Actual tip: You can use heatsinks instead! Silent running closes your heat "exhaust", so you are invisible on the radar, because the radar is based on heat. Heatsink removes all heat from your ship, temporarily having the same effect. Except you keep your shields and you can even boost.
Another tip thermal vent laser beams have the same effect i have 2 on my vulture that freeze my ship completely everytime is start shooting target for longer then 3 to 5 seconds its silent running without all the problems of silent running it became obsolete after engerneering made its introduction
Just my personal experience: Silent running usually has more downsides than upsides. If you need to dock on a space station, what is most important is your approach before you even drop out of super cruise. Line up with the mail-slot before you drop out, then leg it. Request docking as soon as you can at 7.5km then keep legging it. In Open this is kinda risky because you might run into some unsuspecting player leaving the station, minding her own business and “boink.” Keep that in mind. This virtually never happens in Solo (or Private.) If you're properly aligned with the mail-slot and nothing unusual happens, your trip inside shouldn't take more than 25 seconds. In the rare case I get scanned early, I drop a heatsink and boost, boost, boost, past the station, back into supercruise and try again. If they start scanning close to the slot, just fly inside. It'll block the scan. 9 out of 10 times, if I get the drop-out alignment right, I don't get scanned at all and on that 1 out of 10 they mostly start the scan way too late to catch me. It's still a thrill, though. Now, landing on planetary bases is a totally different beast. They will scan you until the docking clamps have engaged. There is certainly need for silent running here. One more nice thing about silent running: If you engage it early enough after requesting to dock, the space dock controller will actually tell you that they've lost you on their sensors and plead for you to reestablish contact. That is a nice touch :)
oh the last point explains why the station started shooting as me once even tho the only thing i did was accidentally hit the silent running switch and disabling it a few seconds later
I've noticed switching off non essential modules during your supercruise to the station reduces the heat signature also. This gets your base heat signature really low, and a longer silent running time for the heat build up.
Okay - a little geometry lesson here.... AT 1:32 When trying to align your spacecraft with the station, don't assume if the station is pointed at you, that the station is aligned. IT IS NOT That station hologram is relative to your spacecraft's orientation - NOT YOU - so the station will be aligned if the station is pointed down and a little left of you. For you geometry buffs and boffins - the center-line vector of the spacestation must be parallel with the center-line vector of your spacecraft. Only then are you guaranteed of appearing directly in front of, and aligned with, the mail-slot. Notice at 1:32 when he warps in, the different orientations of the hologram and the station. The hologram is pointed at you, but the station is high and right. So if the hologram is low and left, the station will appear centered to you. Try it and see. At 4:07, where he entered the slot, stop the video and notice the hologram THATS what you want.
Also, most stations have the slot pointing towards (not directly at) the planet they orbit. That is a good starting point to aim for while still in SC.
@@mattstacey7532 You are right, sir. The stations typically point up at 30-45 degrees from the ecliptic toward the planets northpole. and off to one side by about 20-30 degrees making your approach not the fastest it could be.
I love it how this has almost *nothing* to do with geometry(common sense at best), but you still _had_ to use your ''geometry mastery'' to rub one out. I love people like you, you make me feel like a smart person in comparison.
I just punch the mail slot at full throttle and four pips, then full reverse and flip once I'm inside. Granted, I scrape my conda 8/10 times, but that's what shields are for, right?
I mean if you do it often enough you get so experienced with this method that you will never crash. Just algin already in supercruise with the mail slot and then just pull off full throttle once you drop out. Start throttling down when you are right before the enterance and you will be fine. Jebaited
@@squidwardtentacles244 Stations do have quite the angle compared to the original Elite (because otherwise you'd be looking right at the planet instead of space when launching). Yes, they're angled more towards the planet instead of open space but the emphasize is on "angle" so you still have to find that when approaching.
I've been turning on silent running, dropping a heat sink, pulling the throttle back to zero, and walking to the fridge for a drink as the Auto Dock does it's thing.
A good video - but for me smuggling starts long before you drop out of supercruise. Firstly, if you plan to smuggle a lot you need to equip a ship to run cold. Some (the diamondback explorer) are practically made for smuggling others (the T7) overheat really easily and fly slowly. Engineering and module choice can make all the difference in the world here as well - choose and engineer wisely. Heat sinks can massively extent silent running in terms of how long you get and how low your temps go. But let's assume you're flying a ship not optimised for smuggling? - when you drop out of supercruise, before requesting docking shut down any unnecessary modules, like weapons and shields. This will both cool the ship AND made it gain heat far slower if/when you engage silence running.Finally. Although it sounds dramatic - don't let the "heat damage" alarms scare you into leaving silent running early. The heat damage is generally actually quite minor and you're - by definition - near to a station where you can repair any damage that occurs for a lot less than the cost of being caught smuggling is likely to be. Take your time, watch the scanner and don't risk crashing into another commander just to save a tiny repair bill from little the ship get a bit toasty.
I use a Keelback fully engineered for thermal efficiency. It runs at 13% heat output in normal space. It never gets scanned comming into or leaving a station. I Just need to remember not to boost, as temp goes up and I'm immediately scanned.
3 things 1) Flight assist off while silent running, this turns off flight corrections. That will keep your ship cooler, in turn, more "quiet" 2) The more mass your ship has, the more power is needed to move it. Slow big ships need a bigger power plant, which means you run hotter quicker in silent running. I don't know which ships are heavier off the top of my head, but rule of thumb, larger the ship, the more you gotta work with it module and core internals. 3) When in doubt, heat is creeping up on you, turn off some modules. Weapons, scanners, modules. Life support definitely. Still heating up too fast? Heat sink To go completely dead quiet, Silent running and thrusters off. You will be only be detectable by being seen, but you can't be scanned. Some savvy pilots drift into the station like that. Pretty neat! Krait MkII (I guess the Phantom as well) is a smuggler ship, with low normal signature which makes silent running easy. Mamba and FDL are hot boxes, silent running difficult but still doable. Corvette or Cutter, What are you doing? Those ain't ships designed to be used like that, still doable with heatsinks and being VERY CAREFUL in the mailslot.
