Imperial Courier = Awesomeness on toast
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Yeah 1 explorer ship is plenty!!
There are people asking for the Courier to jump farther than an Asp, the one ship which has always (lore wise) been explicitly designed as an exploration vessel, or asking for it to be downgraded into a small scout + exploration ship. I just want the Courier to retain its effectiveness in its original role which it won't have if it's going to be specced like an Asp, unless it's intentionally designed to be a "king of all trades" like the Cobra.
Nobody is saying that there shouldn't be more exploration ships I just don't want them to make probably the most iconic ship introduced in Frontier into one at the expense of its other abilities just because its name vaguely suggests that it will have a high jump range.
i agree max jump range it should be capable of i would say is about 25-28ly if its combat or exploration kitted
one thing it should have though is one central huge hardpoint below the cockpit canopy and perhaps two small/medium on its underside near the front on the hull (NOT THE NACELLES).. the courier was well known for being able to equip at least 1 massive weapon and its fron mount and it was a central mount also near the front. balance that with power distribution and no LESS than type 5/6 module capacity on the main internals. the ship like the cobra should be geared to what it is historically and the courier was a powerful lady (i grant a little gameplay balance will be needed but they nailed it with the cobra and that could take on the courier when well equipped). however first and formost the look of the ship needs adressing and then once we get past the frosting we look at the ingredients inside
For a "courier" it'd be lame; I can do quite a bit better than that with my Asp.
I'd expect a "courier" to be lightly armed, maneuverable and fast, with a long jump range. I.e.: a very fast hauler for small highly valuable things.
Of course, for the pewpewpew crowd, that would make them unhappy, and they'd whine loudly about having a useless ship that didn't pew the pew very well. So it'll probably be another mid-whatever ship.
My preference would be to see more extreme mission-oriented diversity.
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forgive me if im in error here but did you ever play Elite 2?
historically the thing had a max range of 15 ly laden with its class 5 drive. now that they have revised the idea of jump ranges for the ED mechanic it would be logical to increase the range of the courier to something more than 15 since its a multirole ship similar to the asp and the clipper... (basically its the Elite dangerous equivilent to the USS Defiant from Star Trek Deep Space Nine).
Lore wise though aside from the smaller fighters and the huge capitol ships the empire didnt use many designs as they were all multi purpose and mostly automated internally so their ships needed to be diverse over a broad area of roles both on exploration combat and commerce.
it would if you think about it explain why they are now only exclusive to Imperial navy aristocracy patrons who earn them. so yeah you want a run of the mill huge jump range ship get an asp. you want a massive run of the mill trader get a type 9 etc.. you want a multirole bad ass... you rank up and EARN it in the empire! (the federation should have an equivilent also as the drop ship should literally be dropped from a very significant height) ; and thats how it should be you earn the ship you finance the cost then to buy and equip it you reap the reward..
the balance to that would be that ppl with said run of the mill ships would in essence be able to counter it if utilised and equiped wisely.
this isnt Elite : HALO its Elite: Dangerous theres 30 years of lore and history and im sorry but im not seeing the ONE SHIP i waited 20 years to fly again and was the reason i bought into this game being reduced to a bloody small viper styled fighter or hauler... NO WAY! the girl is two iconic to be reduce to that. It would be like making the cobra like the Krait *urgh* UNTHINKABLE
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Well said, while I respect the people who are new to the elite series, it really isn't fair to completely change a core ship to the game that many have been waiting for and probably like myself bought the game for. The Courier was the ship I wanted from day one, to see it completely changed this way is a real smack in the face. The USS Defiant comparison I would say is spot on, this was a 4 man ship (only because of the automation tech the imperials had, if not it would have required a much larger crew) if you include the captain/Commander, it could carry some of the heaviest weapons packed 6 missile slots and had plenty of room for good gear and hefty shields. Turning it into a fighter is completely wrong. Courier was a name, not it's intended use or sole function.
well then I would hope super valuable cargo and mission revamps would come at the same time. I'd hate to have another ship like the orca with no purpose in the game yet.
So, as i never played the old elite series. What was its purpose back then? Not that i respect your opinion and wish to have it lore wise - but courier sounds to me like fast and agile. What we really don't need is another clipper. So, as said - what was it?
Especially such a good looking one.
