I was doing passenger missions in my beluga, being chased by an NPC that wanted my passengers dead, usual fare. When I would jump down to normal space to scan the tourist beacons, they would jump down too. I would just enable silent running to drop off their scanners and be able to run safely off, dropping a heatsink on the way. Or... So I thought. Apparently, it does not work that way, because multiple times the NPC has scanned me after i enabled silent running, and fired at me, with my most recent encounter resulting in ~57% hull left, and all missions failed... I would think that silent running would help, and it seems to help in evading police scans in the same way while smuggling, but in this instance, it backfired, leaving me wide open to attack. It would have been better in fact, for me to leave it off, and have some shielding to protect me as I ran. Please, someone. Tell me if silent running is supposed to work like this, and I will bite the bullet and work to make my beluga less susceptible to damage with stronger shielding, and armor, but if this is in fact a bug, I will file a report. Based on the name and advertised role, I would think I would drop off the scanners of an NPC but... If this affects anything, when I was fired on, I would release chaff as well. I would throttle up and high wake to the next system en route. They would, however, complete the scan, usually, before I throttled up, an would begin firing before that time as well, so the engines are likely not the issue, at least the initial one. Any insight into this would be appreciated!
Is Silent Running Supposed to Not Work?
- Thread starter Bladefeather
- Start date
I'm not sure how it works with NPCs compared to players, but in any case it's worth noting that sensors do have an auto-resolve range which you simply can't hide inside. According to this old (and therefore possibly outdated) post by Sandro, better sensors auto-resolve at around 500m. If that remains accurate and it also scales with engineering, current ships could potentially have sensors which auto-resolve out to almost 900m.
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That may be it. I will ask though that if I am running and over that range, are my drives emitting enough of a heat signiture to allow targeting when at about 1.5KM out? That is likely the issue though with the initial scan and attack.
HAHAHAHAHAHHA , You really want to hide a 300 Meter White Monster be a click of a button?!
So Yes SR does DECREASE , read again DECREASE your signature. If any ship gets closer than 500m they will be able to scan you right away. So while good for cops that will first try to scan you. most Hunters will fire way anyway if you try to run. So is up to you choose your strategy right.
BTW npc are not any more impervious to SR... they have reduced DPS when fighting an SR ship. and they need to get real close to scan. So yes it's working as intended.
Anyone can get trough SR if they get closer than 500m
Beluga is quite hot. and BIG. maybe you are doing it wrong.... you just need to BREAK his scaning you would need like 4 secs of SR to break a scan and come back... Since i never had a beluga i cant tell you how they fare on SRing. but i believe that a beluga should have more signature than a Cobra even on SR...
I'm actually not sure how much using thrusters affects it. I always stick to FAO while in silent running, since it intuitively seems like burning your main drives would make SR basically useless (and FAO is of course also better for heat either way). But there's probably some more complex underlying mechanic at work for the sake of gameplay.
I use SR on a regular basis. Usually I smuggle in a T6 or Clipper, altho I have used most ship types. Last time I dropped out of SC at the side of the station in a T6, my fault I got the angle completely wrong, I had the chance to experiment with SR, being scanned and heat sinks. As I traveled to the front of the station in SR I was scanned twice, both times I broke the lock of the scan by dropping heat sinks. I got inside and no fine. Not sure of the distance from the scanning ship but it does work.
Lose them before you get to the beacon.
The moment the message pops up that they are looking for you, drop down to normal space. Enter SC again immediately and you should be rid of them.
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When close enough, both players and NPCs can get a lock on your ship. Physical cover (staying close to stations, asteroids etc.) in combination with silent running works best.
And you should imagine the Aida or Queen Mary trying to outsmart haven control while coming into port... Better use a small speedboat in stealth colours with electric motor...
And you should imagine the Aida or Queen Mary trying to outsmart haven control while coming into port... Better use a small speedboat in stealth colours with electric motor...
Like many people already replied, Silent Running is by no means "invisibility", nor is it intended to be. I tested in a prior beta how SR actually affects the NPCs:
[video=youtube;LJhmVprb22I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJhmVprb22I[/video]
Instead of breaking the target lock, it severely reduces the AI's accuracy, at least when they are using gimballed or turreted weapons. I would assume this effect is less noticeable in a large ship like Beluga, than in a Viper.
[video=youtube;LJhmVprb22I]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJhmVprb22I[/video]
Instead of breaking the target lock, it severely reduces the AI's accuracy, at least when they are using gimballed or turreted weapons. I would assume this effect is less noticeable in a large ship like Beluga, than in a Viper.
