Well, I just had an interesting situation. I sent a ship through the jump point to Alpha Centauri with transponder and active scanner on. I soon encountered 8 ships with various make that were neutral. Deciding to back off, I ordered the ship to go back to the jumppoint, but they opened fire and destroyed it.
And then they invaded Sol. Right now they're bombarding helpless Mars.
So, a few alien-related questions:
1. Across 3 different games I've encountered 4 different species of aliens, all hostile. I assume this is coincidence, or are they by default hostile?
2. They're always more advanced militarily than I am. Ok, this didn't really turn out to be a question. I've also encountered them usually in the next system over or in the system after the next one.
3. To what degree is it necessary to have a diplomatic team when trying to initiate contact?
4. I'm sick of losing ships to hostiles in systems into which I jump. How could I reduce my rate of attrition on my ships?
My two Interstellar Survey designs:
Dulalas-B class Gravitational Survey Vessel 2,200 tons 208 Crew 360 BP TCS 44 TH 50 EM 0
1136 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 1-15 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/2/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
Maint Life 2.8 Years MSP 102 AFR 38% IFR 0.5% 1YR 19 5YR 283 Max Repair 100 MSP
J2250(3-50) Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 2250 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Nuclear Thermal Engine E8M (2) Power 25 Fuel Use 80% Signature 25 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 51.1 billion km (520 days at full power)
Active Search Sensor MR10-R100 (1) GPS 2000 Range 10.0m km Resolution 100
Gravitational Survey Sensors (2) 2 Survey Points Per Hour
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Naraithsol-B class Geological Survey Vessel 2,550 tons 243 Crew 415.5 BP TCS 51 TH 50 EM 0
980 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 1-16 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/2 Damage Control Rating 2 PPV 0
Maint Life 4.33 Years MSP 204 AFR 26% IFR 0.4% 1YR 17 5YR 262 Max Repair 100 MSP
J3000(3-50) Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 3000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Nuclear Thermal Engine E8M (2) Power 25 Fuel Use 80% Signature 25 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 50,000 Litres Range 44.1 billion km (520 days at full power)
Active Search Sensor MR10-R100 (1) GPS 2000 Range 10.0m km Resolution 100
Geological Survey Sensors (2) 2 Survey Points Per Hour
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Thanks in advance!