this has probably been discussed before but i couldnt find it.

how is it that all of these fragile looking stations are in the middle of asteroid fields? asteroids have an incredible potential for destruction and it seems that a station wouldnt last an hour in an asteroid field before it got pulverized. some stations more than others i noticed this in, but specifically Azek Manufacturing has a bunch of huge rock and ice roids right next to it.

The asteroids are made out of styrofoam.

The stations are made of über-concrete.

The asteroids don't move, duh! ;)

This gives a nice choice for those who like to issue.

Another quirk is that some prospecting missions can be completed without leaving the sector of the station that gave it.

The asteroids have small gravitic pulse engines in them that keep them stationary. They are fueled by the heat from the activity of mining.

Quick, everyone! Keep mining asteroids before they run out of fuel and crash into the stations!

Now *there's* a mission for you...

--mcn

The station def bots push the stray roids away. And YOU thought they were having pathfinding problems.

FM: with what? Their minds?

HAHA, that was great FM heh. Ya, it does seem kinda odd. But you see the stations are all made of samoflange, which is an EXTREMLY massive...uhh element. I think it's 8000kg a cargo unit correct?

OoOOO i know. The Devs should make humongous turrets on the stations that blow the asteroids up if they get too close. (hopefully when cap ships come out stations will be equiped with something).

/givemoney Devs 2c

there was a station inside a roid back in the 3.3.x it was in sec. 10! :D

none of these are really satisfactory answers (duh), but i guess this is a 'dont worry about it' issue.

Actually, one station WAS pulverised by asteroids. (according to one explanation) It was called Aeman's Defeat;
-:sigma.SB

If you really want to start in on this subject, you first have to consider that the "asteroid fields" in VO (like every other space sim) are terrifically unrealistic. Real asteroid fields would be boring, because the asteroids would be a hundred thousand kilometers apart. No problem putting a space station in there.

point.

does that mean that all the star wars movies, with their high-speed asteroid field chases, are lying to me?

what have i been doing with my life?

"The odds of successfully navigating an asteroid field are approximately 3720 to 1!"

Except not. Yes, DFB, Hollywood has been lying to us, for a very long time. Also sound doesn't travel in a vacuum. Also William Wallace did not paint his face blue. Also many other things. But, hey they make good copy, just like this:

"Verily and forsooth," replied Goodgulf darkly. "In the past year strange and fearful wonders I have seen. Fields sown with barley reap crabgrass and fungus, and even small gardens reject their artichoke hearts. There has been a hot day in December and a blue moon. Calendars are made with a month of Sundays and a blue-ribbon Holstein bore alive two insurance salesmen. The earth splits and the entrails of a goat were found tied in square knots. The face of the sun blackens and the skies have rained down soggy potato chips."

"But what do all these things mean?" gasped Frito.

"Beats me," said Goodgulf with a shrug, "but I thought it made good copy."

One thing that actually does bother me about station sectors with asteroids, is that they never have ion storms. Every other asteroid sector, including uncharted ones, gets ion storms, so why not station sectors?

YES! Bored of the Rings!