You could also deploy your hardpoints right when you are getting scanned then deactivate them when the scan indicator goes away. Rinse and repeat as necessary until landing
Good stuff but listen up. Use adv docking comp and use auto dock. Outside the station say at 6km request landing permission. Throttle back and let the dock comp kick in then throttle up to disengage auto dock and hit your silent running.. go thru the gate then, once inside, throttle back again and, no matter your telemetry, the auto dock kicks in and lands you safe, it also turns off silent running. It is that simple. To exit same procedure.. hit launch then let auto kick in, as you rise throttle forward then hit silent running and boosh! thru you go, get clear of station then switch off silent and the job is done. This is if you are carrying anything illegal including illegal or secretive passengers. Heat sinks not required. Thank me later 😉 Safe travels.
In the September 2019 upgrade, the "straight in" strategy was fatally nerfed, it seems. Now it doesn't matter how well you align with the station icon, you still pop into normal space out to one side of the station or other, much farther from the mail slot. I've never used the straight ion approach for smuggling, but just for making approaches to the stations quicker and easier. That made a docking computer unnecessary because there was no need to travel long distances in normal space and under a speed limit. Not so any longer. After years of playing this game I have finally had to begin using docking computers to speed up the station-approach process. I'd preferred using the space in my ship for something else. It used to be a game challenge to pop into normal space aligned with and close to the mail slot. Now that seems impossible.
Two quick questions. 1 - Can you simply engage Silent Running as soon as you hear the 'ship scan detected' message? And will that interrupt / delay their scan? 2 - What about dropping cargo - does that increase the scan time? Actually - those are two things I guess I can test myself - never played with silent running.
Do not rely on Silent Running for smuggling! The longer you take to get in then the more chance Security will eyeball you! No problem in boosting in, drop Landing Gear before entrance and use Shields to stop you. Silent Running is for Combat really so better you do use Boost in at 7km and drop a HeatSink if you really want to but frankly you wont get so hot if you are fast enough. There was a tactic of shoot the Scanning ship to break a scan. This was used when being Interdicted and was better than losing all your Robigo Smuggling Missions. A light hit now would not make you WANTED neither. Anyway it's not hard to get in the Dock.
One of the things I used to do is shut everything down that I don’t need immediately. Even life support. I kept thrusters and targeting on obviously. Powering things I was told generates heat. I would line up with the mail slot and activate silent running. I would activate a heat sink and boost. I also watched when the NPC flew by the front of the station. I’m not sure if any of that was useless.
I don't smuggle much, but sometimes I pick up some contraband that I want to fence. If I'm carrying something illegal, I just dock faster than usual. By the time they start scanning, I'm already through the slot and docked soon after. No need to bother with silent running.
I used to do silent, but now I just full speed through the mail slot. I recommend practicing this before hand lol. I didn’t practice first and my first couple trips were rough rofI. I usually pop a heat sink about 5 seconds out. Once you make it through the slot you are good. Planet landings can be a pain in the butt though.
I find entering the mail slot when carrying illegal goods/passengers to be of no trouble at all by just lining up and boosting to the slot and slowing for entry the only time it needs thought is if a ship leaves as you approach the slot. Now when I deliver illegal stuff to planets or out posts that’s when you really need to be smart, I started out practising on outposts that are neutral to me so I know I will get scanned. There are several things you need to do. First get to 7.5km and get your docking access. Do not get closer yet! Then see if you can spot the pad for you illuminate, if you can it’s easier now as you just go full speed with no boost line up and be prepared to flip over as the landing pad may be the wrong way round. If you don’t see the landing pad illuminate I approach whilst thrusting up with nose down and banking as necessary to spot the illuminated pad. I often use fa off but I don’t use it that much as I line up easy. Just practise an speed approach, flipping over to enter the pad the correct way around, and medium speed thrust turn to get to the side of the outpost. Once mastered planets are a breeze in gravity that is good for you, if it isn’t you choose the wrong planet to trade on. Now you can see why mail slots are very easy. The enjoyment from outpost landing whilst smuggling is the best feeling in elite. o7
heh I remember years ago when some stations would actually destroy you if you got scanned with illicit goods... in those days a risky tactic was to line up perfectly with the slot about 10km out , turn every thing off except for thrusters & sensors then boost with FA off then disable thrusters then at 6km request docking drop a heatsink if you have one and then engage silent running.... cross your fingers and hope you got it right - if you did re enable the thrusters and disable the silent running as you enter the slot - what used to stop NPC scans was not deploying weapons but firing them and hitting the NPC doing the scan, I did this many a time doing robigo runs, when it was a proper white knuckled ride back to the bubble , this was before horizons if i remember rightly tho....
What i hear about chaffs is not that they make the scan longer, but that it prevents any scan from initiating while the chaff is on. I have never really tested if it worked tho..
once i flew in a station with my conda while using the silent running.. i wanted to turn my ship a bit so that i don´t scratch anywhere at the entrance.. End of the story.. i pressed the wrong key and boosted instead of turning right through the gate.. through the station and exploded at the controltower at the end of the dock.. GG XD
i despise that they still haven't added a UI feature or sound cues of how far the scan is going on you, or if it's interrupted...just a beginning warning that will also trigger passenger dissatisfaction and stuff, even if the scan fails! they had 3 years almost now and still does not give a jack trade about it...and this is what i call dev negligence...
Frontier gives a shit about game mechanics, you fly your space ship, thats all they care, almost all ships are the same, few differences but all are boring. The game mechanics are broken beyond belief for years now, and all they do is DINO LAND
Very informing video, thanks. I couldnt find it in the comments, but what about turning off pilot assistance? That would result in less heat right, cant you just zip in using no engines? (Im relativly new to the game, not tried doing that yet.)
