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The Airport City Space Program - How To Secure First Place Seat Position By Effectively Dealing With Hi-Jackers (v8.31.24)

The subject of hi-jacking a launch has been dealt with, across a number of sections within the following user guide, The Airport City Space Program - How To Undertake Apogee, Prometheus And Lunar Space Mission Launch Flights. Because this is such an important subject, which effects so many players new to the space program, it does deserve a dedicated user guide of its own, to address this very real problem.

Dealing with hi-jackers will be an ongoing problem for forum members, who are new to the space program, and have very little flying experience. This will have been a problem most forum members will have experienced, at one time or another, during the early stages of game play. It is also worth mentioning, that this will have happened to more experienced players at some point, although this will have been few and far between.

There will be two options open to you, the first option will be to open a launch, the second option will be to join a launch. There are different types of launch flights available, Standard Launch Flights is where no bonus has been used and the flight will last 24 hours, Single Bonus Launch Flights is where one bonus has been used and the amount of flight time reduced by will depend on the bonus, Multiple Launch Flights is where many bonuses have been used and the flights return instantly. It will be important to know the difference, since they are not the same, and should not be treated so. The following six bonuses will give you some idea as to how much flight times can be reduced by, when using a bonus.

TEST LAUNCH.png
A THE SPEED OF LIGHT.png
DEEP SPACE.png
LOOKING FOR UFOS.png
NEW HORIZON.png
QUANTUM LEAP.png
Test Launch
Bonus

Active 12 Hours
Speed Up By 15%​
At The Speed
of Light Bonus

Active 10 Hours
Speed Up By 20%​
Deep
Space Bonus

Active 6 Hours
Speed Up By 30%​
Looking For
UFOs Bonus

Active 4 Hours
Speed Up By 50%​
New Horizons
Bonus

Active 2 Hours
Speed Up By 70%​
Quantum
Leap Bonus

Active 24 Hours
Speed Up By 90%​

For more detailed information with regards to using the Space Program Bonuses for Green (Apogee Mission), Blue (Prometheus Mission) and Red (Lunar Mission) launch flights, you will need to read through the following user guide, The Airport City Space Program - How To Undertake Apogee, Prometheus And Lunar Space Mission Launch Flights, https://www.airportcitygame.com/thr...-space-mission-launch-flights-v8-25-12.20076/

SECTION ONE: A STEP BY STEP GUIDE
There are many positive steps which you can take to guard against being hi-jacked, when you open a launch, to avoid losing your first place seat position and the resources you invested towards your intended seat. These steps are set forth in the following, Option One: When You Open A Launch:

