Multiple morale checks for bailing?

[Nanook]

... I don't kill ejected pilots. *shrug* Call it my way of saying "thanks" )...

I don't kill them, either. I just incarcerate Pirates and Yaki in a dilapidated 'prison barge', often an old damaged Toucan or some other otherwise worthless hulk. They get 'life'. ** And that's when I'm playing the nice guy! When I'm playing a pirate or yaki , I cart them to the nearest pirate base, turn them into slaves, and then trade them in at Rehabiliation Centers for useable marines (who were former slaves).

**And when I'm playing one of the races, that race's arch enemies get the same treatment: Argon vs Paranid, Boron vs Split, Terran vs Everyone.

[Nanook]

@mistercat:
One of the best discussions about capping (mechanism) was this thread . LV, Carlo the Curious, fiksal and others are 'legends' for X3 and X3-modding.
It's not the only relevant thread....

Actually, it's not even a truly relevant thread, since most of that discussion predates TC and AP and applies to the mechanics in Reunion and probably X2. The capping mechanics have reportedly changed a bit since then.

[jlehtone]

When I'm playing a pirate or yaki , I cart them to the nearest pirate base, turn them into slaves, and then trade them in at Rehabiliation Centers for useable marines (who were former slaves).

Some marines steal ships. When they do, I'll be there to kick them out of the ship.

Then I pick them up. If they can fight, I will teach them. If they can't ... they'll become slaves again.

[RAVEN.myst]

@Nanook: I like this idea of keeping a prison ship - it's the civically responsible thing to do, innit? Methinks I'll adopt the practice...

[Timsup2nothin]

Not only is it a civic responsibility, but when some mission slinging pirate with a mountain of spare credits needs a whole busload of workers...errrr...um...what was that "civic responsibility" thing again?

[Cycrow]

The 87% hull thing isn't actually true anymore., you can get bails at higher, but its very rare

bail checks can happen at any hull amount. But the hull percentage is factored into the check. So the lower the hull, the more chance of a bail.


The checks are limited by a timer, so the first time you hit the hull, a check is performed, and a timer set. Any more hits to the hull while the timer is active are not counted.

The length of the timer increases with each check upto a maximum.

The main 2 variables used are the hull and pilot morale.
but there are other factors as well.

If its a ship you really want, the best way would be to wear down the ship to a pretty low hull level, then wait a few minutes for the timers to end, then hit the hull again.

[Honved]

I recall some point being made that the odds vary somewhat with time, so the first check is "normal", and later checks (at least 30 seconds apart) get increasingly harder for a while, then easier again, in some kind of cycle.

Basically, if it doesn't bail by around 70% hull, I either blow it up (for my own protection) or let it go for another couple of minutes and shoot at something else, until I'm good and ready to get back to it.

[Snafu_X3]

IIRC the check cycle /was/ (not sure about now in TC/AP) something like:

1st hull damage below ~87%, check
Then hull dmg check after 20, 30, 40, 10sec, repeating pattern until bail succeeds or target destroyed.

There's a morale bonus for outclassing the opponent (eg bigger ship, better combat rating, hull % of target etc), but not sure if this carried thru from X3:R either. The key is that it's hull dmg (below ~87%) with 0% shields that forces the check

One of the more popular methods to encourage bailing was to shoot the hull down low with MDs (which ignore shields), then switch to a tiny wep that does next to no hull dmg. I never bothered myself, as I've never played AP (therefore the notorious 'capture an L' plot) & I find flak produces all the bails I'll need with some patience. Plus the range of MDs is terrible, & they use ammo

[Nanook]

...
There's a morale bonus for outclassing the opponent (eg bigger ship, better combat rating, hull % of target etc), but not sure if this carried thru from X3:R either. ...

This is still very much in play in both TC and AP, especially the 'bigger ship' part - well, as long as your ship is bigger than theirs.