Recovering a blue Osprey
7th September 2010 – 5.24 pmCorporation Sleeper combat is just finishing. That's okay, I can go exploring. The static wormhole in our neighbouring class 4 w-space system was left unvisited and inactive whilst the fleet fought Sleepers but now I open it to see what's beyond. We still have a capsuleer mining gas in the C4 and I warn him that I am opening the connection. Although nothing was stopping a new wormhole opening up in to the C4 to ruin his operation I will still relay information about what I find and any dangers present. He is probably okay for now, the C4 system I jump in to being devoid of occupancy and any activity. I launch probes and begin to scan.
I try a new scanning probe configuration, deploying seven probes and creating a pattern with them that I don't need to change between scans. Four probes are set with a range of 4 AU and positioned at cardinal points around a central point, nominally the signature I am resolving. Three more probes are positioned directly on the central point at three different resolutions, one at 4 AU, one at 2 AU, and one at 1 AU. The benefits are readily apparent, only needing to move cluster of probes as a whole and never needing to adjust scanning ranges, with the overlapping ranges and strengths resolving signatures quickly and efficiently. I am able to discard many irrelevant rock and gas signatures quickly, and when a wormhole is revealed it only takes two scans to resolve it to 100%. I warp to find it the system's static connection to another C4, and jump through.
Although the seven-probe configuration is efficient I abandon it as quickly as I adopt it. The user interface becomes sluggish when moving so many overlapping probes around, which is a little frustrating when trying to make small adjustments, as well as unexpected for what doesn't seem like a particularly graphics-intensive operation. I may try scanning with seven probes again but for now I return to four probes and a lot of little, but smooth, adjustments. And it looks like I could use some finesse, as the system I jump in to has an Osprey cruiser somewhere in space. Judging by the lack of occupancy and no visible drones or jet-cans I suppose the cruiser abandoned, not concerning myself with being particularly quick or covert about locating it. I launch combat scanning probes, get a good bearing on the ship using the directional scanner, and get a solid hit on the ship. I warp to its location to confirm that it is indeed abandoned.
It would be embarrassing not to have any capsuleers available who can pilot an Osprey and the ever-magnificent Fin volunteers to collect the errant ship. The Osprey actually belongs to a friendly corporation, the blue star on my overview marking its alliance. If Oom Tas wants his old ship back, well, he can buy a new one instead. They're not expensive. Two of us scan the system whilst we loiter cloaked around the Osprey waiting for Fin to arrive. A wormhole is soon found and, with the Osprey collected and being piloted home, we warp to see another static connection to a C4. Jumping to the next system brings us in to an occupied system, two towers anchored to moons around the same planet. Disappointingly, the Orca industrial command ship seen on d-scan is also found with the towers and is unpiloted and safe inside the force field.
My scanning colleague finds yet another static wormhole to a class 4 system, just as our own is reported as reaching the end of its lifetime. There's no reason to rush home yet, we still have just under four hours before it collapses naturally. The next C4 along is empty, just as it was when I was here five months ago, but only of capsuleer presence. There are loads of rocks and gas clouds to find, stupid rocks and gas. A fair amount of scanning is complete before the third-to-last signature is resolved as a wormhole. Third-to-last isn't last! The class 5 w-space system beyond makes a change from the string of C4s but the system is also unoccupied and lacking activity.
Two wormholes are found with ease by my colleague, almost tripping over them when moving away from the wormhole we entered through. One is the system's static connection and leads to another C5, the other is a K162 wormhole coming from null-sec space. Not content with this adept display of scanning our scout finds a third wormhole, a K162 from a C5. I jump through the static wormhole to find an empty class 5 w-space system and decide that we are going too deep with nothing to show. I come back, poke my nose through to null-sec system GDEW-0 in the Stain region, then head home. There was plenty of exploring and we found a free cruiser, but our w-space constellation is quiet tonight.
2 Responses to “Recovering a blue Osprey”
You make an interesting point about the seven probes being able to resolve signatures. I will have to give it a try. I can only hope the sluggishness was a 'bad client' day and not a permanent indication of how inanely the UI is coded.
On a semi-related note, the 'sparkly stars' are back now with the most recent update. It also seems to have affected my scan bubbles as they seem to twinkle like the stars. It is not a problem, but just an interesting graphical artefact.
I've been noticing the sparkly background on and off, and I think it may be a function of current graphical complexity. I dunno, though. The twinkle is a nice little artefact of pixelisation and remarkably effective for an effect that is perhaps accidental.
I also tried the seven-probe configuration again today. It was an utter wash. I was able to scan an ordinary ladar and grav site but that was about it, any other signature eluded me. I tried modifying the central probes' ranges and swapping from combats to cores, but couldn't pin down anything easily. I have no idea what is different from before.