Newcomer / Intro A Slow Dance in Known Space

[Painter602]

This is a first thread from a new(ish) CMDR. Supposedly, it will relate his (my) activities in Elite Dangerous (ED).
There is a 'hello' post in the first impressions thread that says I’ve been flying Elite Dangerous for a couple of months.

Sir
Yes?
Sir did say a bit more than that.
mmm​

A Slow Dance? My current ride is a Keelback, named Slow Terpsichorean.
Terpsichorean is just a fancy word for dancer.
Why slow? Did you see a Keelback in a turn fight? (No? neither did I.) Talk about manoeuvrable … well … talk is just that, talk. The Keelback turns slowly, very sloowwlllyyyy.
Given half a chance, it can run, but…

Spoiler

… and in Known Space? Yeah, well, that is a straight steal from Larry Niven's Known Space series.
Oh, and I think I detect an echo of Becky Chambers' titles.

Current Set-up:

• ED Shipyard version
• Coriolis version there are a few mistakes here, I just find Coriolis harder to work with

Enough! Enough I say!
Ok, what have I been doing in ED, what wonders have I beheld? What deeds of daring do?

Daring do? You ran away from Jon Isaacs two days ago
Huh? Who he?
NPC outside Donar’s Oak
The Interdiction? On our final run for the Pleiades Supply Initiative?
I was saving your skin. Plus, we had a load of fruit and veg for those survivors – and about 2M cr of system scan data to help pay for the trip.
That is hardly daring do
​

Alright, so I’ve found Community goals (or, at least, the trading ones). The Pleiades thing was a lesson in how to turn a profit on an otherwise low return trading run.
You might have noticed, I have an advanced discovery scanner? That is a profit generator. It does take up one (small) compartment but is no heavier than the D model. Thing is, it only works once for any start system.
The most basic thing is, was, scan at every system, and don’t make the same run twice - vary the route, either by changing jump range, or, better, make a ‘dog leg’ to nearby systems before running in to the destination system.
I found 100,000 cr typical for these runs, with best runs of 2M and 4M. A more experienced CMDR might not get these returns.

So, the next Community goal is Colonia Hydroponics Initiative (Trade) – basically, deliver some water stuff to Randgnid. (There is another option, but I'm no bounty hunter ...)
Sounds easy? 22,000 ly easy.

Coming soon ...

Spoiler

 

[Alec Turner]

Excellent!

/subscribed [yesnod]

 

[Alec Turner]

Re: exploration and hitting undiscovered systems, there's a galaxy map filter which you can select to show just the unvisited stars and then apply the filter to your route. You'll be surprised how many times you can go back over the same few hundred lights years discovering new systems.

Oh (and someone had to correct me on this too) but surprisingly it's "derring do" and not "daring do" ... who knew huh?

 

[Rustnsawdust]

So, the next Community goal is Colonia Hydroponics Initiative (Trade)

Ever since I scrolled past that thread for the first time, I've read it as 'Colonic Irrigation' - probably where all the biowaste comes from!

Good start, commander o7.

 

[Painter602]

Re: exploration and hitting undiscovered systems, there's a galaxy map filter which you can select to show just the unvisited stars and then apply the filter to your route. You'll be surprised how many times you can go back over the same few hundred lights years discovering new systems.

Oh (and someone had to correct me on this too) but surprisingly it's "derring do" and not "daring do" ... who knew huh?

Thanks Alec, I'll look for the filter
I feel whoever said it is "derring do" was correct, but I'll live with "daring". I'm much more worried that I spelt 'star' as 'start'.

Ever since I scrolled past that thread for the first time, I've read it as 'Colonic Irrigation' - probably where all the biowaste comes from!

Good start, commander o7.

Thank-you Rustnsawdust
I missed that, now I'll see it all the time.


