Difference between revisions of "Beacon"

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* AI controlled ships do not react to Beacons at all, so it is safe to mark your ships and bases with long-range Beacons/Antennas in single-player.
 
* AI controlled ships do not react to Beacons at all, so it is safe to mark your ships and bases with long-range Beacons/Antennas in single-player.
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* Right-clicking the range slider resets it back to 10000 meters.
  
 
== Known Issues ==
 
== Known Issues ==

Revision as of 12:11, 20 January 2016


Beacon Icon.png
Large Ship Icon.png
Large Ship / Station
Beacon
 
Components
Required

 

 
 
 
Mass (kg):
0
 
Integrity:
0
 
Build time (seconds):
50
 
Active power consumption (MW):
0.004
 
Dimensions (W x H x D):
1 x 2 x 1
Beacon Icon.png
Small Ship Icon.png
Small Ship
Beacon
 
Components
Required

 

 
 
 
Mass (kg):
0
 
Integrity:
0
 
Build time (seconds):
15
 
Active power consumption (MW):
0.002
 
Dimensions (W x H x D):
1 x 2 x 1

Overview

The beacon sends a signal of its location, range, and display name to who ever is within its broadcasting range. However limited its function, it can serve to be an inexpensive way to keep track of property, locations, and/or items.

Usage

It's purpose is simple, send out a broadcast signal from its origin to a specific range set by the player. It is also capable of interacting with the relaying ability of the Antenna in which it can have its broadcast range increased. Currently, all factions (enemy or neutral) can see these signals.

Also, unlike the Antenna, power usage for the beacon is very low (even for infinite range setting). Small ships are also capable of having its range set to infinite, with minimal power drain.

Broadcast

The chart below shows the maximum ranges, as well as the power usage associated with it.
Type Max Range Power usage
Small Ship 50000 m 10 kW
Large Ship 50000 m 10 kW
Station 50000 m 10 kW

Media

An example of beacons in-use. The beacon will show information such as the display name, and its range in meters
Large beacon (left), and Small beacon (right)

Tips

  • On many servers a Beacon is a required component for a ship to mark it as "alive". If not present, certain server-side clean-up scripts might remove your ship. You should verify whether or not a Beacon is required on a server before you log out, otherwise you might lose your ship.
  • The power cost for the Beacon is exponential, so reducing the range greatly reduces the power cost. Also keep in mind that everyone can see the Beacon, including enemy PvP players on multi-player servers. For those reasons it is recommended to keep the range below 1km, unless you really need it.
  • AI controlled ships do not react to Beacons at all, so it is safe to mark your ships and bases with long-range Beacons/Antennas in single-player.
  • Right-clicking the range slider resets it back to 10000 meters.

Known Issues

Related Items

Programming

Update History

Update 01.007
  • Beacon block introduced