How to make efficient scanners?

    Criss

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    The scanners need to be 5% of the ships mass to reach some sort of efficiency cap or speed cap or something. Not sure which. I just know it asks for 5% just like jump drives. I also heard that they work better when they go straight against the longest axis of the ship? Not sure if that is true but it says so when you look at them in the shop menu.
     
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    According to the description in the shop: The value is determined by the longest touching group dimension (either X, Y, or Z) versus the longest dimension of the structure it is placed on.

    Which says nothing about needing any amount of them beyond what's required to create an unbroken group along one axis or another. So my question is whether this description is accurate? I built a ship with a length of 163m and a group of scanner modules running along the width of the ship measuring 149m (the ship has a width of 153m)

    Whenever I use it though I get a report saying that there is no activity. Including the time I was attacking a pirate station at close range with pirate ships swarming around me. The report also says that the scanner has a range of '4.0', 4 what I have no idea, meters, kilometers, sectors?

    So do I just not get what the scanner is supposed to be used for, or did I not build it right or what?
     
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    ...The report also says that the scanner has a range of '4.0', 4 what I have no idea, meters, kilometers, sectors?
    Afaik it's sectors. When you're in your own Faction controlled systems the range is longer, 6 if I'm correct.

    Greets,

    Jan
     

    Keptick

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    According to the description in the shop: The value is determined by the longest touching group dimension (either X, Y, or Z) versus the longest dimension of the structure it is placed on.

    Which says nothing about needing any amount of them beyond what's required to create an unbroken group along one axis or another. So my question is whether this description is accurate? I built a ship with a length of 163m and a group of scanner modules running along the width of the ship measuring 149m (the ship has a width of 153m)

    Whenever I use it though I get a report saying that there is no activity. Including the time I was attacking a pirate station at close range with pirate ships swarming around me. The report also says that the scanner has a range of '4.0', 4 what I have no idea, meters, kilometers, sectors?

    So do I just not get what the scanner is supposed to be used for, or did I not build it right or what?
    It'll only show other players and decloak/de-jam ships. It's nice in theory but there's no cooldown on the cloak/jammer, so a person can reactivate them instantly.
     
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    It'll only show other players and decloak/de-jam ships. It's nice in theory but there's no cooldown on the cloak/jammer, so a person can reactivate them instantly.
    None of the pirate ships were equipped with either a cloak or jammer.
     

    Nauvran

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    well as AI works a second is
    It'll only show other players and decloak/de-jam ships. It's nice in theory but there's no cooldown on the cloak/jammer, so a person can reactivate them instantly.
    enough for them to lock on permanently and kill you, see the TM vs TE battle, you will see what I mean.
     

    Keptick

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    well as AI works a second is

    enough for them to lock on permanently and kill you, see the TM vs TE battle, you will see what I mean.
    You had cloaks? Cause jammers won't keep turrets from killing you :P. Unless you meant a player locking on? If that's the case then you'd have plenty of time to recloak/jam.
     

    Nauvran

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    You had cloaks? Cause jammers won't keep turrets from killing you :p. Unless you meant a player locking on? If that's the case then you'd have plenty of time to recloak/jam.
    nah only jammers. Jammers should keep turrets from killing me, or at least keep them from locking on. and the TM turrets did lock onto me even after I re-jammed.
     
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    Configuration/Contiguation of scanner modules is irrelevant, simply works by simple numbers. I tried a Scanner with 350 modules, then one with 780 -- no difference in range (may be a "sandbox server" function...) If there's supposed to be a shorter cool-down for more modules, I've not noticed -- and I have been trying to pay attention. [And don't be NOOB and forget to link the modules to the computer -- like I ALWAYS do !!!]
     
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    So do scanners pick up active, non-clocked/non-jammed NPC ships or not? Because if not I really think they should.
     

    Winterhome

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    nah only jammers. Jammers should keep turrets from killing me, or at least keep them from locking on. and the TM turrets did lock onto me even after I re-jammed.
    If AI gets a simultaneous visual lock and radar lock, then they can maintain the lock even after the radar lock disappears.
     

    Nauvran

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    If AI gets a simultaneous visual lock and radar lock, then they can maintain the lock even after the radar lock disappears.
    That is a bit unfair, the jammer should stop them from locking missiles onto you and it should also decrease their accuracy just a tad at least.
     

    Winterhome

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    That is a bit unfair, the jammer should stop them from locking missiles onto you and it should also decrease their accuracy just a tad at least.
    Can't say much about the missiles, because an IFF missile (fire and forget, friend or foe, etc) will lose a radar lock, but an aspect seeking missile only goes after things based on the image first presented when fired.

    I'll only agree to missile locks not working on jammed ships on the condition that jammers have a cooldown period almost as long as that of the scanner. Otherwise battles will go to being extremely slow paced one-block-damage-at-a-time scenarios due to the sudden worthlessness of punch and piercing (it's more power efficient to use two machineguns than it is to use one punch cannon that can destroy two blocks)
     

    Nauvran

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    Can't say much about the missiles, because an IFF missile (fire and forget, friend or foe, etc) will lose a radar lock, but an aspect seeking missile only goes after things based on the image first presented when fired.

    I'll only agree to missile locks not working on jammed ships on the condition that jammers have a cooldown period almost as long as that of the scanner. Otherwise battles will go to being extremely slow paced one-block-damage-at-a-time scenarios due to the sudden worthlessness of punch and piercing (it's more power efficient to use two machineguns than it is to use one punch cannon that can destroy two blocks)
    well it would make stealth ships more viable and give a bigger need for scanners but as some other suggested, jammer and cloak should have a cooldown after being taked down by a scanner array.
     

    Winterhome

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    well it would make stealth ships more viable and give a bigger need for scanners but as some other suggested, jammer and cloak should have a cooldown after being taked down by a scanner array.
    That they definitely should. At the moment, a jammed ship would be effectively immune to 95% of all effective block-breaking weapons if we take turrets out of the equation, which gives jammer ships a significant edge over scanner ships, as jammer ships can simply cut back on shields to maintain high amounts of firepower.