Horizons Interdiction woes...even "winning" the mini-game I lose. Help!

[Scoob]

Hi all,

Been away from ED for a very long time and sooo much has changed. I've been re-learning basic flight skills via the tutorials, very good and have been back in-game proper for a while. Just currently playing in a Private Group with a friend who's testing his Vive.

Anyway, I'm really struggling with the Interdiction escape mini-game. I usually just submit and run - I've kitted my Asp Explorer out to be fast, sacrificing other things. However, I just got interdicted by a ship that was MUCH faster than me, so fleeing wasn't an option. Nor was fighting, he had my shields down in moments, having launched these super-fast drone things (fighters?) at me - I actually out-paced him with full power to engines, but these little things were ripping me up.

So, I got back to frame shift speeds and arrived at my destination station just in time. I was just pressing "J" to safe exit, when I get the interdiction message again! This time I fight the interdiction via the mini-game and I keep track on the blue pretty well (thanks HOTAS) though my blue bar drops anyway, which is weird. After a short while battling, I get told that the interdiction had failed and I carried on my way...for a few seconds anyway, I then hard-dropped out of frame shift - possibly due to my prior pressing of "J" before the interdiction started - right on top of the guys who was after me. I was then basically one-shotted to death.

Now, I've not played for a while, but I'd been doing well in combat and the like, but this one encountered caused me all sorts of issues, maybe someone can explain what happened? Basically, here's what I don't understand:

1) What were the super fast "drone" things on my scanner? They were using what looked like multi-cannons (from the bullets that missed) but stripped my shields (3A's) very quickly. I call them "drones" as they appeared to be zipping about at insane speeds, if my radar is to be believed.

2) How can I be interdicted while already dropping out of Frame Shift drive at my destination? Poor timing? Some sort of server lag?

3) When I "won" the mini-game, I was still forced out of frame-shift and right next to my foe. Could this be a delay of the server recognising my pressing of "J" to safe exit at my destination?

I'm not here to complain, I just don't quite understand what happened here and need to learn from it. I wonder at server lag as I often tap "J" to exit frame-shift and it can take 5-10 seconds or longer at times.

At the end of the day, from my (Client) perspective I arrived at my destination, but suddenly I wasn't even close any more, and I "won" the interdiction mini-game but still "lost" and was killed as a result. Some what frustrating!

I hope someone can provide guidance

Edit: Oh, one more thing, the dialogue I got from the AI Pilot that killed me wasn't that of a pirate, it was basically that they're out to kill me period. I'm clean in the system and it said it was "high security" so I didn't expect trouble.

Scoob.

 

[varonica]

Hi all,

Been away from ED for a very long time and sooo much has changed. I've been re-learning basic flight skills via the tutorials, very good and have been back in-game proper for a while. Just currently playing in a Private Group with a friend who's testing his Vive.

Anyway, I'm really struggling with the Interdiction escape mini-game. I usually just submit and run - I've kitted my Asp Explorer out to be fast, sacrificing other things. However, I just got interdicted by a ship that was MUCH faster than me, so fleeing wasn't an option. Nor was fighting, he had my shields down in moments, having launched these super-fast drone things (fighters?) at me - I actually out-paced him with full power to engines, but these little things were ripping me up.

So, I got back to frame shift speeds and arrived at my destination station just in time. I was just pressing "J" to safe exit, when I get the interdiction message again! This time I fight the interdiction via the mini-game and I keep track on the blue pretty well (thanks HOTAS) though my blue bar drops anyway, which is weird. After a short while battling, I get told that the interdiction had failed and I carried on my way...for a few seconds anyway, I then hard-dropped out of frame shift - possibly due to my prior pressing of "J" before the interdiction started - right on top of the guys who was after me. I was then basically one-shotted to death.

Now, I've not played for a while, but I'd been doing well in combat and the like, but this one encountered caused me all sorts of issues, maybe someone can explain what happened? Basically, here's what I don't understand:

1) What were the super fast "drone" things on my scanner? They were using what looked like multi-cannons (from the bullets that missed) but stripped my shields (3A's) very quickly. I call them "drones" as they appeared to be zipping about at insane speeds, if my radar is to be believed.

