Measured SCO Fuel/Hour and Speed Rates

[Osiliran]

Can you add to the table what the acronyms F/H/Speed and FHSM Ratio stand for? Also, can you add the normal ship speeds without SCO?

Thanks, I've removed the acronyms from table headers and entered the descriptions in full. I've also done the same for the shared sheet and updated some descriptions to help with readability.

In the sheet on the right under speed observations on the rates tab, the max super cruise speed without SCO is listed which is 2,001C for all ships. If you want to know your super cruise speed at a certain point in time, that'll depend on how far you are from a system's main body and any other gravity wells. CMDR Heisenberg has a reddit post here that goes into more detail about a main body's "regions" and the effect on super cruise if you're interested in that kind of stuff.

 

[Cosmo]

the max super cruise speed without SCO is listed which is 2,001C for all ships.

2001 C for all ships without SCO vs 3,150 max speed with SCO in the Federal Corvette. I thought it was slower without SCO.

 

[Osiliran]

2001 C for all ships without SCO vs 3,150 max speed with SCO in the Federal Corvette. I thought it was slower without SCO.

That's right it's slower, save for the E rated SCO FSDs on some ships like the Corvette. Class 5 and higher E rated FSDs don't get a speed increase and will cap out at 2,001C like regular super cruise.

 

[aRJay]

2001 C for all ships without SCO vs 3,150 max speed with SCO in the Federal Corvette. I thought it was slower without SCO.

In most places you won’t get a standard FSD up to 2001 most of us only see that doing the Hutton run as that is about the only time we get far enough from anything else for the gravity wells not to hold the speed back.

 

[Osiliran]

For anyone wondering, these are the ships currently missing SCO sound effects as at 18.06:
Adder
Anaconda
Beluga
Alliance Challenger
Alliance Crusader
Dolphin
Eagle
Federal Assault Ship
Fer-de-Lance
Federal Dropship
Federal Gunship
Hauler
Imperial Clipper
Imperial Cutter
Imperial Eagle
Mamba
Orca
Viper
Viper mk IV
Vulture

I don't see anything in the issue tracker for it. I tried searching to see if Fdev have acknowledged it in one of the patch note discussions but I couldn't see anything there either. I might have missed something. If anyone has seen some acknowledgement, I might hold off on the issue tracker for now. There's a mention of missing audio in the forums' post on patch 18.02, I'll drop the idea of issue tracking

 

[Kira Goto]

For anyone wondering, these are the ships currently missing SCO sound effects as at 18.06:
Adder
Anaconda
Beluga
Alliance Challenger
Alliance Crusader
Dolphin
Eagle
Federal Assault Ship
Fer-de-Lance
Federal Dropship
Federal Gunship
Hauler
Imperial Clipper
Imperial Cutter
Imperial Eagle
Mamba
Orca
Viper
Viper mk IV
Vulture

I don't see anything in the issue tracker for it. I tried searching to see if Fdev have acknowledged it in one of the patch note discussions but I couldn't see anything there either. I might have missed something. If anyone has seen some acknowledgement, I might hold off on the issue tracker for now.

It was mentioned right in the patch that added SCO to the game to start with. So... yeah, I think they know.

 

[Osiliran]

It was mentioned right in the patch that added SCO to the game to start with. So... yeah, I think they know.

Ah very good, cheers. I was looking at the patch notes on elitedangerous.com where it wasn't mentioned, but there is a mention on the patch notes in the forums, I'm sure they're all over it.

 

[Osiliran]

Interesting discussion on the Type-8 during Frontier Unlocked by Arthur and Chantelle. Some of the comments made by Arthur when specifically comparing the Type-8 against the Python Mk II in SCO:

• Not as fast
  
• More fuel efficient
• More heat resistant
• Capable of a more stable journey
• More suitable for long-range travel

Its specs per Arthur's comments (also listed in the shared SCO sheet) are below. To make sure I noted them down correctly, I've cross-checked this against Galnet News Digest's very informative (and funny) Type-8 flight summary you can check out here.

Hard points

Number of hard points	Size
5	Small
1	Medium

Core internals

Type of internal	Class
Power Plant	5
Thrusters	5
FSD	5
Life Support	3
Sensors	3
Power Distributors	4
Fuel Tank	5

Optional Internals

Number of slots	Size	Fuel/cargo capacity per size	Total fuel/cargo capacity
1	Size 1	2	2
1	Size 2	4	4
1	Size 4	16	16
2	Size 5	32	64
3	Size 6	64	192
1	Size 7	128	128
		Total:	406

Very keen to know more about the Arthur's comments on the Type-8's fuel efficiency. Hopefully after some additional Unlocked sessions and testing, we'll have a more complete picture of what "SCO enabled" really means for a ship's performance.