OT: Had to check o7 , Alec used it elsewhere, so seeing it twice, I knew it had meaning. The acronym guide wasn't exactly helpful "o7 – Commander salute"

O7 may refer to:

O7 star, a subclass of O-type stars
O7, the IATA airline designator for OzJet
_o7, an emoticon for a person scratching his head
o7, an emoticon for a person saluting
O-7, a U.S. commissioned officer rank of Brigadier General

The emphasies are mine

Source​

 

[Rustnsawdust]

Sorry about the colonics! And as for o7 (or O7 or 07) yes, it's a simple ASCII salute, but for a while, at least, it was in game - as you left a station, the controller would occasionally sign off with 'oh-seven commander'. But I haven't heard it for a while.

 

[Painter602]

Just catching my breath after the last few days.

What happened?

Well, I did get to Randgnid. Landed, had a bit of a look around, and then, before I knew what was happening, they’d closed the initiative a day early - the Colonia Hydroponics Initiative (Trade).

A disappointment? Not really, 16 units may not be full participation, but I had delivered 16 units of water so I can claim 800K cr.​

When I last wrote, I was trying to fly from The Pleiades to Randgnid in Slow Terpsichorean, a Keelback.
That didn’t happen, not in the Keelback. By the time I was 1k ly west of the bubble, I was looking at 5% damage with over 20k ly to go.

But 5% damage per 1k ly for 20k ly, crudely, works out at 100% damage for the trip. OK, so that 5% was self-inflicted, mostly fuel scooping, which means that with more care in piloting I could make a safer journey ... and still be crawling along instead of writing this.

Discretion being the better part of valour, I turned back, wondering how I’d explain my actions. With nothing left to lose, except face, I started looking at planets.
And spotted this thing out in the back of nowhere

It was on Swoiwns GY-F D12-42
As I say, the middle of nowhere​

All I knew at the time is it looked human, and that I didn’t have an SRV. OK, thinks I, head back into human space, pick up an SRV, come back and take a proper look.
More experienced readers will realise what I would – or wouldn’t - find when I returned.

Spoiler

There was nothing there

I bumbled around a bit, shooting the odd rock and wound up a couple of ly from Deciat. Deciat was showing a red ship symbol.

I’d left a Diamondback Explorer back in Deciat. One that Felicity had played around with.​

OK, Slow Terpsichorean wouldn’t get me to Randgnid, but how about riding the highway in Toothless Dancer, my Diamondback?

I’d heard that a repair kit would be needed I was going to try the Neutron Highway, so I loaded up a Repair Limpet Controller together with some limpets and headed out.

Experienced pilots know that after about 20 jumps, the FSD begins to malfunction. Of course, that happened to me. Nothing very strange, just a nuisance.

Somewhere, I thought I’d read that I’d need to land my ship to perform repairs – so this is what I did. And then tried to deploy the Repair Limpets. NahNah. It wouldn’t play.

OK, take off and try again. Ah, it did ‘deploy’ as a weapon – well, it was on a trigger.

And I was down one limpet.
And my FSD was still showing signs of damage.
And I did some more reading.
And I learned I had the wrong repair kit.​

more to follow ...​

 

[d8veh]

In case you don't know, you can prevent a lot of heat damage when travelling (scooping) by switching off everything that you don't need. That's shields, power distributor, weapons, cargo hatch. The only things you need switched on are power plant, thrusters sensors and FSD - and maybe ADS if you're collecting data.

 

[Alec Turner]

Just catching my breath after the last few days.

What happened?

Well, I did get to Randgnid. Landed, had a bit of a look around, and then, before I knew what was happening, they’d closed the initiative a day early - the Colonia Hydroponics Initiative (Trade).

A disappointment? Not really, 16 units may not be full participation, but I had delivered 16 units of water so I can claim 800K cr.​

When I last wrote, I was trying to fly from The Pleiades to Randgnid in Slow Terpsichorean, a Keelback.
That didn’t happen, not in the Keelback. By the time I was 1k ly west of the bubble, I was looking at 5% damage with over 20k ly to go.

But 5% damage per 1k ly for 20k ly, crudely, works out at 100% damage for the trip. OK, so that 5% was self-inflicted, mostly fuel scooping, which means that with more care in piloting I could make a safer journey ... and still be crawling along instead of writing this.

