Atmospheric Salvaging
Introduction:Atmospheric salvaging is quite similar to regular salvaging, except that you are salvaging atmospheric components instead of debris. Atmospheric salvaging involves taking control of an atmospheric salvaging ship and bringing it into the atmosphere, where you will collect atmospheric components, which you will later be able to sell. There are two types of salvagers, regular atmospheric salvagers and gas giant salvagers. The first kind can be used on any planet that your ship can land on and that has got an atmosphere, while the second type can only be used from space to descend into the atmosphere of a gas giant.
The basics:
To start atmospheric salvaging, you'll need several things. The most important of which is a ship with a docking bay. To find out what ship classes come with docking bays, you can type INFO at a starship store to see information about each ship class. Look for one with "Yes" under the Dock column. Also be sure your ship has a cargo hold that is capable of holding cargo (for example, a Carrier cannot hold any cargo and would not be a good choice for this endeavour).
Next, you'll need to purchase a vehicle docking bay and an atmospheric or gas giant salvager. You can find these at any atmospheric salvager store. Don't be shy if you can't find one, someone on the comms should be able to help you locate one. You can also use the MAP command to see a map of whatever planet you're on.
Salvaging - the regular way:
Now that you have everything you need to get started, you can enter your ship and LAUNCH it. Fly to a planet, any planet, and land when flight control asks you to. Head down to your docking bay and type GO HATCH. You will now be in your vehicle docking bay, where you can ENTER the SALVAGER. Please note that only one person will fit in an atmospheric salvager. You can now LAUNCH the salvager into the planet's atmosphere.
Now, before you start salvaging, there's a few things you should know. First, you can type SM to check your map, just like a ship. This will show you a map of the current level, what level you're on and how much charge your salvager has remaining. Salvagers have a limited power supply, so you need to keep a constant eye on the power levels, otherwise you may crash and lose your salvager and anything you have salvaged.
Do you see the ":" symbols on the starmap? Those are the components that you need to salvage. You can move to them using the standard manual starship movement commands and just pass over them to collect them. The command + will bring your salvager higher. You can also use - to go lower. If you are already on the lowest level, - will return you to your ship. As you move further up into the atmosphere, your chance of finding better materials increases. However, keep in mind that this will also use your power up faster, so keep a close eye on your power levels.
Once your salvager is full, return to your ship and you can TRANSFER the components like any other debris.
Salvaging - gas giants:
Gas giants are planets which consist (almost) only of gasses and are therefore a valuable resource for salvagers. They can be found anywhere outside of the charted sectors. To salvage from a gas giant you need a different salvager than the one you would use for salvaging from a regular planet, they can be bought from the same store.
Finding a gas giant can take a while. You can LAUNCH your starship and search yourself or ask on the comms to find out if someone already knows of a good planet. Once you found a planet, fly your starship next to it and go to your docking bay. From there you can GO through the HATCH of the vehicle bay, ENTER your SALVAGER and LAUNCH it. The principles described for atmospheric salvaging are the same for gas giant salvaging, except that the risks are higher, but so is the reward. Another important thing is that the commands to move up and down through the atmosphere are reversed for gas giant salvaging. This is because you enter the atmosphere from space rather than from the surface. Therefore, thecommand - will move you down (i.e. deeper) in the atmosphere, whereas + will get you to the higher levels, and eventually back to your starship. In other words, to decrease the distance to your ship, use +.
Generally, you will find that the vehicle's upgrades are more expensive and add less, and that you have to take more effort to get to a suitable planet. A gas giant is a dangerous place to work on, and so the vehicle required is much more complicated.
Repairing gas giant salvagers
As mentioned above gas giant salvaging is much more dangerous than regular, atmospheric salvaging. It is therefore not unlikely that your gas giant salvager will get damaged while you are salvaging, especially if you move further away from your ship. The computer will inform you in the event of such a dangerous situation. You can also type STATUS to check the current damage level.
If your gas giant salvager sustained damage you can use a tube of repair paste to fix the problem. These tubes can be bought from the same store that sells the salvagers. Once you bought a tube, USE it in the cockpit of your gas giant salvager to repair it. Finally, note that, like charge boosters and replacement hatch locks, you shouldn't buy massive amounts at once. If you will not have access to a salvager store for a longer period of time and fear that you will run out of repair paste, consider staying closer to your starship while salvaging. While this means you will not earn as much money it also reduces the chance that your salvager gets damaged.
Sharing:
You can share an atmospheric salvager with a friend by authorizing them to use the vehicle. To do this, you must meet the following conditions and perform the following actions:
1. You must be inside the vehicle's cockpit.
2. Your friend must be standing outside of the vehicle in the vehicle bay.
3. You then type: AUTHORIZE <person>
Related Topics: Activities | Manual Navigation