Three years journey ended my ship randomly exploding

Xericore

X
Hi,

I just had the pleasure of experiencing my most disappointing moment in Elite Dangerous. My friend and I embarked on a journey to The Void with our 74ly+ jump capable Anacondas. We were flying for almost three years, with some longer breaks and found and mapped numerous earth like, water worlds etc. And then the following happened: We stopped routinely to repair our modules. I started repairing a couple of modules, including the life support system, which was at 78%. I noticed that the repair for the live support had not started immediately since it was not in Prio group 1 (I assume that was the reason it didn't start repairing immediately).

The repair of the other components was going quite swiftly, but after about 20 seconds I thought: Let's play it safe. I knew that the life support could be turned off for a couple of minutes but I re-enabled the life support and waited for the other modules to repair. After about 1-2 minutes the other modules finished. So I started repairing the life support again. That was going well and after about 10-20 seconds it was at 90%+ again. I was getting ready to turn it back on but then my ship just exploded, ending our journey that look us to The Void and roughly 60% back.

I honestly cannot explain how this happened, but I'm 100% certain the life support was off for less than a minute or two in total. We were playing a session in Odyssey first, but due to a bug that forced us to re-plot our route every 2-3 jumps we switched to Horizons. So this actually happened in Horizons.

So disappointed in Elite Dangerous right now that I actually don't ever want to play it again. Does anyone have an explanation for what happened or is this some kind of bug?

UPDATE: Just checked the latest Journal.log. There's actually no entry for the first life support repair. Just a "life support repair finished" message 1 sec after the explosion.

{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:01:01Z", "event":"SupercruiseEntry", "StarSystem":"Gria Dryue HV-J b1-0", "SystemAddress":229109476873 }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:01:01Z", "event":"Music", "MusicTrack":"Supercruise" }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:01:32Z", "event":"FSDTarget", "Name":"Blae Dryue VF-D c29-0", "SystemAddress":28689012474, "StarClass":"K", "RemainingJumpsInRoute":52 }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:01:33Z", "event":"SupercruiseExit", "StarSystem":"Gria Dryue HV-J b1-0", "SystemAddress":229109476873, "Body":"Gria Dryue HV-J b1-0", "BodyID":0, "BodyType":"Star" }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:01:33Z", "event":"Music", "MusicTrack":"Exploration" }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:01:34Z", "event":"ShipTargeted", "TargetLocked":true, "Ship":"anaconda", "ScanStage":0 }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:01:34Z", "event":"ShipTargeted", "TargetLocked":true, "Ship":"anaconda", "ScanStage":3, "PilotName":"$cmdr_decorate:#name=Davitee;", "PilotName_Localised":"CMDR Davitee", "PilotRank":"Expert", "SquadronID":"KRAT", "ShieldHealth":100.000000, "HullHealth":95.030090, "LegalStatus":"Lawless", "Power":"Aisling Duval" }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:02:09Z", "event":"ModuleInfo" }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:02:47Z", "event":"Synthesis", "Name":"Limpet Basic", "Materials":[ { "Name":"iron", "Count":10 }, { "Name":"nickel", "Count":10 } ] }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:02:50Z", "event":"Cargo", "Vessel":"Ship", "Count":4 }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:03:28Z", "event":"AfmuRepairs", "Module":"$int_engine_size5_class2_name;", "Module_Localised":"Thrusters", "FullyRepaired":true, "Health":1.000000 }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:03:30Z", "event":"AfmuRepairs", "Module":"$int_buggybay_size4_class2_name;", "Module_Localised":"Planetary Vehicle Hangar", "FullyRepaired":true, "Health":1.000000 }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:03:59Z", "event":"AfmuRepairs", "Module":"$int_sensors_size8_class2_name;", "Module_Localised":"Sensors", "FullyRepaired":true, "Health":1.000000 }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:04:00Z", "event":"AfmuRepairs", "Module":"$int_detailedsurfacescanner_tiny_name;", "Module_Localised":"Surface Scanner", "FullyRepaired":true, "Health":1.000000 }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:04:22Z", "event":"AfmuRepairs", "Module":"$int_powerdistributor_size5_class5_name;", "Module_Localised":"Power Distributor", "FullyRepaired":true, "Health":1.000000 }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:04:24Z", "event":"AfmuRepairs", "Module":"$int_dronecontrol_repair_size1_class2_name;", "Module_Localised":"Repair", "FullyRepaired":true, "Health":1.000000 }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:04:26Z", "event":"AfmuRepairs", "Module":"$int_dronecontrol_fueltransfer_size1_class2_name;", "Module_Localised":"Fuel Transfer", "FullyRepaired":true, "Health":1.000000 }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:04:46Z", "event":"AfmuRepairs", "Module":"$int_hyperdrive_size6_class5_name;", "Module_Localised":"FSD", "FullyRepaired":true, "Health":1.000000 }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:05:04Z", "event":"AfmuRepairs", "Module":"$int_fuelscoop_size7_class5_name;", "Module_Localised":"Fuel Scoop", "FullyRepaired":true, "Health":1.000000 }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:05:09Z", "event":"Music", "MusicTrack":"SystemMap" }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:05:10Z", "event":"Music", "MusicTrack":"Exploration" }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:05:17Z", "event":"AfmuRepairs", "Module":"$int_shieldgenerator_size3_class2_name;", "Module_Localised":"Shield Generator", "FullyRepaired":true, "Health":1.000000 }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:05:31Z", "event":"AfmuRepairs", "Module":"$int_guardianfsdbooster_size5_name;", "Module_Localised":"Guardian FSD Booster", "FullyRepaired":true, "Health":1.000000 }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:06:03Z", "event":"Died" }
{ "timestamp":"2021-07-09T21:06:04Z", "event":"AfmuRepairs", "Module":"$int_lifesupport_size5_class2_name;", "Module_Localised":"Life Support", "FullyRepaired":true, "Health":1.000000 }
 