I've never used silent running and never been caught snuggling either. This seems cool and stuff, I like the tactic but my question is, is this more effective than, flying through the entrance at 400 m/s cutting the engines to zero and using the inertia to carry yourself to the pad, deploying your landing gear and touching down all in a handful of seconds. That's what are usually do and I've never actually used to silent running I always kind of wondered what it was for, I might try this from now on though it seems like a good way to get in without being detected or at least avoiding a scan for the most part
I dont know where these scanning ships are I thought it was the station that scans you as you approach. Still , anyway, I can get illegal passengers into stations easy enough with a dolphin or orca . I usually approach out at the side then request docking , As they call out the landing bay I put on silent running and hit max throttle also while holding down thrust so it lines up fast with the slot then let go and move toward the slot I throttle back abit to get in without hitting the slot or ships , Usually the ship is getting hot then I deploy a heatsink.( which I have ready on my fire button ) I pass through fairly slow about 60 - 70 m/s or so . I usually hear the message That I need to reengage the link as they cant detect me as I pass through. Then find the pad while deploying landing gear. Line it up a bit then disengage the silent run and make sure weapons retracted then start landing . That is how Ive been doing it , seem to work . The passenger ships seem good with the heat and are fast enough and nimble enough to fly in ok .
The mission board doesn't state if a passenger is illegal or not. The passenger profile doesn't state it either. It just has a "threat level." Should I assume any passenger mission with a threat level is illegal?
What about if you initiate silent running when the scan starts? I assume it would break the scanning ship's target lock, unless it's already very close: I've noticed that scanning ships will tend to close on your ship while still scanning, so they might be able to keep a target lock even despite the closed heat vents.
I thought you have mentioned in other videos that when you see a scan has been initiated that firing off a heat sink will prevent the scan? Is this correct or not?
o7 CMDR. I was just about to attempt the black market runs for that engineer. I was dead set on just deploying my hard points or storming the mail slot.
Use a light armor long jump modified anaconda, you can silent run very long without overheading and just in case use a heat sink. I did illegal passenger missions on this setup it's amazingly easy.
I never used SR, I always line out in supercruise and then drop out, request docking and keep my speed over 200m/s when entering the slot. Never been scanned when smuggling.
I will try it out, i usually just fly at full speed and boost my self though the slot. As soon as I enter the entrance I pull the break and the docking computer takes over. I almost never get scanned
well if you are silent running and lets say you have a signatur redius of 800m. You will need to cover 1600m before you are our of scan range again. and moving at 200m/s that will take you 8 sec. The scan time is 10 sec so if you assumes whoever is scanning is not moving then yes, you would be able to get away before then scan completes.
Probably too early to tell, but it seems that the hologram alignment trick got nerfed with the Sept 2019 update. Played E:D for a few hours this weekend and everytime I drop out of cruise, the station is in a different alignment than the hologram made it out to be prior to dropping out.
What about mining, how to avoid npc scans when you're trying to mine (specially when you have expensive cargo and would like to fill them up with running another mining belts)?
Gwynsladle those only spawn when you jump into an instance. My advice is to sell all cargo before logging out. Otherwise, jump out, jump back in and *run* as fast as possible as soon as possible and hope they don’t follow
Curious to see popping heat sinks. That's been my strategy with my passenger beluga but I haven't tested how long it increases the scan time. VIPs, with an illigal, in a beluga, with station traffic can be a fun task just to make it through the mail slot.
Heat sinks dont change the scan time, but it lovers your heat signature to zero. So it work as a temporarily slient running. If the ship scanning you are within your minimum detection range, heat sinks dose nothing for you (nor dose silent running). in cases like that there is only one think to do... RUN!!! :-)
@@DowntoEarthAstronomy thanks for the reply! That makes sense. I have bashed my beluga in the back of the station and lost payment from ungrateful VIPs from that boost to "safety." It's a hard life for the luxury people smuggler.
That is all well and good but where do I get the contraband in the first place. Every black market I roll up to is completely empty. Everybody stares at me like a narc. Where the space dope at?
You can buy stuff at one market, where it is legal, and then travel to another place where it is illegal... for example slaves or weapons. Or you can steal cargo from other ships with hatch-breaker limpets, or find it on planet surfaces...
Hey nice video. I just have this doubt, an aspect that didn't stay clear to me. Silent running, while getting scanned, does or does it not reset the scanning process?
If the ship scanning toy are within your base detection range then starting silent running dose nothing. It it is outside your base detection range silent running will make them loose target lock and stop the scan
haven't tried since the new update but deploying hardpoints disrupts the scans as well. I have played around outside a station and tested it. just deploy and close the scan will reset everytime you do it.
I suspect that Down To Earth Astronomy have performed the test not very well. He deployed HPs in split second after the NPCs started scanning him and therefore he's got a split second benefit in scan time. I guess if he deploy HPs somewhen before the scan ends, he'll get almost doubled scan time. And as you say the deploying will reset the scan process everytime you do it, D2EA could manage to get a scan time as long as he wanted.
"... You've got to cool down Take it easy You've got to cool down Relax take it easy Slow down relax Slow down relax It's too late to worry Slow down take it easy" (Laid Back - Baker Man)
I imagine this is for big ships since they're slow right?? I've never had an issue with smuggling using medium or small ships, I tend to be in the station by the time they even get close.
As soon as I pass through the mail slot, I immediately turn off silent running because I've never ever been scanned inside a station. Has that changed?
so, NPC-s scan you at 1 kilometer distance usually... As you said in this video, with silent running, you need to be rather close to get a lock on a target (less than a kilometer in any ship's case) - although to be quite frankly honest, I personally do not remember ever seeing the ability to lock onto another player's ship basically no matter how much of a near-miss I made of them, when they were in silent running... But that's possibly down to my shitty reactions, as for smaller ships... I go at 600m/s, they go at 600m/s... you know, it's way less than a second that I could see that I could lock onto them if a joust happens, and indeed if my opponent would be silent running, I do not look at the scanner at all but rather do my best to keep them in sight, instead) None-the-less... I am rather weirded out that you did not try to test out what happened if you initiated silent running as soon as you saw a scan was initiated... Guess I'll try that out myself, because thus far, what I have believed is that I do not need to initiate silent running before I start to get scanned, because silent running would immediately break the scan... and I'd already be in a nice 150 to 200m/s vector straight inside the docking bay so an npc would not have time to get close enough to scan me (and my theory is, they get confuzed and don't try to scan you in general once you put on silent running...)
