Newcomer / Intro What are you up to?

[Marvin the Martian]

Getting late and didn't have much time, but I ran out to a few systems and managed to get 4 biologics scanned in. Ran back to the carrier, and wow. Just wow.

I think they totally overdid it on the payouts. To me, about a 2x (100%) or so increase in payouts would have been nice, but they've taken it out a whole new door. Under the old values, those 4 samples would have been worth 805,000 credits.

But they gave me 17,700,000 and change for them.

That is roughly a 2,000% increase in payout.

Unless they changed the rank values accordingly, everybody will be Elite V Exobiologist in a matter of days.

 

[Fnord Velkor]

...
Unless they changed the rank values accordingly, everybody will be Elite V Exobiologist in a matter of days.

Doesn't make up for it being as boring as hades. (Yeah, I know it is just me that feels that.)

 

[0threeleven]

Unless they changed the rank values accordingly, everybody will be Elite V Exobiologist in a matter of days.

Just like the Colonia Bridge Project CG, everybody made Elite V in trade in a few days of casual playing, except for us clowns out in the black. By the time I find a DSSA carrier with Vista onboard, Frontier will have adjusted the payouts and I'll still be a Geneticist.

 

[Nekozji]

4 biologics scanned in

For 18 mil?

Thing is we have to ask, how long does/can it take to scan 4 things? Because most of the time I'd expect that to be about 15-20 minutes surface time, plus probably twice that just finding a planet worth visiting. So about 18 mil for 45-60 minutes.

Which, vs something like a trade CG, or running refugees out of invaded systems, is undervaluing your time.

Sure, sometimes there are lucky breaks: today I got 3x sister moons each with 5 bio signs, all of which were stacked at least 4 in the same place. Other times I can go an hour finding only planets with 1-2 bio signatures or are 150kls away that aren't worth the effort.

Honestly, I think in terms of pure money, exobiology is actually balanced right now as an event feature. I'm pretty sure we're building bio weapons - in fact I think the new AX weapons are "toxin tipped". Won't be surprised if the payouts drop to maybe 30-50% in a couple of months, but taken as an alternative to a trade CG, it's about right.

 

[Codger]

Getting late and didn't have much time, but I ran out to a few systems and managed to get 4 biologics scanned in. Ran back to the carrier, and wow. Just wow.

I think they totally overdid it on the payouts. To me, about a 2x (100%) or so increase in payouts would have been nice, but they've taken it out a whole new door. Under the old values, those 4 samples would have been worth 805,000 credits.

View attachment 335671

But they gave me 17,700,000 and change for them.

View attachment 335672

That is roughly a 2,000% increase in payout.

Unless they changed the rank values accordingly, everybody will be Elite V Exobiologist in a matter of days.

Not scaling the ranks is (probably) a mistake. I hope the payout increase is correct, and that the only bug is the display of first-logged bonuses (which show much more than you get). I would really like the payouts to remain. I love Exobiology and getting paid well for it would be cool.

I guess we'll see what they do.

 

[bugbait42]

I've arrived in one of those systems just inside the Sanguineous Rim where the crystalline shards are. Fleet carriers galore both here and in the system I was in just now.

These shards are an exobiology species, so first of all, you scan 'em in yer Artemis suit:

Then switch to your Dominator suit, (unless your Artemis has weapons as well) so you can shoot them with your guns, as they then drop lots of high grade mats, such as the polonium I just found (sorry didn't catch any of that in the screenshot but so far it's also worked when shooting from the SRV.)

So hopefully all this lot will be worth a bob or two under the new tariffs, when I eventually present it to that grumpy lady in Vista Genomics.

 

[Marvin the Martian]

By the time I find a DSSA carrier with Vista onboard, Frontier will have adjusted the payouts and I'll still be a Geneticist.

If you're anywhere near Elysium Shore feel free to use my carrier. Just let me know you're coming by so I can leave everything turned on.

 

[Codger]

Took my Challenger out for a test run. It did not go very well.

I found an outpost that was under attack. Flew around it for a while, but there was nothing to do, no enemies.

Went to another outpost, and this time as I flew past I got the message "Frameshift Anomaly Detected" but saw nothing. Next thing I know my ship was shut down completely. I could not move or do anything. When my ship powered back up I had 1% hull left (so much for being able to take the hits with all this armor and hull reinforcement I put on).

This is the last thing I saw, right after my ship came back to life:

Then it was the rebuy screen and a 5 million credit loss. Groovy, baby.

The game stuck me into a station I had never visited, in the same system. I expected to resurrect at the last station I docked at, namely my carrier, but nope.

I restocked my limpets (for repair) and tried again.

This time there were a few scouts and I was able to test the weapons at least. AX multicannons seem very weak to me. Scouts did not die fast at all, and when they did they sprayed me with caustic goo. This appeared to be unavoidable. I turned away immediately but got hit with it every time.

