Abandoned ship systems disappeared?

PvK · #1 April 14th, 2015, 07:35 PM

Generally things seem to stay where I left them, but I recently saw two ship systems that I left behind, not be there when I returned to get them.

One was a system left in debris when I destroyed another ship. My cargo was full, and I expected it to still be there, but when I came back from base, it wasn't there any more. Does docking clear ship components out of space, or did an actual ship or something come and take it? (The trade goods I leave hanging in space seem to always be there when I come back.)

The other ship system I noticed vanish was in a secret mercenary base. My team already had a heavy item, so I took that back to the shuttle and returned, but the ship system was no longer in the base. Is there just a chance (100%?) for them to get snatched, or is there some other mechanic that determines whether a ship component in a cave will be there on return?

ibol · #2 April 14th, 2015, 10:12 PM

currently, a "ship component" will always disappear if you leave an area (even changing cave levels, docking at station, etc.)

This is actually working as designed, but I am considering changing it.
If changed, it will most likely be to a chance (20-50%) to disappear, instead of a guarantee.

PvK · #3 April 14th, 2015, 10:36 PM

Aha, thanks! So it would seem then that knowing that, in space I would jettison trade goods to make room, and/or salvage parts from some other ship component in cargo. Planetside, I would head back to the shuttle as soon as finding any heavy item.

rlnonay · #4 April 15th, 2015, 02:31 PM

The question is - on a cave, if I haven't seen the ship component yet, and I leave the level (to drop off what I am currently carrying), will it still disappear? Or do I need to have seen it first?

ibol · #5 April 15th, 2015, 10:34 PM

this is not particle physics: no observation is required

(see "double slit experiment")

my point is, if you leave an area, ship components will disappear, whether you have seen them or not. Note there is a difference between "components" and "devices". component = weapon, shield, engine, etc. basic ship parts.
device = special stuff like rock plow, ram scoop, algae harvesters, etc.

Kazeto · #6 April 15th, 2015, 11:11 PM

Of course, in the end, unless you completely disregard crafting (which is ... a weird choice, but I'm not the one to tell you how to play the game) most components are in the end just five ship parts so losing them isn't as much of a deal as it appears to be. Outside of those rare cases where the component you'd found is something that can be sold for a bajilion, but you can craft stuff like that too so it's still not the end of the world.

Devices, now those you do want, yes. Because experimenting just to get those devices that you might not yet have can be a waste of parts and a general annoyance because of this, and getting it via dismantling a device is much better.

PvK · #7 April 16th, 2015, 03:05 AM

Hmm. So this implies that one should search an entire area to make sure there are no ship components before leaving (whether that's warping, docking, ascending, descending, or taking the shuttle back to the ship). Hmm.

Kazeto · #8 April 16th, 2015, 01:28 PM

That's generally not a problem if you have the scanner away team item, for as long as you remember to get back to your shuttle after cleaning a level on which you'd found a large item.

Well, generally; sometimes the level is divided in two and you just can't get to the other part, in which case there might or might not have been an item but it's not like it really matters since you wouldn't get it anyway.

PvK · #9 April 16th, 2015, 02:11 PM

I've only got to sector 16 so far, only recently got a hand scanner, which I might not always bring, preferring a terrain device on appropriate planets, or an oxygen device for caves.

So far at these lower levels anyway, I find there are fairly often cases when I might otherwise choose to return to the ship or ascend or descend before exploring an entire planet or cave level, because I want to swap away party equipment, or I'm running low on air.

In space too, I may often want to dock or warp before exploring an entire sector.

So I'm just saying that this is now a competing consideration why I might think to avoid doing those things.

ibol · #10 April 18th, 2015, 12:28 PM

ok, so about this:
because of the way item (ship component) data is handled, this is actually a very tricky thing to manipulate, without significantly modify game saves files (I'm trying to make it backwards-compatible).

But, I've got it so that items left of PLANETS do not disappear anymore when you leave the planet. But things in space still disappear. trying to track down *why* ...

[edit] 5 minutes later, PROBLEM SOLVED!