OPTION ONE: WHEN YOU OPEN A LAUNCH
Step One - make sure you only have forum members as neighbours, if you become aware of any non forum members, in your neighbours list, do make sure you remove them. This process is quite straight forward and can be undertaken at any time, through your neighbours list, within your game.
Step Two - to remove a hi-jacker from your launch is a simple process, each member of your launch will have a small red and white 'X' in the right hand corner of their avatar, by clicking on the cross you will be prompted to confirm you wish to remove them. Once removed, all of the resource points invested by the hi-jacker will be lost from the launch counter. The hi-jackers resource items will not be returned to the hi-jacker, (in the past, hi-jackers resource points were retained during the launch, after having been removed, their avatar turned dark, and they were moved to the back of the queue, but this is no longer the case).
Step Three - by monitoring your launch you will be able to remove any hi-jackers, who try to take control of your launch, but do be careful not to remove any of your genuine neighbours. There may be times when a neighbour, perhaps new to the space program, makes a mistake when calculating how much resource points they need to invest to secure 2nd or 3rd place seat position. In most cases, an apology will usually follow, and that will be the end of the matter. If however this persists, beyond what is considered reasonable, you may need to speak with them through a private message and/or remove them as a neighbour.​
Step Four - once you have opened your launch it is very important you do not leave it unattended, always monitor your launch until it is closed and launched, otherwise you will have no control over your launch and who joins it.
Step Five - once you have opened your launch it is important you get up to speed quickly, by investing your resource points, so you can secure your first place seat position. Leaving your launch open for a long period of time, with insufficient resource points, invites hi-jackers, who tend to join late on with large amounts of resource points. By then it will be far too late for you to do anything about it.
Step Six - make sure you know how much resource points you will need to invest in a green, blue or red launch, in order to secure your first place seat position. Not investing the right amount of resource points, will leave you open to possibly being hi-jacked. If you want to secure your seat, you will not be able to do so on the cheap, you will need to invest the correct amount. Also, be prepared to invest more to close your launch. The amount will depend on the colour of the launch, how many neighbours have joined and how much each neighbour has invested.
Step Seven - for a green launch the maximum amount, before you can close and launch is 1,600 resource points, you should aim to invest 980 to secure first place. For a blue launch the maximum amount, before you can close and launch is 2,000 resource points, you should aim to invest 1,180 to secure first place. For a red launch the maximum amount, before you can close and launch is 3,000 resource points, you should aim to invest 1,680 to secure first place. This applies to those who only have and use their main game for space program flights. Please note - due to a long time anomaly, it is possible to add more than the maximum amounts stated above to close a launch. As long as you invest the right amount of resource poins for each launch, this will not present you with a problem.​
Step Eight - if you have two active games, you will be able to use your second game (also called the support game), to secure your second place seat position, which will then allow you to secure your first place seat position for less than the advised resource points, as stated above in Step Seven. This is common practice among many players, who have two active games. It is also worth mentioning that if you have three games, and each has an activate a bonus, you could open multiple private launch flights, every few minutes, and fly solo. With three games you will be able to share the resource points equally across all three of your games. This method will allow you to fly with no danger of being hi-jacked.
Step Nine - the longer you leave your launch open the greater the possibility of being hi-jacked. Do not assume that those who join your launch will close and launch it for you, this will not always be the case. Once your neighbours secure their seat positions, they may not be eager or willing to close the launch. It is important to remember that resources are so very easy to use up, but not so easy to replace, once used.
Step Ten - in June 2020 a new launch chat room feature was introduced to the forum, which allows members to communicate with each other in real time, this is in addition to the Airport City Space Launches section of the members forum. One of the great advantages to this is being able to better co-ordinate group launches, with no communication time lag between players, making the launch process far more fluid and efficient. This is particularly important where you have multiple and rapid launch flights, where you have one or more bonus being used.
Step Eleven - where you have a standard launch open, with no bonus, or a launch which will remain open for a few hours due to the launch being a 'slow burn', creating a launch thread will be a better option. To create your thread, you will need to go to the Airport City Space Launch section, and click on the Space Launches sub-heading. Also, if you have a set of launch flight rules, it will be important those who join your launch, will know what your launch flight rules are.​
Step Twelve - as you undertake multiple space flights and gain valuable flying experience, you will come to realise who your favourite neighbours are. As you grow and develop your space program, from green launch, to blue launch and then to red launch, your relationship with your neighbours will grow and prove to be mutually beneficial. This is what you should aim for, flying with neighbours you feel comfortable with and enjoy flying with.
Step Thirteen - it is important you do not display your neighbour code in your signature page, or post it where it can be read. Always make sure you start a private message, with a forum member, before you provide them with your neighbour code. This is by far the best way to keep a tight control over your code and who uses it.​
Step Fourteen - once your neighbour code has been keyed in, and the request to become neighbours with you, has been accepted, only then will a forum member become neighbours. Any launch flights subsequently opened by you, will appear in your neighbours active launch flights list. This will also be the same in reverse, where you will be able to see launch fights opened by your neighbours. Please Note - you will only be able to see the corresponding launch flight colour e.g. green on green, blue on blue and red on red.
Step Fifteen - when you open your launch, you will have the option to fly solo. If you take up this option, you will need to select the private launch box. Once selected, your neighbours will not be able to see your launch open. During this period, you will be able to invest your resources in your own time. The advantage of undertaking a private launch is that there will be no opportunity for your launch to be hi-jacked. The disadvantage to this, is that you will need to consume far more of your resources, to close and launch your flight, if you only have your main game. This course of action, will prevent your neighbours from joining in, sharing in the investment of resources and the rewards of flying collectively. If you do change your mind, you will need to de-select the private launch box, your neighbours will then be able to see your launch open and join.​
Step Sixteen - it is very easy to become distracted, during game play, by other aspects of your game, and by all the things that take place around you. It is important you remain focused, while your launch flight is open, so as to avoid being hi-jacked.
There are many important things which you will need to keep in mind, before you join a launch, the type of launch will matter a great deal e.g. a standard 24 hour launch, a single bonus launch or a multiple bonus launch. It is important to be informed about these three, it will help you to avoid many of the pitfalls forum members fall into, due to a lake of experience with the space program. These things are set forth in Option Two: Before You Join A Launch:

