Enemy Mind Control and Crew Vision

[Leylite]

So, we've known for a long time that most enemy ships don't have sensors - the Rebel Flagship used to have them in standard FTL, but since the AE update it doesn't seem to have them anymore.

The lack of sensors was traditionally used to explain boneheaded AI targetting: e.g. targetting random systems with lasers, sending bombs to empty rooms and boarders into oxygen-free airlocks. But now Sensors serve an additional purpose - letting the player see enemy crew so they can be mind-controlled.

Enemy ships can mind-control the player's crew without any sensors at all. By the player's standards, that's impossible. But after thinking about it for a while, I think everything's just fine - obviously the Slugs in nebulae can see your crew and mind control them, and the various other pirate ships (and the Flagship) must have the new Lifeform Scanners which provide the same functionality (just like all those pesky event boarders have the Zoltan Shield Bypass). Thus, Flagship Stage 3 can mind-control player crew even without sensor view of the player's ship.

[shadowcrust]

The answer is right in front of us! What has changed in AE? The flagship lost its sensors and at the same time "return crew to positions" buttons were introduced. The company making these buttons, Cybold, has installed a backdoor and is providing crew positions to rebels and other paying customers (pirates).

One more reason to avoid using these buttons!

[r543]

Why were the sensors removed from the flagship ? I thought that it still had some space left for it and it's strange that the ultimate enemy ship has EVERYTHING exept for this installed.

[Leylite]

Obviously the developers have the final say about this, but the most obvious consequence of that is that it makes the Hull Beam better: before AE, Flagship Phase 1 had a 1-bar drone system, and the sensors were installed on the empty 2x1 room to the lower-left of the drone room (on both phase 1 and phase 2 I think). In AE Flagship Phase 1 you can target the hull beam on the right wing of the flagship and hit four empty rooms, for 8 damage (if you're a maniac and don't care about damaging the missile launcher or the shields).

It's also possible that they took the Sensors system out in order to avoid giving the Flagship crew a perverse incentive to man and/or fix the system (and get automatically killed when killing phase 2 blows off the right wing).

So... it's usually a very minor change, but it could end up making a difference.

[shadowcrust]

you can target the hull beam on the right wing of the flagship and hit four empty rooms, for 8 damage (if you're a maniac and don't care about damaging the missile launcher or the shields)

you mean like this?



yours, Zorro

[META_mahn]

you can target the hull beam on the right wing of the flagship and hit four empty rooms, for 8 damage (if you're a maniac and don't care about damaging the missile launcher or the shields)

you mean like this?



yours, Zorro

he done it right.