PSA: Famines are back on the menu

[Vandaahl]

- so are a great source of DWE (Datamined Wake Exceptions) and other Wake-based data mats. Bring a wake scanner

Should have known that yesterday when I needed them, have been cruising an hour or 2 in Shinrarta for a wooping 9 DWE's. Luckily my headphones prevented my brain from seeping out of my ears.

 

[Friedenreich Xante]

Distribution centers in Anarchy systems may be good to farm materials, with all those t9 hanging around

Go to Cubeo, Chelomey Orbital, in open during a busy period. The NPC spawns at the capital ship dock go crazy when there's multiple players around and you end up with so many wakes that even in a fast ship with a fast scanner you'll have trouble scanning them all.

So I have to wait for other commanders to drop by? Meh. But thanks anyway

 

[Screemonster]

Distribution centers in Anarchy systems may be good to farm materials, with all those t9 hanging around



So I have to wait for other commanders to drop by? Meh. But thanks anyway

Well, if you go there on your own it'll work too, but you'll just have to wait for the navy ships to start cycling out which can take a few minutes from the start of the instance. Instances are always more populated when you jump in after another player's been there as it gives NPCs time to start spawning in.

 

[Jmanis]

Link takes me to a dead Imgur page.

Eh, looks like you have to be logged in to imgur to see them.

Yes, there have been systems in Outbreak since 3.3: but prior to 3.3 you could reliably farm them for Pharmaceutical Isolator HGEs. Since then - well, there have been a few Outbreak systems, and you do get the occasional drop of PIs, but not in the sort of numbers that would make PI farming anything but an exercise in frustration.

If the current storyline changes that, it seems reasonable to me to summarise that as "getting Outbreak back".

That doesn't really sound like a problem with "Getting outbreak back" though? Rather a problem with the spawns associated with the outbreak state? That's an important distinction, because the problem with Famine "disappearing" is an entirely different one. It doesn't sound like your problem would be fixed with "more outbreak".

You can still reliably cause Outbreak by running biowaste delivery missions (not to be confused with trading biowaste, which does nothing)

 

[Dagwit]

That doesn't really sound like a problem with "Getting outbreak back" though? Rather a problem with the spawns associated with the outbreak state? That's an important distinction, because the problem with Famine "disappearing" is an entirely different one. It doesn't sound like your problem would be fixed with "more outbreak".

It's a matter of point of view: if you're primarily interested in the technicalities of the BGS, then Famine was gone and Outbreak wasn't. If you're primarily interested in collecting Engineering materials, as I am, then both Famine and Outbreak were removed from the game as viable G5 mat farms by 3.3.

And since this thread was started by a post from Factabulous pointing out that it was now possible to once more farm Famine states for Datamined Wake Exceptions, I thought it reasonable and relevant to hope that the introduction of a new pathogen would mean that it would once more be possible to reliably farm PIs in Outbreak systems - which is what "getting Outbreak back" would mean to me.

On your point about spawns - before 3.3 HGE spawn rate was held to be linked to system population size. And you could find large-population Outbreak systems. Since 3.3, my impression is that:

a) the rule about large-population systems being better for HGEs seems to be holding;

b) Outbreaks have tended not to occur in large-population systems.

If a) is indeed true - I admit I have no hard data but if HGEs of a given type are available at all I'm finding them in large-population systems - then a contagion that spread the Outbreak state to many large-population systems would indeed see my problem fixed.

 

[Unknown Zombie]

also worth noting, for outbreaks, food becomes illegal

Really? Huh.. I never noticed..

Wonder why that happens..

 

[Factabulous]

And since this thread was started by a post from Factabulous pointing out that it was now possible to once more farm Famine states for Datamined Wake Exceptions, I thought it reasonable and relevant to hope that the introduction of a new pathogen would mean that it would once more be possible to reliably farm PIs in Outbreak systems - which is what "getting Outbreak back" would mean to me.

