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Let's talk about: JETPACKS.

Eron Greco Melo shared this feedback ago

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Hello, I hope everyone reading this message is having a great day.

First of all, I would like to say that I understand why the speed of jetpacks is so fast in zero gravity - what I came to comment on is not about that.

I've been playing a lot of other games lately, and I noticed something that would certainly make gameplay on the planets (ie, with gravity, duuh), improve immensely: bring more realism to the jetpack when there is gravity.

This is not a complaint, but as something I want to get off my chest, okay?

It frustrates me that we can just start a new game, on a planet, hold the space bar, and go straight into space. Or else travel huge distances with the jetpack, because of the gigantic momentum it provides.

Anyway, without further ado, I would like to ask the devs: do you plan, at some point, a more """"""realistic"""""" alternative to using the jetpack in gravity? In other words, not as something that you can use as a "means of transport", but as something that helps you make some longer jumps, and etc ...

And, since we're talking, what do the players think about this?

I like this feedback

Replies (4)

Elor Yosnak ●

I would love a simple 50 or 75% jetpack speed reduction in atmosphere. It'd be really nice, and I think it might fix a lot of issues people have with the jetpack, while keeping the ability for playability out of atmosphere.

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Konstantin ●

It is not necessary to reduce the speed, it is enough to reduce the engine thrust. In the real world, you can’t even take off at the jetpack if you take another 300 kg of cargo with you. In space, you also need to reduce thrust. And remove the inertia dampers. The suit does not have equipment for their work.

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Konstantin ●

u also need to reduce the amount of fuel in the suit and make it possible to emit oxygen in case there is not enough fuel. He will also give traction. You can throw items from inventory. This will also give traction in the opposite direction)).

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Elor Yosnak ●

The fundamental problem with Inertial dampeners and killing thrust etc, is that the Jetpack is there to let gameplay be fluid. If somebody wants to play a game with no jetpack, then that's fine. Removing engine thrust to a point could be fine, but Inertial dampeners need to stay there. Otherwise, It becomes much harder to control, and it just serves to make the game frustrating.

Again, the Jetpack is there to make you be comfortable with building ships, catching ships if you fall off, stopping yourself from dieing, etc. It's a gameplay necessity if SE wants to stay approachable by your average person, so hard nerfs and required nerfs are probably a bad decision

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Konstantin ●

Just because you don’t know how to control a jetpack without dampers doesn’t mean that it’s difficult. On the current version of the jetpack, I can capture almost any ship with a grinder. He turns survival into a creative mode.

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Konstantin ●

And of course you need to enter a personal parachute.

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Eron Greco Melo ●

So ... I didn't want to "change things for good", I just wanted to have an option where, when creating the world, I was able to select the jetpack's initial thrust force, maximum acceleration, etc.

That way, for more inexperienced players, they could leave the jetpack specifications as it is today.For those who wanted to have a slightly more immersive experience, adjustments could be made.

Just as I can specify speed and momentum for small blocks and large blocks (for example), I might be able to specify this for the jetpack.

And, why not ... The possibility of upgrading my jetpack, ingame?

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Gabe Pennington ●

Well, something i would like to see is increased fuel consumption. Jetpacks use like, a decent amount of fuel, but i think it should be made so that they use so much that its not practical to use them unless you are tethered to something. Which brings me to another idea, which is stated in another post. Dynamic conveyoring is something the game needs, if you could conveyor yourself using some sort of tether to your base and main storage system, you would then be able to use your jetpack in an atmosphere, without having to worry too much about fuel usage since youre connected to your reserves, also it bring the possibility of components being conveyored directly to your inventory as needed, reducing the need for trips back and forth, which right now the only thing that would fix that is increased inventory size. They could have limited length too so that you couldn't just fly insanely far away while tethered. What does everyone else think?

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Eron Greco Melo ●

EDIT: A friend sent me this mod, which edits some character files, and manages to change the settings of the jetpack, leaving it practically useless in places with gravity. And slow when there isn't.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=627422719

I recommend the test.

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Michael Shahan ●

I use this mod and it's awesome. The JP is nerfed enough to be useless in earth like gravity and nearly useless on moons. Also, much slower acceleration in 0 G. I'm forced to build using a builder ship or scaffolding in gravity.

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Marco Leise ●

In many situations I am happy to have a jetpack, but with a little distance I feel it is too powerful and harms gameplay and immersion in survival. Part of the equation is how effective a freshly spawned engineer is at covering ground and grinding down stuff.

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Doomed Person ●

I'd definitely like a atmo-nerfed jetpack. Probably just decreasing thrust somewhat would work, since fuel capacity isn't all that good.

Some of the things you've suggested in the comments go too far, though. Making an entire throwing mechanic for the edge case of not packing enough hydro bottles is a waste of time. Same for the Watney maneuver, but newbies get another suicide button to fat-finger while spamming the block rotation keys. Parachutes have similar issues, and also aren't exactly standard gear on any kind of space suit. If we got a legitimate suit overhaul with different parts, I'd like a parachute module, but outside of that it's just another complex, bug-riddled thing that spends tons of dev time without gaining much.

And I need to devote an entire paragraph to inertial dampers. The jetpack isn't a "realism" feature. It's a "playability" feature. Like how jump drives don't actually exist, or gravity generators are completely unrealistic. It exists to make the game easier to play, giving you the ability to build your ship from any angle. When I want to build something in SE, I don't want to make every block placement a struggle. Sure, it's possible to use the jetpack without inertial dampers, but it isn't the point of the game. And while concessions have to be made for realism and game balance, that doesn't change that its basic purpose is to allow you to build ships more efficiently. Imagine if SE removed all the normal keybinds, forcing you to rely only on hotbars for piloting ships. Sure, it increases the difficulty, but it isn't meaningful or necessary to unbind WASD controls. It would be just unnecessary complication.

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Konstantin ●

Now I'm turning off the jetpack completely. For construction, I make platforms that allow assembly at height. Or stairs. There is always a car or copter to move around. In space it's a little more difficult. You can get stuck without artificial gravity. But everything works out too.

Battles with pirates have become much more interesting and exciting. It is now impossible to do without the use of tactics and drones. And pvp is generally great.

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