Planetary scan missions ... and bounties

[ozjohnd]

Just started last night on planetary scan missions for the first time. Is there any way of telling which mission will give me a bounty for scanning a data point in advance of picking it up and finding no option on the surface except for a private data point? I picked up a bounty on scanning the required data point in this mission and am now Wanted ... going to have to double check the detail when I log back in, but it appears on first look that the same faction that gave me the mission is responsible for the bounty.

Given I have a 3 day hand in time I logged out to do some research on the net on this phenomenon. I will try hyper-jumping to modify my existing bounty and wanted status (from reading I can do this by waiting in another system for an 8 minute cooldown which then means I can pay off a fine instead of being a bounty target ... someone please correct me if I have got it wrong)

Posting here to seek additional advice ... there is a steep learning curve, even after the tutorial missions.

[Renown]

If the turrets have green targets they are a friendly faction to you. If there is no red perimeter you can go straight in and scan it will be tagged public, even if there is a ship parked there (green target icon too). It is only if there is a red perimeter field around the site that means it is private and guarded with turrets or skimmers or both.

I did loads of Planetary scan missions between Synuefe RT-R C20-7, to get credits and to gain Imperial rank. You can get scans from 3 different Imperial factions for the two systems, if you get a bounty (9 minute I think) in Aditi jump to Synuefe to do the next scan and if yo get a bounty there jumped back to Aditi because the bounty time had run down. Kept doing that until scans done, back to station and count the credits pay off the bounties and take the money from the bounties for destroying any turrets or skimmers which is always more than the bounty I had to pay.

I think...from my experience the likelihood of public or private scans is randomly generated as you approach your target. Although I think I found it more likely to be private in certain system states and less than 1.5m scans above paying up to 3.2m were more likely to be private.

But it's the red field and your faction status that matters.

I never bothered sending my ship away, I wanted a fast getaway in case a random bounty hunter scanned me after I get the bounty (or imperial security) it does happen. I always flew around and got my ship parked out of sight, if there are turrets I took out the small easy one first, then the boring 4 energy refill blast of the bigger turret system.

Skimmers are easy as long as you shoot them, trigger them from far back so you have plenty of time before they get too close to be tricky to follow with your turret.

[Relix Typhon]

I've noticed this too, that sometimes you get a bounty, even by the faction that gave you the mission!
I tend to do what you have done and just wait for it to expire so I can then pay the fine.
Luckily, it's not like murder, like when a dieing npc you haven't scanned splatters on your Shields, giving you a week long one.

I've never found a way if telling which will get you wanted but one piece of advice to speed up the process, should there be skimmers, is that you can (in my experience) always get to the scan point without entering the trespass zone. Just be ready to run once the scan completes!

[ozjohnd]

I had a chuckle this evening doing some Order of Mobius missions .... one was a planetary scan on a planet in the same system. Private data point triggered a bounty ... issued by OoM

Hyper jumped out with only 2m left on the 8m countdown timer and it morphed into a fine ... that I forgot to pay!!

Must remember to pay when I next log in.

[Renown]

Forgot to mention, sometimes if you have a few missions to do in different systems and you go to a outpost and it's public, scan it and when you are back in your ship target it again. Sometimes the missions can trigger the same location 2, 3 even 5 times as other mission locations get moved to that outpost. If it's still tagged as a target after you have engaged supercruise to escape mass lock fly up above 40km and 100km away, u-turn and return. I have had it happen a few times now with missions I know to another system disappearing and being moved to the current location.

[Walter]

I usually collect two or three of these at a time, more often than not in different systems. If there is a planetary scan for the system where the missions are picked up, I do that one first as the Wanted flag will have expired by the time I have finished any others and can return to collect the rewards.

When I find the target I fly low across the site as this will trigger the warning for any restricted zone, indicating a Private data source. If the flag is raised I take out the defences and the skimmers before landing. This is not difficult with a DBX as the main weapon runs along the central axis just below the pilot. I have a charge-engineered power distributor and tank the AA - shields usually give out just as the ground laser goes pop. If there is no restricted zone it is obviously safe to go on to the next stage.

I then fly low over the site with lowered landing gear and take the first opportunity to land with the rear end of the craft pointing towards the site so the SRV is lined up for a quick exit and return.

If there is a ship parked next to the site, it's safest to boost out to SC and then return, when the unwelcomed guest will have left.

Yes, the commissioning faction will fine you for your transgressions, but it will also reward you for destroying the rogue skimmers. It's a funny old universe.

[Cometborne]

One thing to keep in mind is that a single offence such as scanning a private data point, scanning a public data point from the trespass zone, or staying in the trespass zone for too long will result in a bounty with a timer of ten minutes; it is easy enough to wait for the bounty to clear. If you commit multiple offences, the bounty timer will go upwards. Two offences already mean a 24 hour bounty, and quite soon, you have a seven day bounty on your head.

If you do not care about bounties, one interesting fact is that your SRV's guns have a range of 250 m, while the anti-SRV guns of the bases have a range of only 200 m. The AA gun turrets have a higher range, but will only fire on ships, not on SRV. The opportunities should be obvious.

[ozjohnd]

ooh thanks for the hints there ... especially the low fly over test of whether a data point is likely to be private and that bounties can stack in an escalating fashion.

I discovered the defense turret range difference early on so know to hit from range. What I did not realise was that sometimes a ship is at the outpost and attacking the turrets will cause the ship to aggro and destroy the SRV. I am a little more cautious scoping out the whole outpost now. (fortunately I managed to dismiss my ship while attempting to flee in my SRV so when my SRV was destroyed I respawned on my ship at a safe distance .. weird that my SRV also respawned, I expected to have to buy another )

I look forward to the time when I scan a public point.

[Renown]

Always check the ship or SRV target scanner for ships parked if you have't done a flyover or send up a drone to have a look (camera suite) I use ALT C to activate the external camera and then go straight up like a drone. Gives a nice view of the layout and where if any the skimmers are.

[ozjohnd]

oooh .... "drone" concept is great ... thanks for that hint too !!