Necro thread revival.
Hellion has undergone quite a few changes and I have delved back online to check it out.
Its far more stable now. The old MULE is a findable item now and the starter ship is a lot smaller and nimbler.
The starter ship called the Steropes has a few limitations but benefits. Firstly its very efficient and fast on the warp. However having said that, it has no power generation and reactor core. Therefore it relies solely on solar panels and capacitors and warp cells. So jumping and energy management is a thing… (more on that later)
Debris fields have been around for a while but are effective. You can suffer no, minor, or have a solid impact whilst in a debris field. Obviously, whilst in EVA you run the risk of your character copping a bit of a knock needing medical attention.
Its very addicting gameplay. You MUST forage for items, resources and materials to stay alive and keep your station and ship in running order through repairs.
Hellion is a dangerous place. Not really from other players on line, and in two days of play I have not seen another player. But there are lots of different servers, so players are spread widely. The system is huge and therefore encounters are minimal unless you frequent a known station for collecting resources (there are often permanent facilities around each planet that spawns goodies). Then you run the run the risk of running into another forager.
The usual rules apply from back in the day when we were playing. You launch in the starter area. The starter area is where a lot of new people die and respawn leaving their previous items in orbit. So naturally its a good picking spot for looters.
So start a new game. Grab your kit. Raid the nearby floating airlock and derelict. Next, I would suggest undocking your CQM module (the one you first wake in with only one cryo pod). Take everything from inside and also drain its Nitro (RCS FUEL). You don’t need this as your crew module has 2 cryo pods and a refinement station. There is another reason to get rid of it as I will allude to in a story below.
Once you have gathered all the stuff and undocked the CQM module, jump into the Steropes and dock to the crew module which is now your new base. (don’t forget to imprint yourself to the new cryo pod). Docking is different now. Each module has an anchor point and you no longer dock to an airlock or connection point. Its now to anchor points. Therefore EVA is essential between ship and modules/stations.
now make a custom orbit a fair way out of the starter planet. don’t be afraid to make it a long way out. The further the less likely your station will be detected. Warp to there and that is now your station hidden from others and your starting off point in Hellion.
So back to the dangers of Hellion.
Day 1 Consequences of not thinking about it.
went very well. I had moved my station to a custom orbit, connected the CQM module (and this is a reason to get rid of it) and was looking for a refinery module so I can recycle gathered items and make items. I had lots of goodies and was well established.
Jumping to another planetoid, I quickly scouted out and found the refinery module I was looking for. Taking that back to base I expertly dropped it off and docked it to my station…
However, the CQM module only has one port and the refinery module only has one port. So docking it to the crew module that had only 2 ports, meant that there was no way for me to enter my station. Jeffries tubes do not open like they used to. So my fantastic station was not so fantastic as I could not get inside D’oh !!.. End of day one and a new character made.
Day 2. A combination of Stupidity and really really bad timing.
Started off well again, moved my station (this time without the CQM module) and did a good job scouring items to fill my Steropes starter ship. I did rather well. This time I wanted to raid a known station (focal point of other players) for goodies. I plot the route and engage warp drive. During the jump I check out what stocks I have and end up in engineering having a look-see.
Remember the old adage of “what does this button do?”
Well I see my warp detonator container and wonder what state that is in. So I push the green button to open it up and check…….
My ship drops hard out of warp. There are loud bangs, I have landed deep in a debris field. Ahhh ok, no big problem, I will run back to the cockpit and replot my journey. Loading up the nav map, it seems I have dropped out of warp at the closest point to the planet. My orbit here is no longer an orbit but a ballistic trajectory to a hot death in a vessel that does not do re-entry.
I plot the course and quickly rain down the timers so I can jump as quickly as possible. Whilst I was doing this, my ship was struck by a large piece of debris. My ship is now black, no power.
Checking the orbit, I am already on the downwards arc towards the planet. I need to move quickly. Sprinting back to storage and grabbing the repair gun, its back in the airlock to run its cycle. The exterior door opens up and I quickly locate the damage and reapir.
Back to the airlock and finally get inside. Its time to jump in the pilots seat and get out of here. But there is no power… What the Hell !!!
Checking the status board the ship is in good condition now, maybe the answer lies in engineering. Sprinting back there, I can see the solar panels are not deployed. Grrrrr I thought and press the deploy button. I watch the open and come on line… but …… No power.
My ship is dark, very dark and this is where the “penny drops”. I walk over to the window in the airlock and then the flight deck. Its here my heart sinks as I realise the scope of my troubles. Whilst repairing, my ship had traversed to the dark side of the planet. There is no solar power to power the engines.
Checking the nav map its also clear that I will re-enter the planet before sun hits my panels. My last ditch effort is using RCS to try and amend what I can, but its to no avail. I sit there enjoying the view as the planet grows larger… and larger……