I was able to cleanse it by overheating my ship, so that works. I also had some repair limpets, but they were insufficient, only doing a couple percent worth of repairs. I had the Xeno multi-limpet controller. It's no good for this. Maybe a full-fledged repair limpet would be better.

Stuff I learned:

• AX Multicannons will NOT FIRE when set to Fire at Will. Period.
• Xeno multi-limpets sound cool but are mostly useless.
• "Frameshift Anomaly Detected" might mean more Scouts, or it might mean a bigger ship. If it's a bigger ship that's very bad news.
• I didn't have a Xeno Scanner, so I couldn't tell what anything was from a distance. I also could not see how much damage they had taken while fighting them. I was just shooting blind. I didn't take one because the Anti-Xeno Initiative site said it wasn't needed for Scouts. I disagree, I guess.

I did get in a couple of kills, but at 80000 credits each it would take 63 or so kills to offset my one rebuy. Not really worth it.

I guess the bubble is gonna burn. I sure ain't much help.

I will probably try again, after getting a scanner and better limpets. But I think I'm outclassed.

 

[Marvin the Martian]

AX Multicannons will NOT FIRE when set to Fire at Will. Period.

You have to be in range and hit the fire button after you target them. You only have to hit the fire button once. They'll auto fire after that whenever you get in range. If you leave target range they stop firing. If you switch targets, you'll have to again hit the fire button for them. Then they'll fire automatically on that new target when you get in range.

I actually prefer it a great deal because it saves a ton of ammo. I burn them up with my lasers the entire time and just wait for them to drift into range and let the cannons do their thing.

Xeno multi-limpets sound cool but are mostly useless.

I just use regular old limpets on a 3e decontamination controller.

"Frameshift Anomaly Detected" might mean more Scouts, or it might mean a bigger ship. If it's a bigger ship that's very bad news.

That's when a big one is coming in and they launch the wave that knocks all the power to your ship out. That's why I carry the shutdown field neutralizer. You hear that FSD incoming, you pump that up and your power doesn't get knocked out.

I didn't take one because the Anti-Xeno Initiative site said it wasn't needed for Scouts.

It isn't.

The reason that caustic stuff is eating you alive so bad is probably because you're using regular armor and regular armor reinforcements. None of that gives you any caustic protection at all. The Guardian Hull Reinforcements do.

My Chieftain can literally just sit there and let them spew at me all day long and it barely hurts me at all. That's why I only carry a class 3 cargo rack with 8 limpets in it. I'll run out of ammo before I use them all.

 

[aRJay]

Just like the Colonia Bridge Project CG, everybody made Elite V in trade in a few days of casual playing, except for us clowns out in the black. By the time I find a DSSA carrier with Vista onboard, Frontier will have adjusted the payouts and I'll still be a Geneticist.

I used the refuel the Golconda with Tritium CG to do that.

 

[Codger]

You have to be in range and hit the fire button after you target them. You only have to hit the fire button once. They'll auto fire after that whenever you get in range. If you leave target range they stop firing.

I do know how to use them. Set to Target Only they worked as you describe. Set to Fire At Will they never fired. I use the non AX ones all the time and they work when set to Fire at Will. These did not. Could have been operator error, I suppose. They do have a very short range, so maybe I wasn't close enough. But set to Target Only they worked as I expected. I'll experiment more.

That's why I carry the shutdown field neutralizer. You hear that FSD incoming, you pump that up and your power doesn't get knocked out.

Yeah I didn't have one of those. I didn't hear anything either, or see anything. I was just suddenly dead in the water. I think I lack experience!

The reason that caustic stuff is eating you alive so bad is probably because you're using regular armor and regular armor reinforcements. None of that gives you any caustic protection at all. The Guardian Hull Reinforcements do.

I'll look into those if I decide to continue with this, for sure. The caustic stuff wasn't killing me super fast, it was just ticking away slowly. Not as slowly as you describe, but it wasn't too worrying. Still, more caustic protection would be good

That's when a big one is coming in and they launch the wave that knocks all the power to your ship out.

Maybe I was just inattentive, but this didn't seem to be the case. Sometimes it was Scouts, and sometimes a bigger ship. I got the same warning for either, as far as I could tell.

I recorded video, so I can go back through it later and see what I missed. I'm sure you are right.

 

[Frankymole]

But they gave me 17,700,000 and change for them.



That is roughly a 2,000% increase in payout.

Unless they changed the rank values accordingly, everybody will be Elite V Exobiologist in a matter of days.

What they say they give you is not what they actually give you. There's a bug resulting in a mismatch.

Issue Tracker

issues.frontierstore.net

 

[Codger]

My Chieftain can literally just sit there and let them spew at me all day long and it barely hurts me at all. That's why I only carry a class 3 cargo rack with 8 limpets in it. I'll run out of ammo before I use them all.

Meant to ask before, but I'd like to see your build, learn a few things.

