Thrusters and Ship Mass

mossfoot

mossfoot
Okay, I'm a little confused as to the difference thrusters make on max speed and ship mass.

For example, my Clipper is currently at a Max tonnage of 822.7 (fully loaded with cargo)

The A6 thrusters have an "optimal mass" of 1440 and max mass of 2160

The A5 thrusters have an "optimal mass" of 840 and a max mass of 1260

So if the A5s fall closest to optimal (I assume that reflects maneuverability) then does it make any difference to take the A6 over the A5 in that regard?

And how much of an affect does it have on its top boost speed? Anyone test these kind of things out?
 

Spanksh

Spanksh
To put it very simple:
it makes a bigger difference if you are above or below optimum mass. Once you are below optimum mass you get an advantage depending on how far below optimum you are, however the change is much more subtle (but still worth it in many occasions).


Also this:
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=47014&p=837944&viewfull=1#post837944
"Yes they do. Each is optimised for a certain mass. If your ship is exactly at that mass then you'll get the flight model designed for the ship. If it's less than that then you'll get an improved flight model. If it's more than that you'll get a worse flight model."
 
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mossfoot

mossfoot
Intriguing. That might change my whole look on outfitting my Clipper. Will have to experiment!

The question is, is it a curve with a cap on it, so that the diff between B6 and A6 are negligible (give that A6's Optimal is a good 1300T higher than the actual tonnage)
 
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Spanksh

Spanksh
Just make sure to test turning times as well ;) 1 or 2 m/s more ore less might not make a big difference, but half a second faster turning makes A BIG difference in combat. Also acceleration in all direction can differ quite a bit. So lower end thrusters often have more drifting and feel more like driving on ice.
 
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jack23011

jack23011
Spanksh said:
Just make sure to test turning times as well ;) 1 or 2 m/s more ore less might not make a big difference, but half a second faster turning makes A BIG difference in combat. Also acceleration in all direction can differ quite a bit. So lower end thrusters often have more drifting and feel more like driving on ice.
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New to ED, so I'm in the starter ship. I have my thrusters set up happy with maneuverability. Was curious is there a 'station-keeping' ability for the starter (or any) ship? You know, 'one button to rule them all' to keep your ship at 0 speed and oriented as you like? I have an All Stop mapped, I have rotation Correction mapped and in use as appropriate. It occurred to me, as I am practicing docking, about to move on to travel tutorial, it would be nice to have Station Keeping so I can muck about the cockpit looking around, going to get water, etc., and not worry about spin and drift. I used the search feature in the forum but couldn't find what I was looking for. Thanks, to any and all, with constructive thoughts, I appreciate it.
 

Para Handy

Para Handy
jack23011 said:
New to ED, so I'm in the starter ship. I have my thrusters set up happy with maneuverability. Was curious is there a 'station-keeping' ability for the starter (or any) ship? You know, 'one button to rule them all' to keep your ship at 0 speed and oriented as you like? I have an All Stop mapped, I have rotation Correction mapped and in use as appropriate. It occurred to me, as I am practicing docking, about to move on to travel tutorial, it would be nice to have Station Keeping so I can muck about the cockpit looking around, going to get water, etc., and not worry about spin and drift. I used the search feature in the forum but couldn't find what I was looking for. Thanks, to any and all, with constructive thoughts, I appreciate it.
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If you are referring to just having your ship sit still where you left it and not develop spin or drift then yes that is built in to the flight assist, you don't have to do anything except kill all speed and your ship will sit there in that orientation until it either gets blown up by someone or it gets hit by something. I think for example that if you just sit in front of a station, that station will run into you (as it's in orbit and you are "stationary") but I'm not too sure about that.
 

Kerenn

Kerenn
jack23011 said:
New to ED, so I'm in the starter ship. I have my thrusters set up happy with maneuverability. Was curious is there a 'station-keeping' ability for the starter (or any) ship? You know, 'one button to rule them all' to keep your ship at 0 speed and oriented as you like? I have an All Stop mapped, I have rotation Correction mapped and in use as appropriate. It occurred to me, as I am practicing docking, about to move on to travel tutorial, it would be nice to have Station Keeping so I can muck about the cockpit looking around, going to get water, etc., and not worry about spin and drift. I used the search feature in the forum but couldn't find what I was looking for. Thanks, to any and all, with constructive thoughts, I appreciate it.
Click to expand...

short answer is no. medium anwser is "always dock inside hangar when going afk". Long answer is if you have flight assist and "correct rotational stuff" on, then your ship will stay where it is, relative to the station (try hitting launch with 0 speed and wait a bit, you'll see no drift). But with FA off, you drift because the pad actually LAUNCHES you. Haven't tried the rotational correction off inside a station yet (but it does make it easier to letterbox when on). Or try killing all speed as said above when you're next to your pad and see what happens.

Tibrys said:
i think you're looking for the docking computer.
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No he isn't (or at least from what I gather from his writings).

MalcYorks said:
If you are referring to just having your ship sit still where you left it and not develop spin or drift then yes that is built in to the flight assist, you don't have to do anything except kill all speed and your ship will sit there in that orientation until it either gets blown up by someone or it gets hit by something. I think for example that if you just sit in front of a station, that station will run into you (as it's in orbit and you are "stationary") but I'm not too sure about that.
Click to expand...

You are right. About the station running into you, it happens if you're on the orbit path or if it has happendages (coriolis aren't as evil as Orbis or Ocellus starports with weird dangly bits that kill you dead when ramming in). What I don't know is about the time you're floating inside the cylinder where the pads are situated.
 
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jack23011

jack23011
This is such a great community! Thanks for all your assistance. I found the problem rather addressed itself when I increased the deadzone in forward/aft thrusters. what was happening with zero DZ is I'd bump or nudge slightly, the JS-base, and it would be enough to start unwanted movement. Now, I have an 'all stop' key for engines and combined with a better DZ, I can sit off-station without drift. Thanks again, it will also help that I ordered my Saitek X-55 Rhino today, vast improvement over the Logitech Freedom 2.4 Cordless I moved over from my flight sim :)
 
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