What is the Ship Boost Speed Cap?

[Zelarion]

As the Title Says:

There is the Normal Ship flying Speed (Just press W)
Then there is the Boost Ship Speed (Hold Shift Key)
Then there is the Pulse Speed (Hold Spacebar)

What is the maximum cap for ship speed within planets?

My boost says 9000 units/S within the atmosphere
And 12,000 In space (Note: I'm talking about boost speed, NOT pulse)


Wondering if I'm actually moving this fast?

I used the save editor to achieve this via Bobbleheads
But I used up a lot of inventory slots to do that...

Wondering if that was a waste...

What is the actual cap? Because some reddit users say its 1200 cap...
While others say that isn't the cap...

Has there been any tests or official answers?

[Shadow Strider]

That's some stupid high stats... no idea if you'll actually move anywhere near those speeds...

My main ship (a sentinel interceptor) has 3 perfect X class engine upgrades (+30% boost, +20% man, +25% PE), I only have the main engine module on a supercharged slot.
My maneuverability stat is 2048.0
When I boost at ground level I max out at about 488u/s and ~2.7k u/s in space with "balanced" engine settings...
If I divert power to engines this goes to about 550u/s and 3.4k u/s

I'm sure there are faster ships than mine, but not THAT much faster.... (at least with a vanilla setup)

[Mr. Bufferlow]

I have no idea if the game has a governed cap on top speed, but my experience is that ship speed does noticeably improve as you increase addons. As a practical matter, I am not sure it matters unless you just want bragging rights or something.

I have noted that the air density on planets can increase of decrease my experience of speed on some planets. Never really look at the gauges but it is clear that I am moving agonizingly slow on some planets and almost uncontrollably too fast on other planets. Those situations are rare so but does seem to correlate with murky planet versus bright sunshiny planet. It could just the spawn generation slowing down or speeding up but I doubt that.

[Shadow Strider]

Originally posted by Mr. Bufferlow:

I have noted that the air density on planets can increase of decrease my experience of speed on some planets. Never really look at the gauges but it is clear that I am moving agonizingly slow on some planets and almost uncontrollably too fast on other planets. Those situations are rare so but does seem to correlate with murky planet versus bright sunshiny planet. It could just the spawn generation slowing down or speeding up but I doubt that.

I didn't consider that in my test above... just tested on the planet I happened to be on when I loaded my save...

[Grimmslayer73]

Originally posted by Mr. Bufferlow:

I have noted that the air density on planets can increase of decrease my experience of speed on some planets. Never really look at the gauges but it is clear that I am moving agonizingly slow on some planets and almost uncontrollably too fast on other planets. Those situations are rare so but does seem to correlate with murky planet versus bright sunshiny planet. It could just the spawn generation slowing down or speeding up but I doubt that.

This has been my experience as well. Upgrades don't seem to have very much effect on speed. It feels more like the planet itself determines your top speed, and in space being near a space station or freighter also reduces your top speed.

[Shadow Strider]

Originally posted by Grimmslayer73:

This has been my experience as well. Upgrades don't seem to have very much effect on speed. It feels more like the planet itself determines your top speed, and in space being near a space station or freighter also reduces your top speed.

I think you read their post wrong... they said it "does" make a noticeable difference...

[Zelarion]

Originally posted by Shadow Strider:

That's some stupid high stats... no idea if you'll actually move anywhere near those speeds...

My main ship (a sentinel interceptor) has 3 perfect X class engine upgrades (+30% boost, +20% man, +25% PE), I only have the main engine module on a supercharged slot.
My maneuverability stat is 2048.0
When I boost at ground level I max out at about 488u/s and ~2.7k u/s in space with "balanced" engine settings...
If I divert power to engines this goes to about 550u/s and 3.4k u/s

I'm sure there are faster ships than mine, but not THAT much faster.... (at least with a vanilla setup)

I indeed can fly smoothly at 9,000 speed within a planets atmosphere...
(Just as long as my maneuverability stays below 6,000... Any maneuverability above 6,000 causes the game to get glitchy, and the starship bugs out... )

I'm using the Starborn Runner Ship
and at that speed the game is smooth on my system...

The thing is... I just don't know if I'm actually moving much faster than a ship at 1,000 Units/sec...

I guess there has to be some way I could test it...

Maybe I could do this?

