How to get rid of gianormous bands of random pirates?

[Kargon Kovon III]

I like Oolite (and played a lot years ago) but I really don't like the roaming bands of 20 pirates. If your ship isn't outfitted properly yet, and you can't escape, you are pretty much dead. I like to play without ever dying, so it kind of ruins it for me. Is there a hack for getting rid of the huge bands of pirates?

[thecoredump]

Yes, I admit that I would like to know too

[Redspear]

If your ship isn't outfitted properly yet, and you can't escape, you are pretty much dead

 Paddling Pool, along with a little strategic navigation, should help with that problem.

Is there a hack for getting rid of the huge bands of pirates?

PopulationControl meanwhile, may be less thorough/heavy handed (according to my understanding at least) but it is the more far reaching of the two.

[Cholmondely]

Welcome back!

Pesonally speaking, I'd go for Redspear's Paddling Pool OXP and leave the rest of the ooniverse the same (according to the cover blurb, everything is supposed to be falling to bits anyway, what with the Thargoids and the rise in piracy due to the waning of GalCop etc).

What do you think of the new version of Oolite? Piracy changed from v.1.80 onwards, with gianormous bands of pirates raiding the safer systems from their nearby anarchies/etc. Hence Ensoreus is always pirate-ridden (1 anarchy, 2 feudals, 1 multi-gov, 1 dictatorship, 2 confederacies) while Tianve is rather safer (4 corporates, 1 democracy, 1 confederacy, 1 commie, 1 dictatorship and 1 multi-gov). Paddling Pool changes the govts in the Old Worlds region, thus eliminating the pirate bases.


As you can see below, PP turns Riedquat into a Confederacy...

[Kargon Kovon III]

Thanks, those are some good suggestions for the beginning. I figured out the only way to play without getting killed is to play a milkrun between two really close systems, and install injectors first so that you always have an escape.

I just got my ship fully outfitted. I had military lasers, beam lasers, extra power plant, and shield upgrades. I escaped a large ambush band and got away. Immediately after, while trying to get to the sun for fuel, I got attacked by a couple of OTHER guys, one with military lasers. I got one, and a missile, but I was too low on fuel, got hit with a different missile, and didn't have the presence of mind to hit [escape] before getting blasted. The whole thing took less than a minute. I had a save, but it's not the same. I actually like to dogfight, but only when I have a realistic chance of living. LOL Maybe some guys are sharp enough to do that.

I really like a lot of the stuff they added, including options for missions and storylines and things, which I think are great. They just made it too hard to play without getting killed, which is what gives me satisfaction. The older version was great because once you got some upgrades you could just blast just about anyone. THAT was fun.

[another_commander]

Be aware that some oxps can up the difficulty quite a bit. Yes, in the standard game you can be fully equipped and still die in combat sometimes, but I have a feeling that what you describe might not reflect the intended and default difficulty level.

Also, are you using any multi-laser expansions for the player ship? If yes, try removing them. It is much harder to fight with multi-lasers than single-laser because you can overheat much quicker. Unless you can land every shot on the target every time, my suggestion would be to return to single laser configuration.

If you want to post your oxp list we might be able to see if any known balance offenders are included. Otherwise, you have already some good advice from the guys who already responded.

[Aviator6]

Just get Military Lasers on Front & Rear - don't bother with the sides. Try to not do long jumps that will deplete your fuel & not leave enough for a good injector run(to escape). When the shields are weakened & the lasers are overheating, just keep pitching & rolling - become a difficult target & let your defenses heal.

[Cholmondely]

Strategy & Tactics:


Oolite Tactics General page with links to the below (and others on docking, trading etc)



Laser tactics

Missile tactics

Using weapons of mass destruction



Dealing with piracy (Oolite)

Dealing with Thargoids

[szaumix]

No one has mentioned the best tactic: have a few cheap goods to dump (2-4 is usually enough) and dump them and run!