Oolite Bulletins

When in a battle with 4+ offenders which is the sort of mess I keep getting myself into (must be my charm), my military laser overheats too quick. Can someone who is a better programmer than me (I am just starting to learn) devise an OXP that cools down the laser quicker.

I just feel it a cheat to use an Energy Bomb rather than taking them down indiviually.

Let me at em!!!

A laser cooler is one of those things that will not happen - buy a rear firing Mil laser and shoot as you run away - lasers have different temp scales so as the rear heats up the forward will cool.

Oh, and welcome to friendliest board this side of Riedquat(tm)

Missles will distract some of them for a bit if not take them out. People who don't like energy bombs seem to be ok with Q mines, if you have injectors you may want to try one of them.

Faster laser cooling is one of those things that's just not going to happen, I'm afraid!

DaddyHoggy's tip about the rear laser is a key one. Mastering this tactic, known variously as "Parthian shooting" or "Monty-Pythoning", is crucial, especially if you don't like energy bombs. If you find a fleet of badass pirates coming your way, turn and run and snipe them with the rear laser. Apart from anything else it'll help string them out as the slower ships get left behind. Pick off (or at least drive away) the nastier ones, like Cats and Iguanas on your way out, then turn around and slice back down a nice long queue of Cobras, Morays, Mambas and Pythons!

DaddyHoggy wrote:

A laser cooler is one of those things that will not happen - buy a rear firing Mil laser and shoot as you run away - lasers have different temp scales so as the rear heats up the forward will cool.

An addition for people who haven't tried it:

Side lasers do require a little bit more training, but there are occasions when it's a requirement to use all 4 lasers by stopping and circling with the ship. That way the first laser is almost entirely cool after firing the other three - and with a bit of training, it's also possible to make very good use of the side lasers in normal combat situations. Begin with larger targets and then try smaller ones when your brain does the proper translation. Don't get frustrated - even if you miss, your front and rear lasers will be cool when you switch back and your brain will learn anyway!

Screet

Rear lasers can work well. Get a beam laser for the rear, it shoots for longer and it still seems to surprise the heck out of ships taking potshots at you from behind.

We also refer to the FAQs, especially the "Why does this and that not exist?"-section.

Most of the laser housing is already exposed to the vaccumn of space. Kinda hard to get it much cooler than that.

As others have said, multiple lasers and use of secondary weapons are key here. Takes some getting used to (switching between Front and Rear is easiest to learn), but it is the way forward.

Sendraks wrote:

Most of the laser housing is already exposed to the vaccumn of space. Kinda hard to get it much cooler than that.

Au contraire. Ideal vacuum is also the ideal insulator, having no thermal conductivity at all. The interesting bits of space are also quite close to big heat-radiating thingies. This means dumping waste heat is one of the big challenges of space engineering.

Edit: Stoopid auto-correct.

Ahruman wrote:

Sendraks wrote:

Most of the laser housing is already exposed to the vaccumn of space. Kinda hard to get it much cooler than that.

Au contraries. Ideal vacuum is also the ideal insulator, having no thermal conductivity at all. The interesting bits of space are also quite close to big heat-radiating thingies. This means dumping waste heat is one of the big challenges of space engineering.

Indeedy without convecton or conduction your left with radiation.
That's why vaccum flasks keep you tea hot.

I R HAZ BEEN EDUCATEDS!

If we like copying nature, we could always make a spaceship that 'sweats'

...So you could have a special coolant tank that drops laser and cabin temperature when you use it. Maybe like multi-missile racks, it wouldn't be a 1-shot but could even be depleted based on how overheated your ship is when you use it.

Switeck wrote:

...So you could have a special coolant tank that drops laser and cabin temperature when you use it. Maybe like multi-missile racks, it wouldn't be a 1-shot but could even be depleted based on how overheated your ship is when you use it.

Still not going to happen.

Additional laser cooling is a very sensitive issue, because it is basically undistinguishable from cheating. Therefore the game code deliberately does not provide any means to achieve it.

At a certain point in time, laser coolers were requested and experimentally introduced. But this part of the code was later explicitely removed by the game's creator, Giles Williams, whose legacy we respect in this point.

CommanderAnt wrote:

When in a battle with 4+ offenders which is the sort of mess I keep getting myself into (must be my charm), my military laser overheats too quick. Can someone who is a better programmer than me (I am just starting to learn) devise an OXP that cools down the laser quicker.

I was thinking that same thing... maybe some piece of equipment that just slows the rate of over-heating... My original Cobra from the old days didn't over-heat this quickly.

CommanderAnt wrote:

I just feel it a cheat to use an Energy Bomb rather than taking them down indiviually.

Let me at em!!!

If laser cooling really is unthinkable... Intelligent use of fuel injection is an option. When I'm up against four or more of the bad guys, I'll pick one and concentrate on him [ship ID is indispensible here!] until he's ashes. If my shields are still in good shape, I pick a second and do the same.

When my shields start to get a little iffy, I just hit the fuel injection, keeping them at a distance [but still in sight] until my shields are good enough to swing back and take a few more.