Mobile Drilling System

[Capt_Newbie]

I just want to get this cleared up definitively, because I can't find any answers in the 'search' section on mining:

Does the MDS break map asteroids? I had the impression that it was supposed to, with less waste than the Hornet option, but when I discovered two such asteroids I'd overlooked, put a MDS on my Hype and fired at one, it did nothing, though I kept it up for nearly a minute. If they're only good for rocks, frankly my IRE equipped Busters are just as good, with the Break Rocks command OOS.

So should I just Hornet those 'roids and let my mining fleet get on with it?

[avenger4o]

they break asteroids, just projectiles are too slow, may need to wait a while until it reach its target.

[Capt_Newbie]

I'm only 2km away, I think they'd have reached the asteroid in just under a minute...

[Nanook]

The MDS is designed explicitly to break up the main asteroids. I don't have any idea why you're having a problem. Exactly what asteroids are you trying to break up, and where are they?

[Capt_Newbie]

The Nividium asteroid at -8, 6, 5 in Unknown Sector next to Xenon 534. I used a Hornet on it, but there's still one left to try the MDS on when the Niv rocks are used up. Can't think how I missed either of them before, unless they just recently respawned.

[Nanook]

Odd. I've never had a problem breaking up nividium asteroids with the MDS. And I've used it every time I played through the Bala Gi missions

Spoiler

Show

on those nividium asteroids in Rolk's Fate.

I can't understand why you're having these issues. Have you tried the MDS on ore or silicon asteroids? It has a range of 4.8 km so your distance shouldn't be an issue.

[Capt_Newbie]

I just tried it on an ore asteroid. The targetting hairs only started flashing at 3.5km, and at 2.6km I could see explosions on the roid's surface. Still nothing. Then I switched to full guns, which means in this case 7 BHEPTs plus the MDS. The extra firepower made no difference, not that it magically would. Guess I have a glitch.

I assume that when the MDS does work, though, it's less wasteful than a Hornet? And if Pulse Cannons can destroy asteroids, as I seem to recall they can, I assume they are similarly wasteful?

[avenger4o]

do you have any mods instaled ? i didnt have that problem in vanila x3.

[Nanook]

...
I assume that when the MDS does work, though, it's less wasteful than a Hornet? And if Pulse Cannons can destroy asteroids, as I seem to recall they can, I assume they are similarly wasteful?

The MDS should break up a map asteroid in one shot. And it doesn't destroy any of the pieces in the process. Unlike all other weapons, which do have varying degrees of waste.

[Capt_Newbie]

I tried it on some rocks and I can't say it took only one shot. This leaves the possiblity that I selected the wrong gun. The only thing I might confuse with a Mobile Drilling System is a Mass Driver, because I don't use either of them that much. I changed with the weapon slots in space, rather than through the menu, but I was fairly sure I got the right one. It would explain the different firing distance, though, except that MDs have a much shorter range, IIRC. I'll have to check...

[Geggo]

CIG shots look pretty same and have similar range too...

[Capt_Newbie]

I assume they make the same kind of weird explosions, though, whether on ships or asteroids?

[Capt_Newbie]

I had a chance to play last night, and had a look. It's a mass driver

In my defence, when I selected it by letting my cursor hover over the active gun on the display and moving it along the list of weapons, I was looking for something a bit different from normal guns, and the symbol (three rocky looking dots in a triangle), made me think of, well... rocks.

Good thing I only picked one. And i'd been carry that MD ammo around for so long anyway...