NPCs upgrading along with player kills? [SOLVED]

[Poro]

So I was wondering, do the enemy craft get progressively better weaponry as your own Elite rating increases? I only ask because shortly after failing a Random Hits mission (back in v1.73.4) my ship took major damage, and needed many repairs. In addition, it was also due for a maintenance overhaul - which I gave it.

Since then (and now even in v1.74) I am convinced that my shields run down far quicker than they ever used to. Even if I am being fired upon by a lone Mamba, the shields seem to drop quickly.

I have a shield booster and extra energy unit - no military shields. I have checked my save file and the energy_unit tag reads 15 as I believe it should. I have four theories:

1) There is a bug in the game which has carried over to 1.74. (Unlikely)

2) There is an error somewhere in a file which contributes to this. (Unlikely?)

3) The Mamba in question has been fitted with a military laser.

4) I am simply imagining it, and am spiralling deeper and deeper into confirmation bias. (Likely?)

[Commander McLane]

I am not aware of any built-in factor that makes it harder for the experienced player. A standard Mamba always has a beam laser, whether the freshman Jameson encounters it on his first day out of the academy, or a veteran ELITE pilot kills one for the 1000th time.

So probably you are imagining something? Or 1.74 lets pirates shoot with greater accuracy?

[JensAyton]

So I was wondering, do the enemy craft get progressively better weaponry as your own Elite rating increases?

Nope.

[ADCK]

It is possible to make higher tier ships appear depending on your kill count, but as far as I know thargoid carrier OXP is the only OXP that does anything like this (spawns more often/more carriers depending on experience) the code in TC OXP could be used in another OXP to make 'leveled-lists' so that NPCs level as you do.

[Thargoid]

The trunk constrictor mission does something similar by upping the stats (awarding equipment) based on player rank, and one or two of my OXPs also do it in a similar way (as do I think some of Eric's).

But more generally it's your imagination, although the opponents in RH do get tougher as you progress through the OXP if I remember correctly.

[Poro]

Yes, having played some more I can see that I was clearly imagining it. Obviously my failure to capture that contract shook my pilot more than I realised

[DaddyHoggy]

Yes, having played some more I can see that I was clearly imagining it. Obviously my failure to capture that contract shook my pilot more than I realised

I think as you progress you subconsciously take more risks, you visit those lower quality systems more often, possibly hang on in a fire fight slightly longer than you would have done as a fresh Jameson with 100Cr in the bank and only a peas-shooter strapped to your nose.

Plus of course you slowly fill your RL(tm) HD with more and more OXPs some of which definitely make the game more "interesting" for the unwary...

[Switeck]

Probability can also get the better of you, because even a dumb enemy can sometimes get lucky.
For me...it's ramming, I'll be going along fine and then one dumb fool enemy that's using injectors fails to turn in time when making a head-on pass. I think I die to that more than big fights overwhelming me...because if I'm outnumbered more than 3:1, I'm fleeing anyway and using the aft laser till it overheats.