New ship: Panther Clipper

Size comparision.

I really like this ship, but I accept the fact this is (visually) smaller version of how we remember historical and legendary PC Mk 1, and that's totally fine!
And I did one for exploration and exobiology (it has everything like two SRVs, limpets, and Fighter Hangar and still can do 50 Ly jump), but it is hard to land, and I don't mean just like usual big ship, just like it is some issue with landing indicator or smth. I am not sure. (And I have to compare exobio version of Beluga, Type-7, Imperial Clipper, Corvette and did even Type-9 and 10).

And it doesn't boost it deploys a nuke behind the ship ;)

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The only reason I can think of why Fdev made the PC Mk II short is because they plan to release a long version. They will re-use the engine design on more ships by Zorgon Peterson.
 
The PC2 really should fill the landing pad completely and I see no reason it was not made that way.
If it was made that way it would have to carry 4 times as much cargo, and the regulars here wouldn't approve.
It should be at least as long as the Anaconda and as wide as the T9.
That was the impression I had when it was described as a "Behomoth", rather than "smallmoth" 🤣
 
all the cosmetic add-ons like the mast on the front for the stellar version and possibly future cosmetic purchases might 'extend' the length of the PC to fill the landing space. Bit like the beluga does
 
It's already tall and quite chunky. If it filled the landing pad and was taller than it is already, it would not get through the mail-slot. We already have carriers, a ship that cannot land at any pad.
If they made it any bigger you wouldn't be able to see what you were doing to it in outfitting.
 
If it was made that way it would have to carry 4 times as much cargo, and the regulars here wouldn't approve.

That was the impression I had when it was described as a "Behomoth", rather than "smallmoth" 🤣
You said it. And I agree.

Regardless, the way the Panther Clipper was described in the books and predecessor games -- Mk I, I know, but still bear with me -- was that it dwarfed all other ships and barely fit through the mail-slot. That it could haul more than any other ship.

To me, that sounds ideal. I'm sure there are "the regulars" that zone out and haul 1000 tons of cargo in a Type 6 over the course of hours, but I'd rather get my hauling done in as few trips as possible so that I can actually do something engaging.

All of that said, as I often add in other posts elsewhere when stating my opinion/criticism of other gameplay loops: To each their own. I wouldn't want to take anything away from other players in chasing a convenience for my own gameplay. The thing I love most about Elite, in general, is that it has something for everyone and I think that fact is what keeps it steady and healthy. So, to those of you who love hauling, I salute you the same as everyone else. o7
 
Just to note, another promise kept :)

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Seems fitting, too.

O7,
🙃
 
The large fuel tank allowing for much larger coverage without a fuel scoop is really handy. I have a colonized system that's over 300 Ly from ShinDez (which is my main base of oprations), and I couldn't fly either the Type-9 nor the Cutter there without having to make a refueling stop (trying to find a system with large landing pads) or a fuel scoop, but with the Panther Clipper it wasn't a problem at all.
So how far will it go with a class 8 fuel tank ?

edit: twice as far - excpet it would have to be in the class 8 optional slot, so together with the standard class 7, that makes over 900ly.
 
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...but it is hard to land, and I don't mean just like usual big ship, just like it is some issue with landing indicator or smth. I am not sure. (And I have to compare exobio version of Beluga, Type-7, Imperial Clipper, Corvette and did even Type-9 and 10).

I didn't have any problems landing on a planet's surface (with an ADC fitted) but I did find that, upon exiting the ship, the ship was balancing on one landing-foot, with the other 3 hovering so far above the surface that I could walk underneath them!

I know it's a small thing, with no real benefit, but FDev really need to figure out articulated landing gear, so ships can sit level, on uneven ground, with ALL their landing feet on the surface.
 

Thank you Michael, this clearly shows what I was trying to explain: this Panther Clipper is not "oh it's so big, no mail-slot will be big enough" nonsense - just a bit chubbier Type-9. The true size monster is Beluga.

Here's what Panther Clipper should have been - or can be if they plan to build PC III :) (yes it is inside the Beluga's box for mail-slot and landing pad)

FYuP7yP.png
 
Thank you Michael, this clearly shows what I was trying to explain: this Panther Clipper is not "oh it's so big, no mail-slot will be big enough" nonsense - just a bit chubbier Type-9. The true size monster is Beluga.

Here's what Panther Clipper should have been - or can be if they plan to build PC III :) (yes it is inside the Beluga's box for mail-slot and landing pad)

FYuP7yP.png
The PC3 ship will have MK3 slots, so the size does not change.
 
Here's what Panther Clipper should have been - or can be if they plan to build PC III :) (yes it is inside the Beluga's box for mail-slot and landing pad)

FYuP7yP.png
The PC3 ship will have MK3 slots, so the size does not change.

We want the ship to be the biggest of all. To fill a whole large landing pad. It should be the longest or equal to the Beluga. That's how I imagined the PC Mk II. What we currently have is insufficient.

related song:

 
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