Scanning for other ships all starts here with this Icon. From the main Navigation Bar this is the Icon you will need to press to start off the process of “Looking / Scanning” for other ships.
Scanners: Not all scanners are created equal. In fact although most do the same task ‘IE scan for ships’ some do it far better and in different ways than others. This is not a guide on what scanner to use, BUT it should be noted that increasing your scan potential by fitting better scanners is a must if you are to enter into the world of combat with any serious plans for a future.
Some Scanners give a bonus to other areas of your ship, and some have a Primary Scan that looks for “Specific Types” of ships. You should use the C.E.D.R (top left game drop down) and take the time to read about each scanner range in your own time.
Scan Limitations: So back to the main display once you’ve performed a Scan. The results are based on a number of limitations. These start with : Law Level. Lower Law Levels tend to be inhabited by tougher meaner, more well armoured and defended ships. Higher Law levels will see more easy pickings.
That’s not to say that some higher level vessels won’t traverse the higher law levels, after all, everyone has to make a living.
After Law Level, the next limitation is your Scanners Ability to scan. (read the scanner info related to the scanners you have fitted). Lastly, is the actual ships “IN” that area. IE, are there any ships there at that point in time.
Scan Results: The results are shown in a list format, with the pertinent data for each ship displayed. Ships are broken down by Type, Class and Affiliation. Type may be something like Fury, Pyro etc whilst Class could be Buccaneer, Predator, Pirate, Hauler etc. Affiliation is based on whom that particular ship is affiliated with IE Pirates can often be Privateers, Outcasts, Rogues etc, whereas Military Ships will be Affiliated with Gal-Fed, Confed or the Alliance. Civilian shipping also has a plethora of Affiliations, ranging across the more obvious Ashar, Wesbec and Union to the more obscure.
Next comes the Vessel’s Speed. Always important as if your speed is not equal or greater they will simply out run you when you close in on them.
Vessel Tonnage comes next. Tonnage can often give you a good idea of the overall capability of the ship. IE a 50,000 tonne Gal-Fed Cruiser is much likely to be packing some serious armour and weapons as opposed to a 5,000 tonne Patrol Vessel.
C.C.T & A.C.T
Threats: This deserves a section of its own as this can be misconstrued, so please read carefully. Your onboard AI has the capability to make “Threat Assessments” based on a number of criteria. These include the Enemy’s total HP and his possible offensive capabilities. These are then calculated against your own ship’s HP and offensive capabilities, and a “Threat” level is issued.
C.C.T stands for Current Combat threat. This means an approximation of the enemy vessel rates against you with your current load out and what your AI can tell from an initial scan of the target.
A.C.T stands for Actual Combat threat. This is different as it’s a truer threat rating based on your Maximum stats. For example, you may have lowered your shields, or be suffering from hull or armour damage, but if your vessel was fully combat ready this would be a truer rating of the current target.
Grey means the ship is of No threat to you. Attacking this level of ship after attaining level 9 will only lead to you being branded a coward or worse.
Green is based on a ship below your combat level and an ‘Easy Kill’ according to statistics and the AI’s ability to scan the Enemy.
Moving up the scale, Greens will get lighter and lighter till they reach Yellow. This is more of a challenge and may cause you concern in combat. From Yellow, we go through to Orange and eventually Red.
There is no hard and fast rule for combat, other than the “Threat” is an assessment of balances between you and the Enemy Ship. Many things can affect the outcome of a Combat. He may have lower Armour and a MUCH bigger gun than the AI anticipated, meaning he conned a Lower threat than he actually is.
You may miss repeatedly in combat! He may have Shielded Penetrating Missiles or use Shield Regenerating Technology against you. The key is that Threats are only a rough assessment there to give you a guide. They are not a Valid “kill no kill” indicator.
Missing four, five, maybe even six times in a single combat and being hit by a salvo of Shield Penetrating missiles can quickly turn the tide on you when attacking what appeared to be a Green on first scan.
Affiliation Colour: You will note that there is a Colour coding system to the Affiliation. It simply allows you to see at a glance on which side of the fence a ship sits. If it’s Green, they are ‘Good’ guys. This could be a Civilian ship or a Gal-Fed or Alliance Ship. If they are Pink, then they are deemed ‘Bad’ guys. This falls in to the category of Pirates and Confed shipping.
This is VERY useful when scanning for shipping that you can and should be attacking. As a Good guy yourself you don’t want to be shooting ships that appear as Green in the Affiliation Column, but on the other hand, Red is the colour you will be looking for!
View: This option allows you to view in more detail the Ship in question. Total HP is broken down into Shields, Armour and Hull (If detected). You can also see their Sensors from here as well. Should you choose to do so, you can also attack the Ship Directly from here using the Attack icon in the Tool Bar above.
Attack: Once you have located your target, simply click the ‘Attack’ button to close in and engage the target. You will at that point be forwarded to the Combat Screen or be informed the engagement was a failure and why.
Should you not see what you want in the existing scan, it’s a simple case of hitting the Scan icon again. This will rescan for targets and display the fresh results.
Scan Costs: Scanning costs Fuel. Simply put, scanning for targets costs 1 Unit of Fuel per scan. You can ONLY scan if you have the fuel.
Combat XP
It is well worth noting that XP awarded from combat in Shields-Up is mostly based on challenge. IF you shoot targets that con a green colour to you, the XP from these targets will be less than from destroying targets that con Yellow or Orange.
The more threat, the better in terms of reward in XP. You can of course attack and destroy lower targets, but your XP income will be lowered.
Destroying targets that con Grey (Waste Of Ammo) in the ACT section will lead to 1 XP, as these are deemed an unworthy target.