Engineers Problem with Salvage Contract(s)?

[DarthLuca]

Is anyone else having trouble finding the correct USS to complete a mission with 2.1??
I have 2 Contracts in the ROSS 104 system (1 for Trade Data & 1 for Experimental Chemicals).
Not sure if I have found a bug or am just being very unlucky. I have now searched at least 60 (I have totally lost count - could be 100+) USS's all over the system and still have not found what I am looking for. It is no longer fun and feels like looking for a needle in a haystack. I don't just want to abandon the mission in case it damages my rep with the Federation (Clawing my way back to their good books is my primary goal at the moment)

This begs a few questions for a Dev; Namely, One: Is the Chance to find the correct USS completely random?? Two: Is there ANY &^%$* way to improve the chance of finding it or at least narrowing down the search?? Thirdly: If I abandon the Missions, could/will this damage my Reputation with the Federation?

I say this is a possible bug because the situation is complicated. I originally took two missions, both to find Experimental Chemicals in ROSS 104, after a normal amount of random searching as I have done in the past (several times) I found the said Chemicals. I was planning to find the other one but it was feeling too dangerous to stick around in the system and risk losing the first one (Attacked various times and almost destroyed) so I bottled it and went back and turned in the first mission. I then noticed a second mission in the same system (ROSS 104) but for 'Trade Data' so I took that as well and jumped back to ROSS 104.
As above I have now looked at umpteen USS's ALL over the huge system I have been to three of the stars, a lot of the many planets and also various of the umpteen moons, I have even driven on one to try out my new buggy (because I could!), I have been attacked many times, almost destroyed at least twice, Actually destroyed twice and frankly am getting a little sick of *&*&)* ROSS 104!!

So if anyone is having similar issues, please share. If a DEV could answer any of the questions and confirm whether maybe it is a bug (because of the convoluted mission history and the fact that there were two original Exp Chem contracts - I would not be surprised).
I thought the Beta test as over, but like a lot a people I think maybe not . . .

Final thoughts:
If this was a real mission in the real world I would hopefully be given more information about where I might look. Space as we have come to realise is HUGE and just saying It's in the ROSS 104 system doesn't really cut the mustard (so to say) as The ROSS system has 5 stars, 21 planets and about 34 moons. In the Real world I would hopefully be told - I don't know, "He was travelling to ROSS 104 ABC 2 when we lost contact", or "The ship was somewhere near ROSS 104 A1 when it vanished" or "Last heard of near 'PENN RING'". And that's not even me being creative. Give me, something, anything to go on.
I don't know how these missions actually work. I would love to think that there actually are two USS's that actually exist at fixed points in ROSS 104, somewhere and I just need to find them, then a couple of clues to their whereabouts would make the whole thing seem more real, like a real search. It would also add a whole level of skill to the search such a the interpretation of the clues and the search patterns used, one could actually get good at finding things and when you did there would be a REAL sense of accomplishment, it would be a tangible thing that would elevate ELITE D above a mere game and that has GOT to be good for it. And if I didn't find them then they would be offered as a mission to the next person, and so on until it WAS found (Unless someone else found it be accident in the meantime, and then . . .).
But sadly NO (here's hoping I'm wrong on this, although previous missions do not seem to support this) , I'm guessing it's just random which just seems to make the whole thing, less worthy or less important, LESS REAL somehow.
Regards,
CMDR Luca

 

[FrogsFriend]

When you arrive in the target system, either drop into the Nav Beacon location and target the actual beacon to scan it or honk your discovery scanner (if you have one fitted), your missions will then update with the planet you need to search around.
Once looking in the right area, the USS you need will be coloured blue, named Mission USS or something similar and will be highlighted in both your Nav Panel and the top-right screen notifications area when it appears.

Hope that helps

 

[DarthLuca]

Yep, that helps a lot.
Guess that what comes of not playing for ages.
1 down, 1 to go.
Still wonder whether it's random or actually placed there until found?

 

[VidarSnipes]

Still wonder whether it's random or actually placed there until found?

If I had to make an educated guess - it doesn't exist anywhere until it's spawned, but it isn't spawned until you are in the right location (that is, anywhere around the planet randomly chosen during the mission generation, not "above the pole of the third planet of the system").

 

[DarthLuca]

Ok, So I finished the original two missions that I was struggling with (Thanks again to FrogsFriend).
Sucker for punishment that I am (And they were offering decent money) I have now taken Four recovery missions in a different system. Anyway I get there no problem, Use my D-scanner and it find the bodies in the system and updates my mission logs (as it should). So I make a note of all of the mission destinations (Was 3, 5A, 7A, and also 5A). So far so good. As all the system is 'Unexplored' I pick the closest body head towards it and start scanning to get my bearings (Yes I could have used the map but where's the fun in that? besides I wanted to explore the system. Anyway after a few planets visited (Picking the closest 'Unexplored' each time I finally come to '3', aha a target destination and Lo and behold there is my target. So far so good. Anyways, I pick up the data and carry on to the next 'Unexplored' (Having now looked at the map). It turns out the next planet is 7, great I think, scan it, take a nice picky (as is my want), and head off to 7A. OO that's a pretty one, another picky but still no 'Mission USS' popping up, curious? So, I carry on circling the planet for a while and still no 'Mission USS'. So I then check my Transaction log and the target body has disappeared!! Just says the system name!! (I will report this as a bug).
Anyway after logging out and back in they Target bodies seem to have re-appeared. So I will now see if I can now find the mission USS . . .
OK, I found it, managed to 'MISS' it! (Try not to do this at home - Saw the 'PRESS BUTTON NOW! [Exit Supercruise] and pressed the button a second too late! - Which is Really annoying, because then when you re-enter SC it has vanished!!), after a few minutes managed to find it again (So it IS random), and got the goods.
The other missions still say 5A, which is good so I presume all will be good . . .
Till next time folks, stay safe out there!