Discretion being the better part of valour, I turned back, wondering how I’d explain my actions. With nothing left to lose, except face, I started looking at planets.
And spotted this thing out in the back of nowhere

It was on Swoiwns GY-F D12-42
As I say, the middle of nowhere​

All I knew at the time is it looked human, and that I didn’t have an SRV. OK, thinks I, head back into human space, pick up an SRV, come back and take a proper look.
More experienced readers will realise what I would – or wouldn’t - find when I returned.

Spoiler

There was nothing there

I bumbled around a bit, shooting the odd rock and wound up a couple of ly from Deciat. Deciat was showing a red ship symbol.

I’d left a Diamondback Explorer back in Deciat. One that Felicity had played around with.​

OK, Slow Terpsichorean wouldn’t get me to Randgnid, but how about riding the highway in Toothless Dancer, my Diamondback?

I’d heard that a repair kit would be needed I was going to try the Neutron Highway, so I loaded up a Repair Limpet Controller together with some limpets and headed out.

Experienced pilots know that after about 20 jumps, the FSD begins to malfunction. Of course, that happened to me. Nothing very strange, just a nuisance.

Somewhere, I thought I’d read that I’d need to land my ship to perform repairs – so this is what I did. And then tried to deploy the Repair Limpets. NahNah. It wouldn’t play.

OK, take off and try again. Ah, it did ‘deploy’ as a weapon – well, it was on a trigger.

And I was down one limpet.
And my FSD was still showing signs of damage.
And I did some more reading.
And I learned I had the wrong repair kit.​

more to follow ...​

Excellent, I knew this thread was gonna be good!

So, to repair the FSD you need to take an AFMU (Auto Field Maintenance Unit). When your FSD gets down to about 80% drop to normal space, pick the FSD from your modules menu and click repair. It will start ticking and slowly repair itself.

Oh, and the thing you found on the planet surface is a broken beacon/satellite. You'll actually find lots of them on planet surfaces in the bubble if you spend a bit of time down there. If I remember correctly they can be scanned with the SRV to get a data packet (I forget it's correct name) which can be turned in for a few hundred credits. And yes, as you discovered, they're non-persistant instance specific items but forget that, I love the fact (in your story at least) that you went to get an SRV so you could come back for it. This imho is the right way to approach the game, with wide-eyed wonder and total ignorance of the more gamey aspects of Elite: Dangerous. If you haven't already you should check Youtube for a whole series of videos by Isinona. He never bothered with what was and wasn't actually practical (or possible) in ED, he just roleplayed the heck out of it and created a world of possibilities. Some of my favourites were when he spent weeks trying to track down specific human outlaws. Taking solo mode, time zones and the shear size of the galaxy it was pure folly .... but oh boy what a glorious adventure!

o7

 

[Gizoux]

I'm sure that plenty of players were just like you when they bought the game as a day one release. That's about 3.5 years ago, and it can make you cynical and jaded if all that's left for fun for you is PvP (not that there's anything wrong with duelling, but that's not what most PvP in this game is). Or wound up just taking the short route to the biggest ships and realized that it was a pretty empty goal.

Hopefully, like those loggers on Inara (and some of them are a very enjoyable read), you can just take your time enjoying what the game has to offer, I'm sure that you'll get 4-5+ years of enjoyment out of it. I'm not following the latest meta for credit farming, so the game is slow, but certainly rewarding enough for my liking.

I have a few suggestions for your vessel, if you're exploring as opposed to combat, etc. even in known space:

Heat sink launcher. Invaluable for those first jumps into a binary system where the stars are really close together or when you're overheating from trying to jump and boosting at the same time. One of these days I might capture myself bouncing off of a star as I arrive in a system for the first time.
Chaff. Most interdictors use gimballed weapons exclusively and it's quite a helpful tool to cut down on damage.
AFMU - if you want something to repair your systems, get one of these installed. Fitting a repair limpet controller, however, is a mistake anyone can make.
Swap the places of your ADS and your fuel scoop, then replace it with a class 3A or 3B. It may be more expensive, but you'll refuel in half the time. What's more, youll find that if you get just close enough for the star on your scanner to turn red and cut your throttle to zero, you'll refuel safely and quickly without your heat level getting critical as long as all you're seeing is the haze of solar flares or less.
You may want to look into a detailed planetary scanner if you are selling cartography data. It will double what you earn for doing the same thing. It's also a class 1 module.

