Newcomer / Intro How big is my instance bubble in real space?

[Old Duck]

When I'm flying in a ring, I can see CMDRs on my contact lists even when they are far, far away. Eventually they will "drop off" the contact list as I fly away from them, and if I turn around and fly back, they reappear. My question is this - how big is the "bubble" around my ship that determines whether I instance with another player in normal space? It is obviously much, much bigger than the highest sensor range.

BTW - I'm assuming an "instance bubble" around my ship, but is this correct? Or is real space divided into cubic sectors, and if other players are in the same sector, then we are in the same instance?

 

[wetwire]

What an odd question..
Hum.. The best sensor range 8A is 7.68KM
Instancing is a bubble around your ship from what i can find describing its "shape".
Soft cap of 32 players per instance.
maybe 32 players using 8A Sensors sitting end to end at the edge of each others sensors range is the instance size?
If 7.68KM is the radius, a sensor bubble diameter would be 15.36KM
15.36KM X 32 Players = 491.52KM maybe?

Honestly have no idea, but the hard evidence i can find is the max sensor range, and number of players per instance.

 

[Codger]

I would guess it varies depending on the content of the instance.

Everything that spawns in your instance is part of it, so it can be a whole planet full of stuff, or it might be almost nothing at all (if you just drop in deep space, for instance, with nothing around you).

But that's just my guess.

 

[Dommarraa]

There is an instance bubble, it was explained in one of the very early streams, as you move around you can be handed from 1 CMDRs instance to another.
Its almost impossible to tell, as once they are out of sensor range, you cant tell, and rather irrelevant as if you get close enough to someone else instance, one or both of you should change so that you can see each other.

 

[Dommarraa]

There is an instance bubble, it was explained in one of the very early streams, as you move around you can be handed from 1 CMDRs instance to another.
Its almost impossible to tell, as once they are out of sensor range, you cant tell, and rather irrelevant as if you get close enough to someone else instance, one or both of you should change so that you can see each other.

NB, If you string out a load of CMDRs all at max sensor range, this method breaks as an instance is only so big, some CMDRs would lose touch, but I dont know of anyone who has done the testing.

It is fairly easy to make things go in a busy Res Site with multiple Wings.

 

[AdmiralXanos]

In super-cruise I assume won't consider sensor range and just creates sessions based on system XYZ with a max count of 32. For normal space I cant guess as to the size it considers in the instance. A possible test is to have a friend land at a port, while you drop out of super-cruise some distance away, check your bandwidth to see if you're alone, then proceed to the port watching the bandwidth the entire time, noting the distance when it finally spikes. as a control do a private group so no false pings from outsiders dropping in on you.

 

[Old Duck]

There is an instance bubble, it was explained in one of the very early streams, as you move around you can be handed from 1 CMDRs instance to another.
Its almost impossible to tell, as once they are out of sensor range, you cant tell, and rather irrelevant as if you get close enough to someone else instance, one or both of you should change so that you can see each other.

Instance range is WAY bigger than sensor range. I can see laser fire from over 20 km away, allowing me to visually approach a CMDR long before he's ever on the radar. Perhaps the SLF range limit the radius of our player-to-player instancing bubble.

 

[aRJay]

What an odd question..
Hum.. The best sensor range 8A is 7.68KM
Instancing is a bubble around your ship from what i can find describing its "shape".
Soft cap of 32 players per instance.
maybe 32 players using 8A Sensors sitting end to end at the edge of each others sensors range is the instance size?
If 7.68KM is the radius, a sensor bubble diameter would be 15.36KM
15.36KM X 32 Players = 491.52KM maybe?

Honestly have no idea, but the hard evidence i can find is the max sensor range, and number of players per instance.

Engineered those 8A sensors have a 13.44 range.

 

[wetwire]

Engineered those 8A sensors have a 13.44 range.

....

 

[the100thmonkey]

Meet someone in game at the centre of a RES. Keep it targeted and boost away from the centre in any direction. Flip FA-off and turn back to point at the RES so you can see it while you have the contacts menu open. Take note of the distance from RES centre when they disappear from the list.

 

[Sapyx]

What's the self-destruct radius of a fighter? 20 km? I thought they had to make the fighter self destruct at that range otherwise it would leave your instance. So the instance range is probably somewhere just outside the SLF destruct radius.

 

[SlickPBW]

When fighters exceed 30km range, a count-down timer starts, 10 seconds I believe. If not within 30km before timer ends, kaboom.

 

[A C Ender]

Instance range is WAY bigger than sensor range. I can see laser fire from over 20 km away, allowing me to visually approach a CMDR long before he's ever on the radar. Perhaps the SLF range limit the radius of our player-to-player instancing bubble.

I've done this pirating in Borann. Visually identified a commander then approached (not dropping in a low wake). Good times.

 

[A C Ender]

Meet someone in game at the centre of a RES. Keep it targeted and boost away from the centre in any direction. Flip FA-off and turn back to point at the RES so you can see it while you have the contacts menu open. Take note of the distance from RES centre when they disappear from the list.

This may not be instance size; the instance size may be bigger than when they show up as a contact.