Fuel scoop... doesn't

[r3uk]

Hello.

First of all, thanks to all concerned for Oolite! As an Elite fan from the Eighties and a Frontier veteran from the 90's I got a hankering for some good old fashioned space trading a week or two ago and thought I'd see if there was anything available in my Ubuntu repos. Sure enough, there's Oolite - and it's ace!

Just wanted to ask a quickie about the fuel scoop though. I can pick up floating cargo and asteroid fragments but I can't seem to fill up the ol' petrol tank from a star. I've tried the approach detailed on the Wiki and I have the fuel injectors installed for a quick getaway but despite how fast or slow) I approach a star and despite seemingly flying through the corona, the only thing that goes up is my hull temp while my fuel gauge remains stubbornly stuck.

Am I missing something? Is there a key press I need to start sucking up the good stuff?

Appreciate any advice!

[dalek501]

I found it hard to start with too. Firstly make sure you have the solar sheilding added. It will enable you to stay closer to the sun for longer.

I then 'jump' at the centre of the sun, and when I get mass locked I use injectors to carry straight on at it. Once the altitude gets down to about half way you should start to see the fuel filling up, I keep the injectors pressed still as it fills up faster this way. I then do a quick flip and away!

Hope this helps

[r3uk]

Ah - maybe I'm just not getting close enough. I'll buy the shielding and give it a try - thanks!

[DaddyHoggy]

@r3uk - welcome to the boards.

My technique is slightly different and doesn't need injectors (but as you've got them this is a bit moot!)

Jump towards the centre of the sun as previously mentioned but then pull up a bit so that the sun is in the lower half of your screen and keep pulling up as you approach to keep this ratio the same - as your scoop starts to work give it a few seconds and pull over and start to fly away. Your scoop will keep filling during the pull over and the initial pull away - this way you start to cool down (or heat up less as there is a hysterisis on the temp (I think)) at the tail end of scooping and you should still end up with a full tank.

Cheers

DH

[TGHC]

With full shielding you can fly direct into the sun with injectors, fill up and inject out again.

[Moonlight Fox]

If you've got injectors, a good tip is to use them while refilling. It sounds a bit daft to be using your fuel while trying to fill it up, I know. However, as it vastly increases your speed it also vastly increases the rate that your tank fills up. With the injectors on, it'll only take a couple of seconds to go from almost empty to totally full.

[Eric Walch]

With full shielding you can fly direct into the sun with injectors, fill up and inject out again.

Just one problem. When I fuel up I am often without fuel. So no injectors available on diving in. But when you have fuel left, just spend your last bits to go in faster. With injectors you don't need the heat shielding.

[Gareth3377]

No wonder the price of fuel is rising with all you freeloaders!

[r3uk]

Thanks all - I've now got the hang of it! I didn't realise I had to get so close to that big hot thing (altimiter about halfway down) but with the injectors I'm in and out before I get too warmed up.

Using this sustainable resource sure makes me feel better about my carbon footprint!

Oops - gotta go - looks like Klingons on the starboard bow (or something)...

[Commander McLane]

It also depends on the size of the star. Altimeter halfway down seems very lucky to me. In many cases you will have to go way lower for fueling.

[TGHC]

If you think the suns are too close to the planets you can use the farsun OXP which moves them further away.

You can also add the sunskimmers OXP which will add ships to the planet sun corridor, which otherwise is pretty vacant, and makes life a bit more interesting.

When you are rich enough with a potent ship, you should rarely have a need to skim for fuel however there are some mission OXP's that have some fierce nutters coming at you in droves and your injectors will get hot, so if you have to travel 6.8LY to a mission destination then you will need to fill up to avoid aching wrists and a squeaky bum

[Frame]

but soon your victims fuel, will be your fuel