Regarding planetary landing and Exploration.

Allant Doran

Allant Doran
I know that generally explorers run shieldless and with D-rated everything except FSD in order to maximise jump range.

However, with the addition of planets, some of which with high Gravity, do you think it will be feasible on long stints away from home to ensure you have EITHER a small Bi-weave shield and/or A-rated Thrusters?

I wonder this because any little scratches or dings from awkward landings over the course of days of exploration would eventually add up to hull damage. That damage is currently only repairable within the bubble, as far as we know.

So do you some of you think you might be taking more heavy-duty thrusters or small shields to help with such things? It will likely be less of an issue once we're all used to it but I'm curious what you all think.
 

Kristov

K
Explorers do tend to run shieldless and defenseless, weight reduces jump range, weapons and shields aren't much use out in the Black currently, so there's been no reason to take them.

I'm just about to get back after 2 months out, and I'll be adding shields and A rated thrusters this time around for planetary landings, because as Allant pointed out, every little bump and scrape adds up out there. And we know that aliens ARE being added, maybe not with Horizons initially, but they are being added, so, I'll be packing some weapons this time out as well, just in case.
 

Neutronium

Neutronium
I remember I read somewhere something about a ''new crafting and resource management system". As far as I can recall this basically should enable you to repair your ship by combining resources found on planet surfaces. But I don't know if this will be available from Horizons day one (V 2.0) or it will come later down the line.
 

Kristov

K
neutronium said:
I remember I read somewhere something about a ''new crafting and resource management system". As far as I can recall this basically should enable you to repair your ship by combining resources found on planet surfaces. But I don't know if this will be available from Horizons day one (V 2.0) or it will come later down the line.
Click to expand...

That was in reference to reloading our AFMU, which is nice and all, but those don't repair the canopy, power supply or repair structural integrity, although Sandro did mention they'll look into the canopy repair bit..so here's hoping! My canopy cracked on my return leg, 20k LY out, came out between 2 stars a few light seconds apart. Scared the crap out of me when I heard that warning 'canopy integrity compromised', and I'm being REAL careful about every jump on my way back now, I MIGHT be able to take 1 more bad exit from hyperspace, but being hours out no matter what, it's not worth the risk. 70k LY worth of data, 2 months of travelling...it'll suck if I lose it.
 

shreddog

shreddog
Unless shields are required for atmospheric protection I see no point in using them. Unless you plan on flying crazy fast inside narrow canyons.. But then I'm guessing(and hoping) that shield won't help at all when crashing into a mountain at 300 m/s.
 

Spdrmn7

S
I don't know many that run shieldess but definitely without weapons. I am one of the few who run with both.

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Additionally and somewhat related, why don't we have hull repair limpets yet?
 

The Natoorat

The Natoorat
I'm not sure I would attempt landing withous shields. Even now if you are not *very* gentle at stations, you'll damage your ship. It's a very small damage, sth like 0.x% so it won't even show up on hull indicator, but is stacks up and if you're landing on dozens, or hundreds of planets over several month trip, that might hurt.

Imo basic shields should be fine, just need to remember to turn them on before landing, as I always deactivate them outside the bubbe to save fuel ;)


Of course this is just a speculation and requires extensive testing.
Oh, and there was something being talked about AFMUs repairing hull and canopy, but nothing concrete as I recall.
 

Julio Montega

Julio Montega
I tested the bi-weave shields a bit and was positively surprised, with the planned option to boost your jump range by expending extra fuel,
fully armed exploration is an option for remote locations.
I hope that feature is implemented quickly, although it means more refueling stops and more stranded ships,
due to an oversight (sun-type) while plotting the course.

There even may be some hostile environments where shielding would be mandatory,
keeping away caustic clouds as an example.
 

shreddog

shreddog
The Natoorat said:
I'm not sure I would attempt landing withous shields. Even now if you are not *very* gentle at stations, you'll damage your ship. It's a very small damage, sth like 0.x% so it won't even show up on hull indicator, but is stacks up and if you're landing on dozens, or hundreds of planets over several month trip, that might hurt.
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I'm not a big fan of shield protecting ship from piloting errors. As it is now you can just slam your ship down on the pad without a care. To easy = no tension, and gameplay suffers.

Imo, they should tweak shield to only protect against weapons .They should instead allow for repairing of hull when not in station, so that deep space explorers still have a possibility to patch their ships up after a bit of a landing mistake.
 

CTR69

C
Kristov said:
Explorers do tend to run shieldless and defenseless, weight reduces jump range, weapons and shields aren't much use out in the Black currently, so there's been no reason to take them.