...or just land. Stations don't scan before you go below 200 m/s. I always come in aligned, boost once and go through the slot with 100, breaking shortly before. Have not been scanned in a year. All the rest is mumbo jumbo ;-) and only at Outposts or Planet side landings you might need to deploy Hardpoints once in a while. Silent running kind of never...
unless its a t10 going dirty g5 w/ DD's without scratching paint going into the slot, it aint pro... now if we could get the panther(resized to fit L pad, not the semi-carrier frigate it was described as) going flawless full speed to the landing pad...:P
@@DowntoEarthAstronomy More specifically: I've heard that deploying hardpoints forces them to restart the scan. So the test would need to include cycling them through the scan. Might have something to do with those extra frames vs the other tests?
@XxX Guilty King XxX You should learn how to park, you could use the slot for something actually usefull. Using something to compensate for being bad or lazy is kinda a waste of space on your ship. I barely have room for the stuff i want on it without the docking computer. Also when you're suddenly forced to not use one for some reason, you're gonna be in trouble. Honestly docking isn't so bad once you're used to it. Especially when you're new, you can afford to make big mistakes, even ones that get your ship destroyed since your ship doesn't cost that much to get back.
@@NeoUzzy It would make sense to use the docking computer if you're always having to dock with the job you pick, after you learn how to dock manually that is, so if you need to dock without one you can if you need to.
I fly a T10 regularly, and, on occasion I need to smuggle something in. Speed is not an option. I fly in silent while keeping the ship cool with sinks. I have discovered that if the ship is cool enough and silent, I can break a ship scan by deploying chaff.
Silent running is totally unnecessary in this case, one heatsink does a better job over the given time and keeps your shield up. Also allied stations don't scan you which can be very useful.
why is everyone playing with default FOV, looks like the half screen is gone. 80-85 is ok, 90 is to much FOV in this game. as long as you can see your pilots hands without looking down.
God damn. How does one get billions in cash? I've been doing the Damona (Littrow City) run where i could stack up to 7million CR. worth of Credits. Now that that's gone I can barely get more than 400k per flight. Note i am NOT a capable bounty hunter. Usually I do transport and passenger missions.
Search for "elite money making" - but making a billion still takes a lot of time, now. In the past, there were much more profitable money making schemes, all nerfed. Once the next update hits, when board flipping is nerfed, it is truely going to take forever to get anywhere, creditwise. Unless other new schemes come up that don't require flipping boards.
Actual tip: You can use heatsinks instead!
Silent running closes your heat "exhaust", so you are invisible on the radar, because the radar is based on heat. Heatsink removes all heat from your ship, temporarily having the same effect. Except you keep your shields and you can even boost.
Another tip thermal vent laser beams have the same effect i have 2 on my vulture that freeze my ship completely everytime is start shooting target for longer then 3 to 5 seconds its silent running without all the problems of silent running it became obsolete after engerneering made its introduction
Just my personal experience:
Silent running usually has more downsides than upsides. If you need to dock on a space station, what is most important is your approach before you even drop out of super cruise. Line up with the mail-slot before you drop out, then leg it. Request docking as soon as you can at 7.5km then keep legging it.
In Open this is kinda risky because you might run into some unsuspecting player leaving the station, minding her own business and “boink.” Keep that in mind. This virtually never happens in Solo (or Private.)
If you're properly aligned with the mail-slot and nothing unusual happens, your trip inside shouldn't take more than 25 seconds. In the rare case I get scanned early, I drop a heatsink and boost, boost, boost, past the station, back into supercruise and try again. If they start scanning close to the slot, just fly inside. It'll block the scan.
9 out of 10 times, if I get the drop-out alignment right, I don't get scanned at all and on that 1 out of 10 they mostly start the scan way too late to catch me. It's still a thrill, though.
Now, landing on planetary bases is a totally different beast. They will scan you until the docking clamps have engaged. There is certainly need for silent running here.
One more nice thing about silent running: If you engage it early enough after requesting to dock, the space dock controller will actually tell you that they've lost you on their sensors and plead for you to reestablish contact.
That is a nice touch :)
oh the last point explains why the station started shooting as me once even tho the only thing i did was accidentally hit the silent running switch and disabling it a few seconds later
I want to thank you (and other YTers) for teaching me how to play this incredible and incredibly difficult to learn game.
Ha, never played eve online i see.
@@Supportik I knew that one comment saying "HuH, I sEe thAt yOu hAvE nEvEr DoNe tHiS" was gonna be here
2 words. Key bindings.
@@Supportikeve is shit, e:d is masterpiece
I've noticed switching off non essential modules during your supercruise to the station reduces the heat signature also. This gets your base heat signature really low, and a longer silent running time for the heat build up.
Okay - a little geometry lesson here.... AT 1:32
When trying to align your spacecraft with the station, don't assume if the station is pointed at you, that the station is aligned. IT IS NOT
That station hologram is relative to your spacecraft's orientation - NOT YOU - so the station will be aligned if the station is pointed down and a little left of you.
For you geometry buffs and boffins - the center-line vector of the spacestation must be parallel with the center-line vector of your spacecraft.
Only then are you guaranteed of appearing directly in front of, and aligned with, the mail-slot.
Notice at 1:32 when he warps in, the different orientations of the hologram and the station. The hologram is pointed at you, but the station is high and right.
So if the hologram is low and left, the station will appear centered to you.
