5-yo Tissue Sampling Bug

Jmanis

Jmanis
Tissue sampling actually matters to the Thargoid war effort now.

So any word on when this bug will get fixed? @sallymorganmoore? @Bruce G?

tl;dr Research limpets are meant to work 100% of the time. They don't.
The last report about this was marked as fixed, but no note of a fix in patch notes, and no effect in-game; success rates still vary greatly.

The bug means successful sampling can vary anywhere between virtually nothing up to almost guaranteed success. The most consistent variable is simply who does it; the rest-point of success rate varies greatly based on the individual doing it... the only other time I've seen this sort of behaviour occur is with old-style USS generation, which seemed to be a lag/latency issue.

But Jmanis! Surely if it's been around this long it's intended behaviour!

- Two CGs have now been cancelled as a direct result of this bug, the first five years ago, and the most recent just last year. I cannot think of a reason FD would cancel two CGs, citing this bug as the cause [1] [2], if it were intended gameplay mechanics.

- There's a resolution state of "by design" which was not used for this bugreport. If it was marked "by design" that would be the end of this, regardless of what transpired in the past. But it's marked as "fixed"... when there's plenty of current observations that it's definitely not 100%.

If it's genuinely by-design not meant to be 100%, then so be it, but it needs to be made clear because all other actions suggest this is very much not by-design.
 
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Hooplah

Hooplah
After the Caustic Sink Launcher Delivery Campaign ended March 2nd I got one for free. Could of had two being in the top ten but we didn't make it. Then for the first time in my Elite gaming history I installed resarch limpets on my Imperial Clipper designed to go into Malestroms then fire away at caustic generators. Being a brand new game play to me there is no way I would be considered an expert at using them.

Still after the Xeno scan every research limpet launched gathered a Caustic Tissue Sample in the Malestrom. That is 100 percent. I collected the five to unlock the Caustic Sink Launchers and still have a few. I was thinking of farmng the things to sell on my Fleet Carrier but I have caustiic and Maslestrom issues to work out to make this viable. Maybe not worth the effort. Being a total 'noob' launching research limpets what am I missing?

Thanks to St0rmFury for this picture.

Regards

St0rmFury.jpg
 
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Jmanis

Jmanis
Hooplah said:
After the Caustic Sink Launcher Delivery Campaign ended March 2nd I got one for free. Could of had two being in the top ten but we didn't make it. Then for the first time im my Elite gaming history I installed resarch limpets on my Imperial Clipper designed to go into Malestroms then fire away at caustic generators. Being a brand new game play to me there is no way I would be considered an expert at using them.

Still every research limpet launched gathered a Caustic Tissue Sample. That is 100 percent. I collected the five to unlock the Caustic Sink Launchers and still have a few. I was thinking of farmng the things to sell on my Fleet Carrier but I have caustiic and Maslestrom issues to work out to make this viable. Being a total 'noob' launching research limpets what am I missing?

Thanks to StormFury for this picture.

Regards

Click to expand...
It's worth noting Caustic Tissue Sampling is mechanically completely different to sampling Scouts and Interceptors, which display this bug. Normal tissue sampling does not require a xeno scan or targeting the limpet docking port... there's also a few other things that are different.

While I'm on that note, tissue sampling non-Thargoid space organics also has a 100% success rate.
 

Jmanis

Jmanis
Wait... so is this the "fix"?

1679470520037.png


...when a limpet comes back without the sample, it just says it failed now (because that didn't happen previously... that message only displayed if the limpet went out of range...)?

Two cancelled CGs just to get us here?

... kay...
 
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Spaceman-FXL5

S
Jmanis said:
It's worth noting Caustic Tissue Sampling is mechanically completely different to sampling Scouts and Interceptors, which display this bug. Normal tissue sampling does not require a xeno scan or targeting the limpet docking port... there's also a few other things that are different.

While I'm on that note, tissue sampling non-Thargoid space organics also has a 100% success rate.
Click to expand...
Wait, what is this? 12 rebuys and not 1 sample - got all the rest needed.
I scan the Generator and try to release a limpet but the fire key is red, target the Generator, still red. No Reasearch Limpet fires.
Do I have to target something? or not target.
Normal Tissue sampling IIRC I just released Limpets - as many as I wanted.
 

Jmanis

Jmanis
Spaceman-FXL5 said:
Wait, what is this? 12 rebuys and not 1 sample - got all the rest needed.
I scan the Generator and try to release a limpet but the fire key is red, target the Generator, still red. No Reasearch Limpet fires.
Do I have to target something? or not target.
Normal Tissue sampling IIRC I just released Limpets - as many as I wanted.
Click to expand...
Yes, you need to target the limpet docking port. Caustic generators work differently to normal sampling.

