Beta test feedback

Beta Test feedback from another user:

I realized when getting ready to write this that I've been piloting virtual spaceships "realistically" for more than 10 years now - first with Orbiter (prior to the 2006 release), then KSP. So orbital mechanics are intuitive to me, for the most part. I really appreciate that the maneuver controls are similar to KSP, which has the most intuitive controls I've seen. Still, there are a couple of quirks, and some features which would make things easier:

- The Normal (Tangential) and Radial axes seem to work fine overall, but the Out-of-plane axis doesn't act as I'd expect it to. As a result, it's very difficult for me to match planes with a target, whereas in KSP or Orbiter I can do it no problem.
- There's no markings to indicate a closed orbit's apses, or ascending/descending nodes (the latter contributing to the difficulty in matching planes mentioned above)
- There doesn't appear to be a save button / option mid-mission, meaning if I have to close the game for any reason, all progress is lost.

Overall, the game is fantastic, already with an immense depth of play and richness of tactics - though brutal for the novice when first confronting projectile weapons. I've already put 35 hours in since Thursday afternoon, and I'm on the Neptune mission. Ceres was HARD, and Vesta was a bit challenging until I figured out a strategy to use which worked. (it was nowhere near as difficult for me as Ceres, since I could build custom ships to support my strategy) One thingI noticed was that since the game drops you into combat immediately on ships passing into weapons range, there's no chance to react to anything, even though on a "real" ship, there would be opportunities to make adjustments in the last few minutes leading up to combat. It would be helpful if there were a way to begin the tactical / combat phase a little earlier so that there is time for last-minute setup / positioning. (or if there were a 1 minute button alongside that 10 minute button) It would also be nice to have options for attitude control without thrust (like RCS or reaction wheels) so that a ship can broadside without altering vector.

Also, the positioning phase is in increments of 10 minutes up to 1 month, but combat is real-time (which makes sense), but it's not clear if the positioning phase is happening in real-time when a button has not been pushed. On certain actions, the maneuver countdown timers will increment with the time elapsed since the last calculation, but they don't update in real time, so it's not clear if time is always passing.

Other quirks / observations (mostly observations):

- Cargo bays apparently only have one size and can't be modified
- No provision for docking vessels
- Damage control / repairs? Doesn't seem to be any yet, although realistically a lot of things would not be able to be repaired
- When designing fission reactors, there isn't a provision for cooling them with liquid sodium. I'd love to see that as an option, especially since there have been several working examples dating back more than 50 years
- Would also like to see more radiator options - different architectures, different coolants
- Can drones be recovered? Or merely refueled if the proper architecture is present?
- As mentioned in other posts / threads, different options for mission kills, etc
- Other limitations to combat, like a Delta-V floor (amount required to have left at the end of battle to "get home" or reach a tanker - the conditions would be set as part of the scenario victory conditions)
- Would also love to see things to put into a cargo hold. (in addition to just "cargo", how about "ammo", "food / supplies" and "parts" - representing the amount of food, water and air, and spare parts for repairs and such, respectively) Ammo would be the packed version, not deployable and taking up a bit less space - adding food, parts, and ammo allows for strategic campaigns
- Would also love to see scenarios which can be linked so that the remaining fuel, crew, vessel condition, food, parts, and ammo from the prior mission can be used as the starting conditions for the "linked" mission

Obviously, a bunch of those are "wish list" items, and some of that might be best served with mods - in the case of that last one, what it would need is some means for a modder to alter the starting conditions for a scenario, or to generate a new scenario programmatically.

Overall, this is definitely the most realistic space combat game ever created, and it's amazing how much is already in here, and how well it's working. I'm definitely looking forward to the launch so I can buy the finished product, and I'm really looking forward to the further evolution of the game and whatever else you decide to do with it!