Try it and see. At 4:07, where he entered the slot, stop the video and notice the hologram
THATS what you want.
Also, most stations have the slot pointing towards (not directly at) the planet they orbit. That is a good starting point to aim for while still in SC.
@@mattstacey7532 You are right, sir. The stations typically point up at 30-45 degrees from the ecliptic toward the planets northpole. and off to one side by about 20-30 degrees making your approach not the fastest it could be.
I know this is a hell of a necro but my god, this was the single most useful tip of the whole video. Thanks so much!!!!
I love it how this has almost *nothing* to do with geometry(common sense at best), but you still _had_ to use your ''geometry mastery'' to rub one out.
I love people like you, you make me feel like a smart person in comparison.
I just punch the mail slot at full throttle and four pips, then full reverse and flip once I'm inside. Granted, I scrape my conda 8/10 times, but that's what shields are for, right?
I mean if you do it often enough you get so experienced with this method that you will never crash. Just algin already in supercruise with the mail slot and then just pull off full throttle once you drop out. Start throttling down when you are right before the enterance and you will be fine.
Jebaited
Shields are deactivated when silent running
Bruno KS We don’t use silent running we go in loud and fast but before they even realise we’re there
Oops, a type 9 is in the mail slot JUST as you boost inside... What's that? You're stuck now? Oh boy!
i should be good to go then, i do this regardless of what i'm carrying. gotta go fast
600 hours in and i just find out you can align yourself with station entrances before dropping out of supercruise.... damn... this game lol
they changed it, u cant do that anymore
@@joepiscapo1879 you just have to drop out while the planet is directly looking at your back. every station faces the planet its orbiting
@@joepiscapo1879 That's not true, or at least not in my experience. I still do this all the time
@@squidwardtentacles244 Not 100% accurate, but basically true.
@@squidwardtentacles244 Stations do have quite the angle compared to the original Elite (because otherwise you'd be looking right at the planet instead of space when launching). Yes, they're angled more towards the planet instead of open space but the emphasize is on "angle" so you still have to find that when approaching.
I've been turning on silent running, dropping a heat sink, pulling the throttle back to zero, and walking to the fridge for a drink as the Auto Dock does it's thing.
Auto dock turns off silent running...
A good video - but for me smuggling starts long before you drop out of supercruise. Firstly, if you plan to smuggle a lot you need to equip a ship to run cold. Some (the diamondback explorer) are practically made for smuggling others (the T7) overheat really easily and fly slowly. Engineering and module choice can make all the difference in the world here as well - choose and engineer wisely. Heat sinks can massively extent silent running in terms of how long you get and how low your temps go.
But let's assume you're flying a ship not optimised for smuggling? - when you drop out of supercruise, before requesting docking shut down any unnecessary modules, like weapons and shields. This will both cool the ship AND made it gain heat far slower if/when you engage silence running.Finally. Although it sounds dramatic - don't let the "heat damage" alarms scare you into leaving silent running early. The heat damage is generally actually quite minor and you're - by definition - near to a station where you can repair any damage that occurs for a lot less than the cost of being caught smuggling is likely to be. Take your time, watch the scanner and don't risk crashing into another commander just to save a tiny repair bill from little the ship get a bit toasty.
I use a Keelback fully engineered for thermal efficiency. It runs at 13% heat output in normal space. It never gets scanned comming into or leaving a station. I Just need to remember not to boost, as temp goes up and I'm immediately scanned.
Dont forget, when you align yourself properly with the slot, deactivating flight assist will reduce your heat generation, and pop lots of heatsinks.
Note: if you extend your landing gear or cargo scoop while speeding up during a boost, it will stop the acceleration of the boost.
Great video! That's exactly wanted I needed to know. You explained it really well as normal on your channel. Thank you and keep up the good work! o7
Thanks for making these videos-I really like your analytical style
"yes. this is my heat sink hot key, and it's cool as ice."
3 things
1) Flight assist off while silent running, this turns off flight corrections. That will keep your ship cooler, in turn, more "quiet"
2) The more mass your ship has, the more power is needed to move it. Slow big ships need a bigger power plant, which means you run hotter quicker in silent running. I don't know which ships are heavier off the top of my head, but rule of thumb, larger the ship, the more you gotta work with it module and core internals.
3) When in doubt, heat is creeping up on you, turn off some modules. Weapons, scanners, modules. Life support definitely. Still heating up too fast? Heat sink
To go completely dead quiet, Silent running and thrusters off. You will be only be detectable by being seen, but you can't be scanned. Some savvy pilots drift into the station like that. Pretty neat!
Krait MkII (I guess the Phantom as well) is a smuggler ship, with low normal signature which makes silent running easy. Mamba and FDL are hot boxes, silent running difficult but still doable. Corvette or Cutter, What are you doing? Those ain't ships designed to be used like that, still doable with heatsinks and being VERY CAREFUL in the mailslot.
You could also deploy your hardpoints right when you are getting scanned then deactivate them when the scan indicator goes away. Rinse and repeat as necessary until landing
It’s useful to know that stations almost always align to the nearby planet or Star.
Thank You For Your hard work making these videos.
I just dump a heatsink when they scan me as I go in.
Abyss Treader yip also works for me.
Doesnt a heat sink give you a fine for littering since you fire the heatsink
Bang on, works for me everytime.
@@NeoUzzy no bc a heatsink is not classified as cargo although it would be littering
You can also avoid scans by coming in behind the station. Sneak across the "top", drop down to the slot.
I really like your break down and attention to detail!
Good stuff but listen up. Use adv docking comp and use auto dock. Outside the station say at 6km request landing permission. Throttle back and let the dock comp kick in then throttle up to disengage auto dock and hit your silent running.. go thru the gate then, once inside, throttle back again and, no matter your telemetry, the auto dock kicks in and lands you safe, it also turns off silent running. It is that simple. To exit same procedure.. hit launch then let auto kick in, as you rise throttle forward then hit silent running and boosh! thru you go, get clear of station then switch off silent and the job is done. This is if you are carrying anything illegal including illegal or secretive passengers. Heat sinks not required. Thank me later 😉 Safe travels.