A Keelback may be slow at turning, but setting your throttle at 50% forward or reverse will get you the most nameuverability the vessel has to offer.

Again, I'd like to point out that I'm making suggestions. None of this advice will be game-breaking if you choose to ignore it.

 

[Painter602]

In case you don't know, you can prevent a lot of heat damage when travelling (scooping) by switching off everything that you don't need. That's shields, power distributor, weapons, cargo hatch. The only things you need switched on are power plant, thrusters sensors and FSD - and maybe ADS if you're collecting data.

Thanks, I wasn't aware. Flying near a star without a shield worries me. I've switched it off (accidentally) often enough to know the warm glow one gets when that happens.

{snip}
Oh, and the thing you found on the planet surface is a broken beacon/satellite. You'll actually find lots of them on planet surfaces in the bubble if you spend a bit of time down there. If I remember correctly they can be scanned with the SRV to get a data packet (I forget it's correct name) which can be turned in for a few hundred credits. And yes, as you discovered, they're non-persistant instance specific items but forget that, I love the fact (in your story at least) that you went to get an SRV so you could come back for it. This imho is the right way to approach the game, with wide-eyed wonder and total ignorance of the more gamey aspects of Elite: Dangerous. If you haven't already you should check Youtube for a whole series of videos by Isinona. He never bothered with what was and wasn't actually practical (or possible) in ED, he just roleplayed the heck out of it and created a world of possibilities. Some of my favourites were when he spent weeks trying to track down specific human outlaws. Taking solo mode, time zones and the shear size of the galaxy it was pure folly .... but oh boy what a glorious adventure!

o7

I've written enough code that I should have guessed those satellites would be non-persistent - but, no, I really did go off and buy an SRV specially to come back and look at it. There were others satellites later, but not that one (and yes, the data is scannable )

I'll have to look for Isinona, there are one or two humans who have cost me insurance and hard-won data. (Do they never scan to see I have no cargo?)
So far, most of my video viewing has been TheYamiks ship reviews - then I bought the ones he panned.

I'm sure that plenty of players were just like you when they bought the game as a day one release. That's about 3.5 years ago, and it can make you cynical and jaded if all that's left for fun for you is PvP (not that there's anything wrong with duelling, but that's not what most PvP in this game is). Or wound up just taking the short route to the biggest ships and realized that it was a pretty empty goal.

Hopefully, like those loggers on Inara (and some of them are a very enjoyable read), you can just take your time enjoying what the game has to offer, I'm sure that you'll get 4-5+ years of enjoyment out of it. I'm not following the latest meta for credit farming, so the game is slow, but certainly rewarding enough for my liking.

I have a few suggestions for your vessel, if you're exploring as opposed to combat, etc. even in known space:

Heat sink launcher. Invaluable for those first jumps into a binary system where the stars are really close together or when you're overheating from trying to jump and boosting at the same time. One of these days I might capture myself bouncing off of a star as I arrive in a system for the first time.
Chaff. Most interdictors use gimballed weapons exclusively and it's quite a helpful tool to cut down on damage.
AFMU - if you want something to repair your systems, get one of these installed. Fitting a repair limpet controller, however, is a mistake anyone can make.
Swap the places of your ADS and your fuel scoop, then replace it with a class 3A or 3B. It may be more expensive, but you'll refuel in half the time. What's more, youll find that if you get just close enough for the star on your scanner to turn red and cut your throttle to zero, you'll refuel safely and quickly without your heat level getting critical as long as all you're seeing is the haze of solar flares or less.
You may want to look into a detailed planetary scanner if you are selling cartography data. It will double what you earn for doing the same thing. It's also a class 1 module.

A Keelback may be slow at turning, but setting your throttle at 50% forward or reverse will get you the most nameuverability the vessel has to offer.