 

[DeLorean]

When you arrive in the target system, either drop into the Nav Beacon location and target the actual beacon to scan it or honk your discovery scanner (if you have one fitted), your missions will then update with the planet you need to search around.
Once looking in the right area, the USS you need will be coloured blue, named Mission USS or something similar and will be highlighted in both your Nav Panel and the top-right screen notifications area when it appears.

Hope that helps

That sort of helped me, except when I dropped in to the mission USS, the cargo I was supposed to find - Encrypted Data Storage - wasn't there, just canisters of ordinary Trade Data. Tried dropping in/out a few times and always the same. Tried picking them up to see if they were just wrongly named, nope.

 

[Gibbon]

Is anyone else having trouble finding the correct USS to complete a mission with 2.1??
I have now searched at least 60 (I have totally lost count - could be 100+) USS's all over the system and still have not found what I am looking for.
Regards,
CMDR Luca

Not using a U2 navigation computer are you?

 

[FrogsFriend]

That sort of helped me, except when I dropped in to the mission USS, the cargo I was supposed to find - Encrypted Data Storage - wasn't there, just canisters of ordinary Trade Data. Tried dropping in/out a few times and always the same. Tried picking them up to see if they were just wrongly named, nope.

That does sound like a bug. Have you logged a bug report?

 

[BlackSpaceCowboy]

When you arrive in the target system, either drop into the Nav Beacon location and target the actual beacon to scan it or honk your discovery scanner (if you have one fitted), your missions will then update with the planet you need to search around.
Once looking in the right area, the USS you need will be coloured blue, named Mission USS or something similar and will be highlighted in both your Nav Panel and the top-right screen notifications area when it appears.

Hope that helps

I did that. The mission updated. But all the update told me was to scan signal sources in the system. So, I flew and scanned dozens of signal sources and nothing. Finally, I figured maybe it's one of those degregaded emissions signal sources and search them. There is wreckage but not what I'm looking for.

I think it's a bug. I hate that I wasted over an hour on a wild goose chase. Did I mention that I eventually got interdicted and killed while on this wild goose chase? *sigh*

And before I left the station where I got the mission, I thought I'd find some commodities that are exported to my target system and bring them to turn a small profit. I went to commodieties market. I filtered for my target system. I found items being "exported to" my target system. I bought them. But when I got there, there was no demand for them and I had to sell at a loss.

These things make no intuitive sense and there is no instruction at all.

 

[FrogsFriend]

I did that. The mission updated. But all the update told me was to scan signal sources in the system. So, I flew and scanned dozens of signal sources and nothing.

Did it point you to a specific planet/star in the system?

And before I left the station where I got the mission, I thought I'd find some commodities that are exported to my target system and bring them to turn a small profit. I went to commodieties market. I filtered for my target system. I found items being "exported to" my target system. I bought them. But when I got there, there was no demand for them and I had to sell at a loss.

Commodity values and demands are often different at each station/outpost/surface port in a system. Sometimes you need to find the right one to sell at a profit. Or, was this a system with just one dockable location? The import/export trade information unfortunately isn't fine-grained enough to direct you straight to the right dock.
Also, new with 2.1, commodity values and demands can change with the state of the factions in the system (boom, bust, war, etc.). I don't know how quickly the historic trade info will update to reflect that. It could take a day or two to catch up.

 

[BlackSpaceCowboy]

Did it point you to a specific planet/star in the system?

No, that was the strange thing. It just told me to search signal sources in the system. I'm talking about the updated mission under transactions.

Commodity values and demands are often different at each station/outpost/surface port in a system. Sometimes you need to find the right one to sell at a profit. Or, was this a system with just one dockable location? The import/export trade information unfortunately isn't fine-grained enough to direct you straight to the right dock.
Also, new with 2.1, commodity values and demands can change with the state of the factions in the system (boom, bust, war, etc.). I don't know how quickly the historic trade info will update to reflect that. It could take a day or two to catch up.

Maybe you're right and there was another port in the system that had more demand and could give me a better price. But why would the price and demand be very different from station to station in the same system? The price I got for my goods was less than the price I paid in a system light years away. These are imported goods. Is there a way to find the best port in a system to sell your goods? It would be laborious to travel to every port and planetary station in a system to turn a small profit.

Another time, I had to source tobacco. I went to the galaxy map and found only one system that was exporting tobacco. I went to that system and tobacco was prohibited in most of the ports. I traveled to the agricultural ports but they had no tobacco. So, the agricultural ports, in a system that appears on the galaxy map as the only exporter of tobacco in the region, have no tobacco? It wasn't even listed.

Finally, I went online and found a guide that tells you where you can find a commodity. I found the location on the map but the trade routes showed nothing.

I guess I don't understand how trade works in this game. Is it bugged or are you supposed to rely on external tools to source commodities?