2) How can I be interdicted while already dropping out of Frame Shift drive at my destination? Poor timing? Some sort of server lag?

3) When I "won" the mini-game, I was still forced out of frame-shift and right next to my foe. Could this be a delay of the server recognising my pressing of "J" to safe exit at my destination?

I'm not here to complain, I just don't quite understand what happened here and need to learn from it. I wonder at server lag as I often tap "J" to exit frame-shift and it can take 5-10 seconds or longer at times.

At the end of the day, from my (Client) perspective I arrived at my destination, but suddenly I wasn't even close any more, and I "won" the interdiction mini-game but still "lost" and was killed as a result. Some what frustrating!

I hope someone can provide guidance

Edit: Oh, one more thing, the dialogue I got from the AI Pilot that killed me wasn't that of a pirate, it was basically that they're out to kill me period. I'm clean in the system and it said it was "high security" so I didn't expect trouble.

Scoob.

Hmm, I can answer the easy ones.

1) ship launched fighters, usually shortened to SLF, given the right ship you to can have some!

2) I have had that happen, basically until you are sitting in normal space on thrusters you are in SC to other ships. It's just a message they put up while loading the instance, just bad timing

3) Possible, that's all I can say on that.

 

[Navigare Necesse Est]

I guess high-waking would be your solution. In any case - when I find myself in a situation I don't understand anymore I don't feel any shame to just log out.

 

[Scoob]

Hmm, I can answer the easy ones.

1) ship launched fighters, usually shortened to SLF, given the right ship you to can have some!

2) I have had that happen, basically until you are sitting in normal space on thrusters you are in SC to other ships. It's just a message they put up while loading the instance, just bad timing

3) Possible, that's all I can say on that.

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I've read about the fighters of course, just hadn't experienced them first hand - I never saw them, other than radar blips and they hit hard.

I'd had a similar issue in the past, I was just safe exiting at my location when I got interdicted and thrown out a long, long way from where I'd been. That prior time, I escaped my foe but had a several minutes flight to reach my destination.

I do wonder why this AI pilot was so set on killing me though, no "drop cargo" type message, just something along the lines of "I've been looking for you, die" sort of thing. Wish I could remember the exact wording. I did double-check and both systems (from and to) were High Security and I'm on good relations with them, and I wasn't carrying illegal cargo. I did repeat the run again, and had no issues.

After a little grind last night in a different area of space, I recovered the first million cr I lost, just one more million cr to go! I got interdicted more times, as you'd expect, but while I had some tough fights, none of them utterly outclassed me like the git that killed me. I gave up bothering to follow the escape vector, as it seems regardless of me staying on target, my blue bar drops at a steady rate. Ironically, while a little tricky, I don't find it overly hard staying on target - I use an X52, it's good - yet the outcome is unpredictable. Sounds like a difference between what I see as the client, and what the Server thinks is going on. My broadband isn't great, I connect and 4mbps down and .9 up, but that should be ample, right?

Oh, to add more ammo to the server sync thing, I did initially reach my destination but despite my speed etc. being just fine (I know how to fly!) rather than getting a "safe exit" message, I was suddenly told to "slow down" and shot right past my destination, and had to loop back. It was on the loop-back, just as I was safe exiting, that I was jumped again.

It's an annoyance for sure and, as Navigare suggests, I may just log out next time something glitches like this. I do try to be a careful pilot, and this is only my second death in proper play - I experimented more in the betas, which were wiped of course - and it's also my second death that appears to have involved some sort of glitch.

Scoob.

 

[d8veh]

It sounds like you have a bounty on you from another system. The NPCs know that and they come after you for it. You got the sort of message they give. Sometimes they mention that you're a criminal, like "now you die, criminal", other times they mention something about the money - "I've been told about you, this will put my kids through school" or something like that. They always give you a message that gives a clue to why they're after you. There's always a reason.

 

[Bdragon4]

If you fly through rough areas of space, you can find outlaw NPCs who will outright murder you. Happened to me a couple of times. Had an Emperial Clipper rip me from frame shift once saying that he just wanted someone to kill. I didn't survive that one.

 

[Codger]

The timing of interdictions can be funny -- it's just a bit bugged.

