Why does the ship tell you to 'slow down' AFTER you can't actually slow down?!

[smartroad]

I mean really, I am nipping towards a planet at full power, I get close the ship warns me to slow down but even though I throttle down to zero I still end up whipping past the planet a warp factor 9.975?!

Why does the computer tell you to slow down only after it knows you can't?!

[Kiltrathi]

Eh, you didn't need to slow down before you went too fast, and by that time it was time too late to slow down....
:p

[TorTorden]

I have been wondering this exact thing for 330 hours of game time. ....

Closest I have gotten to anything sensible about this, is that the cruise drive aren't telling you to slow down but that the gravity pull from the object slows you down or at least affects the performance of the warp bubble.

[Xebeth]

It's a bit misleading, it's not actually telling you to slow down. It is telling that you are being slowed, typically by a gravity well, next time it happens don't touch you throttle, you'll notice your speeds suddenly rapidly decrease, it happens sometimes when you are nowhere near your destination, but are near a planet.

[TorTorden]

And even with a little practice I have used planets to slow down when coming in a bit hot.
It's tricky but when it works it feels really satisfying.

I personally call it "gravity breaking".

[Soulmirror]

When I am flying I do not look at the distance, I look at the time remaining. When flying you get slowed down for 2 reasons, flying to close to a gravitational object or trying to reach your destination too quickly.

What I do is when the timer gets to 0:13 I start to back off on the throttle, I am shooting for 0:08, though you can go as low as 0:06 before overspeeding. When you get close to 0:08 back off on the throttle until the number settles at 0:08 and leave it alone. Your speed will decrease all the way to your target, without touching the throttle, then you disengage when the game tells you to (J). If you get to close to a gravitational body, you will slow down and have to adjust the throttle.

If you overspeed, turn 90 degrees up or down from your target and the overspeed will quit and you will not overshoot your target.

[blazingmaniac]

My tactic is seven seconds. When the timer counts down to 7 second remaining reduce throttle to about 75%. That should be the only adjustment you need to make. After that it should automatically adjust sufficiently that you do not over shoot. Works every time. Except when I go under 7 seconds.

[clivewil]

yeah it's a phenomenon, not a command. it's actually one word, there shouldn't be a space between slow and down. it's something that is happening to you, not something you are being told to do - as you are aware, it's already too late for that - you're firmly in its grip

it's like "we are experiencing a slowdown at work after the christmas rush" instead of "commander, please slow down"

[BrocMcGregor]

SLOWDOWN actually it has nothing to do with your navigation or with where you're going.

It has to do with astrophysics and gravity. Basically the gravitational pull of planets, stars, asteroid belts, etc cause you to slow down. And all that alert is, is letting you know why you dropped 25-90% speed.

I actually use this to my advantage sometimes when I'm in a hot area with 100+ T of gold in my cargo being chased by undesireables. I run for the planet closest to my station, the planet, not the moon or other, smaller body that may actually be closer to the station. I am for the main planet first at flank speed. I then hit the "slowdown" point and start to get pulled into it, depending on my location and speed in relation to the station, I may stick with it, or then bounce to a moon that's closer to the station, all the while avoiding my adversary.

I just wish it was also accurate in the "sling-shot" around the planets. But then again, who knows what really happens when we go 20+X the speed of light lol

beyond that, I too use the 7-12 second mark to start slowing down onto approach. I usually drop out between 300-500meters. And my approach as a whole is anything but a B-Line to the station unless it's wicked close (under 200ls). Usually I go straight out from the star, perpendicular to the orbits. Then I use some form of reference to gently curve my way into the station. Right now in my Cobra and T-6 I use the top of their canopy as a guide, keeping the station dead-reckoned to the top of the canopy. Then at about 250ls out I start to ease back into a dead-ahead line for the station, usually a bit at 3 o'clock though. I also make sure I'm approaching the system from whatever it's orbiting. So instead of a straight line, it's a bit of a C or even S curve. It may not be the fastest, but it sure beats getting bored flying in a straight line!

there are some screencaps of my "angle of approach" in this album on my flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/107989279 ... 4860446536

the big empty blackness at the top is the upper bulkhead of my cobra

[stummies]

At 6 seconds I press the "8" button on my keyboard which is bound to 75% throttle... and it coasts the rest of the way (barring other nearby gravity wells) staying at 6 seconds until about 3 or 4mm where it drops to 5... perfect almost every time without having to fiddle with anything or slowing down. The only time I have to fiddle is when other objects slow me down nearby, I have "9" bound to 100% and "7" bound to 50% and use the 3 to keep me at 6 seconds. Sometimes once it gets to 3 or 4mm I'll go to 100% throttle again for that last little bit. It's the only time I use the keyboard for throttle, otherwise I use the joystick throttle.