Mechanics of two specific contracts

[kmunoz]

I have two questions about specific contracts and how to complete/not fail them:

1) Solar array cleanings. I recall being able to tractor/mine all the little panel squares, and then the mission completes. Now when I do it, nothing happens. Do I need to do both sides, or just one side? And does the contract complete when I'm done or do I need to go back to the issuing station?

2) Contracts that require me to mine asteroids appear to be failing the moment I jump to the next region over where the asteroids are. I'm not sure what the failure conditions are, or how to successfully complete the contract when the only way to get to where I need to mine involves either jumping to asteroids or taking upwards of 10 minutes to fly to them (which I haven't tried, because, ouch).

[Vice]

1 - Both sides are not required and there is no need to return to the station. So what is likely happening is one or more tiles are still slightly unclean. It can be difficult to spot, hence it's a good idea to go row by row carefully and at a consistent direct angle to insure all are completely cleaned, rather than attempt to sit in one spot and turn to clean each (where range and/or angle may become a factor). Edit: I'll change this in the next update to make it more obvious which panels still need to be cleaned.

2 - If you leave the sector completely, the contract will fail for apparent abandonment. So you'll just need to remain in the same sector where you accepted the contract, then travel to the waypoint and hunt for asteroids from there. The waypoint will generally place you in the middle of a single field, or in between multiple fields (if the sector has a larger icon for asteroids on the nav map, that will generally indicate a broader array of asteroids that are more spread out). If you are in between multiple fields, asteroids may not appear clearly in view at first nearby. You can generally travel near to the waypoint, then look around by rotating your ship to spot some in the distance. Keep HUD mode 2 active so they will be highlighted by the white brackets once they are in detectable range. If you still don't see any, fly slightly pitch up or down, maybe at a diagonal heading angle, and keep flying consistently in that direction while looking around and you should see some eventually appear.

[kmunoz]

2 - If you leave the sector completely, the contract will fail for apparent abandonment. So you'll just need to remain in the same sector where you accepted the contract, then travel to the waypoint and hunt for asteroids from there. The waypoint will generally place you in the middle of a single field, or in between multiple fields

The one that I got provided no waypoint that I could see. The waypoint was still attached to the originating station, and I never left the sector (I don't think? - not sure what we're calling a "sector" here) - I jumped from the station to an adjacent square where there were asteroids.

Looking back on my recording now, I think I know what happened. I was in Rucker at the station that's not surrounded by asteroids (on the map), but there are asteroids in the vicinity. The waypoint was on the station so I assumed it was just the original waypoint I had set to get to that station. But, I think, it was not - it was put there by the contract, and just happened to be the exact same spot, because the contract wanted me to mine the asteroids right outside. It's an edge case, I think, that wouldn't be confusing in any other sector, but it's consistently confusing in Rucker at that specific station - I failed 2 contracts of the same type from that station. Since the contract doesn't specify that you need to go to any particular waypoint (it's not mentioned in the contract text), the player who is unaware of this will not know that the waypoint is important, since it will look exactly like the one that took the player to the station originally.

[kmunoz]

https://i.imgur.com/7sRbBa5.png

You can see in the image above that the waypoint for the contract is identical to what would be the waypoint for the station if it were still active.

[Vice]

Indeed, in a few select locations like that where a station is inside a contract waypoint due to resource location, there can be overlapping. On the plus side, as you noted, it means you don't have to travel very far to acquire what they are asking for and the waypoint itself can be immediately activated in such a situation (leaving the blue box behind as the only visual marker on the map).

[kmunoz]

I'll make sure to mention it in my next video, in case it's a pitfall others might run into. I ran into it twice and I was very confused! But that was offset by the absolutely hilarious havoc of trying to destroy tumbling asteroids while simultaneously being attacked by enemy fighters. Also twice!

[Vice]

Have to watch for those rocks too Collisions can cause a sharp decline in speed, making you a much easier target for those enemy fighters. It can be a tricky balance maintaining sufficient speed to reduce missile threats and inbound attacks while simultaneously avoiding rocks and maneuvering to counter-attack without going too fast or jousting. It's generally one of the more challenging environments to engage in combat with.

[Marvin]

But that was offset by the absolutely hilarious havoc of trying to destroy tumbling asteroids while simultaneously being attacked by enemy fighters.

At least, in this game, you can mitigate that by either flying as an Indy or by limiting your operations to friendly star systems. In Arvoch Alliance you don't have either option. And it can get really hairy.

[kmunoz]

I was doing a "destroy asteroids before they hit the planet" mission in Rucker on the Casual Crew server, where the Feds have taken over. It was all sorts of a bad idea.

[Marvin]

Sometimes it's a good idea to wait for whoever runs the server to give a hand. Especially when it comes to destroying plummeting asteroids. Most especially when those plummeting asteroids are in hostile space. For some reason, the population of a hostile planet doesn't appreciate it when a good Samaritan decides to lend a hand.