setting firegroups

mgregoryd75 · Jan 2, 2022

Hello,
I just started playing this game a few days ago. I am using an xbox type controller. I am using the basic sidewinder ship. I got a mission to interact with a hub access terminal link. Looking it up online it says that I have to use my data link scanner. I also have to set it up in my firegroup. Right now I seem to have 1 firegroup with two mining lasers one on each trigger. none of the buttons on my controller will let me add anything or move anything. I have also tried all the buttons on my keyboard and nothing seems to effect that firegroup tab. What am i not getting? Also I keep getting fines and bounties when I go to this place and fines every time I leave a space port. Can anyone tell me why. I do not understand any slang or jargon that is used in most of these posts so the only reason to use it is to troll me. Thanks for any help

Factabulous · Jan 2, 2022

Sounds like you need to add a second firegroup - go to the firegroups, use whatever control you had set to 'UI Right' to go to the second column then use 'UI Select' to assign the data link scanner to a fire button. Might be worth mentioning if you are on Horizons or Odyssey, I believe there are issues in Horizons at the moment, so it could be that.

mgregoryd75 said:
Also I keep getting fines and bounties when I go to this place

Yup. I would probably skip those missions for now while you get the hang of the basics. Those missions will nearly always give fines and bounties

mgregoryd75 said:
fines every time I leave a space port

Possibly you have illegal cargo on-board. In which case you should get rid of it. Check your cargo tab.

mgregoryd75 said:
I do not understand any slang or jargon that is used in most of these posts so the only reason to use it is to troll me.

No - it is a shorthand as writing things out longform would take too much time. Though feel free to ask posters to 'keep things simple'. Or post in the new players area https://forums.frontier.co.uk/forums/elite-dangerous-newcomers-guides-tutorials/ as ppl expect those posts to be less advanced players.

mgregoryd75 · Jan 2, 2022

So the fire group problem is that there seems no way to get a second fire group or even alter my 1 fire group. So this may be a problem with the game itself. Are these type of problems usually fixed or are they just ignored. as for cargo, I am only taking the regular missions . I think the big problem is my flying and that may be why I get fined. going too slow. And thank you for your help.

Para Handy · Jan 2, 2022

mgregoryd75 said:
Hello,
I just started playing this game a few days ago. I am using an xbox type controller. I am using the basic sidewinder ship. I got a mission to interact with a hub access terminal link. Looking it up online it says that I have to use my data link scanner. I also have to set it up in my firegroup. Right now I seem to have 1 firegroup with two mining lasers one on each trigger. none of the buttons on my controller will let me add anything or move anything. I have also tried all the buttons on my keyboard and nothing seems to effect that firegroup tab. What am i not getting? Also I keep getting fines and bounties when I go to this place and fines every time I leave a space port. Can anyone tell me why. I do not understand any slang or jargon that is used in most of these posts so the only reason to use it is to troll me. Thanks for any help

mgregoryd75 said:
So the fire group problem is that there seems no way to get a second fire group or even alter my 1 fire group. So this may be a problem with the game itself. Are these type of problems usually fixed or are they just ignored. as for cargo, I am only taking the regular missions . I think the big problem is my flying and that may be why I get fined. going too slow. And thank you for your help.

Not wishing to troll you but you need to use the focus keys to change the highlighted section to make changes. So use the default controls as per the manual to set up your new fire-group(s):

Ashnak · Jan 2, 2022

Since nothing you have said so far gives me a clue - which game are you playing, Odyssey or Horizons? They both come under "Elite Dangerous", but they cab behave differently and have different bugs.

As for the fire groups - yes, there is/was (I thought that one was fixed, but may be only partial :-( ) a bug that prevented you from adding more firegroups if you didn't have any guns on your ship (in Horizons). The solution to that was to get a single small laser (pulse or burst is ok), leave the station, then add at least one firegroup (use the buttons above - if you use the default keyboard layout, "3" should get you to the right hand HUD where they reside) and add fire buttons for the scanners to them.
Once done, you should be safely able to return to the station and change the loadout back to anything you like - it's only for that initial setting that you need to have a gun equipped.

Getting fines when leaving a station - yes, if you take too long (more than 5 minutes) or move to slow in the "no stopping" zone of the airlock, you will receive a fine. Accessing those hub access terminals is usually an illegal activity, so you'll get a (small) bounty for it, as well as for violating the restricted zone that's often around the base.
At the beginning, you may find it easier to scan that terminal from your SRV (you have to be very close if you want to scan it from your ship), but the same problems with assignimng a fire group may apply there.

mgregoryd75 · Jan 3, 2022

I am playing horizon. I switched a mining laser for a pulse laser and it let me change and add more groups. But when I went back to the station to change it back to two mining lasers it would not let me change anything no matter what buttons I push. And most of the fines are for being too slow and trying to mine next to the station in a no fire zone. I'm going to try the switch out thing again and see what happens. Thanks for the help.

Mavsy 81 · Jan 3, 2022

mgregoryd75 said:
I am playing horizon. I switched a mining laser for a pulse laser and it let me change and add more groups. But when I went back to the station to change it back to two mining lasers it would not let me change anything no matter what buttons I push. And most of the fines are for being too slow and trying to mine next to the station in a no fire zone. I'm going to try the switch out thing again and see what happens. Thanks for the help.

Its a bug.
If firegroups are locked log out to main menu and log back in again.
Its been happening to me since the last update.

Caydran · Jan 12, 2022

The last update for Horizons mentioned a fix for this.

Unable to edit fire groups.
- If your ship had modules that fell under the Utility category, you were unable to set your fire groups because navigation within the fire groups tab did not work.
  - IMPORTANT NOTE:
    - As outlined in our previous catch up (https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threa...ight-catch-up-post-updated-07-01-2022.597077/), please prepare to reassign your firegroups for all ships once the hotfitx is applied.
      - Once again, really sorry for the inconvenience of this.

Esteban · Jan 13, 2022

mgregoryd75 said:
And most of the fines are for being too slow and trying to mine next to the station in a no fire zone.

Don't deploy your weapons (hardpoints) until you have moved away from the ststion, out of the no-fire zone. It doesn't matter what your intentions are, nor does it matter if you have zero weapons. Deploying hardpoints near a station is - uh - frowned upon.

EDIT: not by me, by the station authorities