Whatever happened to the spaceflies?

[X2-Eliah]

Way back in X2-The Threat, I recall that spaceflies were rather abundant - you could zap an ion disruptor willy-nilly, and nail a bunch of them easily. Even in small fighter fights, when you used an IonD, you could often see it branch to nearby flies, stunning them. Back then, there was sense in catching them and risking having your cargo scanned - the trade was a decent, if small, constant income.

Now, in X3-TC, the spaceflies seem to have disappeared completely. No longer can you expect to hear the satisfying Splat noise when running through one at random, no longer can you make a steady income of hunting them, in fact, unless you very deliberately seek them, you won't even notice them.

So what happened? Where, and, most importantly, why did the spaceflies go extinct? //I mean, in a game design sort of way, not the "the player hunted them all out"//

[Alan Phipps]

I see lots of them in X3TC. I notice them far more when stationary such as when repairing as they can be near impossible to see when you are moving and they don't seem to have a proximity whining sound as loud as it was in X3R. Also in X3R they used to appear a lot following battles as if attracted to the energy discharges. I cannot say whether that happens much in X3TC as I tend to be rather more busy during and after fights. I would hazard that their in-game graphic needs to be brightened and/or given more glow/trail effect to make them more visible and their proximity sound effect given a bit more volume.

[SIMON POPPLEWELL]

Well they are supposed to be near extinction, due to the Split hunting them. All the other races have band the hunting of them. But yes there is not many around, you tend to get them more around the Unknown sectors where there is asteroids.

[Reimu Hakurei]

I found them annoying in X2 because of their conspicuousness, now it's actually somewhat nice when I notice them.
To see/get them you essentially sit still in a large asteroid field, like a fish that lies at the seabed waiting for something to drift down... Apparently it works especially well in LoomManckstrat's Legacy and enemyless UFJD sectors because of the darkness.

[Greyhawk1]

Have to say that how can they be near extinction when the entire X universe is a small speck compared to the size and distances in space?

I'd say they would be the most abundant lifeform in the universe if they inhabit space, which is infinitely larger than planet surfaces.

Using the jumpgates system, one sector may be in a totally different galaxy from another yet they are in each one

[Killjaeden]

replace the model of a spacefly with a UFO and you see them quite often (happens if you break your tships-file)

trail effect

they don't have engines

[RandomBandit]

They look much farther away that they really are. If you are sitting still near 'roids you will hear/see them bump your ship. You can also see their effects posthumously when zipping around in an M5 with 1K shields...they hit and you die.

If you grab a bug-zapper and hit one you will see it arc to 4-5 more that you did not even know where there...they sell well in split space (coming from a boron LoL!).

[Alan Phipps]

@ Killjaeden: Of course they have engines! They just have biochemical ones. Just flapping wings wouldn't work at all in a vacuum!

They must have some sort of directed thrust waste mass/gas ejection system or they wouldn't be able to move at all. That must leave a waste particulate trail. They must spend all their time grazing interstellar dust and collecting radiation on their wings (which are actually there only as solar panels) just to accumulate the mass and energy needed to move at all. Ion Disruptors temporarily overload and shut down their wings' energy collectors so that they cannot command or direct thrust for a while.

[CHAZZ]

There were spaceflies back in XBTF? I kinda remember selling those shields for the extra starter money boost and was bewildered because SOMETHING was damaging my craft every now and then (shieldless)

[henkbein]

@ Killjaeden: Of course they have engines! They just have biochemical ones. Just flapping wings wouldn't work at all in a vacuum!

They must have some sort of directed thrust waste mass/gas ejection system...

Yes, they have a mechanism of propulsion. It's called 'farting'.

[Carlo the Curious]

@ Killjaeden: Of course they have engines! They just have biochemical ones. Just flapping wings wouldn't work at all in a vacuum!

collecting radiation on their wings

Solar sail! Albeit a bit small. And not nearly manouverable enough.

[Alan Phipps]

@ Carlo: No, I said solar panel not solar sail. They need to collect energy to operate and control their integral biochemical pellet/gas directed-ejection engine - which is what gives them velocity and agility while the available ejection mass lasts. Henkbein above has the general idea, but he probably needs to work on his precise directionality issues to make everyone else around him a bit happier!

As far as I know, a small solar sail in a vaccuum (ie no compensating rudder) would only go in the direction of the resultant vector photon flow so not at all agile without multiple powerful sources and clever wing realignment methods in all 3 dimensions. I suppose solar photon pressure could affect the general drift of the swarm as a whole.

[Usenko]

But the spaceflies HAVE clever wing realignment systems. The fact that you can't see the wings flapping is all the evidence you need! They're rotating to face the Sun, not flapping.

They DO have a natural rocket system, but that is actually only of help in making fine adjustments. To travel the distances they must travel in their day[1], Spaceflies must have a more powerful thruster system.


[1] What would the "day" experienced by something that lives in Space be? Gahhhhhh!

[Skydrifter]

Henkbein is spot on with their propulsion system- nice one! Anyway I just wind the window down and smash em with a hammer- that realigns their wings and stops em flapping- could be why there are fewer around these days!

[Nanook]

Nope, you've all got it wrong. They use the gradients of the naturally occuring electromagnetic fields to 'surf' through space, much like a number of birds 'surf' the winds. And when they 'catch a wave', their glowing behinds signal all their buddies to come join them. Groovy!

[Apocholypse]

Nope, you've all got it wrong. They use the gradients of the naturally occuring electromagnetic fields to 'surf' through space, much like a number of birds 'surf' the winds. And when they 'catch a wave', their glowing behinds signal all their buddies to come join them. Groovy!

[Llama]

I have to admit, since playing TC from X2, Ive never noticed a single one...

[SIMON POPPLEWELL]

I have to admit, since playing TC from X2, Ive never noticed a single one...

There around, just not in great numbers. You usually get them in the remote sectors rather than in the core sectors.