Ident system question...

[Cody]

... does the Ident system lose a target at some given range, as missiles do, or does it track a target indefinitely?

[DaddyHoggy]

It's supposed to lose focus beyond scanner range, but I've seen screenies where people have targets still IDed 100's of kms away...

[Cody]

Ah… yes, I have a screenshot of a Mamba still on my tail at 145 km... I was a bit surprised.

[Smivs]

I thought it 'remembered' targets wherever they are. I've certainly had targets go off the scanner, but still be targeted when I return to the vicinity.
Indeed I use this 'feature' from time to time.

[Commander McLane]

The ident system is supposed to unlock or "lose" targets that go out of scanner range. However, if you have the Target System Memory Upgrade installed, the target will stay in one of the 16 slots of the memory matrix. Therefore, if it gets within scanner range again, you can lock onto it by using your circle-through-target-memory keys. But there's no auto-lock, you have to do it yourself.

Further than that, there is a bug/feature (I honestly don't know which) which prevents the unlocking of your target regardless of its distance. I think this happens if you not only have your ident system on the target (R), but have also locked a missile on it (T), but not yet fired it. (A small test shows that this is not the exact circumstance (I lost the target when I flew out of range)), I don't recall the exact circumstance.))

Personally I regard it as a bug, and it doesn't normally happen. I experienced it once or twice, and it was certainly useful for keeping track of an adversary who used his fuel injectors, but as a general feature it would make the game too easy, IMO. And, as said before, I don't remember how to trigger the behaviour.

[another_commander]

There is a sure way to trigger a beyond-scanner-range target lock, but it could be considered a bug and a feature at the same time. Simply approach the main station and as soon as the S lights up on the HUD, activate the docking computer. It will lock on the station, which at that time would be out of range and show it up on the screen with targeting reticle and everything.

Technically, I think of it more as bug rather than feature, but I don't see any urgency in fixing it. It is not an actual target lock, since the dockingAI has taken over when this happens, so effectively you are not really targeting anyhting. You could call it a feature of the docking computer, showing you the station from which it is receivng instructions.

[Commander McLane]

There is a sure way to trigger a beyond-scanner-range target lock, but it could be considered a bug and a feature at the same time. Simply approach the main station and as soon as the S lights up on the HUD, activate the docking computer. It will lock on the station, which at that time would be out of range and show it up on the screen with targeting reticle and everything.

Okay, that's one way to trigger the behaviour, however that's only for the main station.

I have done it with a ship once, although I don't recall exactly how it went. And I think the other guys are referring to ships as well, not the main station.

[Killer Wolf]

i thought, as Cmdr McL says, you lose lock beyond scanner range - indeed, i always get s "target lost" message. i did once launch and got an immediate lock on something, which turned out to be the WS beacon (!) but i have to consider that a bug rather than any remotely normal behaviour.

[Cody]

The circumstance… I went to help some poor trader being ‘ravaged by brigands’. I’d splashed three of the five bandits, when another bunch of five or six appeared and started laying into me. Suddenly the shields were very low, the energy banks were dropping fast, and I was in big trouble… I launched my final missile, and hit the injectors. That’s when the ident system locked-on to a Mamba (it seemed to autolock onto the final missile’s target, but it’s hard to be sure), and it stayed locked-on all the time I was on injectors. At a range of 145 km, I had near full shields and the energy banks were at max again, so I came about to take the Mamba (and his pals) out.

[Commander McLane]

The circumstance… I went to help some poor trader being ‘ravaged by brigands’. I’d splashed three of the five bandits, when another bunch of five or six appeared and started laying into me. Suddenly the shields were very low, the energy banks were dropping fast, and I was in big trouble… I launched my final missile, and hit the injectors. That’s when the ident system locked-on to a Mamba (it seemed to autolock onto the final missile’s target, but it’s hard to be sure), and it stayed locked-on all the time I was on injectors. At a range of 145 km, I had near full shields and the energy banks were at max again, so I came about to take the Mamba (and his pals) out.

I am sure also in my case it had something to do with missiles. Perhaps it was a similar situation, where I had fired a missile and re-locked its target, which then stayed locked even after the missile went boom?!?

[Smivs]

As I hinted above, I routinely use this feature. In a well populated system, I'll make my way to the planet, ID-ing ships as I go. The ones worth killing get killed and the others stay in the memory. Near the station I'll sometimes turn and head back to the Witchpoint to mop-up any offenders who were previously out of range. They often stray into the witchpoint-planet corridor after you've passed. As I return to the witchpoint, and a ship appears on the scanner, I'll cycle through the targets and often it's a ship I targeted earlier. It saves having to ID every ship you meet on the return trip.

[Cody]

Yeah… it’s a useful feature, but this concerns the ident system auto-locking onto a target (when all missiles have been fired), without being selected, and holding the lock over a long distance (maintaining the green reticle display all the way).
If it’s not that, then it was a phantom missile lock (from a non-existant missile) that didn’t lose lock with distance.

Or I'm losing my marbles (always a possibility)... wish I'd kept the screenshots now.

[Smivs]

Ah, I mis-understood. I can't remember the last time I used all my missiles. I'm a laser man

[Cody]

I can't remember the last time I used all my missiles. I'm a laser man

In a serious firefight, when I’m well outnumbered, the shields are low, and the lasers are overheated… I’ll throw anything at them (even the Cap’s legendary cargo pod, if it came to it). Besides, I’m often on long, multiple-jump runs, without docking for re-supply of ordnance or saving… it doesn’t take long to get through four hardheads under those conditions.

[Smivs]

Perhaps I'm just mean. My Boa Clipper carries 5 hardheads and although they are useful in those situations where things get a bit hairy, I'm aware of the cost and therefore try not to use them. Think about it...5 hardheads at 350Cr each is 1750Cr to replace all of them. That's a lot of money!
If I use one or two, I'll often leave the pylons empty for a while and wait till I'm near a SecCom station where I can replace them cheaply as I get a discount from the Navy for all the War Bonds I've bought. Good investment those...they've saved me a fortune over time.
The other thing about missiles is the fact that if your opponent has injectors, they only scare the 'baddies' away. You don't get a kill bounty, and half the time they come back again anyway. To my mind that's 350Cr spent just to delay the inevitable.
Like I said, perhaps I'm just mean.

P.S. One other annoying thing I tend to do is shoot my own missiles
I'll fire the missile if the laser's overheated, then open fire again as they cool. It's amazing how often your missile just happens to be in the way.