No you are probably right but it is a game and like most games it cheats.

I can offer an explanation, when you jump to a system, before you arrive your hyperspace arrival cloud starts to form. Depending on the length of the jump you are doing, this cloud will grow bigger and brighter over a period of days, perhaps weeks. The Pirates see this and head towards it. If I was a pirate <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//girl_crazy.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':girlcrazy:' /> that's what I would do. To you, just coming out of your hyperspace jump, the pirates will look as if they have magically appeared, when in reality they have had plenty of time to get into position.

So how long does the hyperspace arrival cloud remain in place?

Based on your previous post it would seem that the arriving ship is at a severe disadvantage in combat. Is there anything the arriving ship can do to improve the odds of survival in a hostile system? It would seem that the life expectancy of a pirate is much longer than that of a law abiding trader. Obviously the idiom that crime does'nt pay has never played this game..........

Its a dangerous galaxy out there! Do unto others as they do unto you! The time of the arrival cloud would depend on the length of the jump and the mass of the ship. Bigger ships take longer to reach their destination, so their arrival could is around for longer, making them prime targets. I am sure the devs will get around to beefing up the forces of law and order at some point though.

Anyways, that was the rationale for why pirates behave as they do, as for how it really happens (as in how the game generates them) you would have to ask one of the devs. I hate to know these things because it takes away the magic for me.

I played the original Elite a very long time ago and I can attest to the magical feel of the game. Sometimes a game comes along that breaks the rules of game development and transports the player to a different place. Not just in terms of spacial location but rather a feeling of immersion into a universe of possibilities. Modern game development is all about better graphics and more computational horsepower.

The original game had limits imposed upon it by the state of technology at that time. But every once in a while the developer is able to transcend those limitations and create something special. I had assumed, incorrectly, that Elite in all its forms was relegated to the software dustbin. Good software never truly dies as long as people are willing to breath new life into it.

Perhaps this game goes beyond the code and the algorithms to become something more in the eyes of the faithful. We talk about the soul that people possess and souls of cars and other inanimate objects. Elite feels like it has a soul as well. This game is not something to be played but rather entices the player to bond with it. I am rediscovering that feeling again. This is not about winning or losing but rather experiencing a personal journey into the unknown.

That is exactly what it is all about majorgreg. I can virtually "see" lots of old Elite vets nodding at you post <img src="' http://spacesimcentral.com/forum/public/style_emoticons//nyam.gi f"' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':nyam:' />

And if my personal journey includes kicking some major pirate butt then all the better...........