New Pilot, same old newb questions.

[Switeck]

I've seen offender scavengers send out distress calls when clean ships attack it.

[Smivs]

Offender scavengers?

[Switeck]

Scavenger ships with offender status, less than fugitive but far from clean. Scavenger ships typically come out of stations and snag up loose cargo canisters, though some OXPs also add them elsewhere.

[Smivs]

Ha, yes I know what scavengers are, but as you say they are 'Station Ships' which keep the Aegis clear of debris and normally would not have an Offender status. Must be an OXP that's adding them, hopefully only to 'dodgy' stations as the Cops would decimate any launching from a main station.

[Switeck]

Good, then I won't have to explain to you why/how I saw them.

[superbatprime]

Dudes another question...

My favorite hobby atm is studying the behavior of pirates (particularly the behavior of ships on the scanner which could potentially be pirates etc).
Otherwise known as "information is ammunition."

Anyway my questions.... Tech Levels.

I know a high tech level means a system sells more interesting stuff for my ship etc and high TL means better repairs for my ship, but does a systems TL indicate how well equipped pirates are in that system?

I've seen screens of pirates with injectors and crazy weapons that would carve me up like a turkey... So can TL help assess the danger of entering a system?

Are there any other variables that tech level can be used to (roughly) assess about a system?

Thanks for any help.

[Smivs]

TL won't affect the equipment levels of the pirates - if you think about it as Offenders and Fugitives they would have a hard time docking at the main station to take advantage of the facilities there.
Government and Economy types are more significant with Anarchies and Feudal systems being more likely to have larger numbers of pirates than the more stable and developed sytems.
If you want tougher pirates (and you might as your skills develop - the standard ones are actually quite weedy) then you'll need to look at something like ToughGuys OXP

[Cody]

... with Anarchies and Feudal systems being more likely to have larger numbers of pirates than the more stable and developed sytems.

Usually, yes... but not always. Sometimes a high TL system will be awash with pirates, whereas a nearby poor/ag feudal will have few pirates (or even none, on occasion).

[Switeck]

More details:
https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8188
...However I don't honestly know which formula Oolite is now using to populate a system with traders and pirates.

[superbatprime]

More details:
https://bb.oolite.space/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8188
...However I don't honestly know which formula Oolite is now using to populate a system with traders and pirates.

Great info in that link ty.

I see there is room for fuzziness in the system which is great.

Bottom line is there is the potential of risk in every system and TL, government, production, markets etc can only give a navigator an impression of what a system should be like... but not always what it will be like when you get there?

Schrodinger's pirate.

I hope it means you can never get totally complacent with a familiar route, 99 safe trips to a system and on trip 100 you could arrive in the middle a warzone.

[Cody]

I hope it means you can never get totally complacent with a familiar route

Yep... wait 'til you get attacked by a dozen bandits within a station aegis, who then follow you through your wormhole!

[superbatprime]

Yep... wait 'til you get attacked by a dozen bandits within a station aegis, who then follow you through your wormhole!

No doubt it'll happen on a run 5 minutes after I install the Ironman oxp and my hold is bulging with platinum and gemstones.

[Star Gazer]

Ah, yes, that sounds about right... the Intergalactic Murphy Corporation! SNAFU and FUBAR are at the core of the very fabric of their being!

[superbatprime]

Well bring it on I say because I'm updating the drivers for my new joystick as I type.

I got a cyborg X (it has this beefy spring in the base and I couldn't resist the feel).

Funny, I've played countless hours of Orbiter and never had the desire to get a stick, Oolite has some mysterious compelling quality where you just want to make it feel as "authentic" as possible.
Also the throttle lever is incredibly smooth and satisfying to use.

I'm rather excited tbh, those pirates are in for a nasty surprise.

[Rese249er]

...99 safe trips to a system and on trip 100 you could arrive in the middle a warzone.

Sounds like an OXP pitch to me... Scripting to spawn a firestorm of hostile factions with a certain chance of triggering... Anybody think they can handle that?