Some people adapt as the galaxy changes, others crave the stability of the past I guess. I kinda like the evolving galaxy but at least having famines back will keep those using out of date guides quiet, though they should probably be using Jameson

 

[Dagwit]

at least having famines back will keep those using out of date guides quiet, though they should probably be using Jameson

Oh they do, they do!

You wouldn't happen to know of a crashed Cobra with an inexhaustible supply of PIs, would you?

 

[Stealthie]

Anybody checked whether distro' centres are now more efficient than the Jameson crash site, for collecting DWE's, yet?
Be nice if FDev had taken the opportunity to tweak them a bit, to make them more worthwhile.

Still, nice to have them back, regardless, I guess.

 

[Dagwit]

Still, nice to have them back, regardless, I guess.

I'm a ruthless relogger myself, and a happy Cobra shopper, but their return will be a boon for those who regard relogging as akin to, if not actual, cheating.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

And the fuss over Famine state is what, exactly?

 

[Factabulous]

Anybody checked whether distro' centres are now more efficient than the Jameson crash site, for collecting DWE's, yet?
Be nice if FDev had taken the opportunity to tweak them a bit, to make them more worthwhile.

Nope - same as ever.

And the fuss over Famine state is what, exactly?

Not much of a reader are you

 

[Stealthie]

Some people adapt as the galaxy changes, others crave the stability of the past I guess.

I guess it depends what we mean by "evolving".

The sort of "evolving" that created the internet and the moon landing is great.
The sort of "evolving" that led to the demise of Concorde and the Space Shuttle, not so much.

ED needs more of the former and less none of the latter.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Not much of a reader are you

Not much of a writer are you?

I've seen post aplenty about this state having gone missing, just never really anything to cover why anyone really cared.
But I'm feeling generous, so I'll give you another chance to answer the question, and not worry about what information I glean from around here.

 

[Unknown Zombie]

Not much of a writer are you?

I've seen post aplenty about this state having gone missing, just never really anything to cover why anyone really cared.
But I'm feeling generous, so I'll give you another chance to answer the question, and not worry about what information I glean from around here.

A system in Famine state will spawn "Distribution Center" USS which contain several T-9s who sit stationary while other ships continually wake in/out to collect food from them. Lots of opportunity to get DWE from scanning all the wakes.

I've never actually "done science" to determine if these are better than just sitting outside a busy starport, which is what I usually do and works just fine, to be honest. But at any rate -- these USSs, specifically, are the reason people lament the famine state being missing. Because when the average person wants to know where to get DWEs they're going to google it and they'll read years-old info that says "go to a system in famine state, enter a distribution center USS, and scan wakes" without applying any other critical thoughts to imagine up similar situations that might work out the same way.

Aside from that, the T-9s can also be blown up to scoop their juicy Pharmaceutical Isolators if you need those.

 

[Factabulous]

Not much of a writer are you?

It's in the OP ya dummy

 

[Dagwit]

I've never actually "done science" to determine if these are better than just sitting outside a busy starport, which is what I usually do and works just fine, to be honest.

Back when I was doing Famine Distros, the RNG was pretty vicious: you could get two consecutive drops of DWE, then wait more than twenty minutes for another. But over about two hours it would average out to about five G5 drops (15 DWE) an hour, plus of course lots of lesser stuff.

But stuffing yourself with AEC at the Jameson Cobra and trading will give you getting on for double the amount of DWE per hour, though a different lot of lesser stuff.

 

[CMDR Serra]

I guess the problem with JJ-386 is that you need to keep going away and trading up the materials after you fill up each time?

 

[IndigoWyrd]

It's in the OP ya dummy

Oh that... I've always just collected mine sitting in or in front of stations. Evans Ring is great if you can get there, otherwise, Shin, Gorbachev, and Bell are great spots.

 

[rOmiLaYu]

I guess the problem with JJ-386 is that you need to keep going away and trading up the materials after you fill up each time?

Yeah, that's the issue for me. I don't want to go mindlessly scan and re-log and then have to go sort out a material trader...and then engineer it. And it's not like the other wake data you scan isn't useful; it is.

Although with transactions at material traders earning good ARX, maybe that's a tick in the Jameson Cobra farming box.