Ship and Combat balance?

Yeah, I noticed that as well.. some of the NPC are close to invulnerable until I started taking out sub-systems, then they tend to turn tail and head home..

I haven't actually tried out much of the combat model! I've still been picking away at trading. I do think it's very, very difficult to maneuver your ship now -- for instance, a basic maneuver like flying in a circular pattern around a ship that's at a cargo dock is extraordinarily difficult. You have to allow yourself to fall back a considerable distance and use the main thrusters directly towards the target after you've given yourself some tangential momentum (sort of like how a ball on a string has tension to keep it pointing towards the stick it's rotating around).

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This is a public service announcement: Please look through all six degrees of freedom before crossing the L-point.

Okay, sounds like your experiencing it correctly JT. A circular maneuver in space should be extremely difficult. Now I guess I am hoping that very very difficult means in the challenging sense and not in the 'this is crazy' sense. The way you describe your solution sounds pretty cool. Similar to how I negotiate such maneuvers. For me it helps me feel like I am flying a ship, and not just playing another FPS doing the old strafe and circle.

A circular maneuver in space should be extremely difficult

Why? There is no friction is space, no "weight" and nothing but the power (or lack thereof) of your own ship's engines making that maneuver "extremely difficult". A small, one person ship in space should spin on a dime and strafe like a boxer on meth.

Very very difficult, isn't challenging, it's tedious and not very fun. The more I fly these new ship specs, the less I want to fly these new ship specs.

Do you mean spin in a circle or move in a circle? There is a big difference between the two.

Anyways, good to hear your feedback on how the model strikes you. Any suggestions as to what you would like to see in a flight model?

Do you mean spin in a circle or move in a circle?

In newtonian flight, moving in a circle [ie: changing trajectory] should be relative to velocity, but it should be MUCH easier to move (fly) in a circle at slower velocities. The current spin rate for the tug now is ok.. strafing at lower speeds should be almost instantanious, and lateral thrusters (left, right, up, down) strong enough where un-assisted flight isn't an act of frustration and over correction.

Any suggestions as to what you would like to see in a flight model?

Yes. can I please have my laterals back...or at least some way to upgrade lateral thrusters at a shipyard or station. Flying this tug feels like walking with one leg.