Last edited:

Darth Ender

D
jumping between versions can tend to reset bindings. perhaps you clicked a binding to self destruct instead of whatever you had set that key to before.

perhaps the ship just had enough loading screens and wanted it all to end. It gets crazy out in the black, are you sure you didn't just imagine the whole thing?
 

Kerrash

Kerrash
My condolences. As someone who has supported this game from the start, it is so disappointing to see it in the state it is now :(
 

Xericore

X
@Darth Ender : Unfortunately I'm 100% sure I didn't just imagine it. Yeah I've noticed that the bindings reset but I specifically selected my own bindings in the controls drop down after starting Horizons.
Thanks @Kerrash
 
Last edited:

Factabulous

Factabulous
Life support oxygen doesn't replenish unless you dock (or syth more), so most likely you ran out of air while life support was offline. Has caught a few out. Support should get you sorted, but in future keep an eye on your oxygen reserves.
 

Achtung-Goomba

Achtung-Goomba
Factabulous said:
Life support oxygen doesn't replenish unless you dock (or syth more), so most likely you ran out of air while life support was offline. Has caught a few out. Support should get you sorted, but in future keep an eye on your oxygen reserves.
Click to expand...
I’ve almost been caught out by this, and I’m still not sure which modules exactly switch themselves back on after repair and which don’t but you’d have thought something like life support would, yet it doesn’t 🤷‍♂️ it definitely taught me to pay attention!

As a slight tangent that may help, my experience with support has been exceedingly positive. They were kind enough to restore my ship after a brush with space madness saw me self-destruct and suicidewinder back to the Bubble when overtired and I couldn’t face another 200 jumps back to civilisation. I was brutally honest and admitted I’d made a horrible mistake and in short order they restored my beloved DBX which was scattered into the void as a result of my own wilful stupidity. If, as you assert, your loss of ship and data was due to accident or bug, I’m sure they’ll be happy to help if they had the time to help a dim-witted goomba who missed the bus home and thought manually jumping back from the Norma Expanse was a good idea!
 

