Newcomer / Intro Sidewinder in Combat: Training Mission

[aRJay]

Me: The following doesn't make sense:
View attachment 193049
Totally Laden has a great Jump Range than just Laden ?

The jump range is affected by the mass of the ship so:-
Laden is the range when the ship has a full tank of fuel and all cargo racks are also full.
Unladen is the range with the ship with a full tank of fuel but no cargo.
Max is the range with just enough fuel in the tank for that one jump, this is dangerous as you won't be able to leave the system without refuelling.
The Total Unladen etc. figures are how far you can jump without refuelling until the tank is empty, around 10 jumps in this case.

 

[aRJay]

Faster boot sequence I would suppose.

No that just means it goes from powered off to operational quicker nothing to do with cooldown or charging times.

 

[Mitch Brewer]

Hell Razor might disagree with you. I haven't tried it out so I ain't sure.

 

[Para Handy]

Hell Razor might disagree with you. I haven't tried it out so I ain't sure.

Then both of you are mistaken:

Faster Boot Sequence Frame Shift Drive

Faster Boot Sequence Frame Shift Drive is an Engineer modification that can be applied to Frame Shift Drives. It decreases the time taken for the drive to come back online after being deactivated. It also offers a small increase in range, at the cost of increased Thermal Load and decreased...

elite-dangerous.fandom.com

"It decreases the time taken for the drive to come back online after being deactivated. "

 

[aRJay]

Hell Razor might disagree with you. I haven't tried it out so I ain't sure.

In this case I am fine with people disagreeing with me, I also haven’t tried it but I have read up about it.

It would be useful on a low power build where you have the priorities set up to shut the Frame Shift Drive down when you deploy Hard Points as it would speed up the time when you retract the hard points till the FSD becomes useable.

 

[Wombat1940]

In your Asp Explorer example above unladen and laden is the distance you can go on one jump. Total laden and total unladen is the cumulative distance you can travel before you absolutely must refuel. So unladen you could travel a total of 134.53ly at 13.18ly per jump before you would run out of fuel.

Right! 13.18LY per jump. So something that is 130LY away, with no intermediate steps, this would certainly NOT be the craft to have. I'm assuming that when you are out there exploring, any intermediate steps would not be seen until you discover them ........ ?

 

[Wombat1940]

Here's my advice as an old-timer. Don't upgrade your Sidewinder. Just fly it, as is, until you actually find a reason to upgrade.

The stock Sidey is free. Even dying in it is free, you just get a new one. It stays free until you upgrade it.

It's true the the stock Sidewinder can't go everywhere, because of it's small jump range. But it can still go a lot of places. You could spend hundreds of hours, probably more, just going to those places. The galaxy is huge and you won't be running out of places to go. It just might take you a bit longer to get there

So concentrate first on what you can do in the starter ship. Learn the ropes. Try stuff. Get into danger. Get blown up. Get away. Bumble about cluelessly. It's an important part of the experience, and actually a lot of fun, too. And there's no time limit. What you do in this game is entirely up to you.

At some point, you will want to do something or other and realize that your Sidewinder is limiting you. That's when you investigate upgrade options. When you have a reason other than "I read it on the forum." hehe.

I have over 4000 hours in this game. I avoided combat for a very long time. I still don't do much of it, but I do a bit here and there. Do what you like, always.

I can show my appreciation in no better way. Well I can ....

 

[Wombat1940]

One thing to remember is that the Sidewinder you start out with IS NOT YOURS! It has been lent to you (for however long you want it, free of charge) until you decide you no longer need it. If you then sell it you will get back 90% of the upgrades cost, but nothing for the Sidewinder (as it is now being 'returned' to whoever lent it to you). So keeping it does not cost you anything, and selling it gains you nothing either. However, when you buy another ship (whatever it is) that ship IS YOURS.

...... and I still keep the Sidewinder? Sorry ..... it is still lent to me?

 

[Wombat1940]

Then both of you are mistaken:

Faster Boot Sequence Frame Shift Drive

Faster Boot Sequence Frame Shift Drive is an Engineer modification that can be applied to Frame Shift Drives. It decreases the time taken for the drive to come back online after being deactivated. It also offers a small increase in range, at the cost of increased Thermal Load and decreased...

elite-dangerous.fandom.com

"It decreases the time taken for the drive to come back online after being deactivated. "

What have I learnt ? What FSD stands for.

 

[Hell Razor5543]

The Sidewinder is on an indefinite loan (free of charge), and you only give it back when you 'sell' it. If you buy any other ship (including another Sidewinder) that is YOURS, and, if there was any paperwork, it would show that Commander Wombat1940 (if that is your name in the Game) is the registered owner.

