Unidentified Signal Sources (USS) game mechanic

[oomwat]

Ironically, they do seem to be a way for explorers to know when they're getting close to a distant star.

It seems like the spawn rate of signals drops to zero when you're out in the void... but the moment you start dipping into a gravity well again, they start popping up. But maybe that's just me.

It's nothing to do with the gravity well (well not entirely 'nothing), but more to do with your speed (which, ok is related to the gravity well but hey) ... IIRC they are randomly spawned at a distance which is related to your speed - hence by going at 30km/s they pop up right in front of you - when you're doing 1800c they're bloomin miles away, so you never see them.

 

[Muten]

I also dislike the USS system.. crusing around for hours trying to find "the right one" to finish a mission just is not very fun.. it also feels very unrealistic and breaks the immersion for me.. a mission should have set coordinates, not simply random signals appearing everywhere.. a scanning mechanic would also make much more sense

In my opinion USS are the worst thing ever created in Elite. When i can, i avoid them like the plague. Just tonight i have wasted my time trying to complete a naval mission. I have to search for ONE dude in an USS and it's so random! I played two hours and nothing, it was so dull and annoying. So now i feel disgusted, if i want to complete the mission i'll have to force myself to play... I love the game but the uss's concept has to change.

(sorry about my english and my whining)

 

[maboleth]

What you see in game isn't what I see in game. You could see a USS but I won't even though we are travelling in the same instance.

That was a major let down when I found that. I thought we all shared the same USS on our ways. So who gets there first is the winner (in a sense). Heavy competitions for black boxes, rebel transmitters and big bosses... but no. Eventually you do find what you were looking for. You just need to visit 5 or 6 of them and waste like 30 minutes of your life on this repetitive thing. And then your mission is accomplished.

 

[Defacto]

In my opinion USS are the worst thing ever created in Elite. When i can, i avoid them like the plague. Just tonight i have wasted my time trying to complete a naval mission. I have to search for ONE dude in an USS and it's so random! I played two hours and nothing, it was so dull and annoying. So now i feel disgusted, if i want to complete the mission i'll have to force myself to play... I love the game but the uss's concept has to change.

(sorry about my english and my whining)

Yes, I agree.

In my opinion, there's something with USS, atleast how they are implemented now, that goes against the very core of elite.
If I get a mission to salvage a black box or assasinate a pirate lord, I don't search for black box signals, or try to track the pirate. I just fly around aimlessly until I get a random event thingie nearby, and then I drop out.

Then I scoop the box, or kill the pirate lord, I go back and I get my reward. That's it?

There's no method. They are just random events. I hope that they go away and get replaced by better things.

 

[Ghostlight]

Yeah the mechanic was introduced a long time ago now probably alpha 2 or 3. At the time it gave a real sense of being a placeholder system for something much better in the pipeline for in system exexploration...I detest the USS system it still seems placeholder to me.

This game is really starting to feel like a bunch of sub-standard mini-games stuck together with Blu Tac. The problem with USSs is it can take 30 to 60 seconds to find one and SC down to it, only to find 4 times out of 5 it is an FSD wake or a canister of crap. Not very rewarding.

 

[jpaulwilson1982]

I like the USS system myself. Having said that, I do expect improvements on this system in the future. There's gotta be ways to identify the signal source before dropping out of super cruise, because it can get frustrating or boring jumping from USS to USS trying to find one item or target you need for a mission. The USSs do help break the monotony of exploring and provide something different if you simply get bored or antsy and want to blow the hell out of something. There should be a greater variety in encounters with USSs, too. Either there are wanteds, or there are no wanteds, or there's dumped cargo. or some combination thereof. ED is off to a good start, I think, and the game will definitely improve so long as we keep coming up with good and unique ideas on these forums.

 

[Uncertain]

Even a little piece of equipment that pre-ordains the content of the USS's instance when used would be a vast improvement. It's daft that you can be picking up signals from everywhere without being able to tell whether they're coming from 5 dogfighting Asps or a single box of leather.

Has nobody in this hyper-advanced universe thought to design something that can take an unidentified signal and identify it, or perhaps a device that creates signals with information in them?

Just spent hours searching for an Imperial Clipper assassination target in a system comprised entirely of peaceful, clean residents who just wanted to sit out in the void of space with a few of their favourite cops and have space picnics. Often in their carefree forays they would be overcome with generosity and dump their entire hold of biowaste out in the middle of nowhere in the hope that someone less fortunate might find it and cry a single tear of gratitude. I never want to see another USS again.