OPTION TWO: BEFORE YOU JOIN A LAUNCH
Advice - far too often forum members, who are new to the space program, rush into opening a launch, which they are ill prepared for. Only afterwards, do they then realise they are unable to close the launch, and need help from other forum members. This will be a very common theme, and it will be wise of you to try and avoid this type of situation.​

Advice - quite often you will notice a standard 24 hour launch open for many hours, with only one member on board. The reason for this will vary, not having sufficient resources to close a launch, will often be the main reason. It will be best to try and avoid joining this type of launch.

Advice - do not rush into joining a launch, it is important you give yourself plenty of time to look at your options. You can best do this by reading through the Launch Chat Room and the Airport City Space Launch section. This will help you to decide which of the three coloured launch lobbies to join. If there are no launches of interest to you, do be patient, the space program constantly changes across a day, as players sign in and sign out of the members forum.
Advice - always keep your eyes open for launches which take place with two or more bonuses. These types of launches are always advertised in advance, and are very well organised by the launch host. When you consider how valuable a bonus is, you can appreciate how important it is not to waste a bonus, on a poorly planned and executed launch party.​
Advice - it is important to have a good understanding of how the launches function, and the best way to learn is to join one, position yourself towards the back of the queue, and watch how the launch party develops. The amount of resource points you will need to invest will be quite small, the launch host will not mind this, and will understand the reasons. Many forum members have travelled along this same path, it is by far the best way to learn how these types of launch parties function.
Advice - there are advantages and disadvantages to setting your launch to a Private Launch. This will prevent you from being hi-jacked, but it will also mean none of your neighbours will be able to join your launch. If you have two or more games open and each has active bonus, you may not be so concerned about this. However, if you only have one game and one active bonus, your decision will not be so wise, since you will need to consume far more of your resources, to close and launch multiple times. An open launch will allow your neighbours to join your launch, and not only profit from the multiple flight rewards, but will not be such a drain on your resources, since you will be sharing the investment load across all of your neighbours.​
Advice - sometimes a standard launch will be opened in error, this is so easy to do, when not enough attention is paid. In this type of situation the forum member, who opened the launch, will often invite neighbours to take over the launch. Sometimes this will work out, and sometimes it will not work out, you are taking a chance. It maybe best to avoid this type of situation, you do not want to get stuck, with a standard launch which may not close and launch, due to a lack of interest from others.
Advice - it is extremely important you do everything you can to prevent hi-jackers from hi-jacking your launch. Once a launch is closed there will be nothing you can do if you have been hi-jacked, except to learn from the unpleasant experience, of losing your first place seat position and the resource points you invested. It will be important to keep in mind that hi-jackers are opportunistic non forum players, who prey on forum members who are inexperienced.​

SECTION TWO: PERCEIVED AS BEING A HI-JACKER
Over time forum members will build up large supplies of small resources, which will be difficult to use, during a Standard Launch, a Single Bonus Launch or a Multiple Bonus Launch. The first type of launch can remain open for many hours, the second and third type of launch tends not to remain open for too long, often close within a few minutes. Because of this, some forum members open a launch, often referred to as a 'Slow Burn'. It involves small amounts of resources, invested very slowly, by those who take part, where the launch remains open for many hours and has multiple forum members on board.

It is important you are aware of these types of launches before you join, otherwise you will be removed from the launch, because you will have been perceived as a hi-jacker by the host of the launch, even though it was not your intention to do so.

SECTION THREE: FREELOADERS AND STOWAWAYS
It is important you do not confuse hi-jackers with freeloaders and stowaways, since they are not all the same, and should not be treated so. During your time on the members forum, you will have come across these two derogatory words, used by those who are new to the space program, have very little flying experience and have a lack of understanding of how the space program flights work.

Many forum members will not object to having neighbours, who sit towards the back of a launch with few resource points invested e.g. 48, 56, 96 resources. The reason for this, for the most part will be because of limited resources on the part of neighbours, joining in this way will afford them the opportunity to collect some much needed fuel and coins. There will also be some neighbours who may join a launch, and sit at the back of the que, but not invest any resources.

