Horizons Data link scanner works only with "Fire deploys weapons" - Proposterous!

Chris Simon · Dec 16, 2015

I really hope this is a bug, because if that's a feature, I am losing faith in game mechanic designers.

Rant list follows:
First of all. To be honest I believe turret should be MANUALLY DEPLOYABLE. That's the first issue I have with this whole thing. Just saying.

I REFUSE to have "Fire deploys weapons" option on. It leads to accidents and it is altogether nonsensical function. Something as if a gun had the safety, but magazine release would only work with safety off.

And most importantly:
If you don't happen upon the solution by chance, there's no way to troubleshoot this datalink "malfunction" in game. (That's why I sound this harsh - I am REALLY upset, at the moment, because I just lost an HOUR with this.) - that's another reason I consider it a bug and will file a report.

Valethar · Dec 16, 2015

That was a problem in Beta as well. It was apparently not a priority fix. Given the number of things that are broken and/or not working properly at present, the best thing to do is just bite the bullet and toggle the deploy weapons box until they get it fixed.

And mind where your triggers are, just in case. Accidentally shooting the System Authority vessels isn't going to end well.

EtherDragon · Dec 16, 2015

Yes this was an often reported bug in Horizons Beta as well. Work around is to enable "Firing Deploys Weapons" for now.

On a similar note...

This whole time in Elite: Dangerous we were introduced to the concept of deploying and stowing our weapons, either automatically from a menu setting, or manually for a key/control bind of some kind. Personally, I have a protected red button on my joy stick to deploy weapons on my ship. This concept was great because it gave you direct control over the possibility of even shooting your guns. You can't accidentally fire them unless you deployed them first - there is specific intent there.

Introduce the SRV with it's top mounted turret - which is always deployed unless you are very close to your ship. Why oh why did they introduce a DIFFERENT system here? Please give us manual control of our turret deployment in the SRV, just like we've all already learned from flying our ships. I've already accidentally incurred a fine and started a fight from tapping the wrong trigger at the wrong time. I want to have control of my SRV turret deployment just like I do with my ship.

DaveB · Dec 16, 2015

EtherDragon said:
...I want to have control of my SRV turret deployment just like I do with my ship.

Very much seconding this. There's now so many ways things operate "differently" in an SRV that I'm considering working up an "Elite-SRV" profile for my X52 to sit alongside the regular one I've developed painstakingly over the last year and customized to be "just right for me" with the right macros in the right modes on the right buttons. It will be a pain to alt-tab out of the game and switch profiles when I switch vehicles but that would be less of an annoyance than fouling up my ship setup to shoehorn all the SRVs quirks in there. Either that or use a different controller altogether exclusively for the SRV.

Chris Simon · Dec 16, 2015

Whole "sim" part of the game starts to suffer. They are really dumbing the things down, sneakily.
I mean - Ship auto-levels if we keep too steep an angle? Turret auto-stow so we don't get stuck? Command prompt to remind us what button is "up". It's sad, really...

Rankaze · Dec 16, 2015

Valethar said:
That was a problem in Beta as well. It was apparently not a priority fix. Given the number of things that are broken and/or not working properly at present, the best thing to do is just bite the bullet and toggle the deploy weapons box until they get it fixed.

And mind where your triggers are, just in case. Accidentally shooting the System Authority vessels isn't going to end well.

Workaround 2: Just don't do anything that requires use of the data link scanner until they fix it.

Like the OP, I refuse to enable "fire deploys hardpoints".

Fangwulf · Dec 16, 2015

So that is why I could never get the scanner to work, even in beta...

Valethar · Dec 16, 2015

Fangwulf said:
So that is why I could never get the scanner to work, even in beta...

Yup. I ran into that as well. After doing some Google-Fu, I eventually found out about the glitch.

ChaosCloud · Dec 16, 2015

Chris Simon said:
Whole "sim" part of the game starts to suffer. They are really dumbing the things down, sneakily.
I mean - Ship auto-levels if we keep too steep an angle? Turret auto-stow so we don't get stuck? Command prompt to remind us what button is "up". It's sad, really...

Auto level stopped working for me most of the time so whatever and without auto stow and deploy would I use the SRV not much because that'd get annoying as hell very fast.
It's already annoying enough that you sometimes can't even fit under your ship with everything stowed.

And if things are getting too easy for your taste why not simply play in open in hot spots without shields, fun times ahoy

As for the delpoying of the scanner, I've turned the fire deploy on for now but I hope I can turn it off again soon.

CrazedHatter · Dec 16, 2015

Valethar said:
That was a problem in Beta as well. It was apparently not a priority fix. Given the number of things that are broken and/or not working properly at present, the best thing to do is just bite the bullet and toggle the deploy weapons box until they get it fixed.

And mind where your triggers are, just in case. Accidentally shooting the System Authority vessels isn't going to end well.

I have decided, given how much I dislike the 'firing deploys weapons' that I'd actually rather go in, enable it, do the data link scan, and then immediately disable it, which is a chore. I really hope this is gonna be fixed - it seems to me the REAL problem is that my actual deploy hardpoints button doesn't work, if they fixed THAT it'd be all set. I'm fine having to deploy the hardpoints, but actually, y'know, let me do that.

Rankaze · Dec 16, 2015

CrazedHatter said:
I have decided, given how much I dislike the 'firing deploys weapons' that I'd actually rather go in, enable it, do the data link scan, and then immediately disable it, which is a chore. I really hope this is gonna be fixed - it seems to me the REAL problem is that my actual deploy hardpoints button doesn't work, if they fixed THAT it'd be all set. I'm fine having to deploy the hardpoints, but actually, y'know, let me do that.

This is exactly the problem: the deploy hardpoints button doesn't work in the SRV.

CMDR i Tetsuo · Dec 16, 2015

Yes, please allow manual Deployment/Stowing of Turret, If I want to damage it on the underside of my ship because I forgot to retract it then I should be able to! Where is the risk/reward/responsibility mechanics with the auto-stow feature? It feels totally at odds with the rest of the game.