Ships Imperial Courier

[Mephane]

my video is processing, this is max speed, absolutely stripped down.
The fat courier I just tried was boosting to about 390ish.

Its just like the viper, you can actually customize it, not just fly the fat A version. Removes everything I dislike about the FDL.
Have to see what a real loadout in the middle does though, hopefully you get better than the 415-420 form a viper.

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Completely stripped down courier, ignore the minor bump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFxzo8Ff72I

Thanks.

The situation is a bit sad. It's probably solely because of the class 3 thrusters and the effects of maximum/optimum mass. The Diamondback, with its class 4 thrusters, doesn't suffer from such severe penalties when loaded with equipment. I am really thinking the Courier may be in need of class 4 thrusters, too.

 

[fergal]

Thanks.

The situation is a bit sad. It's probably solely because of the class 3 thrusters and the effects of maximum/optimum mass. The Diamondback, with its class 4 thrusters, doesn't suffer from such severe penalties when loaded with equipment. I am really thinking the Courier may be in need of class 4 thrusters, too.

Lightening it up a bit gets about 410 boost. Its not that bad, but the drop off is massive. Put 4 or 10T of cargo in it and its quite noticeable.
Put all A equipment in and you have something about the same speed as a vulture, with maybe a better jump distance, maybe not.

Putting armour on it at all isn't going to go well for the courier in my opinion.

Haven't tried the diamond back yet.

 

[fergal]

Still havent tried the diamond back, Imperial Courier is the best ship in the game

AI seems quite a bit better too, they don't seem willing to take plasma accelerator hits the same now

 

[B.Roberts]

Whoever said the Cobra is FDs baby called it. This replaces an eagle but doesn't compare to a cobra. And if there is a rank requirement for it then why would i even bother with it. There are better options out there with less of a hassle. Pretty ship? Yes. But beyond flying it for the sake of "Look at my shiny" What's the point?

I think this is a side step from Cobra, not a step up or down. It is very similar in speed and maneuverability, has 16-17 LY range fully upgraded and it has slightly heavier punch due to its 3 medium hardpoints. For me personally, it feels little bit under powered with two beams and one multy cannon though, but some folks likes it. Also I think 2 500 000 is little bit too much for what it is. Also, it feels to be too close to Cobra to be that much more expensive.

 

[B33 ENN]

I'm wondering why the Courier is classified as multi-purpose. With those meager internal compartments it is hardly usable as anything but a fighter.

I've learned to ignore the Frontier descriptions for the ships. They don't make sense. The Courier is actually a tactical fighter. The Diamondback is actually an attack ship.

However, until I fly them both after the public release, I can't exactly say what the difference between them is, because so far, it seems the Diamondback can do more or less everything the Courier does, but is tougher, if uglier.

 

[fergal]

I've learned to ignore the Frontier descriptions for the ships. They don't make sense. The Courier is actually a tactical fighter. The Diamondback is actually an attack ship.

However, until I fly them both after the public release, I can't exactly say what the difference between them is, because so far, it seems the Diamondback can do more or less everything the Courier does, but is tougher, if uglier.

the shields on the courier are much stronger than the diamondback.

 

[B33 ENN]

the shields on the courier are much stronger than the diamondback.

So, the Diamondback has the tougher hull with weaker shield than the Courier, similar to the Cobra versus the Viper.

 

[fergal]

So, the Diamondback has the tougher hull with weaker shield than the Courier, similar to the Cobra versus the Viper.

just flew a diamondback.
if its stripped down its fairly similar to the stripped down courier for speed.
Boosts to 441.
When you have A equipment except for the life support and sensors its quicker.
Boost around 420 without cargo.
Its weapons are more central too, so if you like fixed weapons the diamond back is better.

The two wings of the courier aren't that far apart, buts its enough when fighting something smaller than an asp to be a pain to hit with all 3 weapons at once.

I'd say the courier is an upgrade to the viper, its got better shields and can be faster with more power available, and more internal space.

Couriers exploding everywhere here , ship ramming at stations seems worse than before the changes too.

*edit, I'm getting over 20LY jump range on the courier too, so thats also better than the viper. If you like the viper you will like the courier. If you don't like the viper, the courier is probably skipable.

 

[B33 ENN]

...if its stripped down its fairly similar to the stripped down courier for speed. Boosts to 441. When you have A equipment except for the life support and sensors its quicker. Boost around 420 without cargo.

I'd say the courier is an upgrade to the viper, its got better shields and can be faster with more power available, and more internal space...

Interesting. So it looks, like Courier is a natural upgrade to the Viper, and the Diamondback to the Cobra, for the combat orientated pilot. Suits me, I'll take one of each.

Another video review popped up, don't think it's been posted:

[video=youtube;G6BYQmYVCMA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6BYQmYVCMA[/video]

 

[fergal]

Interesting. So it looks, like Courier is a natural upgrade to the Viper, and the Diamondback to the Cobra, for the combat orientated pilot. Suits me, I'll take one of each.

Another video review popped up, don't think it's been posted:

I'm 1 min into his review, he doesn't have a clue what hes talking about.

 

[MikeB]

Coming from Frontier and FFE, this was the ship I was really looking forward to jumping into, am quite disappointed; it was an absolute beast in those games. Ah well, only 40ml to grind until I can fully max-out my clipper!

 

[fergal]

Coming from Frontier and FFE, this was the ship I was really looking forward to jumping into, am quite disappointed; it was an absolute beast in those games. Ah well, only 40ml to grind until I can fully max-out my clipper!

the ship certainly shouldnt be called the courier.
All the other ships that were in previous games are somewhat similar. Not sure why this was changed to such a tiny ship.