Method 1: Using In-Game Distance and Time Measurement
Select a Target Location:

Choose a point on the planet’s surface that you can aim for, such as a specific marker or a landmark. Ensure it’s a measurable distance away.
Measure the Distance:

Note the distance to the target location in units (U) before you start boosting.
Time Your Boost:

Use a stopwatch or timer to measure the time it takes to travel from your starting point to the target location while boosting.
Calculate the Speed:

Speed = Distance / Time. For example, if you travel 18,000 units in 2 seconds, your speed is 9,000 U/s.
Method 2: Using Waypoints
Place Waypoints:

Place waypoints a known distance apart using your Analysis Visor.
Record Your Boost:

Boost between these waypoints and record the time it takes.
Calculate the Speed:

Similar to the first method, use the formula Speed = Distance / Time.

[Shadow Strider]

Originally posted by Zelarion:

I indeed can fly smoothly at 9,000 speed within a planets atmosphere...
(Just as long as my maneuverability stays below 6,000... Any maneuverability above 6,000 causes the game to get glitchy, and the starship bugs out... )

Don't get me wrong, I believe you when you say those are your stats, I just think they are excessively high... What is the point on going that fast on a planet?
I'm not sure if pulse drive is affected by maneuverability at all, so no practical reason for such speeds in space either... cant imagine it being very useful for dogfights, you'll be out of range in half a second...

Yeah, If you want to test your actual speed, then only option is to time yourself flying a known distance

Keep in mind, how deep you are in the atmosphere affects how much it slows you down... the closer to the ground, the slower you go, so you'll have to be careful to keep your altitude the same to accurately compare in-atmosphere tests (I imaging that could be a challenge with the curvature of the planets in NMS)

[Shadow Strider]

Originally posted by gh0stwizard:

Originally posted by Shadow Strider:

Yeah, If you want to test your actual speed, then only option is to time yourself flying a known distance

AFAIK, the in-ship speedometer does not lie. It's relatively simple to get speed 300 u/s and compare it with max speed to feel the difference. No need to measure anything. It's clearly that 9k u/s in atmoshere is abnormal.

In general, on 9k u/s ground meshes and textures will not load properly. At least it was in 4.5 versions. Or better to say, things that are randomly generated in runtime could be easily missed due such high speeds.

I meant if you want to verify that the displayed speed is accurate... as this was what the OP was talking about

But yeah, I don't see any benefit to going that fast given how bad pop in can be even at slower speeds

[Zelarion]

Originally posted by gh0stwizard:

Originally posted by Grimmslayer73:

the planet itself determines your top speed

_base_ speed and upgrades have different speed bonuses for atmosphere (much less than in the space). Still high level upgrades give better benefits than low level. You feel difference on dropship-like ships with low base speeds. That's because upgrade speed bonuses are constant and they are relatively low in contrast with fighter-like ship base speeds, but have average bonuses in contrast with dropship-like ship base speeds.

Originally posted by Zelarion:

I indeed can fly smoothly at 9,000 speed within a planets atmosphere...

You said that you used save editor to change speeds. It's okay then.
On planets normal speeds were (4.5 versions) about 300-600 u/s. Robo-police ship could achieve something about 900 u/s if I recall correctly. If people told that the cap was 1200 u/s, then it was like that.

It's unclear what you want to achieve. Revert your changes? Or you just amused how good your cheated the game? :)

semantics with a taste of Sarcasm? ... I don't like the word "cheating"... I prefer the word "modding"... Cheating implies and has a negative stigma connected to it... Cheating should be used when you're in an actual competitive event or in things that grant real life achievements such as a College Degree etc... When it comes to video games that allow for modifications aka "mods"... I prefer to use that "Word"... So when you ask me "Are you just amused how good you cheated the game? " (I corrected your spelling btw, and yes I'm being a bit abrasive due to me detecting some sarcasm in your last remark lol)...

My answer to you is, I want my ship to go as fast as possible within a planets atmosphere via the boost speed feature, and NO I'm not amused at fake numbers and would like my ship to actually move faster... But after extensive testing that I just did... I can for surely confirm that within planets atmospheres the maximum boost cap is under 500 u/s and the maximum boost cap in space is about 1k'ish in space only boosting...

However, Pulse speed in space is insanely fast... at about over 500,000 U/s during spacebar pulse speed...

So in Short:
-Boost inside planets = about 500 u/s or less
-Boost in space = about 1k u/s
--- Pulse in space can get over 500,000 (I just tested it)

[Zelarion]

Originally posted by Shadow Strider:

Originally posted by Zelarion:

I indeed can fly smoothly at 9,000 speed within a planets atmosphere...
(Just as long as my maneuverability stays below 6,000... Any maneuverability above 6,000 causes the game to get glitchy, and the starship bugs out... )

Don't get me wrong, I believe you when you say those are your stats, I just think they are excessively high... What is the point on going that fast on a planet?
I'm not sure if pulse drive is affected by maneuverability at all, so no practical reason for such speeds in space either... cant imagine it being very useful for dogfights, you'll be out of range in half a second...

