Distress signal but no abandon ship?

[Palieus]

So its happened for the third time already. I'll use the signal booster and find a distress signal but when i arrive all i find is the imprint of a once deserted ship faded out on the ground.

All evidence of a ship that once crashed here. Is this a glitch or actually what can happen when looking for abandon ships?

[Mr. Bufferlow]

I am not sure if it is intentional, but at some point it seems like you quit finding the abandoned ships. You either get a smoked blot on the ground with a com ball to get some data or you get the NPC with the broken ship that you can't take.

It could be the Devs don't want players farming abandoned ships at the station, or it may just be an achievement based RNG thing that reduces the likelihood after you reach a certain level.

They are out there. I found one the other day on 1400+ hour save. Just rare, compared to early game when it seems like you find one on every planet.

[Flexible Knot]

I remember there was a bug with crashed ships that they reported corrected in an update not too long ago...maybe the bug is back.

[DesignationUnknown]

There's no chance he fixed it himself, the game isn't dynamic enough for that. :(

[tkwoods]

Originally posted by Mr. Bufferlow:

I am not sure if it is intentional, but at some point it seems like you quit finding the abandoned ships. You either get a smoked blot on the ground with a com ball to get some data or you get the NPC with the broken ship that you can't take.

It could be the Devs don't want players farming abandoned ships at the station, or it may just be an achievement based RNG thing that reduces the likelihood after you reach a certain level.

They are out there. I found one the other day on 1400+ hour save. Just rare, compared to early game when it seems like you find one on every planet.

The type of crash site seems to be dependent on the region of the planet.

The amount of NPC type sites is about 60%, 10% empty with the remaining sites having a crashed ship. But again it seems to be by region where all sites in that region will be the same.
I never bother with a signal booster or maps from the cartographer.

I just head north... If you find a minor settlement or trading post there is usually a crash within a 3 minute radius give or take. The transmission towers have been a good source for me as well. It;s 50% crash ship or crash freighter. I follow the path without boosting or pulsing and I usually find at least one on the way and the one when I get to the marker.

[Biderbeck]

do u have multi player on? someone could have gotten that ship already if you have it on. always turn that damn thing off b4 looking for ships or multi-tools

[Somoldude]

Think it's broke. This past weekend I probably ran thru close to 40 distress call maps. Netted mat 4 ships in total. Most times there's an NPC standing there or no ship. Not wasting my time anymore.

[Geldric™]

Here’s what I’ve been seeing over the past month or so. (1)

Normal mode:
If you DO find a ship at a crash site, there’s a high chance (>60%) to be unclaimable (has NPC*).

Survival mode:
You have about a 15% chance to find no ship or an NPC crashed ship. All other times, easy 1-5mil after scrapping.

* While flying over, if there is no distress ball (back right side), then it’s an NPC ship

(1) I no longer use maps but will use a tower. Just fly low & slow & wait for white dot to appear, then fly to investigate.

[Jaggid Edje]

Whenever this has happened to me it's because I already was at that same crash site and retrieved the ship that was there, I think.

The planetary charts(and exocraft signal booster) can send you to a place you've already been. It's why I usually only do a couple on a planet before moving on to another or at the very least flying a really good distance to a different spot on the planet.

[Geldric™]

@Jaggid - always dig up the salvaged data, that way you can easily tell if you were there

[Jaggid Edje]

Originally posted by Geldric:

@Jaggid - always dig up the salvaged data, that way you can easily tell if you were there

Smart! I haven't been doing that, but I will now. Appreciate the tip!

[WhiteDwarf]

i think this sites are player ship spawn places but there its ofcourse no ship because you already
start your game in different place.

[Geldric™]

Yeah @WD that does make sense. Especially if you see the telltale cluster of 4 oxygen plants ;)

[WhiteDwarf]

O my god, yes those 4 oxygen plants ...xD...i completely forgot about it, yes they are the proof.