In the September 2019 upgrade, the "straight in" strategy was fatally nerfed, it seems. Now it doesn't matter how well you align with the station icon, you still pop into normal space out to one side of the station or other, much farther from the mail slot. I've never used the straight ion approach for smuggling, but just for making approaches to the stations quicker and easier. That made a docking computer unnecessary because there was no need to travel long distances in normal space and under a speed limit. Not so any longer. After years of playing this game I have finally had to begin using docking computers to speed up the station-approach process. I'd preferred using the space in my ship for something else. It used to be a game challenge to pop into normal space aligned with and close to the mail slot. Now that seems impossible.
I'm not experiencing what you're experiencing at all. Weird.
Two quick questions.
1 - Can you simply engage Silent Running as soon as you hear the 'ship scan detected' message? And will that interrupt / delay their scan?
2 - What about dropping cargo - does that increase the scan time?
Actually - those are two things I guess I can test myself - never played with silent running.
Do not rely on Silent Running for smuggling! The longer you take to get in then the more chance Security will eyeball you! No problem in boosting in, drop Landing Gear before entrance and use Shields to stop you. Silent Running is for Combat really so better you do use Boost in at 7km and drop a HeatSink if you really want to but frankly you wont get so hot if you are fast enough.
There was a tactic of shoot the Scanning ship to break a scan. This was used when being Interdicted and was better than losing all your Robigo Smuggling Missions. A light hit now would not make you WANTED neither. Anyway it's not hard to get in the Dock.
One of the things I used to do is shut everything down that I don’t need immediately. Even life support. I kept thrusters and targeting on obviously. Powering things I was told generates heat. I would line up with the mail slot and activate silent running. I would activate a heat sink and boost. I also watched when the NPC flew by the front of the station. I’m not sure if any of that was useless.
Got good at boosting my cutter before scan but it doesn’t help when you crush 3 ships going in🤣
I don't smuggle much, but sometimes I pick up some contraband that I want to fence. If I'm carrying something illegal, I just dock faster than usual. By the time they start scanning, I'm already through the slot and docked soon after. No need to bother with silent running.
I used to do silent, but now I just full speed through the mail slot. I recommend practicing this before hand lol. I didn’t practice first and my first couple trips were rough rofI. I usually pop a heat sink about 5 seconds out. Once you make it through the slot you are good. Planet landings can be a pain in the butt though.
Thanks for the video.
Always cool dude. Thanks for your input. :)
I find entering the mail slot when carrying illegal goods/passengers to be of no trouble at all by just lining up and boosting to the slot and slowing for entry the only time it needs thought is if a ship leaves as you approach the slot. Now when I deliver illegal stuff to planets or out posts that’s when you really need to be smart, I started out practising on outposts that are neutral to me so I know I will get scanned. There are several things you need to do. First get to 7.5km and get your docking access. Do not get closer yet! Then see if you can spot the pad for you illuminate, if you can it’s easier now as you just go full speed with no boost line up and be prepared to flip over as the landing pad may be the wrong way round. If you don’t see the landing pad illuminate I approach whilst thrusting up with nose down and banking as necessary to spot the illuminated pad. I often use fa off but I don’t use it that much as I line up easy. Just practise an speed approach, flipping over to enter the pad the correct way around, and medium speed thrust turn to get to the side of the outpost. Once mastered planets are a breeze in gravity that is good for you, if it isn’t you choose the wrong planet to trade on. Now you can see why mail slots are very easy. The enjoyment from outpost landing whilst smuggling is the best feeling in elite. o7
thees tutorials are vital for the next generations
heh I remember years ago when some stations would actually destroy you if you got scanned with illicit goods... in those days a risky tactic was to line up perfectly with the slot about 10km out , turn every thing off except for thrusters & sensors then boost with FA off then disable thrusters then at 6km request docking drop a heatsink if you have one and then engage silent running.... cross your fingers and hope you got it right - if you did re enable the thrusters and disable the silent running as you enter the slot - what used to stop NPC scans was not deploying weapons but firing them and hitting the NPC doing the scan, I did this many a time doing robigo runs, when it was a proper white knuckled ride back to the bubble , this was before horizons if i remember rightly tho....
Thanks for helping me be a better criminal! :D
What i hear about chaffs is not that they make the scan longer, but that it prevents any scan from initiating while the chaff is on.
I have never really tested if it worked tho..
Dank you for the video, elite lad.
once i flew in a station with my conda while using the silent running.. i wanted to turn my ship a bit so that i don´t scratch anywhere at the entrance.. End of the story.. i pressed the wrong key and boosted instead of turning right through the gate.. through the station and exploded at the controltower at the end of the dock.. GG XD
Thanks for explaining.
i despise that they still haven't added a UI feature or sound cues of how far the scan is going on you, or if it's interrupted...just a beginning warning that will also trigger passenger dissatisfaction and stuff, even if the scan fails!
they had 3 years almost now and still does not give a jack trade about it...and this is what i call dev negligence...
also players having different scan times and NPC having 10s always? another oversight that kills realism of a role-playing game.
Frontier gives a shit about game mechanics, you fly your space ship, thats all they care, almost all ships are the same, few differences but all are boring. The game mechanics are broken beyond belief for years now, and all they do is DINO LAND
well realistically you could detect the scan but not its progress or success. You might detect it's failure when the frequency is broken.
Very informing video, thanks.
I couldnt find it in the comments, but what about turning off pilot assistance?
That would result in less heat right, cant you just zip in using no engines?
(Im relativly new to the game, not tried doing that yet.)
a small correction with your trusters will increase the heat output, but technically its ice cold without having to change flightpath.
Wow I had no idea that the hologram of the station indicated its orientation. Thanks. :)
If it works. Lately it seems buggy a lot of the time. May be sorted again, haven't played properly since the Odyssey updates.
