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Starsector 0.97a is out! (02/02/24); New blog post: Simulator Enhancements (03/13/24)

Author Topic: Reduce Detection Range  (Read 3304 times)

Ciaran_Zagami

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Reduce Detection Range
« on: January 13, 2020, 07:32:15 PM »

I'm so far getting the hang of Starsector quite well but I have to ask.

How am I supposed to use the Going Dark ability for sneaky illegal crimes?

Every time I "go dark" it seems every ship in the system makes a B-line for me and if I do it more than once per-play-through they come in shooting to kill.
I've tried going dark while inside asteroid belts or gas clouds and those don't seem to help at all.

I know I can see a number relating to the distance my fleet can be spotted from but is there anyway to visualize that? And is there anyway I can get it lower besides Going Dark or to improve the effectiveness of Going Dark?
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bobucles

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Re: Reduce Detection Range
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2020, 07:44:15 PM »

Don't turn your transponder off in front of the police.

Thaago

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Re: Reduce Detection Range
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2020, 08:07:04 PM »

If the AI can see you when you turn your transponder goes off, they know you turned it off and will enact a (annoyingly effective) search pattern.

Tips for turning your transponder off:
1) Become stationary in an asteroid field or debris field some distance from the AI. This will reduce your sensor profile greatly (90%?). Then, as long as no enemy sensor circle overlaps yours, you can safely turn off your transponder and go dark.
2) Go dark in hyperspace before jumping in. You can just in at an out of the way gas giant (or the star if you want to live dangerously) in order to avoid possible patrols at the jump point. If you have Transverse Jump, you can go dark and then jump in at any planet.

Note that the same applies to turning your transponder ON: if they see you the instant it goes on, they knew it WAS off, and they will try and scan you. Asteroid and debris fields are also great for activating a transponder.
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Ciaran_Zagami

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Re: Reduce Detection Range
« Reply #3 on: January 13, 2020, 09:51:40 PM »

How do I see "enemy senor circles" as far as I can tell theres no way for me to visualize the scanning range of other fleets.
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LucusLoC

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Re: Reduce Detection Range
« Reply #4 on: January 13, 2020, 10:26:09 PM »

You have to keep an eye out for the "ripples" as you move through space. Those tell you you are coming into sensor range, and what direction the detecting fleet is in.
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Ciaran_Zagami

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Re: Reduce Detection Range
« Reply #5 on: January 13, 2020, 10:28:20 PM »

Thank you Lucus. I'd seen those before but I had no clue what they were. I assumed they were gravity wells lol
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SCC

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Re: Reduce Detection Range
« Reply #6 on: January 14, 2020, 03:27:47 AM »

You can also bring them up again by hovering your cursor over the fleet you want to stay out of range.

Plantissue

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Re: Reduce Detection Range
« Reply #7 on: January 14, 2020, 08:05:49 AM »

Be aware that if you can't see the sensor circles, it is sometimes because the edge of the circle is beyond your screen and you are well within detection range.

Technology skill Sensors 2 greatly helps in sneaking around.
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TJJ

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Re: Reduce Detection Range
« Reply #8 on: January 14, 2020, 08:29:25 AM »

It still bugs me that, unless you can actually see the detection ring, there's no way of knowing whether you're inside or outside it.

Especially so when ranges rapidly change due to going dark or entering scan inhibiting terrain.
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Plantissue

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Re: Reduce Detection Range
« Reply #9 on: January 14, 2020, 09:04:14 AM »

That annoys me as well. Perhaps there should be a button you can press which shows all detection ranges as an area covered coloured overlay.

Not related, but a few times I had gone dark next to a planet, trying to sneak into the planet and the patrol randomly sensor bursted, possibly due to pirates.
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Flashmek

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Re: Reduce Detection Range
« Reply #10 on: January 14, 2020, 11:02:19 AM »

Using your burn increase will make your signal huge! Cut it off, keep out of view of your destination, make sure no fleets are around you at all will see on radar ( i think that may be mod ) and activate the go dark, if a ship was within sensor range of your ship when you do that they will hunt your general direction, just take evasive manuevers outside of that 90 deg angle from them looking at you.

As mentioned belts are a great way to reduce your signature radius alot just make sure your burn is off, ships with engine d mods can increase your signiture radious ( check it will tell you if it does ), also bigger ships means bigger sig so be wary of that too.

Some planets like say jungala are a pain i  the arse to get into like that, too many patrols, if you must go to one of these kinda places then you gotta wait for their patrols to go deal with an issue but then its a time game, they can turn right back round at full speed right at you to patrol the planet again .....

Good luck!
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Serenitis

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Re: Reduce Detection Range
« Reply #11 on: January 14, 2020, 11:21:15 AM »

If you have Transverse Jump, you can go dark and then jump in at any planet.
I'm fairly sure using transverse jump cancels any active engine modes, so this isn't really going to go as planned.
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SafariJohn

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Re: Reduce Detection Range
« Reply #12 on: January 14, 2020, 11:33:18 AM »

You can activate Go Dark after you use Transverse Jump but before you jump, IIRC.
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