Major Klutz

Major Klutz
I've done it intentionally before. For whatever reason, when you run out of air, your ship explodes. I guess there's no other way to signal the death of your commander.
The depletion is cumulative, so if you start with 3 minutes of air and run down two minutes before you turn it back on, the next time you turn it off, you only have a minute left.
I would have synthed a life support refill before running a repair, and again after to make sure it's topped up.

Source: https://youtu.be/R6Z6DVqd6c0?t=371

As you can see in the above video, there's used to be a countdown timer, this was a while ago, so I don't know if the timer is still there, but at 0:00 you explode.
 
Last edited:

Q GT70

Q
most likely the oxygen..
but
do you know what the ships integrity was at?
when was the last time you docked and repaired hull integrity?

and yeh in future, make sure you address integrity every time you dock and synth some new air, every time you repair the life support. crappy reason to go boom.

sadly a smart ship would auto synth air.....should NOT need to be told the pilot needs air....ever, I would not BUY this ship. the sensor is there, why is there no emergency refill, auto-refill, emergency prevent death and boom by emergency auto-synth of AIR. #1 sales gimmick of the century
gift your friend with 1 today!

I guess the little dash plants don't help...
 

Dragsham

Dragsham
Ohhh the black...weird stuff goes afoot... eerie dark silent madness creeps in. And the decisions we make ! To date I've not lost a ship except a planetary mishap, in the black. Almost run out of fuel though.
As for repairs, l keep it simple. I bring a carrier hehe.
 

Xericore

X
Yes, it was most likely due to the oxygen not being replenished. Since I usually keep looking at the repair window when the repairs are being executed I didn't see the timer in the top right corner. I've filed a support ticket, let's see what happens.
 

Greasetrap42

Greasetrap42
My thoughts:

1. Frustrating.... absolutely.

2. Oxygen probably ran out because it doesn't replenish when life support is turned back on. But I thought you get very obvious audible warnings. You can use synthesis to replenish your oxygen.

3. Spending 3 years in the deep dark black reaches of the galaxy without landing on a Fleet Carrier (or other type of base) seems crazy risky. Reliably located DSSA fleet carriers are positioned throughout the galaxy. In addition to repairs and cashing in cartographic data you reset your spawn point in the event of unexpected disaster.

4. Knowing that ED is a video game with various bugs I find it crazy risky to spend 3 years playing without docking ship to reset your savepoint. Its like spending 3 years writing your doctorate thesis on your crumby laptop and never backing it up on a USB stick. Always make backups. Whether its your doctorate thesis or a game savepoint. Don't ever rely on software.
 

Xericore

X
That's a valid analogy with the backup. I actually didn't think any fleet carrier would be nearby. We didn't play for three years straight but had some larger breaks where we missed a few details of the updates.
As for the audio: I usually play with headphones and the PC connected to a monitor where I can hear the game just fine. But just on that day I played on a TV with discord on the smartphone. I talked to my friend during the repairs and the TV was just not loud enough for me to notice the warnings.
It's like everything that needed to go wrong also went wrong.
 

Arnoldo

A
Ouch; I feel your pain Cmdr.

I always repair life support after all other modules have completed - ensures that the offline time is minimised. If you're repairing an AFMU or the FSD, these can take a heck of a time to complete and life support keeps sucking away if you've selected repair at the same time.

I also run a life support synth every now and then just to ensure I'm not running low...

Anyhoo, 20/20 hind sight is little comfort to you at this time - back in the saddle and fly safe(er)
 

ebbrell

ebbrell
Really, you cannot blame the game surely. Don't stay out for 3 years and allow modules and ship integrity to down so low its fragile

Would you expect a car to run solid for 3 years without a service to tyre replacement
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom