Sensor clarification?

[maxfire (OP)]

Hi!
A short prehistory.  I've run into my first NPR and desided to spy on them with stealth passive scout.  I've slown the ship down to about 1/4 to reduce it's thermal signature and followed a patrol group.  I've turned up signature detection range option and set sensor strength to 1000 (max).  While this red fancy circle was way too far away from patrol group, enemy lit up active sensors.  I've seted scout speed to maximum which lead to increase those red circle of a sig detection range and somehow its new radius perfeclty matched with the distance to those red dots.

So, my questions are:
1) Could sensor strenght be higher than 1000?
2) Is it a pure coincidence or slowing down does not reduce actual detection range despite the fact that a smaller signature value displayed in ship window and on system map?
3) Could NRP activate their active sensors even if they didn't spot anything on passives, just "for sure"?
4) Maybe I'm just imagining things and there's a simplier explanation like enemy stealth passive scout?

[TCD]

Forgive the obvious question, but are you absolutely sure you didn't accidentally have your own active sensors on, or shields activated? Both would be picked up by EM sensors, and be unaffected by speed changes.

The answer to question 1 though is yes. a maximum size, maximum tech thermal sensor has a strength of 3750 I believe. So it does depend on how advanced you think think the aliens are, and how much space they have devoted to sensors.

[Garfunkel]

Slowing down reduces your THermal output, which is only engines as the game currently does not simulate any other heat sources, like crew quarters and so on.

Sensor strength can be higher than 1000, yes. There are options in the Sensors tab to modify the strength value of the bar.

Generally, AI controlled ships do not turn their actives on randomly but I guess it is possible and just something I haven't encountered or noticed.

The AI does build passive sensor scout ships, so that is indeed another possibility.

[Steve Walmsley]

NPR ships will sometimes turn on their sensors randomly. Another possibility is that the NPR has a sensors on a body in the system.

[maxfire (OP)]

Thanks everyone for replies. 

Forgive the obvious question, but are you absolutely sure you didn't accidentally have your own active sensors on, or shields activated? Both would be picked up by EM sensors, and be unaffected by speed changes.

I guess, that a good question to ask a newbie.  Not even installed on scout nor shields nor active sensors.

a maximum size, maximum tech thermal sensor has a strength of 3750 I believe.

Well, in that case it seems all conspiracy should gone away.

There are options in the Sensors tab to modify the strength value of the bar.

I was talking about "Show Signature Detection Range" option, which doesn't provide ability to modify sensor strength higher than 1000, so I was wondering if this is a maximum.  Other options in "Sensors" tab doesn't affect that case.

NPR ships will sometimes turn on their sensors randomly.

Ah, that's a very nice feature!

[Garfunkel]

There's a x1 and x10 and x100 modifiers for the bar on that tab.