Again, I'd like to point out that I'm making suggestions. None of this advice will be game-breaking if you choose to ignore it.

I know I'll suck at PvP combat, so exploring and trade are the obvious routes for me.
After some dull experiences with mines, I tried turreted beam lasers. The lasers drink power but do make a good non-lethal deterrence for NPC pirates.

Heat levels in the Keelback are fine (rarely exceeding 65%) unless I fall asleep and dive into the sun. Fuel scooping is one good cure for insomnia (at least, until the klaxon sounds). Having said which, the ability to stand off and scoop from a cooler position would be a better alternative.

re AFMU, see my next post (I hope )

 

[Alec Turner]

I'll have to look for Isinona

https://www.youtube.com/user/Isinona

For many (myself included) one of the best series of ED videos ever made and what got us into playing Elite in the first place.

 

[Painter602]

... where was I? Umm, yes, running along the Neutron Highway to Randgnid in Toothless Dancer, my Diamondback Explorer trying to repair an FSU with a repair limpet. Logical?

OK, take off and try again. Ah, {the Repair Limpet Controller} did ‘deploy’ as a weapon – well, it was on a trigger.

And I was down one limpet.
And my FSD was still showing signs of damage.
And I did some more reading.
And I learned I had the wrong repair kit.​

Maybe a change of strategy was in order? Would it be an idea to find an outfitter and buy an Automatic Field Maintenance Unit (AFMU).

2k ly later, with a grumbling FSD, I wash up at a Nav beacon in the Omega Sector looking for a quiet berth and some repairs.

The locals hanging round the beacon are, frankly, rude about my lack of cargo – even Security Chief Anderson sounds like a pirate (“What do you carry, I wonder?”, then she complains “Nothing for me here.”). Just as well really, Toothless is just that, Toothless, without even a pulse laser.

The local repair shop resides in a tatty asteroid that glories under the exotic monica Omega Mining Operation. The asteroid has seen better days (possibly before the evolution of apes on earth). Tatty the asteroid may be, but the repair crew are quick, efficient and friendly.
Repairs effected, and with a nice, shiny, new AFMU I headed out again.

Another twenty or so neutron stars later I the FSU is looking the worse for wear, and I decide to try the AFMU.

Grriiinnnndddd! The FSD stopped, but nothing else happened.
OK, try again.
It works. Great. But … the ammo winds down. And down. And down. From 2000+ units I’m left with 80. But my FSD has stopped whingeing.

Maybe now would be a good time to check the AFMU ammo? Ah, I can make some more. One batch only, but I can make some. (My shortage was zinc. I had two units of zinc. Why only two? Zinc isn’t that rare.)

Another twenty neutron stars. Maybe we should repair the FSD before it starts complaining? We are right next to a particularly dizzy neutron star, but repairs are in order?
OK. So switch the FSD off. And everything goes pop. Not disastrous, but I did wonder if I’d switched off the shield.

Nope. Defiantly the FSD. Repair that.


Ah, umm, the canopy is down to 83%. Lots of modules show damage, but the canopy is worst. (When did that happen?) We still have some repair ammo, but do I mess with the canopy? Maybe not, just carry on and hope for the best.

A few jumps and a fuel stop later, the canopy is no worse, but … I’m still worrying about it. Perhaps a repair stop is in order? Fortunately, there are a couple of repair facilities in Kashyapa, which was then about seven or eight jumps ahead and more or less on my direct route.

 

[Rustnsawdust]

Not sure whether you've developed a routine for jumping, but you're suffering a lot more damage than I ever have. Although, in the interests of full disclosure, I've never used a boosted jump, whether neutron star, white dwarf or jumponium.

Last year, I made a 20-some thousand ly round trip out to the Zurara and on return all of my modules were at 100%. I'm currently halfway to Colonia, and all my modules are at 100%. I don't carry heatsinks, and although I have an AFMU I've never used it.