What you dont need another Clipper?
so by your own logic the Federation or the alliance shouldnt have an equivilent? the only problem is new players ot the series have seen only ONE imperial playable ship the clipper and thats technically the crappy one.. with the federation and the alliance being out of balance with the "EXCLUSIVE" ships to those factions to counter the clipper i can in honesty see the angst against the imperial clipper and so forthe.. but to be fair blame FD for not providing an equivilent to the clipper as yet for the federation. and EQUALLY in fairness a good python or vulture or FDL pilot kitted well can dominate a clipper with EASE! (remember the clippers hardpoints)
so forgive me but your argument is mute.. the courier is the pinicle of player imperial ships only slightly second'd by its big brother the Imperial Trader.. when they make a Fed duo equivilant and add a few more regular ships (wich btw is what the alliance use as there never WERE any alliance exclusives so get used to that) then we shall see whats what!
I played Elite and Frontier. I remember being highly annoyed in Frontier that the Imp. Courier was relatively pathetic in regards to range compared to other less expensive ships that I already had. It wasn't a 'courier' it was a commuter. A potentially well armed and unique looking commuter. I envisioned at that time, a bird that could be used to take those jobs that required a long range haul in a very limited timeframe. I was disappointed. That being said, I did get several and enjoyed using them. I prized the random Couriers with the art on the engine nacelles. I tried the expensive and overrated Imp. Trader, thinking that perhaps... just perhaps, the Trader could jump far enough to actually, you know, trade. Perhaps I didn't give it enough time, but the drastic reduction in range for a modest increase in haulage capacity didn't sit well. The Imp. Clipper looks nothing like the old Imp. Trader. I do not mind that the new 'courier' looks little like its predecessor. I hope it does not try to fulfill the same role that it did in Frontier, that of a well armed commuter, and instead fulfill the role for which it is named.
Regardless, in the end it is all speculation and opinion until such time as the beastie is actually available to own (or FD releases more than teaser art). Much like the speculation running rampant regarding the FDL and the Beetle (err.. Vulture - that thing looks more like a big Beetle than a Vulture) before the 1.2 Beta.
It was basically the heaviest - by a long shot - ship which had good enough thrusters to still be considered an agile fighter. Its size gave it the ability to pack a much stronger weapon than something like the Cobra or Asp which were probably the next largest ships which were well suited for combat. Like the Asp and Cobra it was well suited to just about any use. ED is a totally different game however so it's hard to compare; I feel like a stripped-down, faster version of the Clipper would be appropriate, roughly Asp sized or a little larger.
All the ships larger than the Courier were more or less dedicated trading vessels though you could fill a Boa (imagine a double sized Anaconda) up with guns and shields and have a fun time with that
i agree max jump range it should be capable of i would say is about 25-28ly if its combat or exploration kitted
one thing it should have though is one central huge hardpoint below the cockpit canopy and perhaps two small/medium on its underside near the front on the hull (NOT THE NACELLES).. the courier was well known for being able to equip at least 1 massive weapon and its fron mount and it was a central mount also near the front. balance that with power distribution and no LESS than type 5/6 module capacity on the main internals. the ship like the cobra should be geared to what it is historically and the courier was a powerful lady (i grant a little gameplay balance will be needed but they nailed it with the cobra and that could take on the courier when well equipped). however first and formost the look of the ship needs adressing and then once we get past the frosting we look at the ingredients inside
I don't think the "front mounted weapon" argument is very persuasive as literally every ship in the old games just had its laser mounted right on the nose in the center, I do expect the Courier to have at least 2 nacelle-mounted guns as I would assume that it will share many design elements with the Clipper, and intentionally poorly mounted hardpoints is one of the most common ways to make the otherwise 'almost OP' multirole ships (Cobra / Clipper) a bit weaker at combat.
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I really like this design, looks way better than anything that RSI has come up with so far.
ok i grant that but the clipper isnt "almost OP" its easily defeated by double chaff as given its hardpoint spacing fixed weapons are pointless (unless your incredible skilled as a pilot and i mean incredibly!) you mainly have to run with gimbled or turrets on her
Agreed!
I'd love a few missions involving scrambling long distances on very tight schedules. No time to repair or fight, barely enough to scoop. You know, like trying to make the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs like Han Solo did.