Orbits aint orbits.
In a fight, whenever I choose to orbit an entity, I always have a mental picture of what kind of orbit I feel will achieve my purpose, and, importantly, what will not achieve my purposes. The path I want my ship to traverse around the object can usually be categorised into a small set of options; whether it be orthogonal to some incoming enemies, staying clear of nearby obstacles, or just circling my target. (Perhaps other pilots could add their thoughts to this short list.) When not in a fight, I’m usually indifferent about the resulting orbit path.
However, after initiating the orbit, on far too many occasions, the orbit path that results is bad at best and stupid at worst, and only occasionally is it ideal. The random nature of the mechanics often leaves me with the desire to fire the clone that is piloting of my ship.
I would like to propose the current orbit function be augmented with a new, optional, level of control that gives the capsuleer the ability to choose the orientation of the orbit. Perhaps the Q mechanics, used for approaching or manually flying one’s ship, could be borrowed and integrated somehow into the orbit function. If the random nature of orbits is an integral part of CCP’s fight mechanics, then, perhaps, the fidelity of the orbit could be influenced by the quality of the clone’s Cybernetic Subprocessor or other factors/skills.
As things stand, this is a real problem that has existed for a long time, and, judging by the support I got from the help channels when I raised this issue, there are many others who would like to see this aspect of flying/fighting improved.
(I’m aware this topic has been raised in the past, but frustration is a great motivator.)
