Common Client Mistakes

Wrong System

Clients are sometimes unfamiliar with the navigation system and panel readout.  This leads to them making one or more of the following mistakes when reporting their system:

• Clients often look at their targeting display rather than their navigation panel, leading them to report their destination system (since it’s targeted) rather than their actual system.  This may also cause them to report “Unexplored” or “Deep Space” as their location.
  You can avoid this by checking the client’s location on the Galaxy Map once they are friended: A green icon will appear on the Galaxy Map representing the in-game location of each person on your friends list, and the first tab of the Galaxy Map will also identify each friend located in the currently highlighted system.
  Xbox Note: The Xbox profile will show the current system of each player that is in game unless that player is accessing Xbox Live through multiple devices at the same time (such as the Xbox and  Smartglass App).  This allows for a quick way to confirm the client’s location without having to navigate the Galaxy Map.
• The game’s font makes certain letters and numbers look very similar to the untrained eye.  Common mistakes involve the numbers 0,1,2,5,8 and the corresponding letters O,I,Z,S,B. 
  All procedurally-named systems follow a fixed format of ending with “LL-L LN-N” or “LL-L LN”, where “L” represents a single letter and “N” is one or more digits.  Not all clients realize this, so they may think the second portion is a number (e.g. “84” when it’s really “B4”)
• Clients occasionally report the name of the currently targeted body or their “neighborhood” rather than their system name.  This is usually the case if the last part of the system name is something like “B” or “AB 2”.  In most cases, the system name is the same as the planet/star name minus the suffix, so it’s easy to determine the correct name.

In all cases, notify dispatch if the client’s actual system is different from their reported system so that the case can be updated with the correct information and other rats assigned to the case can reroute if necessary.

Example:  #3 sys is Maia

Attempted Supercruise to Next System

Some clients — especially newer players — may attempt to supercruise to the next system over when they find themselves without enough fuel to jump.  This situation can also occur from players going AFK while in supercruise.  Either way, this results in players that are may be 100kLS+ from the main star and drastically increases the potential search area.  Worse, clients who attempt this usually find themselves completely empty of fuel — which means they become Code Red rescues on emergency oxygen and are logged out to the main menu.

If a client still has fuel and is in game, a player’s wing beacon makes it easy to locate them.  If a client is unsure of their distance,the rat(s) should be able to  obtain the distance to the wing signal from SC, in the client’s system.  This is useful when the client is close to running out of fuel and an estimated time for the rat(s) to arrive is needed to determine if the client should log out to the menu to save that remaining time or not.

If a client in this situation is Code Red (likely), the common practice is to have a rat determine the client’s direction and approximate distance and have multiple rats fly out so that one is at about that distance, one some distance before it and one some distance after it.  This can be done without a client login if the client remembers what star they were attempting to reach and their rough distance.  Dispatch will coordinate these cases as needed.

It is not possible to properly supercruise to another system — even if you reach it, it will not load in.  After a rescue attempt on a client in this situation (whether or not it is successful) be sure to inform the client of this fact.

Client too close to star

Some clients — particularly those that are attempting to fuel scoop but may not understand all of the mechanics behind it — may approach a star too closely to allow normal supercruise travel to that client.

In most cases, this is resolved by informing dispatch that the client is in the EZ. The dispatch will then instruct the client to make a brief hop to put some distance between them and the star.  In CR cases though, clients cannot supercruise and thus it may be necessary to perform a tactical faceplant.

Client in unsuitable game mode

Clients may be in solo, private group, the main menu, or one of the various current PC game versions(Horizons or Odyssey).  Rats can spot the game mode after fr+ and should notify dispatch if the client is not in open. It is also possible the client may be in PC Legacy, which would potentially be indicated by fr-, though this is best determined by the dispatch/a rat in Legacy who can check on their account.

Client fails to complete !prep instructions

In some cases, clients may receive the !prep instructions and then not complete them.  This is typically due to not understanding how to execute them. This may be indicated by blue shield rings around their icon on the top of your screen when in wing/team(only when the client has shields).   Dispatch should be alerted if this is the case by using the prep- call, provided that there is adequate time in the rescue for the client to accomplish !prep prior to fuel+.  Many rats choose to omit this call, for example if they are just moments away from refueling their client. 

Client logs in early during CR rescue

It is possible that a client does not heed the dispatch’s warnings on a CR case, and logs in before the dispatch’s GO GO GO instructions.  This may be because they thought the instructions provided by dispatch were an invitation to log in, they wanted to check their timer to be helpful, or they misunderstood an instruction sent to someone else being rescued.  Every assigned rat is responsible for monitoring the game’s comm panel for any game mode changes (in this case, logging into open from mm).  Even seconds can make the difference in a CR case, and a log in takes at least 15 seconds.  This should be reported immediately to dispatch, by indicating that the client is in OPEN.  Please also be aware, that if they do this once, they may well do it again.