It makes no sense, especially since they recently made a large number of planets with ridiculously high vertical terrain differences, - The starting Expeditions 3 planet is actually a mild version of what you can find out in the universe.

[AmberAnvil]

Originally posted by Rexxer:

Originally posted by Galadhlinn:

With rocket boots on, you lose the ability to climb up long, steep hills where your jet pack tank drain is put on hold while climbing.

This is exactly why I finally dumped rocket boots from my inventory, too. Why would anyone give up unlimited fly time on vertical slopes? It makes no sense, especially since they recently made a large number of planets with ridiculously high vertical terrain differences, - The starting Expeditions 3 planet is actually a mild version of what you can find out in the universe.

I achieved that objective in Expedition 3 and Expedition 1 with Rocket Boots. That includes the 600+ unit height objective that took almost a full minute. I guess I'm just lucky. : )

[Rexxer]

Originally posted by AmberAnvil:

I achieved that objective in Expedition 3 and Expedition 1 with Rocket Boots. That includes the 600+ unit height objective that took almost a full minute. I guess I'm just lucky. : )

But you probably could have done it in less time without rocket boots. That is because you have UNLIMITED fly time/fuel on vertical and near vertical surfaces without rocket boots....it's an old feature. The reason is because sometimes people used to get stuck in deep holes without being able to fly up vertically against a wall for long or being able to call their ship, and they had no fuel for the terrain manipulator so something....and then they have to reload a prior save. I forget when but a few years ago, one of the game version changes actually made that problem obsolete by making the silicate dirt you dig with the terrain manipulator the actual fuel of it. They also made all ships callable so if you landed on a high mesa then fell off, you could call your ship down to you ... this also made the unlimited fuel feature obsolete, but so many people liked it they still have it in.

There still are construction scenarios where the unlimited vertical fuel thing really makes life easier: If you build up high in the air, instead of laying down lots of stairs going into the sky, all you have to do is build a high wall then fly up to the end.... no matter the height. And you can repeat this over and over, extending the wall to the limits of your construction camera then adding a platform to stand on at the end.

[Lerch Addams]

Finally through in the towel and the boots.

Too many conflicting control systems involved to move smoothly across uneven terrain.

The melee launch offers more control and it more my style.

[Lerch Addams]

Originally posted by Lerch Addams:

Finally through in the towel and the boots.

Too many conflicting control systems involved to move smoothly across uneven terrain.

When you attempt to build a movement system with multiple functions assigned to one button you'll ultimately confuse your players. (and this discussion wouldn't be happening)

The melee launch offers more control and it more my style.