Flying Specimen

[Andargor]

Sorry if this has been asked, but I can't figure out how to get the flying samples. I've tried to fly slow at around 250 behind them, but I can't target them with T, Numpad 1, or Numpad 3, if I use Alt-B for the tractor it kills them (and collects O2 instead), and with B only I can't seem to hit them without a lock.

Help?

[Vice]

Animals can't be targeted, so they can only be tracked and retrieved with visual aiming with the tractor beam. Your speed sounds pretty close to ideal, just be careful not to bump them with your ship's shield or that will cause them to fall to the ground. So without getting too close, bring the tractor beam up to full power as you are right in behind them and you'll usually capture them. It takes practice to get good at. If you still wind up hitting one, you can still recover them from the ground or as they fall (usually easiest to let them fall, then retrieve them from the ground). Or if you prefer the aerial hunt, you can just continue to fly to look for another.

[Marvin]

Yup, that's gotta be the hardest mission to complete. Birds are soft but fast. You gotta kind'a inch up on 'em when you get fairly close. Sometimes it's easier just to climb into a terrain walker and shoot 'em down, then pick 'em up.

[Andargor]

Don't you need live specimens for the missions or just biological (flying) resources are enough?

[Marvin]

IIRC (I try not to do too many of those missions ... intercepting asteroids is a lot easier), you can collect one or the other but can't mix and match.