Some tips on getting places quickly

[cogvos]

OK space is big, so it takes time to get from place to place. But what if you get a message saying 'Hey we'll give you 60k if you get here in 3 minutes' ? Here's some things I've found out.

Remember space is 3 dimensional - it is sometimes quicker to go over something than around it.

Your ship with roll (go end over end), rotate (left side up, right side down, etc) much faster than it will spin (go around like a record). For the technically minded :- Your ship will pitch and roll much faster than it will yaw.

The Frameshift will charge much slower if you are close to a station, ship etc.

Your ship will slow down automatically if it gets close to something big, like a planet or star. So it's quicker to give these plenty of room - even if the resulting trip is further.

If your destination is orbiting something then it is quicker to approach from the side - so heading towards the destination and then whatever it is orbiting - rather than fly over what its orbiting.

Don't assume your ship will go at max speed on its own - it won't. Keep your finger, foot, tentacle, on the accelerator and put more power into the engines to go faster. The last is true unless you are leaving a planet's surface - then leaving the engine power at 2 is faster. Adding power to the engines while flying at a planets surface *will* increase the craft's speed.

It is faster to leave a planet's surface, enter supercruse (frameshift) and supercruse to a place that is obscured by the planet - even if it is on that planets surface - than it is to try and fly around the planet at the surface - you'd retire before you get to the destination.

Ignore the 'Slow Down' warning unless you are close to your target (in which case it is usually too late) or about to hit something... In which case its probably too late - turn out of the way.

Your ship will start to slow down as it get closer to your destination. There-after there is no point in putting more energy into the engines you won't go quicker.

If you are careful you can get to a destination faster by deselecting it from the navigation window - then your ship will not slow down, but you could over-shoot.

You can keep the accelerator flat to the floor until you are around 15 (around 9 for small ships) seconds from your target, then start to slow down. After this you can blip the throttle to get there quicker, but don't hold it too long or you will over-shoot.

The picture of your target in the bottom left shows its orientation. For stations with an inside: it is much quicker to fly around the target in supercruse so that the entrance is facing you rather than arrive and then try and fly to the entrance.

Large stations - Coriolis etc - will moan at you, and can fine you, if you fly around them at more that 100 metres per second. Small installations and most ground ports do not.

However....

Do not ignore the Docking Computer. yes it takes up valuable cargo space, yes you should be able to land, dock etc without it, *but* it enables you to fly straight to the landing pad at *full throttle* without the station moaning saving valuable time.

[funkynutz]

Originally posted by cogvos:

Your ship with roll (go end over end), rotate (left side up, right side down, etc) much faster than it will spin (go around like a record).

You're mixing your terms up there. Should be as follows:

Replace "roll" with "pitch".
Replace "rotate" with "roll".
Replace "spin" with "yaw".

[Agony_Aunt]

My preference is to approach too fast, skim the planet to reduce speed, then turn and drop.

Of course, if you get it wrong, you end up costing more time than you would have.

[cogvos]

Hmmm - You barrel roll, not barrel pitch, records spin but don't yaw etc. I was trying to keep it as simple as possible for those who's first language might not be English. However I'll add the correct technical terms.

[nikola_703]

Originally posted by Agony_Aunt:

My preference is to approach too fast, skim the planet to reduce speed, then turn and drop.

Of course, if you get it wrong, you end up costing more time than you would have.

Ditto. Gas giants give you more room for error, small planets and moons not so much. Approach the planet as if you are trying to orbit them, aligning your approach so the station is positioned right above. Station entrance is always facing the planet, so when you skim and pull up you should be aligned correctly.