65000 Ly and Beyond!

[Mercury7]

I'm in the final stages of preparation to head out into the void "for real". I've done lots of experimentation (including damaging and even destroying my ship to see what it can take), and have a good handle on things to avoid/not do.

What I can't figure out is long-term degredation of systems. How do systems degrade (is it a general, gradual decline?), and how do events such as heat from normal fuel scooping affect things?

I currently have an overcharged PP, but at the slight cost of reduced integrity.

How does integrity value affect module life? Is it higher integrity = longer life with damage being the same on all modules, or do modules have different rates of degredation as well?

Are the module integrity boosters only good in combat and have no effect on heat damage? Is it not worth the weight to carry one of these?

Should I forego some weight, and get an armored PP instead, allowing for it not being repairable?

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2 SRVs or 4?

I struggle to destroy my SRVs (I need to really try), and they get repaired when re-entering the ship, so should I carry 2 or 4? I appreciate accidents happen, but if I'm not leaping off cliffs...

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AFMU

If I boost my FSD in a neutron star, the FSD takes about a 4% hit. When the AFMU repairs a module, how "good" is the repair? Does the module, if damaged/repaired over time, slowly become more easily damaged?

Can a module become unrepairable ABOVE 0% integrity?

 

[Allitnil]

These are good questions and they should be important but unfortunately things are all too simple in ED exploration

Over time the ship's hull integrity will drop. But all this means is that even when it is zero, the hull just takes an extra 30% damage if it gets any. But other than crash landings you won't be taking more than 1 or 2% at a time so it's negligible. You can't see the integrity figure when out in the black so just ignore it.

Individual systems don't degrade and only take damage from collisions, SC emergency stops or heat damage. Or weapons.

Modules will start to take heat damage if the temp gets over 100%. That might happen if you jump between a close binary but rarely does these days if you take action to immediately get clear. If it happens during fuel scooping then you need to be more cautious. Hull damage only occurs over 150% and is pretty much impossible to achieve these days without horrible mistakes or deliberately doing something really silly. Take heat sinks if you want but they are very much optional rather than a necessity.

Not sure if module integrity really affects the sort of damage explorers get, it seems mostly geared towards combat. Modules are perfectly repaired by the AFMU anyway so it's pretty much moot.

If you are not canyon jumping etc then a single SRV should be fine. Just remember to repair it *every time* it gets down to 50% as it is possible to take 50% random damage. Keep a few iron & nickel at all times so you can make repairs without returning to the ship. Take 2 SRVs if you are cautious, 4 if you plan on destroying them .

AFMU's repair perfectly.

All modules except the PP and canopy are always repairable. The canopy can be repaired but only if it hasn't blown. Note that once 2.4 drops, a blown canopy can be survivable even if you are 65k from Sol since you can synthesise life support oxygen - not something you would want to do on a long trip but it is possible. Post 2.4, if you should happen to get a lot of hull damage, post here and some kind soul will make it their mission to get out to you with hull repair limpets! The PP can't be repaired but if it should ever get to zero then you can push it back above that by using the repair / reboot option and then using the AFMU to repair the modules that process damages.

 

[Yanick]

Hey there Mercury 7. That's a great name! There was an exploration expedition of that name, earlier this year

I agree with the above advice, it's sound.

o7
Yanick

 

[Mercury7]

Interesting - I was under the impression that 0% anything = destruction of the module, or ship if it was hull.

I've done a lightweight mod to some heat sinks so I can carry two for the weight of one normal one. I lose about 0.2 Ly jump range.

My ship generally runs very cool (around 60% when fuel scooping, and 16-18% in SC).

I'll take 2 SRVs then, so I have a spare should something happen. Thanks for the tip about the damage!

Interesting about the blown canopy/synthesizing oxygen - maybe they are thinking of exploration after all?

I thought if the PP reached 0% it resulted in ship destruction? Is that not the case?

@Yanick: Thanks! It's after the Mercury 7 astronauts.

 

[Allitnil]

Interesting - I was under the impression that 0% anything = destruction of the module, or ship if it was hull.

[snip]

I thought if the PP reached 0% it resulted in ship destruction? Is that not the case?

You might be right. Can anyone confirm?

 

[Qohen Leth]

You might be right. Can anyone confirm?

I think it's the case in combat, so the effect must be the same out of combat. It's one way to kill a ship, kill the PP and wait a few seconds.

As for other modules, risk depends on the module but I don't recall hearing anything about a ship exploding because of a 0% cargo hatch...

