Not sure if mechanics vary depending on security level of area, but I’ve only done this in 0.5 and above areas so far, and have questions:
If there is a Cosmic Signature at 0.0% and I begin scanning it and it takes me multiple tries to get it to approx. 95%…then it vanishes and is replaced by a different cosmic signature back at 0.0% – what happened? Was it because I took too long (it indicated it was scanning difficulty lvl IV, and my skills are low). When I started scanning it, there was only the one cosmic signature appearing on the scan window (alt-P) and after I got it into mid-90% range I was having difficulty getting it higher (presume because of low skills), and then it disappeared and another cosmic signature appeared 10-12 AU’s away at 0%…the original was a Relic Site, and after starting over with the new cosmic signature I got a Combat Site.
If I begin scanning a signature that is at 0.0%, and by chance someone else within same area starts scanning it would I see anything during my attempts to alert me to this? If the other person gets it to 100% will I see that, or will it just disappear? When I get a signature to 100%, do others now see it, without having scanned it?
I scanned the Combat Site mentioned above to 100%, bookmarked it and went to nearby station to switch to combat capable ship…took me less than 3-minutes to make the round trip (I timed it because this is not first time this has happened)…when I returned to the combat site and entered first gate it was already filled with nothing but wrecks and I was unable to activate the next gate as the device I needed was apparently already looted by someone else. So other players can see the site I scanned down and get there first, or someone else just happened to be scanning same area and was faster? Seems like a bad mechanic that someone else is able to get to the site I just scanned and have it cleared within just a few minutes.
So, when I get a signature scanned to 100% and it is warp-able, does it immediately appear on the scan screen (alt-P) for everyone else?
When I begin scanning a signature does a hidden timer begin, after which it will re-spawn to something else if I am too slow?
Most likely you were scanning in a system in which someone else was also scanning. This someone else was also probably an omega clone player, flying something like a stratios (which can do HS relic/data and combat sites quite well)
What happened:
1 - You were scanning a relic site and having issues pinpointing it.
1b - The other player was running that site and currently hacking the cans
2 - Other player finished the site while you were at ~90%, so it disappeared from everyone’s scanner
3 - A combat site appeared, you and the other player scanned it down
4 - You go switch ships to enter the combat site
4b - Other player warps directly to the combat site and starts clearing it
5 - You warp to a wreck filled site
As for your scanner questions:
1 - Would you see anything if someone else is scanning?
You would see their scanner probes on dscan IF they are within scan range of your ship. If you see more than your 8 probes on d-scan, then someone else is scanning too.
2 - Does someone getting a signature to 100% do something for others?
No, it does not help other players at all. Each player need to do their own work
3 - When you begin scanning, does a hidden timer start?
No. A timer start as soon as the signature is spawned in the system, regardless of it being scanned by players. After a certain time (something like a few days), if nobody has completed the site it is associated with, it will disappear. There is no timer associated with scanning. A few hacking sites have a timer associated with warping in the site (and will blow up once the timer expires, so be careful. More information on that topic here)
I think I understand where my confusion/problem stems from: when I open my scanner window (alt-P) and see a ‘cosmic signature’ listed at 0%, it means only that it is 0% ‘for me’ – and someone else may have already scanned it to 100% and gone into the site, correct?
I’ve been working from the presumption that when I see a cosmic signature on the scanner window at 0%, no one is scanning in that area, or at least has not scanned that particular signature…but if I understand the response above anyone may have already scanned it down and taken what they wanted…is that correct?
I am finding Data Sites, which after I scan and enter appear to have had the can with the ‘good’ loot hacked/emptied and the others are left…so by leaving those unhacked structures it keeps the site from closing/re-spawning, and hinders others in their search, because someone else (like me) comes along and wastes time scanning it, entering it and then finding nothing?
The amount a signature is scanned to is on an individual basis, so yes, someone else may have already scanned down the signature completely to 100%, but you would still need to, so it shows as 0%.
Yup, anomalies are always 100% for everyone, signatures are 0% for everyone until they scan it themselves. Other people’s work doesn’t help you, your work doesn’t help other people.
Essentially, yes. A bit more clarification:
For combat sites, sites disappear once the “main boss” has been destroyed (the one with the largest “overseer’s personal effects”). Given that that’s most likely what people are looking for, if the signature is still there, the goodies are still there (but someone else might be moments away from getting it).
For relic and data sites, they despawn after the timer or after all containers have been hacked. As you have already experienced, i is quite possible that a “messy” hacker has come by, hacked and looted the good containers and left the bad ones (you can tell what a can contains using a cargo scanner). It sucks to scan a signature, only to warp in and realize that there are only cans with 1 carbon in left, but eh… such is the life of explorers in hi-sec!
Can those who are able to use the Covert-Ops cloaking device (the one which enables them to warp cloaked) hack sites while cloaked? I know that scanning can be done if the probes are launched before activating the cloak…but what about hacking relic/data cans…can they do that while cloaked?
Related question: When I scan down sites and wormholes, sometimes after switching ships they are at 0% again. How long does a toon keep the 100% values he/she scanned down in the scan result window before it’s resetting to 0%?
You’ll have to rescan if you relogged. Within a session all signature scan results persist. If you have to rescan and you didn’t relog, someone must have finished the site and new one spawned while you were switching ships.