I'm just about to get back after 2 months out, and I'll be adding shields and A rated thrusters this time around for planetary landings, because as Allant pointed out, every little bump and scrape adds up out there. And we know that aliens ARE being added, maybe not with Horizons initially, but they are being added, so, I'll be packing some weapons this time out as well, just in case.
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IMO, there's no point in forcing the max jump range at all cost either. It's not a sprint race to the core. But it depends which ship you're flying and playing style. I just love all the possibilities of outfitting the ship to the exact needs. It must be a thrill to go naked around the core and back again, I couldn't do it. I need my shields and gunz, even if it means 3LY shorter jump range.
 

777Driver

777Driver
okiimatsu said:
You're wrong. They do.
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Never run with weapons on shields on my Explorer Anaconda and Asp's it's just extra weight & heat generation. With FSD boost and planetary landings I'll definitely add a shield, keep it switched off unless I am taking the ship down to a planet.
 

Allant Doran

Allant Doran
Some really interesting responses here from the Naked/Armed sides of the field.

I'm planning on doing my exploration trips after Horizons releases. Currently I've been nowhere exciting but I want to take an Asp to at least see Sag A*, The Great Annihilator and other popular sites. I don't have the patience to live out there but I do want to see that stuff.

I would take an Anaconda but I won't be able to afford one before Horizons releases I don't think. Sadness!

I also intend on equipping a Bi-Weave shield that is powered off 99% of the time. I want it for any rough planets. Even the most safe landing position might be so precarious as to cause small damage on some worlds. We just don't know, better to be safe than lose all that data.

I'll stick without weapons for now though. I *suspect* our first alien contact in Elite will come from the Pleidies Nebula, Thargoid or otherwise. I don't think I'll need to defend myself.
 

cptdavep

cptdavep
I used to run shieldless and without guns but since flying back into the bubble got so dangerous with interdiction and touch NPCs I now fly my asp mostly A-rated with shields and a couple of beam lasers so I can defend myself, I still get 30ly jump range so it's okay! I still turn everything off outside the bubble though to save heat.
 

grae3107

grae3107
I brought up a similar point and was called stupid for saying explorers go shieldless. As someone who has explored over 2000 systems I did go shieldless just as may long distance explorers do but once horizons lands I will be exploring with a shield.
 

Allant Doran

Allant Doran
I've never really understood the animosity to flying with a shield OR without one. Same for weapons. I understand that the idea is the more you carry the less Jump Range you get but it doesn't seem like a shield or weapons drastically drop your range.

By all means if you want to min-max jump range, go for it, but if other pilots want a shield for one reason or another then that is fine too.

As somebody who has never explored I will be taking a Class 3-ish Bi-weave to help protect me in landings, once Horizons hits, but I don't think I'd take one before that either.
 

Deleted member 38366

D
All my Exploration ships are A-Graded, using the best Shields I can fit. Weapons are mostly basic - but sufficient for self-defense should the need arise.
No point in returning home and getting ganked by an NPC.

Also remember - there's "quite valuable stuff" already to be found, soon likely more.
Explorers will likely soon have stuff in their Cargo hold they picked up on their trips, triggering increased amounts of Interdictions.

The absolutely only exceptions I ever made from above rule were several High Altitude Record runs way above the SOL area.
For these Missions, I specifically reconfigured the Ships for their absolutely maximum possible jumprange.
The stripped Anaconda for example was quite damaged by some Imperial Clipper NPC that took interest in me 200Ls before reaching my destination.
Back then, those weren't even persistent NPCs you can get now.
------------------

I do wonder about the Sensors and Thrusters myself, though.
Would D-Grade Thrusters limit the Ship on High Gravity Planets? I'd reckon not much...

Will A-Grade Sensors now be useful while scanning a Planet for POIs to land and deploy the SRV to?
I'd guess it could be, but if it's still the same Supercruise Sensor scheme, then D-Grades would do just fine.

PS.
Although we don't know yet how rare they'll be, the Level 3 crafting FSD boost might negate the need to squeeze the absolute max. Range out of Ships for common Exploration.
I'd rather sit in a fully protected Ship and sacrifice a little bit, than seeing an entire trip getting blow to dust by saving on some cheap Equipment. At least that's how I see it.

And with some Planets likely inviting to *uhm* fool around a little bit, I reckon one is even more likely to "scratch the paint" than during some careless oldschool Asteroid Belt sightseeings :D
Uhh, nice Canyon!... Looks tight... Ah screw it. Use the Force, Luke!
 
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Allant Doran

Allant Doran
Yeah at least one Cargo Rack is something I have on my planned fittings due to having to carry an SRV anyway, the fact that they're basically weightless when empty, and that we might find things to carry home come Horizons.

Imagine a rare commodity that is found only on the closest worlds to the centre that sells for a couple hundred thousand, if not more, each? ;)
 
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