Yeah, If you want to test your actual speed, then only option is to time yourself flying a known distance

Keep in mind, how deep you are in the atmosphere affects how much it slows you down... the closer to the ground, the slower you go, so you'll have to be careful to keep your altitude the same to accurately compare in-atmosphere tests (I imaging that could be a challenge with the curvature of the planets in NMS)

Just finished the Testing: I can confirm


... As for maneuverability... I didn't test that... But just don't go over 6k maneuvability or the ships will glitch when boosting near objects and planets...
As for Everything else....

My test results
-Boost inside planets = about 500 u/s or less
-Boost in space = about 1k u/s
--- Pulse in space can get over 500,000 (I just tested it)

[Zelarion]

Originally posted by gh0stwizard:

Originally posted by Shadow Strider:

Yeah, If you want to test your actual speed, then only option is to time yourself flying a known distance

AFAIK, the in-ship speedometer does not lie. It's relatively simple to get speed 300 u/s and compare it with max speed to feel the difference. No need to measure anything. It's clearly that 9k u/s in atmoshere is abnormal.

In general, on 9k u/s ground meshes and textures will not load properly. At least it was in 4.5 versions. Or better to say, things that are randomly generated in runtime could be easily missed due such high speeds.

P.S. Due my tests in past, the threshold for space is 15k u/s. 12k u/s is a good speed for very fast dogfights (enemies speeds must be altered too). Above 20k u/s or smth, the game automatically enables pulse drive SFX on screen. For atmoshere very good speeds are about 1-2k u/s. Everything above will affect meshes and textures. That's all, I have nothing to add.

My results are a bit different from yours:

-Boost inside planets = about 500 u/s or less
-Boost in space = about 1k u/s MAX ... not sure where you got 20k from... The boost speed cannot go that high in space...
--- Pulse in space can get over 500,000 (I just tested it)

Pulse speeds CAN go super high in space...
How? The game auto stops the Ship in Pulse speed mode when nearing any rendering object aka a planet, anomaly etc

[Shadow Strider]

Originally posted by Zelarion:

Just finished the Testing: I can confirm


... As for maneuverability... I didn't test that... But just don't go over 6k maneuvability or the ships will glitch when boosting near objects and planets...
As for Everything else....

My test results
-Boost inside planets = about 500 u/s or less
-Boost in space = about 1k u/s
--- Pulse in space can get over 500,000 (I just tested it)

Interesting, so that would suggest that my unmodded ship gets as much boost speed as your modded one... you definitely get more pulse speed though

[Zelarion]

Originally posted by Shadow Strider:

Originally posted by Zelarion:

Just finished the Testing: I can confirm


... As for maneuverability... I didn't test that... But just don't go over 6k maneuvability or the ships will glitch when boosting near objects and planets...
As for Everything else....

My test results
-Boost inside planets = about 500 u/s or less
-Boost in space = about 1k u/s
--- Pulse in space can get over 500,000 (I just tested it)

Interesting, so that would suggest that my unmodded ship gets as much boost speed as your modded one... you definitely get more pulse speed though

Yup!!!

[Zelarion]

Originally posted by Shadow Strider:

Originally posted by Zelarion:

Just finished the Testing: I can confirm


... As for maneuverability... I didn't test that... But just don't go over 6k maneuvability or the ships will glitch when boosting near objects and planets...
As for Everything else....

My test results
-Boost inside planets = about 500 u/s or less
-Boost in space = about 1k u/s
--- Pulse in space can get over 500,000 (I just tested it)

Interesting, so that would suggest that my unmodded ship gets as much boost speed as your modded one... you definitely get more pulse speed though

Did you test how fast your boost speed in your unmodded ship goes though?

If you boosting inside planets is about 500 u/s then we are the same...
But if you're going under 100 U/s in your unmodded ship... Then you can benefit if you want to go a few hundred speeds faster

[Shadow Strider]

Originally posted by Zelarion:

Originally posted by Shadow Strider:

Interesting, so that would suggest that my unmodded ship gets as much boost speed as your modded one... you definitely get more pulse speed though

Did you test how fast your boost speed in your unmodded ship goes though?

If you boosting inside planets is about 500 u/s then we are the same...
But if you're going under 100 U/s in your unmodded ship... Then you can benefit if you want to go a few hundred speeds faster

Yeah, my display says 550u/s, and based on a test I just did, that appears to be accurate...