Because a fuel limpet requires a minimum of 50m underneath a ship in order to travel and attach, it's impossible to refuel a ship that has gone CR while landed on a planet's surface using traditional SOP. if the client is not CR, they simply need to provide 50-100m distance between the bottom of their ship and the planet's surface for the limpet to attach. They can either do this when the Rats are close or if they have enough fuel they can leave the planet's orbit before the Rats arrive, making it a normal rescue in space.
Testing conducted on both PS4 and Xbox indicate that ships are no longer able to be flipped while landed on a planet surface. If a client is low on fuel it's suggested to get them to orbit as quickly as possible or in a worst case scenario have them flip over so that a fuel limpet can be attached if/when they do run out of fuel and become a Code Red rescue. |
The safest way to perform planetary rescues is to have the client and rats log in to a 1.6 version of the game (non-Horizons version), which will give them the option to teleport into orbit. Once there, the rescue can be performed normally even by non-Horizons players.
Limpets cannot get under ships that are landed to refuel them, and if a client attempts to lift-off and runs out of fuel they will crash back into the planet as a CR.
Occasionally, clients use Neutron Star/White Dwarf or FSD boost materials to jump beyond their normal maximum range — and fail to leave themselves enough materials for the return trip. If a client does not have a SRV this is particularly problematic, as they cannot easily find more boost materials.
If a client is in this situation, have them check their maximum jump range on a site such as http://t.fuelr.at/coriolis and see if they have a route that would be viable if their tank is near-empty. If so, either they can scoop on the other side or we can perform a rescue there.
If that option fails, it’s worth noting that ships can scoop mined minerals from planets if they’re careful and the main difficulty is locating those materials. Thus, rat(s) can survey planets that the client is capable of reaching and — upon determining that the correct materials are possible to acquire — can use their SRV to shoot meteorites/etc while the client follows in their ship scooping up the resulting materials. It's important to keep in mind that especially in larger ships targeting surface materials is very difficult. The scan range for surface materials is extremely small and they can only be targeted within about 5m of the ship's cargo hatch. Finding as flat a portion of the planet as possible and getting the client's ship as low as possible to the surface is important. Because the materials are difficult to target, manual directions from the rats to the client is a good idea. It may also be a good idea to practice the technique on un-needed materials as some of the rarer materials can be difficult to find, especially on low percentage planets. Keep in mind that many ships have the cargo scoop behind the cockpit, so once the material is "behind" the cockpit the directions needed for the CMDR to turn are reversed (i.e. if the material is physically left of the scoop, the ship needs to rotate right, and vice versa).
Certain jumponium materials such as Germanium can also be located in asteroid belts around planets (i.e. pristine metallic rings) so if the rats have a mining laser, it's possible to get certain materials without the need to scoop on planets.
Based on information collected by the Rock Rats and other Fleet Comm members, the following is a list of suggestions related to Asteroid Belts:
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Once jumponium materials have been collected, make sure to plot a route back to safe space with a high enough density of stars for the client to continue their journey. If multiple rats are assigned to the rescue, one technique is to have one rat plot a route back to safe space, making a list of each jump (also noting jump range) including systems that need jumponium to reach, while the other rat(s) stay with the client and start making jumps when a clear route is identified.
A demonstration video of the ship scooping is here.
If the client is being attacked by or is in proximity of an NPCs, there are a number of actions that can be taken. Keep in mind that we are purely anti-PvP while on rescues, so attacking other players isn't what we do.
In any of these situations, it’s important to notify dispatch what is going on and of the rat(s) anticipated actions
Resource Extraction Sites and Combat Zones add an additional level of threat to the client and rat(s) on the case. These are similar to a pirate attacking a client, but with more numerous and more powerful ships potentially interfering with the rescue. It’s critical to get the client to a safe location to complete fueling and debriefing. In these situations notify dispatch immediately.
Long range rescues are rescues that are over 1,000 LY from the bubble. Special procedures for this are covered in Long Range Rescue Standard Operating Procedures.