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Jump gates swallowing NPC craft ?

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Post Sun Apr 06, 2003 1:39 pm

Jump gates swallowing NPC craft ?

I have observed that when I follow some NPC space craft through a jump gate (sometimes I wait for one, because I know what's on the other side), then jump directly behind them, THEY ARE GONE ! They didn't get there !

Having sat there for 25 seconds, getting shot at by outcasts with the good old "dock in use" message, then showing up on the other side only to find that they didn't get there.

Is it just me, or have you all seen this too ?

Post Sun Apr 06, 2003 1:47 pm

lol very true, seen this too, appearantly what's happening on one side of the Jumpgate has NOTHING to do with what's happening on the other side, it's completely random...

unless you're talking about pirates, if you get jumped on this side and hauled arse out of there, chances are the otherside is a warzone already, very crazy


that jumpgate engaged thing is a bitch, so what I do is made sure I run around, then fly to the mouth(the mechanical opening bit) of it, not ACTUALLY in the mouth but the range says 0 and press dock, almost instant jump

Post Sun Apr 06, 2003 2:14 pm

"that jumpgate engaged thing is a bitch, so what I do is made sure I run around, then fly to the mouth(the mechanical opening bit) of it, not ACTUALLY in the mouth but the range says 0 and press dock, almost instant jump"

Obviously I don't just sit there and let my self get shot at like a sitting duck, I fly around too.

The 0 distance jumping is something I do all the time, even @ trade lanes. I have turned off the cockpit details and only fly around in 1st person view, so getting the distance for an instance jump is real easy.

At the jumpgates it's real cool to have already started the warp phase of the jump, and still hear how the gate itself is still opening.

EDIT: fixed a couple of typos

Edited by - Jaabaa on 06-04-2003 15:15:55

Post Sun Apr 06, 2003 2:16 pm

I assumed that going from one system to the next required a sort of map change. Why, I don't know - it seems as if NPC ships don't track so much as they spawn somewhere just beyond your radar and continue on until they reach just beyond your radar again, so it's not like the extensive freight routes and patrol paths are always populated. I mean, just sit in front of a remote base and patrols just magically spawn in groups of four near the station, and head off in some direction. Unless there's some critical mass buildup if you spend too much time flying around in one system, I would suspect they disappear, too. Of course, this may be a bit too philosophical for a computer game - after all, the entire game, when out of site, tends not to exist. =P

Post Sun Apr 06, 2003 4:28 pm

If a NPC gets blown in a minefield, and no PCs were there to see it... does anyone really give a crap?


Edited by - Ranpostgen on 06-04-2003 17:41:42

Post Sun Apr 06, 2003 5:14 pm

@Ranpostgen

No, I don't do you ??
I was just commenting on the anomaly that NPC using Jump-Gates causes.

Post Sun Apr 06, 2003 5:36 pm

Actually, there is one exception to the "jumpgate swallowing NPC craft" situation:

If you "Join" with an NPC convoy (which is a fast way to skip the queue into a jumpgate), and enter the jumpgate with the convoy, the convoy will reappear on the other side.

Personally, I think it's really cool that NPC radio traffic is not purely random. If someone reports that he's hauling water to Baltimore Shipyards, it's true: he really is hauling water (just scan him and see for yourself), and if you follow him, he'll go to Baltimore and dock there.

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Edited by - Volpone on 06-04-2003 18:36:05

Post Sun Apr 06, 2003 5:48 pm

Jabaa: The comment wasn't directed at you, or anyone else, it was (obviously) a joke.

Volpone: I find that impressive as well. I remember several times where I was lost in the edge worlds and was hunted by pirates. What I do is I find a bunch of bounty hunters or anyone else hostile to the pirates in the system, hail them to see where they're going, and form up if they're going to someplace nearby. I only wish you could do more, say, hail them for assistance if you're under attack or threaten them to drop their cargo.

Post Sun Apr 06, 2003 6:21 pm

Volpone wrote: "If you "Join" with an NPC convoy......"

I've never even tried that. You can join NPC convoys ?? Hmm, I know what I've got try now, something that I haven't done .

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