Firing thrusters makes you very visible as well. The age old trick of jumping into the station instance, full reverse until 10k out, go around to the mailslot (while always staying 10-9k out), line up with mailslot, boost, then turn FA off, engine throttle zero and drift toward the slot at almost boost speed. As you get to 8km out, enable silent running (shouldn't be any need for a heatsink), then just as you are about to go in through the mailslot, FA on, SR off and guide yourself through (once you are 2k from the slot, as long as you keep reasonable progress you cannot be scanned in time before you get through the slot). I have never been caught landing at anything with a mailslot when using this technique (I don't even bother to do this any more, now I have become so proficient at drifting round to the slot from any angle with FA and thrusters off). Planetary bases and outposts are harder, but the same principle can still be used, line up with your pad from far, far out and come in boosting with engines and FA off and SR on. Similarly, if you are in open space and wanting to get away, boost then cut throttle before turning SR on.
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Kinda sounds like the heat sinks doing their thing more than the SR though, which would've proven itself by keeping you from being scanned at all (outside of auto-resolve range). But anyway, lots of killer info in this thread actually I could see a potential use for this in high hull/low shield ships like the FAS, once your shields drop you could go stealth tactics
I would advise using a heat sink, and no silent running, when you need to enter a station undetected. HS has the exact same effect of reducing your signature to zero, like SR, albeit it's only temporary. A benefit to this is that you'll get to keep your shields up, reducing chance of unnecessary damage. You can always pop another if your temp rises above 10-20% while you're still outside.
To the OP: cargo/crime scans can be outran if you're in a fast ship. I have done this several times. Scanners have effective range of 2.0-3.5km depending on their grade, possibly more if they're engineered. You have 10 seconds after the scan has started until it finishes, and it will be delayed if you get far enough (or block line-of-sight) from the scanning ship during that time.
Interesting. By the looks of things I would be better off to add a few more heatsinks and just use those... I would have thought that silent running would mask a ship completely by closing heat vents unless they used things like drives or weapons but, I guess I was wrong... Thanks for the help on this!
Silent running has always worked, to varying degrees. It actually works better against NPCs now than it used to.
Even if it did remove your signature entirely, NPCs would still 'see' you if you few into their field of view.
There used to be a silent running tutorial mission to demonstrate this...it's a shame they removed it, was probably the best one they ever had.
Even if it did remove your signature entirely, NPCs would still 'see' you if you few into their field of view.
There used to be a silent running tutorial mission to demonstrate this...it's a shame they removed it, was probably the best one they ever had.
I use silent running to avoid missile locks when I have to high tail it.
Other than that, alot of what the others have said has already been said.
You (op) might want to build a specific low emission build for these runs. And get your thrusters maxed out for pure speed.
Good luck in future.
Other than that, alot of what the others have said has already been said.
You (op) might want to build a specific low emission build for these runs. And get your thrusters maxed out for pure speed.
Good luck in future.
Yeah, unfortunately this is what I call a "-poor mechanic". There is no real defense against being scanned, and NPC's know this, and will relentless scan you when you have secretive passengers.
The ONLY cure I've ever found for this is Overwhelming Force. You simply have to obliterate any NPC's that follow you when hauling these kinds of passengers, or beat them at Interdictions to throw them off your trail for a time.
Now, what I don't understand is how a passenger knows that your ship has been scanned in the first place. Do they have some sort of hand-held scan detector? Are they able to see the big "Scan Detected" text? If it were my ship I would simply prohibit possession of scan detectors or their use during flight on my ship. So as a general rule, I just don't ferry secretive passenger around, they're too much trouble.
It's one thing to create a challenge, it's another to not provide proper tools to overcome it. Luck is never a tool.
The ONLY cure I've ever found for this is Overwhelming Force. You simply have to obliterate any NPC's that follow you when hauling these kinds of passengers, or beat them at Interdictions to throw them off your trail for a time.
Now, what I don't understand is how a passenger knows that your ship has been scanned in the first place. Do they have some sort of hand-held scan detector? Are they able to see the big "Scan Detected" text? If it were my ship I would simply prohibit possession of scan detectors or their use during flight on my ship. So as a general rule, I just don't ferry secretive passenger around, they're too much trouble.
It's one thing to create a challenge, it's another to not provide proper tools to overcome it. Luck is never a tool.