 

[CMDR Timber McWolf]

Last time out, I almost got stuck on the wings of a Beluga while trying to leave the station...
At least I think it was a Beluga... Scary big, that thing. Came into the station and parked right in the middle of it, blocking most direct routes out of the station. And as the autopilot only knows straight lines...

Edited to add:
Apparently are Coriolis stations too small for certain types of ships... In the session following the original part of this post, I had a similar experience with one of the Alliance ships... In this case, I was glad that the canopy sits below the upper surface of my ship...

 

[0threeleven]

If you're anywhere near Elysium Shore feel free to use my carrier. Just let me know you're coming by so I can leave everything turned on.

Thank you for the offer, I'm on the opposite side of the core, Inner Orion-Perseus Conflux I believe, I found a carrier about 6500 Ly away, I'm making for that.

Set to Fire At Will they never fired. I use the non AX ones all the time and they work when set to Fire at Will.

Ah, you need to set it to fire at Fred and Joe also, should do the trick.

Meant to ask before, but I'd like to see your build, learn a few things.

If I manage to get back before the war is over, I think I'll barrow Gomez's design, it seems he might have the right setup or use all the same components in a Krait Mk II, now there's a thought. So, you guys save some bugs, eh?

Anyway, ran into one of these rigs, pretty nice Kodak moment.

These bacteria are getting more interesting, here is one I found on a geo-ice world.

 

[aRJay]

I am no longer a fan of Fire at Will as a setting for turrets for two reasons.

First there was the false hostile bug but even though that is fixed not everything hostle to you is a target you want to destroy.

Second if there are multiple targets your weapons will engage all of them doing insufficient damage to each one, I prefer to bring as much firepower to one target as possible to get rid of it quickly.

 

[CMDR Timber McWolf]

I am no longer a fan of Fire at Will as a setting for turrets for two reasons.

First there was the false hostile bug but even though that is fixed not everything hostle to you is a target you want to destroy.

Second if there are multiple targets your weapons will engage all of them doing insufficient damage to each one, I prefer to bring as much firepower to one target as possible to get rid of it quickly.

If I learned anything from playing STO, that would be that FAW is good for drawing the attention (aggro) of hostile vessels away from "glascannon" teammates to your tank so they can take the enemies out without risking to get scrapped. When fighting on your own, it is only effective against single targets, although even then there usually are better suited options.
I am not sure if this would work with Thargoids, though.

 

[Nekozji]

I was today years old when I learned that you can fit extra fuel tanks in optional slots. This might actually make for a better refugee shuttle than a fuel scoop...

Anyway, I decided to downgrade to a medium ship and check out a station that's under attack, just to see what's different vs the stations on alert. Honestly, it was what I expected; a swarm of thargoids who zapped me but lost interest after a deploying a heatsink. A few AX pilots distracting them. This ship only has about 800 points of shield, but it was never really at risk. I did miss the slightly higher speed of the cutter; it's hard to understate how important high boost speeds are with regards to surviving thargoids.

On the whole, I'm not sure it's worth going in with a medium if you have the option of a Cutter. Yes, the spaceport is faster to land at and you can't get your jump blocked by a planet on take off, but you're only hauling half as much. If wanting to use this as a materials grind (and it's not a bad one with most groups paying 4-5x grade 5s) then the Cutter is just better by far. Other large ships... will probably die when interdicted. A T9 is definitely a rebuy screen waiting to happen.

I did notice this interesting thing during one of the interdictions. I'm not sure what this is used for but I guess it will become important some time?

Also I met Master Rat as mentioned in Kung Fu Panda 3. Sadly he didn't bring his tiny rat army.

For right now however, I've just noticed that I've been pledged to Aisling Duval for like... months. Time to go move some leaflets so I can get a few prismatic shields. These are probably the meta for any rescue ship, since the entire goal is to survive long enough to escape and recharge time doesn't really matter.

 

[bugbait42]

Re my previous comment about the crystalline shards - shooting the clusters attached to the shards from the SRV does work sometimes but only if you able to aim right at them. Usually you do have to disembark and shoot them with your hand-held weapons.

Watch out for the bug on disembarking though - since the update I've had a crash sometimes where the screen goes black, then when you go back to the game the SRV is nowhere to be seen as it's back on the ship, so you might have a long walk. Maybe dismissing the ship before you disembark, then recalling it from on-foot by pressing "Q" might work but I haven't tried that yet.

Whatever, I've also found that as long as you don't keep your disembark key pressed for too long (in my case the space bar) it avoids the crash - ie just press it briefly.

Others have reported this bug as well and there's a thread here somewhere about it but I can't find it now...

 

[CMDR Timber McWolf]

I am not sure if this would work with Thargoids, though.

My brain would refuse to lay this to rest, so I spent some time in Coriolis...

T-10 Defender AX Tank

Feel free to share your thoughts about this.