Sidewinder jump range - is there a better than A2 FSD?

[jacozilla]

Partly by mistake and trial/error. I got into a sidewinder as a thought to try some exploring while I made my way to one of the pledge home systems to buy new ship using their 15% discount.

Long story short, even using the best class A-2 FSD drive and stripping the ship bare to get longest jump range, I couldn't plot a route from my starter zone area (within 50 LY of the newbie starter system we all start in) to Lembeva, headquarters for one of the pledge powers.

But whether it is that world or any other location within the generally explored areas of space, how are the people I've read about using sidewinder to do exploring in unexplored space even getting there when LY jump distances don't even let me get to sector headquarters of other pledge powers?

Note - this isn't saying can't get there. Can easily get there in my cobra without even much FSD optimization. Just saying with the sidewinder and the best A2 FSD I could find, couldn't get the range to make it to this pledge headquarters - Lembeva.

I was at a huge pop tech world so I thought it gave me all the choices for the best FSD drive but now wondering.

A) Is there a better than A2 FSD for the sidewinder?

B) If not, how the heck are some people out exploring un-explored space with a sidewinder when it seems the sidewinder can't even make it within explored space?

 

[tetra]

A2 is the best it will take, but I don't get why you are having issues, with a sidey even just simply switching to an A2 FSD with the basic purchase outfit you should be getting about 16ly on a full tank. What happens when you try to plot the route to Lembeva ? There are more than enough stars in civilized space for you to make the trip, albeit having to stop for fuel or scoop very often.

 

[CMDR Hagglebeard]

Wait, do you mean you want to go to Lembava in a single jump? No, you have to plot a route of multiple jumps. The largest jump range in the game is 40 Ly.

If you plot a route and can't reach it still, you don't have enough fuel. Buy a fuel scoop or make pitstops at stations along the way.

 

[jacozilla]

Only playing a few days so don't want to say I know much at all - but I do know dashed lines vs straight lines - maybe the auto plotting somehow got goofy but whether I used fast route or economical route (and updated it again via the plot route button), I was shown a route that my sidewinder could not make.

That is, if I'm understanding what dashed line means. I thought it meant that you couldn't make that jump because it exceeded your single jump range?

Using the A2 FSD drive, with my sidewinder stripped bare of all but an advanced discovery scanner, I was trying to make it from near the Alpha Centauri region of space to Lembeva - headquarters for one of the pledge powers.

The plot it showed me, for either fast or economical route - had the first 3-4 jumps as normal straight line jumps I could make - but the last half the journey as all dashed lines.

Maybe I am misinterpreting what the dashed lines meant. Which could be since I'm like 3 days into the game. Doesn't dashed lines mean you can't make it with the jump range you currently have?

I've done plenty of multi jump journeys before but all in my cobra around the 50-75 LY range of the starter system and towards alpha centauri. I've never actually seen a dashed line till now but thought I read somewhere that straight line = jump distance you can make, dashed line = one you can't

 

[tetra]

Dashed line just means you don't have enough fuel to make that jump. So either add a fuel scoop to your sidey or you're gonna have to stop at a station and fuel up. Economical plotting uses much less fuel but means way more jumps, fastest means a lot more fuel used but way less jumps.

 

[Vasious]

This might help a little summary video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rMr5SvW4VA

 

[jacozilla]

Dashed line just means you don't have enough fuel to make that jump. So either add a fuel scoop to your sidey or you're gonna have to stop at a station and fuel up. Economical plotting uses much less fuel but means way more jumps, fastest means a lot more fuel used but way less jumps.

ahh! lightbulb on now.

I was misunderstanding the dashed lines - when I read in previous posts it means you don't have enough fuel to make that jump, I thought it meant "that jump" - as in literally that segment of your multi-jump route.

But if I'm understanding what you're saying, the dashed line is only where at that point of my overall journey that I would run out of fuel (e.g. I can't make the entire 7-8 jump trip on one tank of reservoir and somewhere in between that journey need to refuel or scoop.

Well guess I'll give my cheap testing of exploring via sidewinder a try then.

 

[tetra]

But if I'm understanding what you're saying, the dashed line is only where at that point of my overall journey that I would run out of fuel (e.g. I can't make the entire 7-8 jump trip on one tank of reservoir and somewhere in between that journey need to refuel or scoop.

Well guess I'll give my cheap testing of exploring via sidewinder a try then.

Yep thats it, solid line = have enough fuel to make those jumps, dotted line = not enough fuel to make those jumps, so either stop at a station along the way or take a fuel scoop. Sidewinder has a very smalltank so a fuel scoop is a good choice, scoopable stars are types K,G,B,F,O,A,M. As for exploration, while its not the ideal choice it's doable, some guy even crossed the galaxy in one until he met a dead end where the stars became too far apart for the sidewinders jump range. Something like this would do the job: http://coriolis.io/outfit/sidewinder/02D2D2A1D1D1D1C--02-2r2g2i.Iw19A===.Aw19A=== you could up the discovery scanner to an advanced one if you have the money to do so, or even drop it to a basic one if you dont have much cash. Also you can up the fuel scoop to a 2A, again if you have the funds.

 

[crashland]

For future reference, when you try to plot a route that your ship cannot complete because your jump range is too low, the 'plot route' button will turn red.

 

[Cumquat of Pain]

As mentioned in this thread, it's a fuel limitation.

The options are:
- Fit a fuel scoop and refuel from scoopable stars
- Stop at a station along the way (note that not all stars have stations) and refuel.
- Fit an extra (or more) fuel tanks to make the journey. Note that due to the extra weight, you will have a shorter jump range with multiple tanks full.