 

[HappyMoonMonkey]

Same sized FSD as the P2 so interesting that its stats might be different. When he said it was slower I assumed it was a bigger FSD. But, of course, that doesn't play well with "more efficient" as well.

 

[aRJay]

Possibly a great bulk passenger hauler.

 

[Osiliran]

Cool seeing more of the T8, very exciting. Ricardo posted a video playing around with the T8 here and we got a good look at the fuel usage during an SCO test run under an A rated drive. With a full capacity for fuel of 406 tons at those speeds, it looks to be able to cover over 9 million l/s without stopping, at least under that configuration. Keen to try it out and see how the other FSD ratings perform.

 

[HappyMoonMonkey]

Cool seeing more of the T8, very exciting. Ricardo posted a video playing around with the T8 here and we got a good look at the fuel usage during an SCO test run under an A rated drive. With a full capacity for fuel of 406 tons at those speeds, it looks to be able to cover over 9 million l/s without stopping, at least under that configuration. Keen to try it out and see how the other FSD ratings perform.

Hang on... That's more than a trip to Hutton without refueling...?

 

[Kira Goto]

Hang on... That's more than a trip to Hutton without refueling...?

If memory serves, yes. This will (probably) both be the delight and bane of the speedrunners, though dependent on the max speed of the ship in SCO…

 

[Osiliran]

Hang on... That's more than a trip to Hutton without refueling...?

Yup that's right

 

[V'larr]

So I have a request - all the SCO testing done so far, seems to go with "run the ship til it's out of heat sinks/fuel/integrity", rather than real use cases.

Could you - or anyone up to the task - test how far & fast SCOs can get, when boosting only until the ship's heat hits 100%? I'm really torn on whether to use B or C, specifically.

The benefit of A is a little lost on me, where pure jump range is not the primary concern - it goes so fast while boosting, I don't really see the point of a higher speed cap, but maybe that still makes a difference in such a comparison?

 

[Osiliran]

So I have a request - all the SCO testing done so far, seems to go with "run the ship til it's out of heat sinks/fuel/integrity", rather than real use cases.

Could you - or anyone up to the task - test how far & fast SCOs can get, when boosting only until the ship's heat hits 100%? I'm really torn on whether to use B or C, specifically.

The benefit of A is a little lost on me, where pure jump range is not the primary concern - it goes so fast while boosting, I don't really see the point of a higher speed cap, but maybe that still makes a difference in such a comparison?

I don't have the answer to what FSD rating strikes a good balance between distance, time and heat but as a starting point, there is a lot of good heat research here that talks about a ship's capacity for heat that has been useful for me when choosing ships I wanted to build with SCO in mind.

If you have a ship specifically you want data for, I could go through my recordings to give you a rough idea since the test builds are standardised. If those three metrics were important to you, I'd personally avoid the B rating due to its larger heat generation and instead stick with A or C. Throttling to 0% during SCO reduces your heat generation, as well as having the benefit of being slightly more fuel efficent, an option you can try on any rating.

Can you describe your in-game goal? If you can provide some more info, I can see if I can help further.

 

[Osiliran]

I've tested the type-8 and added the fuel/speed values into the spreadsheet. I've also added the fuel consumption stat onto the FSD module tab, a stat that is now visible on the modules in-game since patch "Type-8". Looking to do a proper long-distance test soon under the most fuel efficient approach to see how far it can go.

 

[V'larr]

I don't have the answer to what FSD rating strikes a good balance between distance, time and heat but as a starting point, there is a lot of good heat research here that talks about a ship's capacity for heat that has been useful for me when choosing ships I wanted to build with SCO in mind.

If you have a ship specifically you want data for, I could go through my recordings to give you a rough idea since the test builds are standardised. If those three metrics were important to you, I'd personally avoid the B rating due to its larger heat generation and instead stick with A or C. Throttling to 0% during SCO reduces your heat generation, as well as having the benefit of being slightly more fuel efficent, an option you can try on any rating.

Can you describe your in-game goal? If you can provide some more info, I can see if I can help further.

I'm deciding on what SCO to use for each of my ships - armed trade Cutter, combat Corvette, taxi Courier, explorer Phantom, mission-running Python, combat Chieftain & Python II, the works. The Courier is straightforward, as using the D-rated one lets me put on a fuel tank without losing the top speed.

