Throwing myself at a tower

29th July 2014 – 5.26 pm

All looks clear at home. A casual inspection of the signature count compares to the bookmarks I have, but checking the gas sites sees that two have dissipated. That gives me two new signatures to identify before I can safely assume the system is clear. Thankfully, we live in class 4 w-space and that means, as a general rule, we only see K162s, and those signatures are around as chubby as our static wormhole. A blanket scan is enough to show that the new signatures are not wormholes.

A lack of other connections is a good start, considering that I have finally remembered the four Gecko drones in the hold of my Proteus strategic cruiser. When did I steal them? Some days ago, that's for sure, maybe a week, and I've been flying around with them taking space since. With no one around in the home system I can drop them at the tower without being seen, so that's my first task, and easily accomplished. Now to scan.

Gas and data. I nearly warp to our static wormhole to start exploring, but realise that a slow start to the evening in an anomaly may be a better idea. Keep the ISK flowing, and all that. At least, as long as I don't lose the Golem. What are the odds? I warp back to the tower, swap to the marauder, and head out to the same old anomaly as always, for some smooth Sleeper slaughter.

Bright cloud in a class 4 anomaly

All goes swimmingly, even if the clouds of blinding doom remain, and I bring home most of the loot in the Golem and what's left swept up by a destroyer. That's about ninety million ISK made, now for a quick poke around. Back in to my Proteus, warp to the static wormhole, and jump through. Updating my directional scanner on the K162 in the class 3 w-space system has a familiar sight, kinda, with a lone canister labelled 'Go away'.

Why should that can ring a bell? Ah, maybe because I was here only yesterday, when we had the same neighbouring system. I still have the bookmarks in my recycling folder, which I recover, apart from the wormholes which must be dead by now. I see two new anomalies and maybe a couple of new signatures, but I'm not counting. I just launch probes and perform a blanket scan. Hey, two ships, one fat, one skinny. Surely the Epithal hauler and Helios covert operations boat aren't still idling since yesterday.

I warp across to the tower, thankfully using yesterday's bookmarks to head directly to the tower with the ships and not the one with the bubble traps. Or so I think. I still end up in the bubble of the tower without the ships, which is dumb and confusing, and I realise that I actually labelled the bookmarks incorrectly yesterday. That explains why I kept going to the wrong tower.

I reverse carefully out of the warp bubble and head to the tower where I expect to find the ships, correcting the bookmark labels as I go. It takes three attempts. I'm not too smart sometimes. But I get the tower bookmarks ship-shape and land outside the tower where I don't see an idling Epithal and Helios, but a Kryos hauler and Taranis interceptor. They're both very idle, but they've at least swapped ships over a period of a day.

Decloaked outside of a tower

The pilots may be idle, but the tower is not. I see an ECM effect applied to my Proteus, which is a most curious sight when my ship is cloaked. It's a less curious sight when my ship isn't cloaked, which it isn't, even though it should be. Crap! What happened? Damn, I know. I suffered finger trouble when editing the bookmarks and hit the wrong button, dropping my cloak. Now a gun is shooting me, as well as the ECM continuing to jam me. I've got to get out of here, before a warp disruption effect hits!

  1. 9 Responses to “Throwing myself at a tower”

  2. I hope you make it out :-) I had a scare a couple of days ago, I think its a gitch post cirius release. Jumping into a new w/h I opened scanner and map and hit cloak whilst moving away from the entrance. The green cloaky glow showed cloak active however a couple of minutes later I cosed down the map only then to see my proteus cloak with the cloaky noise. Had I been motoring away from the w/h visible for all that time? I checked with a corp m8 and he confirmed I had cloaked even if the graphics and sound waited for the mapper to close before showing the cloak action on the ship.

    By amarrahh on Jul 29, 2014

  3. I hope so too. I can't wait to find out what happens!

    I have experienced the same graphical oddity post-Crius. Indeed, it seems that if you cloak whilst in the system map, the cloak effect doesn't occur until you close the map, although the actual cloak takes effect immediately.

    I had exactly the same graphical oddity occur quite some time prior to Crius, though, and it was also fixed at some point. Maybe we should be raising bug reports, or something.

    By pjharvey on Jul 29, 2014

  4. I too have experience that while in map mode with the Loki. When I closed the map not only was I not cloaked but ship was headed tail first through space. A sec or two after closing the map I turned around and cloaked. And this happened before much earlier than the last two updates. Also, did stop until yesterday when I noticed it again. Funny then to read your adventure and find that I'm not nuts, its happened to others. Fly Safe.

    By Feather Hawk on Jul 29, 2014

  5. Confirming that if you cloak on map view and then close map you'll see your ship begin cloaking then.
    It's been happening for a while (tho i didn't really keep track).
    Caused me to uncloak by hitting cloak 2nd time couple times too...

    By Mick Straih on Jul 29, 2014

  6. It can kinda cause those little moments of panic.

    By pjharvey on Jul 29, 2014

  7. I've noticed this too. It also occurred after one of the other releases, I forget which. At least my Tengu isn't flying backwards, which is something to be thankful for.

    Another thing I noticed today is a turret effect from a sleeper aimed at my cloaked ship. I hadn't been locked obviously as I was cloaked, but none the less it happened. Most disconcerting.

    By Mortlake on Jul 30, 2014

  8. I have also seen it. It appears that any time you cloak/recloak, then the next time you leave map view you get to see yourself uncloaked briefly even though it's not the case. Anyway, that's my take on what I am seeing. It was scary and is still annoying.

    By Von Keigai on Jul 30, 2014

  9. Been a while but still when cloaked and in system map then upon exit I still see my ship at which time the cloak appears again to activate. Is this a glitch that others are still experiencing? Perhaps the best thing to do is to have other "friendly" pilots spot me as I go in and out of system map to see if it's just my view that is askew or in fact when in system map I am indeed visible. Have you found the same? Fly well and watch your top knot. Hawk.

    By Feather Hawk on Sep 4, 2014

  10. Yeah, it's a glitch of sorts when cloaking with the system map open. Not to worry, though, as it is only a graphical glitch, and your client still tells the server that you've cloaked. No one can actually see you.

    I've also noticed that warp sounds persist when opening the system map in warp, or starting warp then opening the system map. The system map has a lot to answer for, it seems.

    By pjharvey on Sep 4, 2014

Sorry, comments for this entry are closed.