Extractions would be one hell of a good time!

I'll summarize before going into detail in response, but please understand I'm not trying to sound like a D-bag. You have good arguments and ideas, just like the OP: 1) I know EVE did something similar, but it was to help load the system in. No matter what, you are going to waste time traveling a distance before entering combat of any sort, because jumping right into a fight will most likely get yourself killed or decently damaged before you could react to the situation. 2) Yes, I totally agree with you there that it would be cool, and challenging and add depth, but it would add too much depth for people who don't want to fly and would rather shoot (which may lead to the possibility of bigger ships to carry people, but then you're wasting the time of the person on your ship waiting to drop and fight). 3) It does sound redundant, and I wouldn't like to see the same cut-scenes over an over landing/taking off/entering hyperspace, but at this moment we don't know how fast the ships can fly, so really it could take a little while to get from one planet to another, meaning it's not too redundant. And even if it were not a cut scene, what about Hyper space? I personally would not like to see manual controlled travel on that level. These are some really cool thoughts, and they would add depth to the game. The trouble is they would add too much depth. Evochron Mercenary, a PC Space Sim, pulls off the atmospheric entry without the need to cut to a cinematic, so it is possible. The problem I see is that this is just too much for the more casual gamer, and I see Bungie making this game to fit every crowd and make sure it has just enough complexity to make the hardcore fans giddy as well as spark a good time investment from newcomers to the company's games. Also, being able to land wherever (or almost wherever if the theory of AA batteries is true) takes away the fun of exploring. The example of the Dust Palace "legend" is a perfect example. If the two Guardians, playing together, could land wherever, couldn't they just land right next to the dungeon in question and take it from there? I think having multiple, pre-designated, Landing Zones would be great as it would increase the sense of exploration while trying to go to another destination, kind of like how in Skyrim your goal was one area, and then, while running towards that location, you reveal a few other areas that make you go "You know, what? I'm going to check this out first, then continue with saving the world." Landing wherever takes the fun out of that.

You made some valid points which spark this in my mind. 1) The whole autopilot situation can be corrected with the option to turn autopilot on or off. That way both experienced and casual gamers can fly. 2) I can see your point, guess I've been playing too much Battlefield 3 lol 3) Hyper space is a whole other issue, you have to have autopilot for that, I was strictly talking about from space to planet or planet to space with fluidity/no breaks or cut scenes between.