You will find that this will be far more prevalent, during a launch party, where two, three or more bonus are used, with multiple flights taking place in rapid succession, often lasting a few minutes, across a 24 hour period. Where you have a standard 24 hour flight, where no bonus is used, it will not be so widespread, since you will have to wait 24 hours before a launch returns and pays out.

Having read your way through both threads, it will be up to you to decide what is and what is not acceptable to you during a launch. You may decide to remove neighbours from your launch, if you are not happy with this style of game play. Perhaps you feel that those joining a launch should invest a healthy amount of resource points when providing support.

The decision will be yours to make, but I would recommend you do not do so. It is important that neighbours help neighbours, it will be remembered and will be returned in future flights. How you treat your neighbours, will determine how your neighbours will treat you in return.

SECTION FOUR: FORUM MEMBERS VS NON FORUM MEMBERS
If the game of Airport City was first recommended to you, then you will have most likely talked about the game, before you downloaded and started playing the game. If this is true, then you will have hopefully been warned about only having forum members as neighbours.

If, on the other hand, you downloaded the game and started playing without recommendation, you will not know about the problems of having non forum members as neighbours. If this is true, the mistake (although you will not have known this at the time) can be addressed by removing all non forum members from your neighbours list. In the long run it will be best for you and your game, it will greatly help reduce the chances of your launch being hi-jacked.

The number of non forum members you may have in your neighbours list, will depend on how long you have been playing your game, before you became aware of the members forum, and signed-up to it. Weeding out non forum members will take time, but it is in your interest to do so.

How you go about removing non for members from your neighbours list, will be up to you to decide, there are two options open to you. First, is to wait for them to make themselves known to you, during an open launch flight. Second, is to actively search for them through the members forum. The first option is the easier of the two, since it requires you to be patient, and have them come to you. The second option requires you to be far more pro-active, to go looking for them.

The problem with the second option is that players game name's and their user name's will not always be the same, which will make searching for them problematic. You will need to keep this in mind, if you decide on the second option. Because of this, you may decide on the first option.

ADDITIONAL READING MATERIAL
The following user guide The Airport City Space Program - How To Undertake Apogee, Prometheus And Lunar Space Mission Launch Flights, should be read in conjunction with this user guide, it will give you a far more complete picture of the space program https://www.airportcitygame.com/thr...-lunar-mission-launch-flights-v7-18-18.20076/. It will help you through the entire process, tell you what you will need to know and what you will need to do. It will be a very important part of your game and will bring you, in the long run, great rewards of coins, experience points and rewards chests from completed flights, rewards of coins, experience points, reward chests and buildings from completed flight collections etc.

Last Updated: Saturday 3rd February 2024 at 12.50pm London UK Time
 
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Captain WH Rollins

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This new user guide in this newly created thread is far from finished, it will grow into something much greater, as did all the user guides before it. As always I would very much welcome feedback from forum members, especially those who have been on the receiving end, of hi-jacker attention.

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Captain WH Rollins
 
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Captain WH Rollins

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@Cosmic Blue - I'm not sure who is on duty today, so I have sent this to you, because you came to mind first. I have just posted a new user guide on the members forum - How To Deal With Open Launch Hi-Jackers - I would be very pleased if it could be made sticky - so it is easier to find.

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In step 8 you mention 1600 as the maximum amount for a green launch, 2000 as a maximum for a blue launch, and 3000 as a maximum for a red launch. These are actually the minimum amounts required for each launch.

For example, if a hijacker adds points to a green launch to bring it up to 1598 they can then add a powerful explosive bolt to hit 1958 points. While apparently wasteful, this can be used to hijack past someone who only had, for instance, 900 points in.
 

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In step 8 you mention 1600 as the maximum amount for a green launch, 2000 as a maximum for a blue launch, and 3000 as a maximum for a red launch. These are actually the minimum amounts required for each launch.

For example, if a hijacker adds points to a green launch to bring it up to 1598 they can then add a powerful explosive bolt to hit 1958 points. While apparently wasteful, this can be used to hijack past someone who only had, for instance, 900 points in.

It is possible to add more than the 1,600 for green, 2,000 for blue and 3,000 for red - if it is the intention of a hi-jacker to hi-jack a launch. The most important thing is the amount of resources you invest, once you have opened your launch, and how quickly you take to secure your first place seat position. It is one of those anomalies of the game, which has never been corrected, but is known about. I will insert a sentence into the user guide making this clear - many thanks for your post.

