Evac

From The Cycle: Frontier Wiki
South West Collection Point
An empty evac location.

The Evac is an activity that prospectors participate in when they are ready to leave the surface of Fortuna III. Evac Locations are designated areas on Fortuna III used to return to Prospect Station and secure the loot in their inventory.

Mechanics

Evacuating is the only way to leave a match with Gear that is in your Inventory, excluding the items in your Safe Pockets. During normal operation, a pilot is only willing to Evac prospectors while there is no Storm in the area.

Evacuating happens from various points across the map; designated in-game by a circle of lights, an audible beeping sound when in proximity, as well as a yellow icon on the prospector's in-game map. At the start of each match, the prospector's squad (containing one to three people) will be assigned two evacuation locations (three for Crescent Falls), separated by a sizable distance. Typically these locations are on the opposite side of the map from where the prospectors deployed. Prospectors can evacuate using an evac called by other prospectors, but can only call down evac ships at their assigned evac locations.

If a prospector were to miss an evac that they summoned, said prospector can call a new evac ship down again at no additional time penalty.

Evacuation Sequence

When any of the prospectors in a squad are within range of the evacuation location, prospectors will be granted the ability to call for evac. When the call evac action button is pressed, the follow sequence happens:

  1. An confirmation noise is played, audible to prospectors in the immediate vicinity.
  2. A 55-second sequence is initiated, in which the evac ship will spawn somewhere on the map and begin traveling to the prospectors' evac location.
  3. The evac ship will lower itself into position, finally landing and opening the ship doors. Some doors may stay closed depending on the evac location.
  4. A 15-second waiting period begins.
  5. A 5-second siren sound will play. After this finishes, the evac ship closes its door and takes off. Anyone within the ship at that time is taken back to station safely.

Interior

Evac ships will spawn with a varying interior, sometimes containing cargo crates, seating, and others.

Interior Distribution
Size Description Weighted Chance
Low Pressure bags 1.0
Low Industrial containers 1.0
Medium Luggage, military crates, pressure bags 1.0
Medium Chairs 2.0
High Containment model A boxes 1.0
High Green nutrion farms boxes 1.0
High Meteor 0.05

Color of the lights

An important part of understanding the Evacs and how to safely scout Evac Locations, is to understand the multiple different colors that the lights may be illuminated in.

This can help a prospector know when they might have company and the state of their ride.

Constant yellow light

When all the lights around an Evac Location are illuminated in a constant yellow color, it indicated that the Evac at this location is ready to be called, but there is no one near it that is able to use that specific Evac.

Flashing yellow light

When the lights are flashing in a yellow color, this indicates that the Evac has been called and is on its way. If a prospector sees this and is not the one that called it, they should be aware that another prospector is most likely nearby.

Flashing blue light

If the lights are flashing in a blue color, this indicates that there is a prospector within range to call in the Evac, as with a flashing yellow light, prospectors should be careful if this is not triggered by themselves.

Constant green light

This indicates that the Evac has landed and is ready to be boarded. While a prospector is soon the be home on Prospect Station, it does not mean that they are safe yet. Until an Evac lifts off, there is still a risk of other prospectors being nearby.

Flashing green light

A flashing green light indicates that the Evac is about to lift off. This is usually combined with the engines turning on and the Evac getting ready to leave. While almost in safety, prospectors always need to stay alert.

Constant red light

Constant red light mean that the Evac is unable to land, usually due to bad weather. Whenever the storm gathers, pilots will be less willing to risk their ship and will therefore not respond to calls for Evac. If a prospector happen to be in this situation, the best they can do is to find cover and wait until the Evac is available again.

Player Behavior

Evac ships are incredibly loud, and draw lots of attention to their position. As such, oftentimes prospectors will be targeted as an expense of initiating evacuation.

Evac ships typically spawn with more than one door open, exposing prospectors to potential fire. In order to combat this, prospectors will often avoid boarding an evac ship until the ship is about to take off; opting to remain in cover nearby.

Seasonal changes

Some changes to the Evac requirement and limitations is known to be possible during events, which can cause pilots to only fly in the Storm as an example. Here is a list of known changes so far.

Cataclysm

During the Cataclysm event, pilots would only land their sips during the Storm, turning the normal daylight into a time of no flying. This meant that prospectors looking to get back to safety were forced to fight against the weather, all while still staying aware of their surroundings for potential rival prospectors.

Evac Locations

Evac Locations are spread all over Fortuna III. To see an updated list of all locations, see our interactive map:

Audio

When a Prospector gets within range of the Evac location and is able to call evac, they hear the following noise:

When a Prospector calls an Evac Ship, the following noise plays to everyone nearby:

Just before the Evac Ship takes off, the Evac Ship makes the following siren noise:

Evac Countdown Music:

Evac Music:

Image Gallery

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