Newcomer / Intro What are you up to?

[aRJay]

I did a long trip to a lot crystal shards recently, so I'm all stocked up on raw mats. In a strange way, I also kind of enjoy flying around a busy station scanning wakes. But I keep getting low on manufactured mats. I have never really figured out how to target a USS in SC to scan it, and then switch back to my original target once I see that it's just people fighting and not potential pharma isolators. Maybe I should check up on that.

Is it possible to honk the system instead of scanning the nav beacon?

Yes.

Arrive in system
Enter Analysis HUD
Honk
Slow to minimum speed but don’t drop, pointing away from star.
Enter FSS
Set scan frequency to left hand end of bar
Centre and zoom in on the circles that resolve in the bright fuzzy patches these are USSs zoom out when resolved
While zoomed in if you want to visit click targeting button
Exit FSS and head for the target you just made, there will be a timer top right showing how long the signal source will last.

 

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

Yes, honk it and then go to the emissions revealed. It depends on system state and allegiance as to what you'll get.

Sometimes, an emission will "evaporate" before you get there so keep an eye on the timer.

Good luck!

Edit: ninja'd!

 

[WeComeInPeace]

Thanks! I'll try that

Some of it might also be because I'm running out of buttons on the HOTAS. I can't bind all the stuff I want to, like next target etc. Maybe it's time for Voice Attack.

 

[aRJay]

Thanks! I'll try that

Some of it might also be because I'm running out of buttons on the HOTAS. I can't bind all the stuff I want to, like next target etc. Maybe it's time for Voice Attack.

That or setting something as a shift so that the other buttons can double up.

The good thing about the FSS is that when you have activated it you can use buttons or axes that do other things outside it.

 

[Codger]

Is it possible to honk the system instead of scanning the nav beacon?

Yes, you can honk your discovery scanner, then enter the FSS to look for USSs (they are all at the lower end of the scale, so easy to find). BUT, if you scan the Nav beacon it reveals ALL of the USSs in the system, whereas with the FSS you have to resolve them manually, one by one, which takes a bit longer.

If you've just entered the system and are already near the Nav beacon, it's faster and easier to just drop in and scan the beacon. The only risk is being attacked by a pirate if you happen to have cargo, or if you're wanted you might run into system security. But it's unlikely, since you're only there long enough to scan.

Anyway, if you're NOT near the Nav beacon (which will be the case after you've gone off looking at other USSs) you have no choice but to fly back to the Nav beacon or use the FSS to find new ones. You can also fly around aimlessly until one pops up near you, then target it and point your ship at it to scan.

I usually just scan the Nav beacon, and if I don't see anything I want, jump to another system and scan that Nav beacon. It seems faster than any other method, and it's easy to do.

I'm not very happy with the current state of USSs. HGEs in particular are far too rare, and it's become next to impossible to use the System state to determine the content of HGEs. They no longer seem to follow the old rules, and whatever the new rules are it's hard to say. FD hasn't chimed in about it.

Most players I've talked to are just doing the "grab whatever you can and trade for what you want" method. If I see any HGE, anywhere, I drop into it and grab whatever is there, because at least there will be some Grade 5 mats that I can use or trade. I wish that HGEs were more predictable, and that there were more of them. Such is life.

 

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

Arf.

This was me, trying to get a good picture of a twin star system, about five seconds before I realised I was way too close and taking loads o' damage from heat. Heven knows how I didn't get blown up... stuff was well above 100%

 

[Spaceman Si]

Thanks! I'll try that

Some of it might also be because I'm running out of buttons on the HOTAS. I can't bind all the stuff I want to, like next target etc. Maybe it's time for Voice Attack.

Like aRJay said, it is possible to put more functions on the HOTAS with a shift. It took me a while to work out what this was exactly, but it is really straightforward - press two HOTAS controls at the same time when you want a shift combination My “exit from the annoying FSS” is the two front orange buttons on the throttle, but to enter it I use just one of them, for example.

And yes, Voice Attack will solve a lot of problems, and actually start acting like a second pair of hands (i.e another crew member!), which is very useful when going into combat. I would recommend it, but don’t underestimate the effort to set it up

 

[WeComeInPeace]

Like aRJay said, it is possible to put more functions on the HOTAS with a shift. It took me a while to work out what this was exactly, but it is really straightforward - press two HOTAS controls at the same time when you want a shift combination My “exit from the annoying FSS” is the two front orange buttons on the throttle, but to enter it I use just one of them, for example.

