Newcomer / Intro Why do my hardpoints need to be deployed to use wake scanner?

I'm ing off many stations my deploying within their no-fire zone.

I don't want to break the rules, but it seems my ship will only scan wakes with guns out.

What's that about?
 
I'm ing off many stations my deploying within their no-fire zone.

I don't want to break the rules, but it seems my ship will only scan wakes with guns out.

What's that about?
Thats just a friendly warning. If you want to see what a station does to naughty people, try loitering
 
Just one of many small things that really need fixing. Why deploy hard points for scanner mounted in utility slots? Why do I need to set scanners ot fire groups - when they do not fire? why can't we have scan groups instead?

I'll stop there, before I wind myself up again...

Z...
 
I'm ing off many stations my deploying within their no-fire zone.

I don't want to break the rules, but it seems my ship will only scan wakes with guns out.

What's that about?

The outfitting screen doesn't show it but scanners on utility points need to be deployed too. I don't know why since PDT, chaff and heatsinks operate even without deploying hardpoints.
 
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The outfitting screen doesn't show it but scanners on utility points need to be deployed too. I don't know why since PDT, chaff and heatsinks operate even without deploying hardpoints.

Yes. Utility mounts are hardpoints. Just small ones.

PDTs and Chaff deploy automatically upon entering normal space while most of the other utilities deploy with the rest of the hardpoints.
Heatsinks are weird as they also work in SC, which they technically shouldn't be able to do. It's of course for gameplay reasons.

So yeah, OP. You have to deploy your scanners before using them. Station will notice that, but unless you fire weapons, they won't take any further action against you.
What could be done is to separate the utility hardpoints from weapon hardpoints and let us deploy one without the other (yay, one more button) but realistically speaking, this is really not an issue.
 
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right right.
I get why we need click-to-activate scanners to be in fire groups. Duh; that's fine.
But there's no need to make us deploy our guns to use any scanner. "Deploy hardpoints" should just be guns; they can rename it if they want to. But obviously this is silly and it should be just for guns.

Weird design choice.
 
right right.
I get why we need click-to-activate scanners to be in fire groups. Duh; that's fine.
But there's no need to make us deploy our guns to use any scanner. "Deploy hardpoints" should just be guns; they can rename it if they want to. But obviously this is silly and it should be just for guns.

Weird design choice.

Not really (sorry, I'm not trying to antagonize you on purpose)
The design choice is simple - let players only have one "deployment of stuff" to worry about.
Yes, it would be nice to be able to for example deploy only two turrets to get rid of some pirate and leave the rest of my guns tucked away, or deploy only a scanner, but other than adding complexity into control bindings, does it really add to the gameplay? Aside from confusing the hell out of people who are trying to figure out which hardpoint they forgot to retract.

Yes, I guess it could be called "activate external mounts" instead of "deploy hardpoints".
 
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The design choice is simple - let players only have one "deployment of stuff" to worry about.

They currently have Scanner Mode and Combat Mode.

If I had been the designer I would have made "Deploy Scanners" (Scanner Mode) and "Deploy Weapons" (Combat Mode). Deploying equipment implies the mode that is desired. This would have simplified the concept and made it more intuitive.

Deploying weapons is a clear sign of aggression. It is the equivalent to someone walking into a grocery store with a loaded shotgun, safeties off.

It makes no sense to be deploying weapons unless you are actively intending to initiate combat.
 
Not really (sorry, I'm not trying to antagonize you on purpose)
The design choice is simple - let players only have one "deployment of stuff" to worry about.
Yes, it would be nice to be able to for example deploy only two turrets to get rid of some pirate and leave the rest of my guns tucked away, or deploy only a scanner, but other than adding complexity into control bindings, does it really add to the gameplay? Aside from confusing the hell out of people who are trying to figure out which hardpoint they forgot to retract.

Yes, I guess it could be called "activate external mounts" instead of "deploy hardpoints".

Firstly, hardpoints and utility mounts are clearly different things as they are separated in outfitting and from the graphics we can tell that the utility mounts don’t deploy or retract. (Not to mention that when I do deploy, the scanners are available instantly, while the guns delay until they are physically deployed.)
Secondly, other scanners work without deploying: the ones that run in SC. So it can be some global “scanners need to be deployed to be used” thing. Even the mapping probes —which are actual projectiles— fire without being deployed... because you can’t deploy in SC.
So that’s why it’s a design choice.
They didn’t do it globally, and have no trouble not making us deploy when it suits them as in the case of SC scanning.
Thirdly, it’s not to do with fire groups because, again, firegroup assigned scanner like discovery and DSS probe are activated on fire groups but don’t need to be deployed.

So what’s stopping them from making wake scanners work the same way? Nothing.
It would be a simple QoL adjustment. Deploy hardpoints is just for guns already, so just don’t tie the function of any scanner to it. There’s no need to, and all it does is make stations complain since we have to deploy guns even when we have no intention to shoot anything.
There’s no “in-fiction” reason for it. So it has to be a control design choice. And all it serves to do is grief us by making stations yell as us for no reason.
 
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.... and in addition to my thoughts above,

Sensor equipment should be able to be deployed/activated while the ship is combat ready (hardpoints deployed. Scanners and weapons should be capable to be used independently of each other. It only makes sense. If you need to scan stuff in a dangerous location. Why would a ship be designed with two separate modes? You gota be able to scan stuff particularly in a hostile location. Of course you should be able to map a planet while engaged in conflict. Especially if you are a military vessel. This would really add to the multicrew experience too. Of course when sensors are deployed/activated during combat they should be much more sensitive to damage.
 
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........
If I had been the designer I would have made "Deploy Scanners" (Scanner Mode) and "Deploy Weapons" (Combat Mode). Deploying equipment implies the mode that is desired. ......

Unfortunately you fail to appreciate that scanners are used in conjunction with weapons so your suggestion is without merit I'm afraid.
 
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EDIT - to maintain the tone of this forum I have deleted my post and instead have just stuck someone on ignore so I won't get tempted to earn an infraction.
 
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Unfortunately you fail to appreciate that scanners are used in conjunction with weapons so your suggestion is without merit I'm afraid.

Yes I do fail. On my ship I can not map a planet while being in a combat mode. Hypothetically if I was desiring to find a strategic location in hostile territory I would want full access of scanners and weapons. Perhaps this can be done in multicrew, I'm not sure. Meanwhile as the OP says you can't use a wake scanner without deploying weapons (hardpoints). On a space vehicle scanners and weapons should be able to function independently of each other. (excepting power limitations and maybe some other system limitations)
 
Yes I do fail. ...........


Correct. :D


Look, you are mixing up the use of scanners and the HUD mode issue which is another whole kettle of Osteichthyes.

Weapon-centric scanners are Xeno, KWS, Manifest Scanners and Wake Scanners - you only need them when in normal space where your weapons are operative.

Exploration-centric scanners are independent of hardpoint deployment which is the subject of the thread. You can't do exploration scanning or mapping in normal space so you can't have access to weapons at the same time.
 
Ya, I forgot you can only do those exploration scans in supercruise. Which doesn't make sense to me either but whatever. And you are right, its all off topic.

Along with the OP topic though, I think you should get a "Hardpoints Not Deployed" message when trying to use the Wake Scanner because its just not obvious you need to do that.
 
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