Paint Wear and NPC security agressiveness link

Smykes · Nov 30, 2018

I remember reading some time ago that there was a connection between how much more aggresively the station security "buzzed" a player
depending on the state of wear of their paintjob..

the more wear, the more security saw you as a possible troublemaker.
I was trying to find the link but unsuccessful.

Can a Dev please confirm this? maybe even find the post I am thinking of?
TY o7

GunnerBill · Nov 30, 2018

I got a Dolphin explorer at 0%, I'll take her for a spin.

Nick Sticks · Nov 30, 2018

This used to happen to me when I was younger in my old rusty cars.

Never came across this in game though.

Dommarraa · Nov 30, 2018

It was part of the ddf, but never made it into the game AFAIK

Sapyx · Nov 30, 2018

If it made it into the game, it's never been formally announced anywhere, so it's part of the secret behind-the-curtain stuff we aren't told about. So you probably aren't going to get a Dev to confirm or deny it.

But I think it has been tested in the past and no-one's found any statistically significant correlation.

The concept dates form a time when the physical appearance of your ship was supposed to have a significant impact on gameplay: repairing paint was supposed to be expensive, and if you owned a rustbucket, tourists wouldn't want to get on it, but criminal gangs would say "Ah, that ship must be owned by my kind of scum". Since none of that has been added to the game either (as far as we can tell), I would assume that "paint status means nothing except personal aesthetics" is the current rule.

moorison · Dec 1, 2018

Those Raider-kits should result in a different reaction, but that would imply you buy more than just a paintjob/kit.

From the flight-controllers perspective you are just a signal and the security will probably decide to scan before things like the state of the paintjob is obvious.

Hacker#451563 · Dec 1, 2018

If you have a Pink paint job, green lasers and purple engine trails when you land you get the chance to take George Takei on a looong passenger mission.

I've been told...

JohnRoberts · Dec 1, 2018

All my ships have the raider kits, rusty paint jobs worn down to 0%. Even my flight suit looks like I stole it from a homeless person. Would be kind of cool if this made you a persona non grata in some systems, so long as earned you a warming welcome in the less salubrious of destinations.

Kubicide · Dec 1, 2018

Smykes said:
I remember reading some time ago that there was a connection between how much more aggresively the station security "buzzed" a player
depending on the state of wear of their paintjob..

the more wear, the more security saw you as a possible troublemaker.
I was trying to find the link but unsuccessful.

Can a Dev please confirm this? maybe even find the post I am thinking of?
TY o7

You remember correctly; this was (to be) a feature. Dev comment's on this are likely buried in the archives.

Perhaps a false memory here but I though it was in fact working at one point in late beta when the wear mechanic was added. Could be wrong. It's not clear if it still works - if it does then it's real subtle.

Ouberos · Jun 30, 2019

I do not believe this is correct. Scanning happens when you cross the line of sight of the security. If you follow them on their circuits around the station you never get scanned because they are Infront of you. When landing at surface stations with illegal stuff onboard you have to be aware of this because it involves a different type of approach and you can listen to the Comms of the pilots and wait until they are "bingo on fuel, I'm RTB" to make your run in.

I have a T6 with shocking paint (below 30%) which I use for smuggling and it gets scanned no more frequently than my Piracy Krait which I keep at 100% paint.

I do think being allied with a station gives you a pass but you still get scanned if you hang around outside for a long time acting suspicious.

FrogsFriend · Jun 30, 2019

Ouberos said:
I do think being allied with a station gives you a pass but you still get scanned if you hang around outside for a long time acting suspicious.

I'd agree with that. I spend a lot of time around systems/stations where I'm Allied with the factions and very rarely get scanned at all, other than by Powerplay ships which generally chase after everything that undocks. But, as soon as I approach a station where I'm only neutral with the factions I get scanned by security almost every time. Note that I'm not usually trying to avoid the security, just flying straight in.

Vasious · Jun 30, 2019

I don't think the Paint effect on the conspicuousness rating of a ship was ever in game, just theory crafted.

Conspicuousness only effects the order of which Security will scan ships if presented with more than one at a time, not if they will scan you or not, anyway, so likely at most would have only been a finer gradient making it not that important

777Driver · Jun 30, 2019

Smykes said:
I remember reading some time ago that there was a connection between how much more aggresively the station security "buzzed" a player
depending on the state of wear of their paintjob..

I'll try and find the link later, it was part of a minor update a long time ago. Heavily worn paint will increase the chance of a scan (The Authority ship has to resolve you visually) Also as stated, allied/friendly rating also influences the chance of an authority ship investigating you.

babelfisch · Jun 30, 2019

Ouberos said:
I do not believe this is correct. Scanning happens when you cross the line of sight of the security. If you follow them on their circuits around the station you never get scanned because they are Infront of you. When landing at surface stations with illegal stuff onboard you have to be aware of this because it involves a different type of approach and you can listen to the Comms of the pilots and wait until they are "bingo on fuel, I'm RTB" to make your run in.

I have a T6 with shocking paint (below 30%) which I use for smuggling and it gets scanned no more frequently than my Piracy Krait which I keep at 100% paint.

I do think being allied with a station gives you a pass but you still get scanned if you hang around outside for a long time acting suspicious.

Some ships are more likely to get scanned than others. Maybe you just brought your Krait and the T6 to the same level?

Midian Cabal · Jul 1, 2019

Hacker#451563 said:
If you have a Pink paint job, green lasers and purple engine trails when you land you get the chance to take George Takei on a looong passenger mission.

I've been told...

You mean like this?

DNA-Decay · Jul 1, 2019

I remember this in the lead up to 3.3 I think.
Might have been Braben or Woods.
They were talking about it in the context that some SHIPs were less likely to be scanned and paint was mentioned as a factor.

I suspect it WAS actually put in, but whoever did it, didn’t understand the other factors that contribute to your scan likelihood and so the effect got buried.

Frontier do this a lot. Decide something is OP and nerf it from two different mechanics and make it disappear from the game.

Patch something out. Tell everyone it’s gone. We test it a month later. Or maybe after the next patch. Still working or working again.