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[NullForceOmega]

I built a frigate, pretty effectively disabled a huge mining hauler, then realized I had no way to 'capture' the derelict.  Anyone have a solid design for grabbing ships?

[ThtblovesDF]

Just dock with it, then fly the orginal ship if you have really good ping or are the host (make sure there is nothing behind your docked ship, otherwise the movement lag will rip it apart even as host).

Any tiny engine can get a ship moving if you turn off the stbilisers, it will just take forever - optimally you rig it up to move or just cut off what you don't need. I would often just go for some key components, weapons, ammo, cargo and leave any "plain" metal behind when doing raids on derlicts.

[NullForceOmega]

I was able to catch up to the ship and board it, but its reactor was blown out and I was locked out of the controls.  Since my frigate is around 1k tons, I figure that the next time I try to grab a ship, I should probably have a system in place to physically grab the hulk.  I'm thinking of trying to put together something with pistons and docking clamps.

[Blargityblarg]

I was able to catch up to the ship and board it, but its reactor was blown out and I was locked out of the controls.  Since my frigate is around 1k tons, I figure that the next time I try to grab a ship, I should probably have a system in place to physically grab the hulk.  I'm thinking of trying to put together something with pistons and docking clamps.

Hacking controls is as simple as grinding them down below the blue line before welding them back up again. You might need to do it separately for all the different components you want to control, but doing it to the command station is enough to let you fly the ship.

[NullForceOmega]

My gattling turrets seem to enjoy gutting reactors, makes ships very difficult to hack.

[Ogdibus]

Here's some stuff that helps with capturing cargo ships:
Many of these things can double as design goals.

Use a small ship with tightly grouped weapons, or fire your weapons individually.  Try to hit only the turrets.  You don't have to destroy all of the turrets, only the ones that can hit you.  Land on the cargo ship, and hack stuffs.  Fly the cargo ship home, with the small ship attached.  You will need to be good at minimizing collateral damage, and/or jury-rigging systems by grinding other systems.

If you want to fight with a Large ship, for some reason, take someone else with you in order to control a single turret. Turn off any other turrets unless you lose the active one, and need to switch.  That should mitigate collateral damage.  This will be difficult against military ships because of their missiles.

You could also use a large ship that carries a small drone.  Match speeds while you are still out of targeting range, and then use the drone to fight the turrets.  Land it back on the main ship afterward.  Grab the cargo ship with landing gear.  It's easier if you can see where the landing gear is while you are maneuvering.  Put your landing gear in a group, and put Auto On/Off and Release for the group in your hot-bar.  You'll need good engine and gyro power for pushing or towing the cargo ship.  See the "Steering trick" for methods of protecting your landing gear and tools without complex mechanisms, or awkward placement.


Steering trick:
You can put more than one control block on a ship.  They don't have to all face the same direction.  "Forward" will be relative to the one that you are using.  This can help you with things like landing, grabbing, and docking.  It also lets you do things like put several welders on one end, and several grinders on the other, and still be able to use them effectively.

If you left any turrets intact, shut off the generators before you hack them.   If you just leave them, they might shoot your stuff when you drag the ship home.  Turrets on solar ships will still work without generator power. 

About turret targeting:   Turrets lock on to systems when they attack a ship.  If you put decoys on your ship, don't put them right next to stuff that you want to protect, and make sure that they also get into lock-on range before other components.   The targeting system seems to prefer exposed components to armored components, as well as near ones to far ones.  You still probably want to armor your decoys, if you use them.  It's better to lose a decoy and some armor than any other block type.  They are easy to destroy, but also easy to replace.

Have a recovery vehicle prepared, just in case you die or your ship loses mobility and cannot be repaired on the spot.  Ideally, it should be able to grab and stop a ship that is spinning out of control.

[BadLemonsXI]

Nice thanks for the tips.

[SquatchHammer]

Assaulted and captured a ship with only a grindsaw in my hands.... that is all.

[BadLemonsXI]

Assaulted and captured a ship with only a grindsaw in my hands.... that is all.

Your death-count while trying?

[NullForceOmega]

He managed it with no deaths, but to be fair it was a solar sail type with just two anti-personnel guns, and very little ammo.  I then had to refit the damned thing and fly it back to our base.

[ThtblovesDF]

I used to build a tiny ship, basically just a engine and a gyroscope and ram into things, but in time i upgraded;

Any ship. Big ships work fine.

Add many many (around 15-20) small decoys, and mount them in a basket/on a landing foot (Large landing foot can hold many many small decoys)

Fly towards target, match direction, release decoys, stop your ship (or just set it to stupid) and fling yourself after the decoys. The turrets will be very busy and you can take your time. Often if you aim well, the small decoys get lodged in the ship and drive it crazy - go in, stop the derlict somehow, hack if you want to, drive your big ship up and feed it to the grinder gods.

Alternativly; Use new derlict after you took what you want, slap 2-3 decoys on the inside, ram it into next derlict with your basker/landing gear.

Also easy to use for combat vs statics, just release warheads and decoys with your "basket/gear"

[BadLemonsXI]

He managed it with no deaths, but to be fair it was a solar sail type with just two anti-personnel guns, and very little ammo.  I then had to refit the damned thing and fly it back to our base.

Still nice.

-Snip-

Also Nice.

[Girlinhat]

Just a bump on this.  There's two things in particular that make this really interesting and fun right now.  1: Official modding support, including Steam Workshop.  2: In survival mode (and creative) you can build things, save them as a blueprint, put the blueprint in a projector, and the projector will make a hologram of that blueprint.  Welders can then start building on it immediately - including ship welders.  With timers, projectors, pistons, and welders/grinders, it's entirely possible to build an automated assembly line!

Projectors can also be used to repair vessels, by projecting the missing blocks over the existing ones, and then replacing them with welders.  So if you build a ship, save it as a blueprint, and it becomes damaged, you can much more easily rebuild it back to normal.  Projectors can also be used to mass produce missiles, mines, drones, turret buoys, or anything you want a lot of, really!

With that in mind: Anyone have thoughts on hosting a survival server?

[n9103]

Has it got a headless server yet?
If so, I'll be fine with adding it to my startup, and then it'll be available the same hours as the TeamSpeak server.

[Girlinhat]

Yes, since like May: http://www.spaceengineersgame.com/dedicated-servers.html

My suggestions for world options:
Safe or Normal environment
3x Inventory Size
3x Assembler
3x Refinery
Realistic Welding
Realistic Grinding
Max Objects: Something reasonable, depending on your computer setup.
Max Size: 10-20km
Weapons Enabled
Trash Cleanup Enabled
Delete Respawn Ships: yes
Thruster Damage: yes
Cargo Ships: yes
Permadeath: no