How long for a Viper to kill a Python?

[Cody]

1.82 Deployment build: I tracked an offender Python away from a station last night - no doubt a trader that had made a mistake somewhere. It had one Viper in leisurely pursuit, sniping occasionally - so occasionally in fact, that it began to resemble how I'd go about forcing a pilot to eject. After quite some time, with the Python pleading repeatedly for help/mercy, the Viper moved in for the kill - but oh so slowly, single shot by single shot. The Python had been blowing plasma for ages, and eventually ejected - but I could find no escape pod. Rather odd, the whole affair - especially how long it took, and the Viper's final shot, which locked-up Oolite for several seconds, the shot frozen on-screen. No response from any input whatsoever, which is a very rare occurrence on my machine.

Nothing in the log, not seen before or since, not really a bug report - simply an observation of another oddity.

[Layne]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6rHeD5x2tI

Sorry, that's the first thing I thought of when I saw the question!

[spud42]

cool but what the heck is a tootsie roll???

[Layne]

cool but what the heck is a tootsie roll???

Sort of a soft chocolate-flavor taffy. ;p

[Disembodied]

1.82 Deployment build: I tracked an offender Python away from a station last night - no doubt a trader that had made a mistake somewhere. It had one Viper in leisurely pursuit, sniping occasionally - so occasionally in fact, that it began to resemble how I'd go about forcing a pilot to eject. After quite some time, with the Python pleading repeatedly for help/mercy, the Viper moved in for the kill - but oh so slowly, single shot by single shot.

Might this be related to the Viper's laser temperature? How does/should the AI deal with overheated lasers?