Pavonis Interactive Forums

As a relatively new player, I find the way launch windows for hhabs change to be somewhat frustrating. The modifier for Mars, for example, goes from something like +8% to +30% in a one or two day range around September 6, 2024. I realize this is due to orbital mechanics works, not a decision by the game designers, but I can find no way to predict these changes other than trial and error.

So my request is for an interface with a graph or a table showing what the modifier was/will be on various days, so players can see when windows are opening up and plan accordingly. One could build such a table by running the game and writing down values each day, so I assume this wouldn't require much on the fly caculation in game. I believe it is never necessary to wait before launching, that launching sooner will always get you there before launching later, but knowing when a good window is coming up influences things like technology prioritization and how much boost is spent on low earth orbit stations.

galith wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2023 2:04 pm I believe it is never necessary to wait before launching, that launching sooner will always get you there before launching later, but knowing when a good window is coming up influences things like technology prioritization and how much boost is spent on low earth orbit stations.

I agree that such information would be helpful for a player - it would be even more helpful than you realize because there actually are circumstances when waiting before launching is beneficial, eg. I waited over 10 months before launching my interplanetary Escorts with Advanced Pulsar from Earth to Saturn and I was still able to arrive over 4 months sooner (from almost 100 weeks expected travel time I went below 40 weeks in this 10 months period).

That's a really good & valid point about waiting - if the launch window is wrong then it really can (and often does) take longer than delaying for the right window would. This is of course absolutely realistic, but a concept that new players will struggle to comprehend at first I think, being used to other games with the 'instant resolution' approach.
It's one of the many reasons that I love this game so much

The problem is that, at least in case of ships, the Earth Launching Windows shown in-game are misleading and it's sometimes worth waiting even after their limits. This is why some time ago I feature-requested Transfer Planner to show the Optimal Launching Window (or Windows) and not just from Earth but from any place to any place chosen in the Solar System.

Seconding the motion.

The game clearly calculates or has a bunch of data, it knows when the launch windows are, shouldn't be too hard to make a graph. What the player really wants is a way to see ahead and plan based on this information, which the in-game physics/astronomy nerds would have. The transfer planner button for ships is helpful! Just wish there was one for probes and habs. Obscuring this doesn't serve an in-game purpose.