Asteroid Caves of No Return

AcePalarum · Post by **AcePalarum** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 10:21 pm

Okay, I can't see this question anyplace else, so I'll ask it myself. Is there an in-game method of mapping the interior of an asteroid cave? (And by in-game, I mean part of EM, not a separate program to have running in parallel. I'm not that computer-savvy.)

I ask because having attempted some exploration in the cave at Sapphire, I got a cargo hold of goodies and ... could not for the life of me find the route out. I finally had to exit and go back to where I had saved before going into the big rock.

Without some way of at least sort of mapping where I've been, I may have to write off the asteroid caves as something else that's beyond my capabilities, which would be a real shame.

CS-ACI- · Post by **CS-ACI-** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 10:37 pm

Hello,

Nope, no way in game.

If you found your way in you know there is a way out.

Try the rule of mazes.

Steve

SeeJay · Post by **SeeJay** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 10:42 pm

There is a map of the cave available on my site.

Welcome btw.

Post by **DaveK** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 12:42 am

If you want to do it yourself then this is how I do it.

1: Enter the cave and stop when your light goes on
2: record your heading and your in-sector coordinates (pX, Py, Pz (not sX, sY and sZ

)
3: choose an obvious tunnel branch that you have not tried; head down it; record your heading;
4: if you reach a branch then stop. Record your coordinates. GOTO 3:
5: if you reach dead end then record your coordinates, reverse your last move and GOTO 3
6: when you find something interesting then stop and record your coordinates GOTO 7:
7: continue until you reach a tunnel branch (GOTO 3) or a dead end (GOTO 5)

Good Luck

My map may not be definitive. In fact it's probably not. There are some squeezes that I can't work out how to get through but that doesn't mean that they can't be got through! It may be that my thrust and wiggle doesn't work

Some of these hard to navigate squeezes may lead to new cave sections.

I'm in the process of measuring the sizes of large objects in the Evoverse (stations, capital ships, gates). I'm intending to measure the outside of an asteroid cave and then map it onto the inside layout to see if there are any big voids not yet visited. If you do this before me, please U2U me and I'll put your work into the Official Evochron Mercenaries' Technical Guide available from SeeJay's site

Nigel_Strange · Post by **Nigel_Strange** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 12:49 am

Breadcrumbs. There are no crows in space.

Post by **DaveK** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 12:53 am

I created the map during my research into the myth of The Ancients. This race is the first of the three alien species known to exist (or have existed) in the Evoverse. (The other two are the Vonari and us!!) There are rumours of a fourth species (the LGM) that visited Earth preceding the appearance of hominids and that continued to visit (and interfere) throughout humanity's evolution and development until we breached the space barrier to become a space race - sorry for the pun

I've explored and mapped several (five so far) asteroid caves. The results suggest that the caves are artificial. They all have the same basic layout, created from conglomerations of small asteroid and boulders - which suggests that they are an artifact of The Ancients. However they differ in having an amazing array of things to discover - ranging from containers through to wrecks and functioning stations and even jump gates. Beyond that there are pieces of technology abandoned by 'The Ancients' millions of years ago. They are well worth exploring when you come across one.

At the moment I'm (still) looking for a cave that is rumoured to be embedded in the surface of an uncharted planet and that acts as a gateway to a city of The Ancients. There are also rumours of a pyramid (about the size of a planetary colony city) on an uncharted planet's surface that is also an alternative entrance to an 'Ancients' city. The riches accruing to the merc that finds them are beyond imagining!

Hint There are some links between areas of the cave that at first appear to be too narrow - hence called squeezes. it is possible to wiggle through.

Select this line to read it Spoiler: Try your lateral strafing jets. End of Spoiler

If you get frustrated then U2U me and tell me which cave you are in and I'll give you some strong hints

Post by **Marvin** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 6:49 pm

I always set a waypoint at the entrance of a cave before I enter. Then, when I want to exit, I just head for the waypoint, maneuvering as required.

AcePalarum · Post by **AcePalarum** » Sat Nov 01, 2014 7:55 pm

Turns out the biggest thing messing me up was a combination of "all these rocks look the same" and not knowing the scale of the cave. *It's nowhere near as big as my perception wanted to make it.* Once I adjusted to the actual size of things, it was a lot easier to navigate in there. (The cave map is also a ridiculously useful thing to have nearby.)

Thanks for all the tips, everyone!