PING
Keywords: PING
=== USER MANUAL ===
Usage: ping
Description:
Fire an active sonar ping from the pilot seat. The pulse
reveals nearby ships (including normally-invisible cloaked
ones at shorter range) but broadcasts your position to the
entire starsystem and decloaks your own ship.
Ping is loud. Use it when you need a quick tactical read on
what's close and accept that everyone in the system knows
where you just pinged from.
Detection Ranges:
Uncloaked ships .... Detected within 1,000 units. Shown
with full name and coordinates.
Cloaked ships ...... Detected within 1,500 units. Shown
with ??? placeholders for coordinates;
name appears only if you would otherwise
be able to see the ship (detector array or
already-revealed).
Side Effects:
Reveals you ........ Calling ping immediately appears your
own ship, dropping any shipcloak effect
you had active.
System-wide echo .. Every ship in the starsystem sees:
<ship> makes an active sonar ping.
Requirements:
Pilot seat ......... Must be at the ship's helm.
Launched ........... Cannot ping while docked.
Real space ......... Cannot ping from hyperspace or between
systems.
Echo:
<n> does an active sonar ping. (your room)
<ship> makes an active sonar ping. (starsystem)
<system-name>: (you)
Followed by a ship list:
<name> X Y Z; (<dist>) (per target)
A faint shimmer ??? ??? ???; (???) (cloaked, unseen)
Ping vs Radar:
ping ............... Active. 1,000 / 1,500 unit range.
Shows cloaked ships at close range.
Announces your position to every ship in
the system and drops your own cloak.
radar .............. Passive. Unlimited range within system.
Shows stellar objects, missiles, and
visible ships (cloaked marked with * if
already visible to you). Silent, no
announcement.
Use radar for general navigation and ping for tight-range
tactical sweeps when you don't mind being noticed.
Notes:
- Cloaked ships under 1500 units show as "A faint
shimmer" even though their exact position is hidden. Good
for confirming someone is stalking you without a hard lock.
- Pinging from the pilot seat is the only form; turrets
and engine rooms cannot ping (unlike radar which works
from any of the three).
- Because ping reveals you, a cloaked ambusher is usually
better off holding fire and radar-scanning until they
commit.
- Ping does not consume energy.
Related Helpfiles: RADAR, SCANSHIP, SCANPLANET, SHIPCLOAK, TARGET, JUMPVECTOR
=== END MANUAL ===