A couple of thoughts from my recent experience back in the Bubble!
I've been back in town for a little while, doing a couple of exploration CGs to help fund my 'A'rated fuel scoop.
Then, news came of Jaques whereabouts, so I thought I would try to help him out again.
I figure I gave him some of the fuel he used to get where he is, so it is partly my responsibility...
So, I popped over to Darnielles Progress for some Meta-Alloys. Ok, cargo loaded, I prepared for a new adventure. A course was plotted in the general direction of the Dumbell Nebula, and I lifted off.
As soon as I jumped into supercruise, there he was - NPC Numptyderp. I think that was his name, anyway. 'Let's see what you've got!' he says, while trying to use his lasers as a tin-opener.
I boosted away, while putting more power to shields to cover my behind. It was at about this point that I realised I had forgotten to switch on my Power Distributor. Everything had been powered off for cooler running while scooping - I thought everything was back on but I must have missed that one... Doh!
Anyway, I managed to jump back to supercruise, and at that point I had to leave due to a Non-Maskable Interrupt from my daughter. On returning a little while later, I thought 'Maybe there are some more Meta-Alloys available now?'. So I popped back to Darnielle and loaded up again. Can you spot my little mistake?
I lifted off again, cleared mass-lock, and proceeded to jump out to my first destination. Erm, nothing happened. Why is it telling me I have exceeded my fuel limits? Oh yes, I filled up with cargo after plotting my route - that changes my max jump range, doesn't it. Forgot about that. Aaaand there he is again, NPC Numptyderp.
So, now I'm trying to boost, corkscrew, and select a new jump target from the navigation panel - all at the same time. Eventually I got a target a couple of light years away and jumped out. I spent a little time there licking my wounds and calming down (and getting a beer!) before re-plotting a route vaguely towards the dumbell nebula and safety.
Lessons learned: Always remember to switch things back on when approaching 'civilised' space, and remember that cargo affects jump range!