The way I think of it is that, when a Player graduates from the Pilots' Academy, the Academy lends them a Sidewinder so that the newly qualified Commander can get out into the Black. However, they are now on their own, to sink or swim as they choose.

 

[Cohen the Worrior]

What have I learnt ? What FSD stands for.

Some people don't explain, but try to impress.
Anyway, what are you doing right now in the game?
Have you upgrade your Sidewinder already? Make money by trading and deliver messages.
First priority is to D-rate the FDS, then anything else. Should look like this and you have a decent jumprange.
You can then either continue to upgrade the FDS, or get a Hauler. Don't trade in the Sidey, keep it.
Get a DSS (detailed surface scanner) and start exploring and making money.

 

[Wombat1940]

Some people don't explain, but try to impress.
Anyway, what are you doing right now in the game?
Have you upgrade your Sidewinder already? Make money by trading and deliver messages.
First priority is to D-rate the FDS, then anything else. Should look like this and you have a decent jumprange.
You can then either continue to upgrade the FDS, or get a Hauler. Don't trade in the Sidey, keep it.
Get a DSS (detailed surface scanner) and start exploring and making money.

At the moment I'm going to follow the advice from Codger (see post No. 52). Oh! I see you already have.

 

[Cohen the Worrior]

Your choice, but I would invest the money you make exploring and gradually upgrade the ship.
This will allow you to make more money faster.

 

[Para Handy]

At the moment I'm going to follow the advice from Codger (see post No. 52). Oh! I see you already have.

Just in case you get confused - in the starter systems there is limited availability of equipment - so D rated frame shift drive is the best available - and you cannot buy a detailed surface scanner (DSS) in the starter systems so don't get frustrated trying to find one until you leave the Pilots' Federation Administration systems (and lose the permit when you dock outside those).

 

[Hell Razor5543]

There are several ways to make credits, so if one way becomes boring switch to something else for a while (until that becomes boring and you switch again).

One way to get practise in combat is to go to a low risk Resource Extraction Site (known as RES) with a ship geared up for combat. RES sites are found in the rings around planets (although not all rings have them, and you will not be able to tell this until you get within 1,000ls of the ring). There you will typically find 4 types of NPC (although, if you are playing in Open, you could meet up with other Players); miners, Authority vessels, Enforcers (from other game Superpowers), and pirates.

Now, before you start your combat practise there is something VERY important to learn and remember. Do NOT, under ANY circumstance, fire upon any vessel until you have targeted it and your sensors have said if it is WANTED or not (you need to remain pointed towards your target for about 10 seconds or so). You effectively have to have evidence (that would stand up in court) that you KNEW the target was wanted BEFORE YOU OPENED FIRE!!! If you fire too soon you become Public Enemy Number 1 (in that area, at least), and EVERY Authority vessel will then target and attack YOU (Oops!)!

Once you have found a legitimate target wait until the Authority vessels have found it is wanted and started to take it on, and then carefully join in. Make sure to be aware of what is going on around you, and watch out for any ships that may cross your 'firing lane' (they DON'T have situational awareness!), and release the trigger should it look likely a friendly vessel could take fire from you. It is far better to give up a possible kill (and associated bounty) and stay safe then to find yourself the target of every 'Police' ship in the area!

You also need to watch the status of your ship, and if the shields start to fail remember that discretion is the better part of valour, so retreat and let your shields come back up to full strength.

If you have hit the (legitimate) target a few seconds before it dies (regardless of whether or not you administered the killing blow) you will receive the bounty for that ship (unless there is another Player taking it on and their shots hit it after yours but before the target died (remember that a 'dead' ship can still exist for a few seconds before it explodes, but that any shots that hit it after it 'died' but before it explodes don't count).

Don't carry any cargo into a RES (as this will then attract pirates to you, and they will then attack you for said cargo), and do not scoop up any cargo pods that are jettisoned (as they will be marked as 'Stolen'; if you are carrying 'Stolen' goods and an Authority vessel scans you they will then issue you with a fine). However, you can always scoop up materials and these can be used to engineer your ships.

 

[Zieman]

I'm assuming that when you are out there exploring, any intermediate steps would not be seen until you discover them ........ ?

The intermediate steps will be seen by the route plotter, if they are there. That is, if one's current ship's one jump range sized intermediate steps are there.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to confuse with the knowledge that there are some places in the Galaxy that need extreme one-jump range to access. There are multiple ways to increase ship jump capability, some requiring a bit of work to achieve and some are per-jump bonuses, but let's not try running before wek can walk.
Rest assured that you will not run out of places where to go, even if you don't bother with aforementioned things. Some places may be out of reach and other places you need to take detour(s) to reach, but you will not run out of new destinations.

