Oolite Bulletins

Are fwd beam laser and ECM enough?

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And fuel injectors?
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A Scanner Targeting Enhancement is really great as well.

an energy bomb or Q-mine in case you get in trouble
and/or an escape pod.

The Bounty Scanner OXP is quite useful too! Does what it implies...

Requires the Scanner Targeting Enhancement.

IMHO, the minimal, bare-bones kit for the starting bounty hunter:

FWD Beam Laser
Shield Booster
ECM
Fuel Injectors
Energy Bomb
AMS (Anti-missile system, oxp.)
Missile Analyzer (which the AMS requires and uses to target it's dart gun, oxp)
Scanner Targeting Enhancement
Bounty Scanner (oxp)
Fuel Scoop
Escape Pod
Hardened missiles(native eqip.) or better, Military missiles(oxp). Nuclear Torpedoes, or nukes(oxp) are one-shot lethal to Python and Boa class freighters, and can cause a lot of damage to bigger craft, however, they're useless on small fighters, which you'll face a lot of. Choose your ordinance carefully.
A cheap, but durable ship. You may upgrade to stronger ships as you rake in the cash.
A set of cajones
Damn good aim
Your brain
Optional:
Energy Unit
Milspec HUD v3 (oxp)

Advice: Bounty pay is just gravy, trust me. The real profit in this business is the salvaged cargo and captured/rescued escape pods. A ship with at least 10TC is recommended. And a beater, it's going to get shot at. Your starting Cobby will do nicely, but you can go with a cheaper hull and have the cr to kit her up with a lot, if not all of the abovementioned kit.

Good luck, and see you in the happy hunting grounds.

Cmdr Wyvern wrote:

AMS (Anti-missile system, oxp.)
Missile Analyzer (which the AMS requires and uses to target it's dart gun, oxp)
Escape Pod

I don't bother with the AMS, although I do recommend the Missile Analyzer. I prefer the Chaff Launcher, and use Interception missiles from Missiles & Bombs OXP against hard-headed missiles. I think that the AMS darts are too expensive to replace!

I don't bother with the Escape Capsule at all.

I just equipped by Caddy with an AMS, and was kinda disappointed with it.
In my first battle, my first incoming missle, I restrain myself from hitting the ECM, because I just spent major creds on this ems, and it does nothing, the missle hit me!,
to be fair it worked the second time and the third, but it was quite a shocker.

JazHaz wrote:

I don't bother with the AMS, although I do recommend the Missile Analyzer. I prefer the Chaff Launcher, and use Interception missiles from Missiles & Bombs OXP against hard-headed missiles. I think that the AMS darts are too expensive to replace!

I agree that the darts are too expensive, and the TL of reloads is too high for being small kinetic projectiles with no explosive, ala 20mm slugs with a small rocket accelerator. I think 25-30cr apiece is a much fairer price. And only a six-round magazine is not enough IMHO.

I'm testing a beta of an upgraded AMS in my game. Cheaper darts at 30cr apiece, auto-firing the ECM and a 16-round, lower TL magazine are features in this one, that I'm tweaking the bugs out of. I'll also work on making the darts more accurate as well, they miss too often.

Cmdr Wyvern wrote:

A set of cajones

Just had to type define:cajones into Google to find out what you meant!

Fair enough, I thought it was a bug in the software. Now that I know to hit ECM for normal missles, It makes much more sense.

Thargoid wrote:

AMS deliberately doesn't target normal missiles (hence it's use of missile analyser), simply because it would be a waste of effort when you can just use ECM.

And I also didn't make it auto-ECM, as that would make things too easy, and I'm not in favour of having a game that plays itself and ends up boring. However there is a version based on AMS and chaff-launcher (by Screet) which merges the functionality of the two, and also includes auto-ECM. Similarly for accuracy - they deliberately have some chance to miss built in.

And as for price and tech-level, those were the numbers I chose. If you don't like 'em, then go into equipment.plist and change 'em Not sure if you have the most recent version, but there I think I toned the cost down a bit. Not as low as proposed above (as that's too cheap for me), but better.

wades wrote:

Are fwd beam laser and ECM enough?

[edit]
And fuel injectors?
[/edit]

It depends on the size of your cojones, and the size of your common-sense gland (often there's an inverse relationship). And what ship OXPs you have installed, because that can have a drastic effect on what sort of bad guys you're going to meet. IMO the absolute bare-ass minimum would be

Beam laser
Cargo bay expansion
ECM
Fuel injectors
Fuel scoop
Scanner Targeting Enhancement

If you're going to go hunting via the Random Hits OXP, I'd recommend at the very least that you get more iron on your ass as well.

If you're after a budget anti-hardhead system I can recommend Thargoid's mini interceptor missiles from the missile rack oxp.
With Oolite's new target nearest missile functionality you don't need the missile analyzer and at 120cr for three (I think) they're ideal for your early game financial situation.

Some notes on the cajones...

You can find these for sale in specialty shops on most stations in the Ooniverse. Solid metal 15mm spheres sold in sets of two, they come in two models:

- Brass. The starting hunter may find the brass model affordable. The brass units are polished to a mirror sheen, with a finish of scratch resistant polymer.

- Steel. The successful hunter with a combat rating of Dangerous or better may find an upgrade to these just the ticket. Made of stainless steel with a chrome finish, this model will last a lifetime.

While cajones aren't necessary kit for the functioning of your ship, they inspire confidence. If you're going to be having deliberate armed disagreements with rogues, renegades, scofflaws and anarchists, then you'll need all the confidence you can get.
Cajones are also handy in case some drunken fool tries to start a barroom brawl. Clocking a being upside the skull hard enough with a weighty metal sphere tends to take the fight right out of them.

Cmdr Wyvern wrote:

Some notes on the cajones...

You can find these for sale in specialty shops on most stations in the Ooniverse. Solid metal 15mm spheres sold in sets of two,

15mm? Hah!! mine are more than twice that size...

Diziet Sma wrote:

15mm? Hah!! mine are more than twice that size...

You're not supposed to include the added thickness of your wife's purse.