Need some help with Heatsinks

[gravedodger]

Evening Chaps ... I think I know what they do in theory, allow me to operate for longer in the sneaky silent running mode but i think I'm doing something wrong :S

I've mounted them to my Sidewinder and tried to do some stealthy stuff but I just keep heating up and I'm spotted on scanner, am I supposed to deploy them or eject them or what ?

Can somebody help a guy out here and explain it in easy to understand lingo please

My stealthy tour of Styx didn't last very long!

 

[Commander Edison]

Sneaky type eh? Have to remember that...

You can bind a specific key to drop heatsinks, or stick them in a firegroup and drop 'em that way. Have a look in the controls section in the options menu.

 

[gravedodger]

so dropping them helps me cool down ?

is dropping them the same as ejecting them ?

 

[Commander Edison]

Keep in mind you've got a limited supply of them too, you need to replenish them in the munitions bit in port. Nothing worse than hitting silent running and realising you've run out.

 

[Commander Dave]

Imagine the heat sink like the middle section of a 3 foot long iron bar you're holding. Someone else has a blow torch on the other end and, as soon as it gets uncomfortably warm for you, there's a button to make the middle section of the bar disappear and be replaced by a nice new cold section.
That means you get to hold the bar for a lot longer than you would normally.

 

[Commander Edison]

so dropping them helps me cool down ?

is dropping them the same as ejecting them ?

Yep, and yep. When you drop a heatsink, the ship purges it's cooling systems and dumps it all into the sink, and drops it off.

It builds up again dependent on how much power you're using, so it's worth turning off stuff you aren't using in the right hand UI.

 

[gravedodger]

ahh ... ok ... that's were i was going wrong, i wasn't dropping them so in effect i just turned myself into a heated grill for everyone to see

hehe ... just love finding out new stuff ... love this game

thanks guys.

 

[ZeeWolf]

Imagine the heat sink like the middle section of a 3 foot long iron bar you're holding. Someone else has a blow torch on the other end and, as soon as it gets uncomfortably warm for you, there's a button to make the middle section of the bar disappear and be replaced by a nice new cold section.
That means you get to hold the bar for a lot longer than you would normally.

Not going to lie, this is possibly the most obscure abstract description of anything. If you had tried to explain this 3 foot long iron bar thing with an exact description of the heat sink on an Elite spaceship it would be almost EXACTLY as weird.

I'm giving you rep in the name of art man.

 

[NoirWolf]

Just to hijack the topic a little: Wonder if someday they will make the shipboard heatsinks ( the one you do not eject ) visible when you pass let's say 95% to add a visual indication in combat if your enemy is running the risk of self-cooking so you can help him/her out.

Note: The idea of visible heatsinks comes from the Mass Effect wiki which describes how combat ships at full powerplant output would have semi-visible or fully visible heatsinks called "tiger stripes" the Human Alliance.

 

[Commander Dave]

Not going to lie, this is possibly the most obscure abstract description of anything. If you had tried to explain this 3 foot long iron bar thing with an exact description of the heat sink on an Elite spaceship it would be almost EXACTLY as weird.

I'm giving you rep in the name of art man.

And there I was thinking I didn't have an artistic bone in my body.
I will say that apart from the magic button thingy the analogy stands up to reasonable analysis.
Heat at one end of the bar = laser.
Middle section of the bar = heat sink.
Other end of the bar = your ability to stay comfortable.
If you can eject the middle bit or heatsink then you can stay comfortable for longer.

 

[ZeeWolf]

And there I was thinking I didn't have an artistic bone in my body.
I will say that apart from the magic button thingy the analogy stands up to reasonable analysis.
Heat at one end of the bar = laser.
Middle section of the bar = heat sink.
Other end of the bar = your ability to stay comfortable.
If you can eject the middle bit or heatsink then you can stay comfortable for longer.

Imagine, if you will? Three lemons placed at an appropriate distance from each other on the Isle of Man. Each Melon is accompanied by a Toucan. As the melons degrade you remove one Toucan and replace it with a single Flamingo. That is how hyperspace works.

 

[Commander Dave]

Imagine, if you will? Three lemons placed at an appropriate distance from each other on the Isle of Man. Each Melon is accompanied by a Toucan. As the melons degrade you remove one Toucan and replace it with a single Flamingo. That is how hyperspace works.

Absolutely incorrect.
It's limes, not lemons.
And you have to take that weird drug that turns bitter tastes to sweet ones instead.
Then, and only then, will hyperspace work.
Providing you have trained the flamingo properly and provided the appropriate spice, of course.

 

[Commander Dave]

Tell you what, this is great gin.

 

[Firestarter]

Imagine, if you will? Three lemons placed at an appropriate distance from each other on the Isle of Man. Each Melon is accompanied by a Toucan. As the melons degrade you remove one Toucan and replace it with a single Flamingo. That is how hyperspace works.

Melon? I thought it was lemons. And it definately has to be Toco Toucans or it wouldn't work.

 

[Fenris Wolf]

Won't the heat-sinks suddenly appear on scanners though when you eject them?

 

[Commander Jake Skyrunner]

Imagine, if you will? Three lemons placed at an appropriate distance from each other on the Isle of Man. Each Melon is accompanied by a Toucan. As the melons degrade you remove one Toucan and replace it with a single Flamingo. That is how hyperspace works.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!! ok, I need some more tea now... having deposited the last one all over the place from laughing...

 

[Dogmeat]

Yes they do...their other purpose is to decoy heat-seeking missiles.