Newcomer / Intro A quick question about neutron star exclusion zones

[NorthernDevo]

Yo folks!

I'm pretty familiar with using neutron stars for boost; just recently though I've been seeing a bit of an issue.

As you know, when arriving at a NS, you kill the throttle FAST and inch towards the thing's ejection cones, flying along the outer edge of the cone until it grabs you and tosses you around a bit.
If I recall correctly, I used to be able to turn towards the cone just on the outside of the star's exclusion zone - a very unfortunate line to cross.
It's just that recently, I'm not getting ANY indication - the yellow circle - of the star's EZ.

It's not a BIG deal; Supercharging isn't really that difficult and there's plenty of cone to use - but it would be nice to know where the EZ is.
Did ED change the graphics/parameters somewhat in recent months? I'm just curious.

(After getting crushed like a tin can in a trash masher a couple of times, I've most decidedly taken White Dwarfs off the scooping menu, so I'm NOT worried about getting trapped. Neutron stars are fairly benign to Supercharge with. I'm merely curious if the representation of neutron stars has changed a bit since my last logon (before my current past three weeks) a few months ago.)

Cheers, mates!

 

[Spaceman Si]

It isn’t just NS - the orbit lines and exclusion zones seem to disappear occasionally. There is a bug report on this, if I remember rightly.

I often find stars that I am about to scoop lose the yellow exclusion line as I approach them, which is disconcerting! Sometimes, turning orbit lines off and on a few times encourages them to come back, as does using Headlook to have a glance around (or at least, it does for me).

Good idea to leave the WDs alone; they’re just trouble

 

[NorthernDevo]

It isn’t just NS - the orbit lines and exclusion zones seem to disappear occasionally. There is a bug report on this, if I remember rightly.

I often find stars that I am about to scoop lose the yellow exclusion line as I approach them, which is disconcerting! Sometimes, turning orbit lines off and on a few times encourages them to come back, as does using Headlook to have a glance around (or at least, it does for me).

Good idea to leave the WDs alone; they’re just trouble

Oh CRAP yes - especially when the end of the cone is three feet past the end of the Exclusion zone...that's the one that killed me, LOL.

 

[Dommarraa]

You tend not to get the lines if the system is the end of your plotted route. Maybe by design, maybe a bug, but it has always been this way.
Then there is the delay between arriving and the lines appearing, sometimes a few seconds, sometimes well after you are half way around (or in!) the star. A bug, but it has always been this way, so dont hold your breath.

 

[Speedcuffs]

I've noticed the exclusion zones on all star types are sometimes very slow to kick in, I just put it down to my connection.

 

[Kissamies]

Slighty off-topic, but the method of inching along the outer tips of the cones is only really necessary for some white dwarfs that have short cones and large exclusion zones. Neutron stars always have tails that reach far beyond the exclusion zone, so you can use the faster method of just entering in a shallow angle away of the star. A diagram.

 

[Speedcuffs]

Slighty off-topic, but the method of inching along the outer tips of the cones is only really necessary for some white dwarfs that have short cones and large exclusion zones. Neutron stars always have tails that reach far beyond the exclusion zone, so you can use the faster method of just entering in a shallow angle away of the star. A diagram.

I hope you read the disclaimer in the small print on that! ✌

 

[NorthernDevo]

Slighty off-topic, but the method of inching along the outer tips of the cones is only really necessary for some white dwarfs that have short cones and large exclusion zones. Neutron stars always have tails that reach far beyond the exclusion zone, so you can use the faster method of just entering in a shallow angle away of the star. A diagram.

The problem is that if you can't see the exclusion zone, you can't know how far the star's cones extend beyond it. Neutron stars are relatively safe - merely fly to the a point about two-thirds along a cone and you know you're outside the Zone.

Also - while that diagram is a good one, I disagree with the 'exit' heading - part 3. it says "exit through the endpoint of the cone".
Noooooo - no, no way - that's a great way to get killed. The last thing you want to do is get any deeper into that cone. You're getting bounced around enough it's way too easy to get caught.
My approach is to enter at a shallow angle, skimming the edge with the star at my 7:00 position - about 225 degrees relative. Crawl in at about 10% throttle, wait for the turbulence. Slam the throttle on the moment you're supercharged and pull up away from the thing. Trying to exit 'through the cone' offers a real chance of getting caught by the full force of the cone...which means you're going somewhere celestial; just not the place you wanted.

 

[Kissamies]

Yeah, half to two thirds is pretty safe with NS. With WD it's much trickier if the exclusion zone suddenly decides to turn invisible. In those cases I usually target the star and nervously keep my eye on the distance. Best advice is to keep away from the white dwarves if you are not willing to risk a rebuy.

I don't follow the diagram fully myself, but it's not that dangerous. My typical method is to fly all the way through the cone in pretty shallow angle. That way I can just turn back up for a little extra dip if I got through too fast and my drive didn't get charged. Got to admit that I think the amount of buffeting around depends on the size of the ship you are flying and my exploration ships are medium. I do plenty of white dwarf cone boosting in my small bubble buses, though. Lost an ICourier when I started to take it too much for granted.

 

[BradHann]

Don't ever bother with WDs unless there's no other choice or you're a thrill-seeker. You get better range from jumponium without the risk of exploding.