Hull 0% is destruction of the ship, ofc, but as Alli said, integrity isn't.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Yes 0% on a module means it's dead and won't function. Reboot repair can get key modules to 1-2% health by stealing health from other modules but if everything is low then you are in a pickle. There was actually a Fuel Rats operation where a guys Fuel Scoop was dead and his other modules were too damaged to repair it. He was 2800ly from a station so we set up a refuelling chain of ships to pull him back to home, ended up being called Operation Neospike after the cmdr involved.

0% powerplant has a % chance of destroying you instantly, any further damage to it has another % chance of destroying you instantly. Also at 0% health it only gives 50% power output, in short having powerplant at 0% is asking for trouble.


With that heat loadout you'll be more than fine, for the very odd system where there are 4 stars closely packed at the entry point as long as you don't dawdle you'll only take minor damage.


If you have an AFMU you have only 3 concerns: Powerplant health, Hull health and AFMU health. If you have 2 AFMU's then one can repair the other and the last concern goes away. When 2.4 comes out there are hull limpets and as Allitnil says some crazy fool will come out and save you

That just leaves the powerplant. After a time at over 100% heat a module is randomly picked to take damage, the higher your heat the quicker this time is. Over 150% heat your hull takes damage. In short you need to be over 100% heat for a long time to get your powerplant to the stage it's dangerous. Even then there's a few stations out in nebula dotted around like Colonia that you can detour to if the worst happens.
As for hitting stars or other objects if you learn to automatically throttle down once in hyperspace this should never be a problem but it happens to all of us sometimes, as Allitnil said 1-2% damage to modules so again not something that'll be a major issue for the powerplant unless you make a habit of it!


Good luck with your expedition!
My only other word of caution is watch out for high G planets, they can put you in an unrecoverable situation in a few seconds if you don't realise and then you are literally riding it out until you die. Same with Neutron stars, they can be a sucker for murdering you without much warning


Edit: I'd note that oxygen synthesis is long term viable if you have A life support. With each material giving 25minutes oxygen you can gather more materials than you are using (Ship uses oxygen even when dismissed iirc) so you'd have to locate a rock in the ship, land next to it, hop out, get the mats and hop back in sharpish.
Once suitably stocked up you could make a run back to the nearest station/base for repairs.
With the lower grade life supports this becomes increasingly harder to stockpile and keep on top of synthesising.

 

[VerticalBlank]

Even AFMU health isn't a huge concern as reboot/repair has been tested and established that a 1% AFMU performs just as well as a 100% AFMU.

 

[Allitnil]

Edit: I'd note that oxygen synthesis is long term viable if you have A life support. With each material giving 25minutes oxygen you can gather more materials than you are using (Ship uses oxygen even when dismissed iirc) so you'd have to locate a rock in the ship, land next to it, hop out, get the mats and hop back in sharpish.
Once suitably stocked up you could make a run back to the nearest station/base for repairs.
With the lower grade life supports this becomes increasingly harder to stockpile and keep on top of synthesising.

Is it absolutely confirmed that the ship uses oxygen when dismissed? If so then it could make the D life support most of us use problematic. If it doesn't then I don't see any real issues as 7.5 mins is ample to get to the nearest landable planet and stock up with enough iron & nickle to cross the entire galaxy. Even if it is the case then it should be OK, just that it could take a long time to get the mats what with needing to frequently recall the ship.

 

[Fyrd Judge]

Consider one important fact when exploring very soon, Thargoids will be in deep space.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

I will have a look tomorrow in beta, I seem to recall a thread but I may be wrong.

 

[Major Klutz]

Nothing just degrades from normal use. Modules and Hull will only degrade if they take damage.

Potential Damage Sources ...

Lithobraking. Primarily Hull damage. Varies with impact speed.
- Shields on when landing. Avoid High Gravity unless you're experienced with it. Don't crash into the ground.

Emergency Drop from Supercruise. Minor hull and module damage
- Can happen if you clip the exclusion zone of a star. Unlikely when fuel scooping but I have done it when supercruising to a companion star and not paying attention.
Approaching a planet too fast. 75% throttle max when approaching planet, 50% within orbital cruise.
Accidentally shuting off thrusters or FSD while in SC. Don't use the AFM to repair while you are in Supercruise.

Heat Damage. Mostly module damage. Slow. Heatsinks take most of the damage first.
- Getting back into Supercruise after you hit the Exclusion Zone of a Star. Unless you have HeatSinks, you'll probably take a small amount of heat damage getting back into SC.
Getting in between two close stars. This used to happen sometimes when jumping into a binary system and it's still possible but doesn't happen as often as it used to.
... You can't exit hyperspace inside the exclusion zone of a star anymore.
Climbing out from a High Gravity planet. When climbing, don't boost, or if you do, wait for your ship to cool down before engaging SC.