And yes, Voice Attack will solve a lot of problems, and actually start acting like a second pair of hands (i.e another crew member!), which is very useful when going into combat. I would recommend it, but don’t underestimate the effort to set it up

I've tried VC already, but gave it up because I mumbled too much.

When you use two button combos, can you do that in the bindings menu without having software for the HOTAS running?

 

[WeComeInPeace]

@Codger
It's kind of strange, that some of the tech we have in the 3300's is really high tech and can make you go faster than light or avoid the inevitable. Still every time I use on of the scanners or the supercruise assist, I get the thought that I could change the code to make it work a lot better with a few keystrokes. The hardware is there, It's just very manual. Is this deliberate from Fdev, to make us work harder, or did they just not have the time?

 

[aRJay]

I've tried VC already, but gave it up because I mumbled too much.

When you use two button combos, can you do that in the bindings menu without having software for the HOTAS running?

Yes you can set them up in the bindings menu in the game.

 

[WeComeInPeace]

Ultra cool. That makes an almost infinite amount of combinations. Thanks a lot!

This makes my day. I have been wanting to switch the throttle actions for some time missing an indicator for the mid point, but I also needed a button for reverse. Now I can free up buttons moving the less used ones to combos. Cleaver you!

 

[Para Handy]

............. The hardware is there, It's just very manual. Is this deliberate from Fdev, to make us work harder, or did they just not have the time?

I have always used an excuse as a salve for some of the incongruities in Elite. In particular I imagine that there has been something like the "Butlerian Jihad" in Dune, where severe restrictions on the capability of computing / AI has been enacted.

Dune (franchise) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

@Codger
It's kind of strange, that some of the tech we have in the 3300's is really high tech and can make you go faster than light or avoid the inevitable. Still every time I use on of the scanners or the supercruise assist, I get the thought that I could change the code to make it work a lot better with a few keystrokes. The hardware is there, It's just very manual. Is this deliberate from Fdev, to make us work harder, or did they just not have the time?

And yet some radio chatter sounds like it's coming from WWII walkie talkies.

 

[WeComeInPeace]

I have always used an excuse as a salve for some of the incongruities in Elite. In particular I imagine that there has been something like the "Butlerian Jihad" in Dune, where severe restrictions on the capability of computing / AI has been enacted.

Dune (franchise) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Of curz. That explains a lot

 

[Spaceman Si]

I've tried VC already, but gave it up because I mumbled too much.

When you use two button combos, can you do that in the bindings menu without having software for the HOTAS running?

Yes, though I have long since been ninjaed by aRJay (Attempting some painting today, so away for some periods of mild swearing and attempting to make the new fangled gloss that doesn’t look or behave at all like gloss stick to the damn doors. Ahem.)

Are you by any chance using a T16000? If you are, then something else I found out is that the paddles on the throttle are actually analogue, and serve very well as yaw controls when the inevitable deterioration of the stick twist pots sets in!

 

[WeComeInPeace]

I use X52 and a set of pedals to put my feet on. The pedals are no longer connected. I like the stick yaw better, even though it's blasphemy.

 

[Spaceman Si]

I use X52 and a set of pedals to put my feet on. The pedals are no longer connected. I like the stick yaw better, even though it's blasphemy.

I loved the stick yaw too! But the T16000 has a well-known habit of failing increasingly badly with the stick twist Shame, as the rest of the set is excellent. Maybe it is a marketting ploy to get us to buy the Thrustmaster pedals in the end

Edit: Damnit... Now I am looking at the Thrustmaster rudder pedals and thinking how fun it would be and how I could actually do flight sims more realistically with it, and how it isn’t really that much in the grand scheme of things... Anyone else actually use them at all?

 

[WeComeInPeace]

We'll just have to cash out one day after waiting in line for ages. Or hope that Logitech makes the Hog with stick yaw.

 

[Codger]

Been building a new Krait MKII today. It's going to be a bit more combat oriented than my other one, with more shields (and less jump range!). I found a few old modules in my storage that I can scavenge to make the process faster. For example I have a Grade 5 overcharged multicannon in storage, but it's a legacy upgrade and there's no experimental. But it'll save me time because I can start with Grade 4 complete when it converts. Stuff like that.

I chose pink because it's so manly and combat-ish, doncha know.

 

[Phongsalt]

About 45 jumps left to go before i reach a maintenance bay.Power plant has dropped below 70,despite not using neutron stars, so i shall be looking into doing something to it if i am able.I don't recall it getting that far down before,it's usually my hull that needs attention.Is Prof Palin the only one who engineers power plants? I'm not sure i want to go back to the bubble.