Could you advise whether dropping the landing gear breaks the scanning lock ? or is that just total fiction as well ?
Thanks for the video's as always
I don't think landing gear have any effect on the scan time either.
Thanks - I hadn't got around to trying it, but I didn't really expect it to work anyway - lol
I've never used silent running and never been caught snuggling either. This seems cool and stuff, I like the tactic but my question is, is this more effective than, flying through the entrance at 400 m/s cutting the engines to zero and using the inertia to carry yourself to the pad, deploying your landing gear and touching down all in a handful of seconds. That's what are usually do and I've never actually used to silent running I always kind of wondered what it was for, I might try this from now on though it seems like a good way to get in without being detected or at least avoiding a scan for the most part
I dont know where these scanning ships are I thought it was the station that scans you as you approach. Still , anyway, I can get illegal passengers into stations easy enough with a dolphin or orca . I usually approach out at the side then request docking , As they call out the landing bay I put on silent running and hit max throttle also while holding down thrust so it lines up fast with the slot then let go and move toward the slot I throttle back abit to get in without hitting the slot or ships , Usually the ship is getting hot then I deploy a heatsink.( which I have ready on my fire button ) I pass through fairly slow about 60 - 70 m/s or so . I usually hear the message That I need to reengage the link as they cant detect me as I pass through. Then find the pad while deploying landing gear. Line it up a bit then disengage the silent run and make sure weapons retracted then start landing .
That is how Ive been doing it , seem to work . The passenger ships seem good with the heat and are fast enough and nimble enough to fly in ok .
Or just pop a heatsink when they initiate a scan
The mission board doesn't state if a passenger is illegal or not. The passenger profile doesn't state it either. It just has a "threat level." Should I assume any passenger mission with a threat level is illegal?
What about if you initiate silent running when the scan starts?
I assume it would break the scanning ship's target lock, unless it's already very close: I've noticed that scanning ships will tend to close on your ship while still scanning, so they might be able to keep a target lock even despite the closed heat vents.
I thought you have mentioned in other videos that when you see a scan has been initiated that firing off a heat sink will prevent the scan? Is this correct or not?
o7 CMDR. I was just about to attempt the black market runs for that engineer. I was dead set on just deploying my hard points or storming the mail slot.
Use a light armor long jump modified anaconda, you can silent run very long without overheading and just in case use a heat sink. I did illegal passenger missions on this setup it's amazingly easy.
I never used SR, I always line out in supercruise and then drop out, request docking and keep my speed over 200m/s when entering the slot. Never been scanned when smuggling.
wow, that's a great video!
Did you ever run that same scan timer test with electronic countermeasures?
I will try it out, i usually just fly at full speed and boost my self though the slot. As soon as I enter the entrance I pull the break and the docking computer takes over. I almost never get scanned
Silent Running : Great film.
Did you test dumping a heat sink before entering a station?
Useful video thanks, I've heard keeping your speed over 200 prevents you being scanned? Have you heard this or tried it?
well if you are silent running and lets say you have a signatur redius of 800m. You will need to cover 1600m before you are our of scan range again.
and moving at 200m/s that will take you 8 sec. The scan time is 10 sec so if you assumes whoever is scanning is not moving then yes, you would be able to get away before then scan completes.
Probably too early to tell, but it seems that the hologram alignment trick got nerfed with the Sept 2019 update. Played E:D for a few hours this weekend and everytime I drop out of cruise, the station is in a different alignment than the hologram made it out to be prior to dropping out.
We really need a scrambler or jammer module so we can smuggle without all this malarkey.
Very usefull Video! Thanks! :)
What about mining, how to avoid npc scans when you're trying to mine (specially when you have expensive cargo and would like to fill them up with running another mining belts)?
Gwynsladle those only spawn when you jump into an instance. My advice is to sell all cargo before logging out. Otherwise, jump out, jump back in and *run* as fast as possible as soon as possible and hope they don’t follow
What would be the effects of heat sink or ecms on scan?
Curious to see popping heat sinks. That's been my strategy with my passenger beluga but I haven't tested how long it increases the scan time. VIPs, with an illigal, in a beluga, with station traffic can be a fun task just to make it through the mail slot.
Heat sinks dont change the scan time, but it lovers your heat signature to zero. So it work as a temporarily slient running. If the ship scanning you are within your minimum detection range, heat sinks dose nothing for you (nor dose silent running). in cases like that there is only one think to do... RUN!!! :-)
@@DowntoEarthAstronomy thanks for the reply! That makes sense. I have bashed my beluga in the back of the station and lost payment from ungrateful VIPs from that boost to "safety." It's a hard life for the luxury people smuggler.
I just get in good with all the factions at the station. I've been smuggling at ceos for a year with no incidents.
That is all well and good but where do I get the contraband in the first place. Every black market I roll up to is completely empty. Everybody stares at me like a narc. Where the space dope at?
You can buy stuff at one market, where it is legal, and then travel to another place where it is illegal... for example slaves or weapons. Or you can steal cargo from other ships with hatch-breaker limpets, or find it on planet surfaces...
Hey nice video. I just have this doubt, an aspect that didn't stay clear to me. Silent running, while getting scanned, does or does it not reset the scanning process?
If the ship scanning toy are within your base detection range then starting silent running dose nothing.
It it is outside your base detection range silent running will make them loose target lock and stop the scan
@@DowntoEarthAstronomy ok. Got it. Thanks for the tips. 👍👍
haven't tried since the new update but deploying hardpoints disrupts the scans as well. I have played around outside a station and tested it. just deploy and close the scan will reset everytime you do it.
I suspect that Down To Earth Astronomy have performed the test not very well. He deployed HPs in split second after the NPCs started scanning him and therefore he's got a split second benefit in scan time. I guess if he deploy HPs somewhen before the scan ends, he'll get almost doubled scan time. And as you say the deploying will reset the scan process everytime you do it, D2EA could manage to get a scan time as long as he wanted.