What I do have is a rigid method for jumping: zero throttle in witchspace, but never take it for granted (I'm always ready to zoom up and away from the star on entry). For scooping, I aim at the outer edge of the stellar corona and give her about 10% throttle until scooping is complete. If I need more fuel I can nudge the trajectory on the way round. Always wait until the fuel scoop is stowed away before throttling up, and I like to see the star shrinking behind me before I gun it and fire up the FSD.

All very methodical - and probably dull to the hotshot buckyballers, but my heat never gets over 65%. It's been said before but there are old commanders, and there are bold commanders, but... you know the rest [yesnod].

More importantly, I wanted to say thanks for sharing your adventures - it's a breath of fresh air compared to the hysteria and insanity elsewhere on the forums!

Fly safe(r), commander!

 

[Painter602]

Not sure whether you've developed a routine for jumping, but you're suffering a lot more damage than I ever have. Although, in the interests of full disclosure, I've never used a boosted jump, whether neutron star, white dwarf or jumponium.

Last year, I made a 20-some thousand ly round trip out to the Zurara and on return all of my modules were at 100%. I'm currently halfway to Colonia, and all my modules are at 100%. I don't carry heatsinks, and although I have an AFMU I've never used it.

What I do have is a rigid method for jumping: zero throttle in witchspace, but never take it for granted (I'm always ready to zoom up and away from the star on entry). For scooping, I aim at the outer edge of the stellar corona and give her about 10% throttle until scooping is complete. If I need more fuel I can nudge the trajectory on the way round. Always wait until the fuel scoop is stowed away before throttling up, and I like to see the star shrinking behind me before I gun it and fire up the FSD.

All very methodical - and probably dull to the hotshot buckyballers, but my heat never gets over 65%. It's been said before but there are old commanders, and there are bold commanders, but... you know the rest [yesnod].

More importantly, I wanted to say thanks for sharing your adventures - it's a breath of fresh air compared to the hysteria and insanity elsewhere on the forums!

Fly safe(r), commander!

Thanks Rustnsawdust o7

In the Keelback, a lot of the damage was caused by (self-imposed) time pressure which lead to flying when tired and unnecessary sun diving. When I gave up trying to push the Keelback out toward Randgnid (and took some sleep time in RL) my damage rate plummeted - but where's the story in that?

The Diamondback Explorer (DBX) is more fragile, and, for some reason, when scooping it keeps losing the ?coronal orbit line?, the line around a fuel star that I use to gauge distance. I have been scooping at 75% throttle, I'll try 25% and see if that works.
(The game supports pre-sets for 0, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% throttle, and I use those a lot.)

Incidentally, the low throttle approach does help when riding the tail of a dragon star, sorry, neutron star.

Since writing post 13, I've worked out how to use the AFMU with the FSD (OT: why is it I hear that as either Friendship Drive or Frame Ship Drive, never as Frame Shift Drive?)

To repair the FSD using the AFMU:

1. Throttle Back, and allow the speed to drop (?to 30 km/s)
2. Deselect all 'targets'
   Check targets are deselected
3. Drop out of super cruise
4. Power down FSD
5. Click to repair the module
   
   Wait
   ... Wait some more
   ... ... Still waiting (have you ever been sent out to get a long weight?)​
6. Finished repairing?
   If yes, Start up
   If no, wait some more

The order is specific:

Failure to do 1, 3 or 4 at the correct time will cause damage to other modules on the ship.
Failure to do 2 at the correct time may give other unintended results.​

Many pilots will get this right from the start. It was on my forth attempt that I succeeded.

To paraphrase Chuck Yeager,
If you can walk away from a landing, it's a good landing. If you use the spaceship the next day, it's an outstanding landing.