Once you scan it with your xeno scanner, go to the left- hand menu and go to the "Subtargets" panel. There will be a research limpet docking port listed. Target that and fire the limpet.

Note: you can only get a sample once per target.

This parallels how megaship limpet interactions work, but is inconsistent with the rest of tissue sampling.
 

Brrokk

Brrokk
Jmanis said:
It's worth noting Caustic Tissue Sampling is mechanically completely different to sampling Scouts and Interceptors, which display this bug. Normal tissue sampling does not require a xeno scan or targeting the limpet docking port... there's also a few other things that are different.

While I'm on that note, tissue sampling non-Thargoid space organics also has a 100% success rate.
Click to expand...
Yes, in my experience the bug affects sampling Thargoid interceptors. It doesn't affect caustic generators, or "easy" things like molluscs etc.

You can see when the limpets are on the way back whether they're carrying samples or not on the ship radar.

If the devs would say, "Yes, there's a random chance with Thargoids because they're tough and jink about a lot" I'd almost be satisfied. (Almost). However, this has never happened. Instead, it's depressing that every time this bug gets raised no-one seems to have heard of it before.
 

Jmanis

Jmanis
Brrokk said:
Yes, in my experience the bug affects sampling Thargoid interceptors. It doesn't affect caustic generators, or "easy" things like molluscs etc.

You can see when the limpets are on the way back whether they're carrying samples or not on the ship radar.

If the devs would say, "Yes, there's a random chance with Thargoids because they're tough and jink about a lot" I'd almost be satisfied. (Almost). However, this has never happened. Instead, it's depressing that every time this bug gets raised no-one seems to have heard of it before.
Click to expand...
The only evidence that it's now intentional is the message i posted above.... the "Research limpet failed" message never used to exist until the last bugreport got marked as fixed.

Tbh, I'm almost certain this is because FD simply couldn't work out how to fix it. It's the only thing that rationally explains why they cancelled two CGs because of this bug, but then marked it as fixed without actually fixing the bug.

Pretty awful.
 

Spaceman-FXL5

S
Just giving up now after trying all day - 20 rebuys now in Krait II at Taranis.
Last one almost there, but got to about 90% extraction when I blew canopy then ship. Even if the limpet back to me I, would have no chance of getting back to FC 2 jumps with the corrosive stuff destroying me so fast.

No matter how many Corrosive limpets I use Hull (2800) goes down so quick I cannot believe it.

Well, if I cannot even get a Caustic Sink Launcher, no hope of a new Neutraliser whatever that is.

Anyone got 5 samples to buy?
 

Spaceman-FXL5

S
Thanks v much Helmut, just going into Taranis to see how much easier it is to collect Caustic Tissue with a Caustic Sink than without it, if at all.
If easier, I will collect 5 or so for anyone in trouble, as this seems to be the (fixed - surely NOT the only) storyline - that is, getting into Maelstrom.

I even hope that AX research only, is a possibility somewhere along this storyline (as it would be in RL war), instead of just purely AX combat for anyone not interested in simply wiping out another sentient species.



I have a second thought - my FC is Remember The Cant in system GE and would be interested to know if Ody Cmdrs can disembark inside it, as I can't in Horizons.
Obviously, in Horizons I cannot have Ody services on my FC.
 

Ned Flandalorian

N
Brrokk said:
You can see when the limpets are on the way back whether they're carrying samples or not on the ship radar.
Click to expand...
The strangest part of this bug is that "status" not staying constant - I've seen empty limpets return to the ship, leave the cargo hatch closed so they hover underneath, and sometimes they will suddenly spawn a sample out of thin air (visible on radar and in the contacts list).
 

[VR] Bulbulunufus

[VR] Bulbulunufus
Ned Flandalorian said:
The strangest part of this bug is that "status" not staying constant - I've seen empty limpets return to the ship, leave the cargo hatch closed so they hover underneath, and sometimes they will suddenly spawn a sample out of thin air (visible on radar and in the contacts list).
Click to expand...
I definitely had a session or two where the limpet would look empty (triangle) up until arriving at my (open) hatch at which point it'd spawn (square superimposed on the same triangle) and I'd get the sample.
 

Brrokk

Brrokk
[VR] Bulbulunufus said:
I definitely had a session or two where the limpet would look empty (triangle) up until arriving at my (open) hatch at which point it'd spawn (square superimposed on the same triangle) and I'd get the sample.
Click to expand...
Yikes, that's weirder than I thought. It seems like after the limpet leaves the Thargoid a timer is deciding when to attach the sample! I wonder if running away from returning limpets would help?
 
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