At the moment I'm going to follow the advice from Codger (see post No. 52).

Yes, that's pretty much I'm trying to say above too.

 

[Wombat1940]

There are several ways to make credits, so if one way becomes boring switch to something else for a while (until that becomes boring and you switch again).

One way to get practise in combat is to go to a low risk Resource Extraction Site (known as RES) with a ship geared up for combat. RES sites are found in the rings around planets (although not all rings have them, and you will not be able to tell this until you get within 1,000ls of the ring). There you will typically find 4 types of NPC (although, if you are playing in Open, you could meet up with other Players); miners, Authority vessels, Enforcers (from other game Superpowers), and pirates.

Now, before you start your combat practise there is something VERY important to learn and remember. Do NOT, under ANY circumstance, fire upon any vessel until you have targeted it and your sensors have said if it is WANTED or not (you need to remain pointed towards your target for about 10 seconds or so). You effectively have to have evidence (that would stand up in court) that you KNEW the target was wanted BEFORE YOU OPENED FIRE!!! If you fire too soon you become Public Enemy Number 1 (in that area, at least), and EVERY Authority vessel will then target and attack YOU (Oops!)!

Once you have found a legitimate target wait until the Authority vessels have found it is wanted and started to take it on, and then carefully join in. Make sure to be aware of what is going on around you, and watch out for any ships that may cross your 'firing lane' (they DON'T have situational awareness!), and release the trigger should it look likely a friendly vessel could take fire from you. It is far better to give up a possible kill (and associated bounty) and stay safe then to find yourself the target of every 'Police' ship in the area!

You also need to watch the status of your ship, and if the shields start to fail remember that discretion is the better part of valour, so retreat and let your shields come back up to full strength.

If you have hit the (legitimate) target a few seconds before it dies (regardless of whether or not you administered the killing blow) you will receive the bounty for that ship (unless there is another Player taking it on and their shots hit it after yours but before the target died (remember that a 'dead' ship can still exist for a few seconds before it explodes, but that any shots that hit it after it 'died' but before it explodes don't count.

Don't carry any cargo into a RES (as this will then attract pirates to you, and they will then attack you for said cargo), and do not scoop up any cargo pods that are jettisoned (as they will be marked as 'Stolen'; if you are carrying 'Stolen' goods and an Authority vessel scans you they will then issue you with a fine). However, you can always scoop up materials and these can be used to engineer your ships.

Great! Just amazing the depth of understanding some CMDR's have!

 

[Wombat1940]

The intermediate steps will be seen by the route plotter, if they are there. That is, if one's current ship's one jump range sized intermediate steps are there.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to confuse with the knowledge that there are some places in the Galaxy that need extreme one-jump range to access. There are multiple ways to increase ship jump capability, some requiring a bit of work to achieve and some are per-jump bonuses, but let's not try running before wek can walk.
Rest assured that you will not run out of places where to go, even if you don't bother with aforementioned things. Some places may be out of reach and other places you need to take detour(s) to reach, but you will not run out of new destinations.

Regarding the Jump Range. Pity they don't say "LY per fuel load" It could be "LY per anything". Units are so important. eg. "Oh, my speed was around 150." 150 what!!! m/sec? mph? LY/min? ......

 

[Norwin Palmer]

A game I like to play is if a NPC tries to interdict me (pull me out of supercruise) and I have no cargo I submit (set my throttle to zero) then try to prevent them from scanning me. Since they need me to be in in front of them to scan me, my goal is to avoid being in front of them to prevent the scan. So it's a lot like practicing combat flying, without the shooting. If they succeed in scanning me I lose but they won't give up until they succeed so you need to set your own goal for winning.

First priority is to D-rate the FDS, then anything else. Should look like this and you have a decent jumprange.

The last time I reset my CMDR and started from the new pilots area the Sidewinder already had a D rated FSD from the start, the planetary landing version did anyway. All I did was unload the SRV bay and weapons and spend 310 of my 1000 starting credits on a 1E fuel scoop and I was good to go about anywhere in the bubble I wanted.

 

[Cohen the Worrior]

Regarding the Jump Range. Pity they don't say "LY per fuel load" It could be "LY per anything". Units are so important. eg. "Oh, my speed was around 150." 150 what!!! m/sec? mph? LY/min? ......

I agree, but our age is showing.