Is it absolutely confirmed that the ship uses oxygen when dismissed? If so then it could make the D life support most of us use problematic. If it doesn't then I don't see any real issues as 7.5 mins is ample to get to the nearest landable planet and stock up with enough iron & nickle to cross the entire galaxy. Even if it is the case then it should be OK, just that it could take a long time to get the mats what with needing to frequently recall the ship.

I'm 99.9999% sure it doesn't use any oxygen if you're not on board.
I haven't experienced it myself but I've seen a post from another player that survived in their SRV for some time after a canopy breach. According to that account, the emergency oxygen counter only counted down while they were aboard the ship.

I agree, a canopy breach will no longer be a death sentence. Even with a D rated Life Support, I have over 100 minutes of oxygen from synthesis materials on hand now. Plenty of time to land and gather several hours worth.
The trick will be repeatedly synthesizing every 7.4 minutes. If you're a second late, you're toast.

Side note: Anyone know of a way to deliberately breach your canopy for testing? I've tried banging my windshield on the ground repeatedly with no luck, just hull damage.

 

[VerticalBlank]

With most sensible explorer builds, heat damage is easily avoided by travelling with all non-essential modules (shields, power dist, etc) turned off. This will dramatically reduce your heat output.

If you accidentally hug a star (also known as the Hydrogen Headbutt, one of my fav bits of jargon), you don't need heat sinks to get out w/o damage. Just stay calm, DON'T BOOST and head away from the star in normal space. Don't boost, don't low- or high-wake. To optimise, select the star in your left-hand nav panel and steer so as to put it squarely behind you in your 8-ball compass.

Wait for your temp to drop to something reasonable, then low wake while keeping a heading directly away from the star. Again, DON'T BOOST. Your temp will get close to 100% but as long as you don't boost you'll be fine.

Once you are back in supercruise, take a moment to gather your wits before proceeding with your journey.

Hope this helps.

 

[Aura Lorell]

Consider one important fact when exploring very soon, Thargoids will be in deep space.

Umm, no. Thargoid content is optional as FD has said many times.

 

[Kenneth McGrew]

Consider one important fact when exploring very soon, Thargoids will be in deep space.

lol they're meant to be in the bubble but encounters are as rare as hens teeth, and FD said future content is optional...

as for modules i returned from 65kly+ with 100% on all modules, hull & PP (most engineered with negative integrity due to weight saving etc) they don't degrade with time, you have to do something silly or lose concentration and bump into exclusion zones etc or emergency stop from SC to do any damage.

PP can get to 0% and you can try a re-boot and repair but it runs at 50% power IIRC - this is from the grape vine i haven't tested this.

important & interesting

your ship uses fuel while dismissed and could thus not return / have enough to jump out of the system, of course it uses very little but if your on the surface for a long time...

 

[Alex Brentnall]

News just in, it is not possible to launch an SRV if your life support is deactivated.

Not sure on out of fuel or damaged to point of 0% but assuming it's the same.

 

[Mercury7]

News just in, it is not possible to launch an SRV if your life support is deactivated.

Is this a change in 2.4 or true now? I'll go and test it...

Thanks for the info regarding oxygen in 2.4! I need to try the Beta I think.

I knew the ship burned fuel when dismissed. I disable everything before getting in the SRV except planetary hangar, FSD, life support, and thrusters. It has a very low fuel burn.

Life support is the one module I can't lightweight mod. Would be useful I think.

 

[Aura Lorell]

Is this a change in 2.4 or true now? I'll go and test it...

Thanks for the info regarding oxygen in 2.4! I need to try the Beta I think.

I knew the ship burned fuel when dismissed. I disable everything before getting in the SRV except planetary hangar, FSD, life support, and thrusters. It has a very low fuel burn.

Life support is the one module I can't lightweight mod. Would be useful I think.

G3 Life Support lightweight with Bill Turner
G4 with Lori Jameson

 

[Mercury7]

Thanks - I need to unlock some engineers though... Qwent is taking too long...

Is selling a few million in Gold to Sirius enough of a bribe?

 

[Aura Lorell]

Thanks - I need to unlock some engineers though... Qwent is taking too long...

Is selling a few million in Gold to Sirius enough of a bribe?

Yes sell exploration data to a Sirius station to get allied, get the Sirius permit and the Quent invitation, then buy the modular terminals and you're done.