So what I should do is just take it easy. Got it.
"...
You've got to cool down
Take it easy
You've got to cool down
Relax take it easy
Slow down relax
Slow down relax
It's too late to worry
Slow down take it easy"
(Laid Back - Baker Man)
Mika -- Relax
(take it e-a-sy...)
If you are a member of the controlling faction you do not get scanned irregardless?
Is the d2ea on the dash your channel name or are you being a total boss saying death to EA? Lol
For me it's leaving a station and getting insta scanned but heat sinks work
I imagine this is for big ships since they're slow right?? I've never had an issue with smuggling using medium or small ships, I tend to be in the station by the time they even get close.
I'm new to this game. But somehow I've managed to smuggle about 200 tons of slaves into station on T7 with stock thrusters
Too bad smuggling is more or less a waste unless you are trying to effect the background sim for a faction war.
As soon as I pass through the mail slot, I immediately turn off silent running because I've never ever been scanned inside a station. Has that changed?
No that's still the same
Speed is my friend, therefore i just punch it and start to brake before i fly inside.
I've found over the years that the scan never completes as long as you make it through the mailslot, so I just fast-track it.
Do you know deploying your hardpoints stops a station scan
Did you watch the video?
Tre Flip did you read the comment i said STATION scans didnt say ships also watch cmdr exigeous video he says it to
Gavin, he demonstrates that deploying hardpoints *outside a station* does nothing. Literally. Does. Nothing. Watch the video.
Andrew van der Stock it stops station scans only
How do you know who is scanning you?
lol I always just boost nonstop to the slot at max speed and smash into the back of the station :D
Next up Ninja Conda 😊
Thx m8
so, NPC-s scan you at 1 kilometer distance usually... As you said in this video, with silent running, you need to be rather close to get a lock on a target (less than a kilometer in any ship's case) - although to be quite frankly honest, I personally do not remember ever seeing the ability to lock onto another player's ship basically no matter how much of a near-miss I made of them, when they were in silent running... But that's possibly down to my shitty reactions, as for smaller ships... I go at 600m/s, they go at 600m/s... you know, it's way less than a second that I could see that I could lock onto them if a joust happens, and indeed if my opponent would be silent running, I do not look at the scanner at all but rather do my best to keep them in sight, instead)
None-the-less... I am rather weirded out that you did not try to test out what happened if you initiated silent running as soon as you saw a scan was initiated... Guess I'll try that out myself, because thus far, what I have believed is that I do not need to initiate silent running before I start to get scanned, because silent running would immediately break the scan... and I'd already be in a nice 150 to 200m/s vector straight inside the docking bay so an npc would not have time to get close enough to scan me (and my theory is, they get confuzed and don't try to scan you in general once you put on silent running...)
Oh yeah yeah
I always deploy a heat sink outside before entering silent running. Is that useful at all or no?
It will give you longer time in silent running. so yeah
...or just land. Stations don't scan before you go below 200 m/s. I always come in aligned, boost once and go through the slot with 100, breaking shortly before. Have not been scanned in a year. All the rest is mumbo jumbo ;-) and only at Outposts or Planet side landings you might need to deploy Hardpoints once in a while. Silent running kind of never...
I'm bothered by the fact that there is no mention of the Isinona Maneuvre by CMDR Isinona.
unless its a t10 going dirty g5 w/ DD's without scratching paint going into the slot, it aint pro... now if we could get the panther(resized to fit L pad, not the semi-carrier frigate it was described as) going flawless full speed to the landing pad...:P
Of course a Pro doesn't need silent running to enter a station while smuggling goods.
Hell, even a mediocre pilot can do that.
is he moving or is the station rotating?
the stations are rotating. they simulate gravity by using coriolis effect, at least thats the idea
i think when u let out ur hardpoint the station will automaticli stop the scan ..
8:17
@@DowntoEarthAstronomy More specifically: I've heard that deploying hardpoints forces them to restart the scan. So the test would need to include cycling them through the scan. Might have something to do with those extra frames vs the other tests?
I don’t think frame-rate is reliable for measuring time
When your as rich as D2EA, you can just auto-dock and take the fines. 😂
Auto dock is horrible even with money why would you use that >.
@XxX Guilty King XxX You should learn how to park, you could use the slot for something actually usefull. Using something to compensate for being bad or lazy is kinda a waste of space on your ship.
I barely have room for the stuff i want on it without the docking computer.
Also when you're suddenly forced to not use one for some reason, you're gonna be in trouble. Honestly docking isn't so bad once you're used to it. Especially when you're new, you can afford to make big mistakes, even ones that get your ship destroyed since your ship doesn't cost that much to get back.
@@NeoUzzy It would make sense to use the docking computer if you're always having to dock with the job you pick, after you learn how to dock manually that is, so if you need to dock without one you can if you need to.
I fly a T10 regularly, and, on occasion I need to smuggle something in. Speed is not an option. I fly in silent while keeping the ship cool with sinks. I have discovered that if the ship is cool enough and silent, I can break a ship scan by deploying chaff.
Or just pop a heatsink if you get scanned. Done.
Silent running is totally unnecessary in this case, one heatsink does a better job over the given time and keeps your shield up. Also allied stations don't scan you which can be very useful.
I find smuggling to be easier in VR.
why is everyone playing with default FOV, looks like the half screen is gone.
80-85 is ok, 90 is to much FOV in this game. as long as you can see your pilots hands without looking down.
God damn.
How does one get billions in cash?
I've been doing the Damona (Littrow City) run where i could stack up to 7million CR. worth of Credits.
Now that that's gone I can barely get more than 400k per flight.
Note i am NOT a capable bounty hunter. Usually I do transport and passenger missions.
Search for "elite money making" - but making a billion still takes a lot of time, now. In the past, there were much more profitable money making schemes, all nerfed. Once the next update hits, when board flipping is nerfed, it is truely going to take forever to get anywhere, creditwise. Unless other new schemes come up that don't require flipping boards.