'Maximum' Towing Speed [X3TC]

Bajau · Post by **Bajau** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 03:16

Anyone know what the maximum 'safe towing speed' is in X3TC? I've just spent a VERY long day towing silicon mines and was curious if anyone had tested it...

B.

kgkosio · Post by **kgkosio** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 03:20

Never tested for a maximum speed but the key is to speed up in small increments. Bump a few kps and wait until the station stops receding from the ship before the next bump in speed. I have achieved towing speeds over 20kps.

Coreblimey · Post by **Coreblimey** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 03:43

80m/s. It doesn't matter what the actual top speed of the towing craft is, once the tractor beam is attached you cannot go beyond 80m/s.

Catra · Post by **Catra** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 03:43

i've never had any trouble going the maximum allowable tow speed :X

but then i also use a caiman, so there's lots of room between myself and the thing getting towed.

Bajau · Post by **Bajau** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 03:51

80m/s!!!!!!

I've been poking along at 17/18m/s...

I feel dirty...

B.

Triaxx2 · Post by **Triaxx2** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 03:56

Yeah, they figured out in Reunion that allowing anything faster was simply asking for trouble.

But you think that's bad? Try Pushing, using the beam to nudge it into position at 2m/s.

paulhamm · Post by **paulhamm** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 05:36

Or You could just use Gazz super tractor on a kestral
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=229597

Or you could use Factory Complex Constructor
http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=219504

Morkonan · Post by **Morkonan** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 06:08

Note: When you're towing something and stop, the object being towed doesn't... it will continue on just a little bit. Worth noting when you're trying finicky maneuvering during complex construction and have an especially large asteroid in tow...

(I wish it was full Newtonian physics. Then we could hurl asteroids at enemy bases!)

pjknibbs · Post by **pjknibbs** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 07:24

Make sure your game is fully patched. There were real problems towing mines in the release game--they tended to start tumbling, which would either break the tractor beam lock or (if you were really unlucky) lead to your ship getting side-swiped by the docking array! They fixed it in later patches so the mines don't turn while being towed, which makes it a lot easier.

Thrasher91604 · Post by **Thrasher91604** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 07:31

Yes but the anal-retentive among us can't rotate mines to get the mining tower in the right position. Would be nice if strafing would rotate the mine.

Coreblimey · Post by **Coreblimey** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 08:20

Thraher91604 wrote:Yes but the anal-retentive among us can't rotate mines to get the mining tower in the right position.

You used to be able to before the patch! You just towed it fast enough for it to spin into place (a good bit of trial and error, and a great more of patience), then spend the next 3 hours towing it ever so slowly into place).

Bajau · Post by **Bajau** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 09:20

I find that docking, un-docking, heading down the 'exit lights' and then flicking the towing-beam just at the end of the lights means that I'm at an optimum distance for towing and it means I can easily change the direction/spin of the mine as I'm, effectively, towing it from the 'point' of the docking array. Works fine!

B.

Post by **Alan Phipps** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 11:29

Yes as Bajau says. Attach the beam at the very end of the mine station docking tower and slowly over a decent tow length (quite safely at 80 m/s as long as you plan your route!) the mine lines up behind the towing ship with the tower pointing forward and the asteroid at the rear.

Triaxx2 · Post by **Triaxx2** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 15:16

That also means you can tow the mine from different points, and have it move in different ways. You can in fact rotate the entire mine if you have the patience. And the skill. And lots and lots of open space to work in.

Master of the Blade · Post by **Master of the Blade** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 16:29

You can definitely pull stations around at 80m/s regardless of the ship you use (assuming it can reach that speed) - I've used M6es, M7s and TLs at that speed with no problems. The 'tow things slowly' comes from Reunion, where the tractor beam was incredibly finicky and would indeed break if you went too fast.

Thrasher91604 · Post by **Thrasher91604** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 18:52

Wait a second. I am hearing 2 things. The mines don't rotate when towed, or the mines can be rotated if you tow them in a certain way (which isn't very well explained). I think I have seen the latter movement to some extent, but not to take advantage of, but strafing doesn't seem to help at all. It would be great if spinning along an axis using E or Q would spin the mine in lock sync (with a little inertia added for realism).

Which is it?

Morkonan · Post by **Morkonan** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 19:20

Alan Phipps wrote:Yes as Bajau says. Attach the beam at the very end of the mine station docking tower and slowly over a decent tow length (quite safely at 80 m/s as long as you plan your route!) the mine lines up behind the towing ship with the tower pointing forward and the asteroid at the rear.

^---- This.

Using this tactic, you can rotate the mine in any direction you want. All it takes is a bit of patience and frequent jumps between camera angles to get mines to line up perfectly with complexes.

Post by **Alan Phipps** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 19:24

The mines do not break into a rapid and unbalanced spin when towed without extreme care as they often used to do before the patch. However, they will still rotate very slowly while towed at an off-centre point but only to align the centre of gravity of the mine in line behind the towing ship and if it keeps to a straight(ish) course. By hooking onto the tower structure you can ensure that that bit arrives facing forward for example. Is that a bit more clear?

Thrasher91604 · Post by **Thrasher91604** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 19:39

OK, thanks for the clarification. I will have to try it out, but it may require more patience than I have time for! I sure would like it to be easier to rotate tractored mines using Q and E.

Morkonan · Post by **Morkonan** » Wed, 13. Jun 12, 20:02

Thrasher91604 wrote:OK, thanks for the clarification. I will have to try it out, but it may require more patience than I have time for! I sure would like it to be easier to rotate tractored mines using Q and E.

You will find it very easy to get the mines placed in the orientation you prefer. The biggest thing to remember is to give the mine/asteroid enough room to turn by judging your distance correctly. That takes practice, but it's not difficult once you get the hang of it.

Should you need to turn it sharply, all you have to do is head at a very sharp vector away from the attachment point (the docking tower on the asteroid). You can get the asteroid to rotate very easily by maintaining a good vector with not a lot of forward movement. In essence, you can spin them around in place, should you desire to. But, this isn't a good tactic to use when you are close to your complex. It's best done as you're lining up for your approach.