As it's happened, I was convinced by someone in the Mobius discord on using the A-rated one on the Cutter for jump range by reason of the better jump fuel economy on shorter hops, which turned out to be prescient as it very narrowly saved me an extra jump from one of the CG sources

Anecdotally, while embarking on the CG, I went for a source station with a 350kls just to test the now-engineered SCO, and the Cutter's default fuel tank couldn't quite do it - I started getting into 20% and lower fuel remaining around 120k ls out, and I tried a shorter boost after that got me into "okay this is real dangerous now" fuel territory. (The zero throttle tip did help some here but not nearly enough to fully shorten the trip!)

Knowing the 'real use case' benefits of the SCO types would just help future me deliberate on which one to pick for the rest of my ships.
For instance:

• A-rated for trade ships, for preserving max jump range benefits (I was surprised the Cutter still gets +2 LY using A over B/C/D)
• B-rated for combat ships to preserve fuel duration, especially for use of plasma slug
• C-rated for explorers, for ease of boost use for more frequent long SC journeys
• D-rated for min/max situations, like the aforementioned Courier

 

[DarkStarSword]

Tip to make that spreadsheet easier to use:
1. Unmerge cell A1 from the "FSD SCO Rates" title (feel free to remerge this in the remaining cells)
2. Select cell A2
3. View -> Freeze -> Up to row 2
4. View -> Freeze -> Up to column A

(Steps 2 through 4 can alternatively be achieved by dragging the thick grey bars)

Now the row + column headings will remain on screen while scrolling the spreadsheet.

 

[Osiliran]

Tip to make that spreadsheet easier to use:
1. Unmerge cell A1 from the "FSD SCO Rates" title (feel free to remerge this in the remaining cells)
2. Select cell A2
3. View -> Freeze -> Up to row 2
4. View -> Freeze -> Up to column A

(Steps 2 through 4 can alternatively be achieved by dragging the thick grey bars)

Now the row + column headings will remain on screen while scrolling the spreadsheet.

Great suggestion, thanks. I've updated the sheet with some frozen rows/columns as described. I've included column B too as the FSD rating is tied to the row data.

I'm deciding on what SCO to use for each of my ships - armed trade Cutter, combat Corvette, taxi Courier, explorer Phantom, mission-running Python, combat Chieftain & Python II, the works. The Courier is straightforward, as using the D-rated one lets me put on a fuel tank without losing the top speed.

As it's happened, I was convinced by someone in the Mobius discord on using the A-rated one on the Cutter for jump range by reason of the better jump fuel economy on shorter hops, which turned out to be prescient as it very narrowly saved me an extra jump from one of the CG sources

Anecdotally, while embarking on the CG, I went for a source station with a 350kls just to test the now-engineered SCO, and the Cutter's default fuel tank couldn't quite do it - I started getting into 20% and lower fuel remaining around 120k ls out, and I tried a shorter boost after that got me into "okay this is real dangerous now" fuel territory. (The zero throttle tip did help some here but not nearly enough to fully shorten the trip!)

Knowing the 'real use case' benefits of the SCO types would just help future me deliberate on which one to pick for the rest of my ships.
For instance:

• A-rated for trade ships, for preserving max jump range benefits (I was surprised the Cutter still gets +2 LY using A over B/C/D)
• B-rated for combat ships to preserve fuel duration, especially for use of plasma slug
• C-rated for explorers, for ease of boost use for more frequent long SC journeys
• D-rated for min/max situations, like the aforementioned Courier

Thanks for going into more detail V'larr. Yeah I think something like this would be useful in-game too. Where it would really shine (and I think all the other data too) is in ship builder tools like EDSY and Coriolis, giving players an idea of SCO distance and heat stats for their exact build, rather than just a number from a non-functional test loadout. I think a smaller batch of testing with the purpose of producing a way to predict how long heat takes to build up would be a better use of time than just testing every ship and FSD rating again. The heat research is there plus the heat generation rate on the SCO modules. I could probably do some testing but I feel there are much more capable cmdrs out there for this task, especially the EDSY and Coriolis folks. Not sure when I can look at this but hopefully some others can too

If you already have your ships built, you could always take them out for a spin with each FSD rating to get a feel for their heat build up and total distance/time. The working distance tab on the sheet can give you a very rough idea of distance too but you'll need to save your own copy to plug in the actual fuel your carrying.