I have issues with my "kill engine" key. I have bound it to every key I have not already used by something else, and it doesn't work. I've tried in mouse flight and free flight, thrusters and without, single and multiplayer. what am I doing wrong? No mods, nothing fancy...just trying to get the trick to work.

Live by chance - love by choice -kill by profession.

Troubleshooting time!
--Engine kill is a toggle, so don't hold the button, just press it once to "kill" the engine(s). The second time you hit the key, the engine(s) "wakes up".
--Don't hold the forward key (default w) when you attempt an engine kill - it wont work. Holding the thruster key wont interfere with the engine kill.
--You cannot perform an engine kill while in "go to" or "dock" mode. Also you cannot engine kill while in a formation. You must be in the "free flight" mode.
--Dont try to strafe while the engine is off, strafing will bring it online and slow you down.
Have fun and good luck!


Careful what you wish... You might just get it.

Oh, one more thing...

DON'T TRY THIS IN AN ASTEROID / DEBRIS FIELD!

You'll quite possibly end up backing into an object at 200k, going wildly off course and having the hostiles catch up to you in no time.

It's also worth targeting your destination or waypoint as you accelerate before killing your engine. This saves a few seconds when it comes time to get back on course - when you've put enough distance between you and the hostiles, just hit go-to or dock, and let the ship do the rest.

Nothing that lane hacks me lives to tell about it. Nothing. I chased a Xenos all the way across NY yesterday because I was so pissed at them for hacking me. Blew a good 100,000 credits on Hornet missiles and Ripper mines, almost ran into a planet...but somehow the 100-something I got off the salvage was worth all the cash spent.

Running? Nah, leave that for the poor fool who does the hacking.

Reaper: $200,000,000.
Rockets: $100,000
The look on that pilot's face when you launch a full pod of screamers up his tailpipe: priceless

just kill them.... rest my case

'Freelancer 1-1, I am scanning ur cargo bay for contraband'

I like to kill them all, except one crippled, burning vessel limping back home to tell all his friends about the horror I visited on them. It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling.

"What's the point of jumping out of a perfectly functional aeroplane screaming the name of a dead native American?"

Kill them all.

Fair enough - it is more fun to slaughter them - but if you're trying to make a pile from trading, time is money - and the time you waste wacking hackers & pirates is time your cargo space is not making money...

Thought it might be a useful idea, epecially if you're trying to make a bit of cash while waiting on Juni to get back to you in Bretonia - you can make pretty good profits running from the base in the nearest Tau system back to Leeds. Can't remember the commodity off the top of my head, but it was fairly profitable for that stage of the SP game. The only drawback was the huge number of pirates constantly lane-hacking you. I did that run a couple of times and then gave up before I got slaughtered (that was before I sussed this little exploit).

Ya i remember this run... its from Stokes Smelter to Holman Station... I beleive it is pharmaceuticals (bought from that border station right next to tau 31 jump hole) to holman, and then... i dunno something back to stokes smelter. niobium perhaps, somethin having to do with mining. it doubles your money invested on the return trip, in any event, and is a serious cash cow at any point in the game (i tested this on a multiplayer server once. was level 14 in bout 30 minutes, starflier in manhattan to leeds and then later buying the freighter).

The only time I'll run from something that hacks me is when I've got a load of perishables on board(leaving, of course, a healthy supply of mines to give the would-be pirates something to think about). And even then, I go on a wild rampage after my cargo's delivered. Nothing tees me off quite like getting knocked out of a lane or disrupted.

Reaper: $200,000,000.
Rockets: $100,000
The look on that pilot's face when you launch a full pod of screamers up his tailpipe: priceless