 

[Painter602]

A technique for riding a neutron star (N*)

1. Check for other nearby stellar objects
   It is amazing how far you can be thrown by an N*, and you do not want to wind up in the middle of a red dwarf (or any other star)
2. Start a reasonable distance from N*
3. Set throttle to zero
4. Target N*
5. Optional: Roll to see N* horizontal in screen.
   This gives you a wide view of the star, and will help gauge the nearest plume (or cone, or tail)
6. Select a plume, and turn toward it
7. Throttle up to 25%
   Lower is OK, indeed preferable, but no higher.
8. Run out parallel to the plume.
   Rolling to see the plume at the top of your canopy may help here.
9. When (if) the plume turns from blue to violet you may begin to turn into the plume.
   If you have a high speed (white) plume, wait until you are beyond the visible plume.
   In both cases, the plume extends beyond what you can see.
10. You will be buffeted. You will receive a warning about the FSD exceeding its safety limit.
    Try to stay in the plume, and drive (slowly, <25% throttle) toward N* main body. Trust your instruments - use both the nav compass and sensors to gauge where the star is.
11. As soon as you see the FSD is over-charged - FULL throttle then hands off controls.
    The star is 'trying' to throw you out. Use speed to escape the plume, but do not fight the ride; there is an unnecessary and dangerous temptation to continue to ride the plume.
12. When your ship has stopped bucking, hands back on controls and resume normal flight.

{edit}You may have to re-enter the plume a number of times before the FSD is over charged. In which case, fly toward the tail of the nearest plume, and repeat from step 9 as needed.{/edit}

Spoiler

I have a few recordings, I'll see if I can post one of them onto YouTube

 

[Alec Turner]

A technique for riding a neutron star (N*)

1. Check for other nearby stellar objects
   It is amazing how far you can be thrown by an N*, and you do not want to wind up in the middle of a red dwarf (or any other star)
2. Start a reasonable distance from N*
3. Set throttle to zero
4. Target N*
5. Optional: Roll to see N* horizontal in screen.
   This gives you a wide view of the star, and will help gauge the nearest plume (or cone, or tail)
6. Select a plume, and turn toward it
7. Throttle up to 25%
   Lower is OK, indeed preferable, but no higher.
8. Run out parallel to the plume.
   Rolling to see the plume at the top of your canopy may help here.
9. When (if) the plume turns from blue to violet you may begin to turn into the plume.
   If you have a high speed (white) plume, wait until you are beyond the visible plume.
   In both cases, the plume extends beyond what you can see.
10. You will be buffeted. You will receive a warning about the FSD exceeding its safety limit.
    Try to stay in the plume, and drive (slowly, <25% throttle) toward N* main body. Trust your instruments - use both the nav compass and sensors to gauge where the star is.
11. As soon as you see the FSD is over-charged - FULL throttle then hands off controls.
    The star is 'trying' to throw you out. Use speed to escape the plume, but do not fight the ride; there is an unnecessary and dangerous temptation to continue to ride the plume.
12. When your ship has stopped bucking, hands back on controls and resume normal flight.

{edit}You may have to re-enter the plume a number of times before the FSD is over charged. In which case, fly toward the tail of the nearest plume, and repeat from step 9 as needed.{/edit}

Spoiler

I have a few recordings, I'll see if I can post one of them onto YouTube

Yup, good description of a good technique. Basically fly down into the outer edge of the cone at a shallow angle heading away from the star with a speed carefully judged to give enough time to supercharge the FSD before you fly right through it and out the other side but not so slow that you spend too long in the cone either. And yeah, I agree about not fighting the buffeting ... I'm not convinced you can do much about it and in all the successful neutron scoops I've ever done the buffeting has never turned my ship around such that I've ended up in trouble as long as my entry vector has been good from the start.

 

[Painter602]

Thanks Alec

I did say I'd try to add a video ...

[video=youtube_share;CGhAxg2yPWU]https://youtu.be/CGhAxg2yPWU[/video]​

 

[Painter602]

Hello

Today, while in 'witchspace' I'd heard a chirruping, a bit like the ancient 'phone bells. You know, like the ones in ancient history dramas.

Uh-huh thought I, we are in for a round of 'ignore the Thargoid' and hope 'e ignores us ... or at least, hope 'e doesn't start shooting. (Do Thargoids have gender?)

But no.

I recieved a verbal message from somebody claiming to be from (something like) the Galactic Corporation, saying 'e was pleased to make contact with me.



Weird thing is, there was no follow-up text, and I cannot see the event in my log.



Happened somewhere out near HIP 33352, or perhaps one of the Wregoe systems.