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Planet Hopping...

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 12:45 am
by Dragonfire
Has anyone else done this? You need to get to a planet very quickly, so you go straight from the witchspace beacon to the sun, refuel there, and then hyperspace to the next planet. It lets you get across the galaxy in a third of the time.

Re: Planet Hopping...

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 2:28 am
by Makara
If you just mean "don't refuel at the main station" then I think it is fairly standard operating practice when you are making a >7 LY dash, especially if you have a trunk full of guns & drugs & hos 8) . If you mean "glitching your way closer to a planet" then I didn't even know there was such a glitch...
As to performing a genuine sunskim for fuel - not so often in my case. Running Your Ad Here, Fuel Stations and Free Trade Zones offers plenty of petrol stations near the Witchpoint Beacon, and I always prefer to spend a few credits than not having enough injector juice on tap. Plus I have FarSun, Sunskimmers, Deep Space Pirates and Total Patrol running, so a trip to the sun isn't a huge time saving compared with trundling down the main lane.

Re: Planet Hopping...

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 2:33 am
by RyanHoots
I sunskim a lot when I need quick fuel or I want a break from fighting.

Re: Planet Hopping...

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 2:42 am
by Dragonfire
The idea is to bypass the main station and just refuel at the sun.

Re: Planet Hopping...

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 3:34 am
by RyanHoots
RyanHoots wrote:
The idea is to bypass the main station and just refuel at the sun.
Yes, I do that. The speed gain is impressive, and very good if I'm on the run from GalCop (again).

Re: Planet Hopping...

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:57 am
by Eric Walch
Dragonfire wrote:
Has anyone else done this? You need to get to a planet very quickly, so you go straight from the witchspace beacon to the sun, refuel there, and then hyperspace to the next planet. It lets you get across the galaxy in a third of the time.
I sometimes use a 'teleport'* feature when testing mission oxps. Is even much faster.
save your game, set the cursor in the galactic chart to the destination, type in the console 'PS.cursorCoordinates'. Copy the result and paste it in your save file. Now open the save file and you are at your destination. It's even faster than scotty could beam me to there :D

*Others call it cheating instead of teleporting :(

Re: Planet Hopping...

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:37 am
by Wildeblood
Eric Walch wrote:
I sometimes use a 'teleport'* feature when testing mission oxps. Is even much faster.
save your game, set the cursor in the galactic chart to the destination, type in the console 'PS.cursorCoordinates'. Copy the result and paste it in your save file. Now open the save file and you are at your destination. It's even faster than scotty could beam me to there :D
Dear me, Eric, that's doing it the hard way. There's no need to mess about with debugging consoles. Go to the galactic chart, target your destination, go to F2 and save. Open your save file, and look for these keys:

Code: Select all

    <key>current_system_name</key> <-- delete
    <string>Zaonce</string>
    <key>galaxy_coordinates</key> <-- delete
    <string>33 185</string>
    <key>target_coordinates</key> <-- change
    <string>178 84</string>
    <key>target_system_name</key> <-- change
    <string>Rizala</string>
Overwrite the first word "target" with the word "galaxy" and the second "target" with "current".

Re: Planet Hopping...

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:22 am
by Smivs
'System hopping' is common practice, particularly for passenger runs and cargo contracts, and yes you can cross a galaxy quite quickly doing this. It's one reason why the Boa Clipper comes factory-fitted with scoops and heat shielding as standard, as its stated purpose is to transport stuff long distances quickly, and system hopping is the best way to do this.
:D

Re: Planet Hopping...

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:48 am
by Azured
Another good thing about planet hopping is that it's a good way to rid the galaxy of some of the more cunning pirates that hide in the glare of the sun. Hop to a system, set your course for the sun, kill every pirate in the way, scoop up and hop again.
While I do admit it takes a bit of roleplaying character, I've found this to produce some of the most pleasant (even though combat-filled) playing experiences during my history with Oolite.

In addition, I agree with most of the stuff that's already been said about planet hopping.

Re: Planet Hopping...

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:49 pm
by Corny
I wonder if it's still efficient when you have the Far Sun OXP installed.

Re: Planet Hopping...

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:56 pm
by RyanHoots
Corny wrote:
I wonder if it's still efficient when you have the Far Sun OXP installed.
I guess it depends on exactly how far the sun is. Would it take longer to go through the spacelanes, being masslocked, attacked and such, or just go to the sun using the torus drive? I know it's less risky.

Re: Planet Hopping...

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 2:36 pm
by mandoman
Azured wrote:
Another good thing about planet hopping is that it's a good way to rid the galaxy of some of the more cunning pirates that hide in the glare of the sun. Hop to a system, set your course for the sun, kill every pirate in the way, scoop up and hop again.
While I do admit it takes a bit of roleplaying character, I've found this to produce some of the most pleasant (even though combat-filled) playing experiences during my history with Oolite.

In addition, I agree with most of the stuff that's already been said about planet hopping.
That's what I do, even if I'm NOT Galaxy hopping, LOL!!! :lol:

Re: Planet Hopping...

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 2:47 pm
by Thargoid
Or just install fuel station OXP and save yourself the journey some of the time...

Re: Planet Hopping...

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 3:25 pm
by DaddyHoggy
Dragonfire wrote:
Has anyone else done this? You need to get to a planet very quickly, so you go straight from the witchspace beacon to the sun, refuel there, and then hyperspace to the next planet. It lets you get across the galaxy in a third of the time.
I plan my routes between constores - I barely leave the scanner range of the beacon...

Re: Planet Hopping...

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 4:13 pm
by Dragonfire
Thargoid wrote:
Or just install fuel station OXP and save yourself the journey some of the time...
Money, Thargoid, money. I lowered my creds back down to 10,000, so I have a tight budget with all my ship repairs. Free fuel is far better than 3 creds a LY.