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Captain WH Rollins
 

Captain WH Rollins

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Since first creating and posting this thread, in early June 2018, I have re-written some parts of section one, have written and inserted a new section two on Freeloaders and Stowaways, and have re-numbered section two to become section three. I'm pleased with the way the user guide is currently looking.

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Captain WH Rollins

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With this user guide I have edited a number of the paragraphs, have re-written step guide number eleven and have written and inserted a new step guide number twelve. I have also adjusted the user guide format - I'm pleased with the way it looks and reads.

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Captain WH Rollins

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I have adjusted the on screen format for this themed user guide, The Space Program - How To Effectively Deal With Hi-Jackers During Open Launch Flights, creating a more balanced and readable subject matter, across the three sections.

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Captain WH Rollins

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I have updated section one of this themed user guide, with step 13 and step 14 - and have also re-written a number of paragraphs, in section two and section three.

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Captain WH Rollins

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As far as I can tell there are no changes to the Space Program, following the Airport City v7 game release earlier on this week.

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Captain WH Rollins

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It has been quite sometime since I last looked at this user guide. I have today written and inserted a new section, entitled Perceived As Being A Hi-Jacker and have re-numbered all the sections accordingly. I have also re-written a number of existing paragraphs, to make reading the user guide more fluid.

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Captain WH Rollins

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I have spent a large part of the day re-writing a number of paragraphs and have also expanded a number of the user guide sections, to provide more detail to the reader.

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Captain WH Rollins
 
Cap, I’m pretty sure we crunched the numbers and verified the points required to avoid being hijacked Some time ago. It looks like they didn’t make it back into this guide.
We determined you needed at least half the min points for the launch and half a PEB to close the door. Eg 3000 for red, you need 1500 + 180. At 1680 points, the highest someone can follow behind is 1319 or it launches. At 1319, if a PEB IS ADDED, the total points for that player are 1679, they cannot pass. The basic formula is as follows...

Y=min. number of points to stop a hijacker, X=min. number of points required to launch, P=PEB (or 360)

green X=1600, blue X=2000 and red X=3000
Y= X/2 + P/2 or (X+P)/2. Putting the numbers through, the results are below...

Y=1680 in red launches, Y= 1180 for blue Launches and Y=980 for green launches
 

Captain WH Rollins

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Many thanks for your post and for the green, blue and red figures. I have adjusted and updated the user guide. You are quite right, the numbers were crunched sometime ago, if I remember correctly there was quite a bit of input from a number of forum members on this during that the period. I will also update the other user guide with the figures.

My thanks once again for the figures.

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Captain WH Rollins
 
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Many thanks for your post and for the green, blue and red figures. I have adjusted and updated the user guide. You are quite right, the numbers were crunched sometime ago, if I remember correctly there was quite a bit of input from a number of forum members on this during that the period. I will also update the other user guide with the figures.

My thanks once again for the figures.

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Captain WH Rollins
I used your previous method until bob and others team members told me I was wrong.
Anyway thank you for the all entire guide. Very useful.
 

Captain WH Rollins

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I used your previous method until bob and others team members told me I was wrong.
Anyway thank you for the all entire guide. Very useful.

I'm pleased that this has come to light - I have had a chance to look back through my notes and realised that both the space program user guides, on my laptop had the correct figures, but for some reason the users guide on the members forum did not - @Bob69bob - my thanks

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@Captain WH Rollins have we ever confirmed if those kicked out of a launch got their items back (post v7 update)? This is addressed in section 1, step 2, but I didn't see any statement speaking of the lost points being returned to the user.
 

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@Captain WH Rollins have we ever confirmed if those kicked out of a launch got their items back (post v7 update)? This is addressed in section 1, step 2, but I didn't see any statement speaking of the lost points being returned to the user.

Thank you very much for your post, it is a really good question, I do not recall if this has ever been confirmed. If so, not sure by who? I doubt very much a hi-jacker would ever have complained openly, on the members forum, after having been thrown off a launch, while trying to hi-jack the launch - they would leave themselves wide open to all manner of comments. The only way to really find out would be to try this out, and see what happens.

I would take an educated guess, and say that you do not get back the resource points, when removed from a launch. I would be pleased to be wrong, about this.

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Captain WH Rolins
 
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