I've had the following happen, for example.

* Get interdicted. During the interdiction, get interdicted again by a second NPC (2 escape vectors to follow, impossible! lol). Submit and drop into normal space after the interdiction, and both NPCs jump in with me.

* Get interdicted near a station after I've hit disengage. Drop into the station instance without failing the interdiction or winning the game, it just drops. The NPC then spawns right in front of me, going fast, and crashes into me.

So at least part of what happened to you is just timing and caused by the somewhat bugged scripting. The drones were fighters but that's been said. Some NPCs do attack for no particular reason. Lag probably accounts for the rest.

Fly safe!

 

[Scoob]

It sounds like you have a bounty on you from another system. The NPCs know that and they come after you for it. You got the sort of message they give. Sometimes they mention that you're a criminal, like "now you die, criminal", other times they mention something about the money - "I've been told about you, this will put my kids through school" or something like that. They always give you a message that gives a clue to why they're after you. There's always a reason.

It did sound like that sort of message, though I had no bounties and was flying in High Security systems the entire time. I'd not played ED for many many months, my ship being left parked at Jameson Memorial in Shinrarta. I hadn't been adventurous at all since loading up the game two days ago, in fact my issues last night were my first trip away from Shinrarta. The prior day was doing the training missions to get back up to speed. So no, absolutely no bounties on me and no legitimate reason to be hunted like I was. I notice when jumping to a system it gives new information when you initiate frame shift, it always says "Clean" which I assume relates to my status there? Really, I've not been about much since restarting, plus should there not have been a log entry or something? Is it not pretty obvious when you incur a bounty? I recall it was back in testing ages ago.

Scoob.

 

[Scoob]

If you fly through rough areas of space, you can find outlaw NPCs who will outright murder you. Happened to me a couple of times. Had an Emperial Clipper rip me from frame shift once saying that he just wanted someone to kill. I didn't survive that one.

That'd be perfectly understandable, however I was going between two "High Security" systems, largely to avoid such issues as I get used to the game again. Interestingly though, I got attacked twice during docking in the very same system, my attacker lasted mere seconds of course, thanks to the stations defences.

The timing of interdictions can be funny -- it's just a bit bugged.

I've had the following happen, for example.

* Get interdicted. During the interdiction, get interdicted again by a second NPC (2 escape vectors to follow, impossible! lol). Submit and drop into normal space after the interdiction, and both NPCs jump in with me.

* Get interdicted near a station after I've hit disengage. Drop into the station instance without failing the interdiction or winning the game, it just drops. The NPC then spawns right in front of me, going fast, and crashes into me.

So at least part of what happened to you is just timing and caused by the somewhat bugged scripting. The drones were fighters but that's been said. Some NPCs do attack for no particular reason. Lag probably accounts for the rest.

Fly safe!

Hmm, yes, I think I had that first one happened to me in testing one time - I recall the two escape vectors at least, but maybe it was some other bug lol.

You got luckier than me there, I hit safe disengage and appeared in an instance many light seconds away, after being interdicted while waiting for my ship to actually enter the station instance - I think this delay, sometimes up to 10+ seconds, can be where server-side things occur and the player is suddenly in an entirely different situation once the client catches up.

Maybe I should have turned to engage those fighters, however, by the way they stripped my fully-charged 3A shields in seconds, I took the call to run, assuming I'd be faster...that didn't go well lol.

On another note, possibly I'm missing something, but often I find my ship goes really sluggish when turning during combat. I.e. out of combat, power at default, throttle to 50% (blue zone) pulling up feels nice and fast. Same settings while in combat my ship sometimes goes all sluggish. Power is ample but it feels something isn't quite right. I mean, moving to dock for example, my Asp Explorer feels quite nimble considering its size, and I can turn on a dime. In combat it often goes sluggish and I cannot figure out why. It's like how your ship goes if you reduce the throttle to say 20%, turning rate is reduced, however, I remain at 50% throttle during combat.

Oh, I'm aware that with 3A shields my Asp is under-shielded, however it's configured for trading mostly, relying on it's speed to escape trouble that's too tough for it. I can generally handle single attackers one on one if they're in a similarly equipped ship with my Beam lasers and Cannons.

Scoob.