 

[MikeB]

the ship certainly shouldnt be called the courier.
All the other ships that were in previous games are somewhat similar. Not sure why this was changed to such a tiny ship.

Completely agree, not that I think it's necessarily a bad ship per-se, just feel somewhat betrayed; I love ED ever increasingly more with each patch, but this really was the ship I was waiting for, from the early screenshots I had hoped it was something between the clipper and the Vulture - something that fits the legacy of the elegant beauty it used to be... Sigh...

 

[Poy]

Is it just me or does this ship sounds like a muscle car ?

[video=youtube;h8jSrDPIj70]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8jSrDPIj70[/video]

 

[Balfuset790]

Completely random thought here that occurred to me on the way home from work.

Is it possible this ship is designed for stealth? It's got a reasonable speed and jump range for dealing with things in inhabited space I think. From there I wonder how she does for Silent Running, and getting sensitive information into the right hands under the radar.

As a small ship she's got a less noticeable profile than larger vessels, and smaller components probably mean lower signature. She overheats fast according to other posts but also benefits greatly from Heat Sink pops.

Thoughts?

Edit: Note this is complete armchair conjecture as I'm not in the beta at all.

 

[Corbin Moran]

Is it possible this ship is designed for stealth? It's got a reasonable speed and jump range for dealing with things in inhabited space I think. From there I wonder how she does for Silent Running, and getting sensitive information into the right hands under the radar.

As a small ship she's got a less noticeable profile than larger vessels, and smaller components probably mean lower signature. She overheats fast according to other posts but also benefits greatly from Heat Sink pops.

I´ve just tried it out, and you might be on to something. Ill run some more trials with different outfitting and compare with eagle and cobra to see how it works out.

EDIT: The courier is marginally better at Silent Running than the Cobra and the Eagle:

 

[Deleted member 58533]

I flew the courier for about an hour and it's a nimble ship, fun to fly, sounds great - "A" fitted everything with x3 Shield Boosters and x3 Gimballed Beam Lasers and tried testing a couple of the beta missions. I've taken out two Anaconda's and a couple of cobra's so far and it's holding it's own. The ship can take some punishment as the shields (without shield boosters) were doing a reasonable job until 3 Anaconda's decided to jump me at the same time - shield cells and boost to the rescue.

Heat management really sucks though. I was up to 212% at one point as the beams generate a LOT of heat, not the best setup I know - just putting it through its beta paces. Don't like the cockpit canopy with those rings as they obscure HUD info., it would have been awesome if they would have followed the Clipper's style of canopy with no obstructed view. Really finding it difficult to determine where this ship fits in. A little disappointed, not overly impressed but it's a fun ship in any case. Just my two cents, check it out, decide for yourself..

 

[B33 ENN]

...Don't like the cockpit canopy with those rings as they obscure HUD info., it would have been awesome if they would have followed the Clipper's style of canopy with no obstructed view....

I like the teardrop fighter jet canopy, but, when I saw the size, I thought it was a two seat craft. I was surprised when I saw it's only a single seater. As a result, the pilot sits a bit too far back, or the canopy is too long, and so you get the two round frames in your front view rather than one at the most.

 

[Deleted member 58533]

I like the teardrop fighter jet canopy, but, when I saw the size, I thought it was a two seat craft. I was surprised when I saw it's only a single seater. As a result, the pilot sits a bit too far back, or the canopy is too long, and so you get the two round frames in your front view rather than one at the most.

Spot on ..

 

[Corbin Moran]

I flew the courier for about an hour and it's a nimble ship, fun to fly, sounds great - "A" fitted everything with x3 Shield Boosters and x3 Gimballed Beam Lasers and tried testing a couple of the beta missions. I've taken out two Anaconda's and a couple of cobra's so far and it's holding it's own. The ship can take some punishment as the shields (without shield boosters) were doing a reasonable job until 3 Anaconda's decided to jump me at the same time - shield cells and boost to the rescue.

Heat management really sucks though. I was up to 212% at one point as the beams generate a LOT of heat, not the best setup I know - just putting it through its beta paces. Don't like the cockpit canopy with those rings as they obscure HUD info., it would have been awesome if they would have followed the Clipper's style of canopy with no obstructed view. Really finding it difficult to determine where this ship fits in. A little disappointed, not overly impressed but it's a fun ship in any case.

My thoughts exactly. So far I´ve tried it out doing some bountyhunting, light hauling (courier???), smuggling, exploring and fuelscooping...

It is certainly a capable fighter with a massive powerplant and shield for a small ship. So far I find it to be of little use in any other role. Hauling cargo decreases performance severely, attempting any serious fuel scooping makes the ship explode, etc.

From the "look" of the ship I was expecting it to be slightly faster, more agile and more fragile than a Cobra. It is the other way around and that seams quite unintuitive to me.

I wonder how it would work if they nerfed the shield somewhat and upgraded the thrusters to class 4? Would it make the unladen ship only slightly faster while improving performance on an outfitted / ladden ship?

I like the teardrop fighter jet canopy, but, when I saw the size, I thought it was a two seat craft. I was surprised when I saw it's only a single seater. As a result, the pilot sits a bit too far back, or the canopy is too long, and so you get the two round frames in your front view rather than one at the most.

Totally agree. I wonder if they decided to downscale the ship at some point? From the concept art I imagined it to be slightly bigger (and less cramped) .