I guess the Diamondback is it, but it's so ugly... (it doesn't count)
I sure hope you don't fly an Asp. Talk about the pot calling the kettle......
We need a compact optimized small exploration ship
- Thread starter duckofdeath
- Start date
I sure hope you don't fly an Asp. Talk about the pot calling the kettle......
I doubt there will be any heat problems. FSD's generate very little heat, they're not big power consumers. Since the ship would be light-weight the sensors should be light as well. Thrusters would be small and those are the biggest heat generators on ships. The Asp has absolutely no heat problems even if you slim the power plant down to the smallest possible choice, a 2A plant. The lack of any real weapons or other defensive outfittings would reduce the power consumption even further.
Creating limitations with a dedicated explorer would be as easy, if not easier, than creating limitations like the ones the combat ships have. A lot of people won't leave the bubble without a shield, an AFMU and of course the vehicle hangar. Simply give the player two size 2 slots for internals and two size 1 slots for the scanners and they would have to sacrifice at least one "necessity". Make the power so limited they'd have to choose between "safe" thruster power and boost or an improved jump range.
Creating limitations with a dedicated explorer would be as easy, if not easier, than creating limitations like the ones the combat ships have. A lot of people won't leave the bubble without a shield, an AFMU and of course the vehicle hangar. Simply give the player two size 2 slots for internals and two size 1 slots for the scanners and they would have to sacrifice at least one "necessity". Make the power so limited they'd have to choose between "safe" thruster power and boost or an improved jump range.
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This is absolutely not what you implied in your OP.
The Diamondbacks are fugly. Space cockroaches. Which I guess is to be expected by ships built by the Thargoid loving Alliance...
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No? looks at the suggested internals I made in the OP. That is what I suggested.
I don't agree. I think your explorer has less space issues than a vulture pilot has power issues. Considering they're practically the same ethos of ship design, I don't see it panning out. I would suggest dropping a class 2.
The Diamondbacks are fugly. Space cockroaches. Which I guess is to be expected by ships built by the Thargoid loving Alliance...
The Asp is a flying geometry lesson. I used to own one. One day as I was leaving the station, it saw itself in the mirror and scared itself so bad it never flew again.
***
You realize the Diamondback is built by the same company as the Asp? Who's the Thargoid lover now?
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I never said the Asp is a good looking ship. I just stated the obvious, that the DB's are really ugly. And actually insect-like. The Asp was designed before the Alliance love affair with the Thargoids, I'm pretty sure of.
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*or maybe not. I made the Sophie's choice argument about being able to bring cargo or a third device.
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I listed the exact same layout on my OP as I did above.
*or maybe not. I made the Sophie's choice argument about being able to bring cargo or a third device.
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I never said the Asp is a good looking ship. I just stated the obvious, that the DB's are really ugly. And actually insect-like. The Asp was designed before the Alliance love affair with the Thargoids, I'm pretty sure of.
Lakon build the Asp Ex under licence. They didn't design it. The Asp Mk II was a MilSpec ship designed and built by GalCop Workshops. Don't blame Lakon for how it looks. Though, tbh, it IS the best looking of the ships they make.
I mean, 41 ly on an anaconda guys, am i right? How could you expect better than that?
It can be argued that the Cutter is
Agreed, but for "balance" purposes, it should not have significantly more jump range than an Anaconda.
Here's the reasonable specs:
- 45LY max range when outfit for absolute max. range (Anaconda is good for around 39LY, took an ExploraConda to the core & back...)
- Two small hardpoints (mining for super-rare materials in a future release?)
- Extremely good heat management (very low armor?)
- Enough space for mining equip and 2-bay SRV
- Slots would have to "optimized" to make sure it doesn't become an uber trader (limit cargo to 50-ish tons, if it's all slots as cargo; like 32 + 8 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 2)
- Low boost speed so it can't be used as a smuggling ship (small thrusters?)
- CR 50 million price tag
Anything else?
P.S. Back in the bad 'ol days (<1.4, before long-range smuggling), a CR 75 million price difference would have been hugely significant, but now it's just a few Robigo runs, so the hideous grind to an Anaconda is a distant memory. Money is no longer a significant issue, which is kind of sad...
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Its already in the game
45Ly is - IMO! - a bit too much. The main reason I want another exploration vessel is so there's some variety and options when exploring. The ship above would seem to make the Asp pretty much obsolete as an explorer - instead of adding to the variety it would just replace the Asp as the dominant ship.
Personally I'd prefer similar jump range to the Asp, but with improved handling (trade offs being size of internals / cargo capacity, number of hardpoints, and/or hull strength).
If the ship does have a max 45Ly range, it would need some serious balancing to avoid becoming a godship that everyone (bar combat Cmdrs and non-rares traders) would flock to.
I like your thinking OP
Probably the most absurd thing in ED (although I admit there may be competitors in this category) is that both ships called "explorers" in ED do not have Class 1 Internal compartments.
How could ANY designer not figure out that if you're going out into the void, you're going to take a DSS and an ADS - both class one internals.
I'd love to see a design WORTHY of the "Explorer" appellation.
START with dedicated internal slots that include a DSS and a BDS STANDARD in the base price. Might also be worth considering a hangar bay as part of the standard package. Perhaps dedicated (upgrade-able) Fuel scoop internal as well.
Excellent heat management of course.
Limited weapons capabilities.
Capable of flying beggars canyon faster than anything else.
Dedicated weak/removable shield compartment.
A design that just tells you from the start that this thing will be pretty useless for anything other than exploring.
EDIT: oh, yes better jump range than the Anaconda, 45LY max, and at least 6 - 8 jumps between refuels.
Probably the most absurd thing in ED (although I admit there may be competitors in this category) is that both ships called "explorers" in ED do not have Class 1 Internal compartments.
How could ANY designer not figure out that if you're going out into the void, you're going to take a DSS and an ADS - both class one internals.
I'd love to see a design WORTHY of the "Explorer" appellation.
START with dedicated internal slots that include a DSS and a BDS STANDARD in the base price. Might also be worth considering a hangar bay as part of the standard package. Perhaps dedicated (upgrade-able) Fuel scoop internal as well.
Excellent heat management of course.
Limited weapons capabilities.
Capable of flying beggars canyon faster than anything else.
Dedicated weak/removable shield compartment.
A design that just tells you from the start that this thing will be pretty useless for anything other than exploring.
EDIT: oh, yes better jump range than the Anaconda, 45LY max, and at least 6 - 8 jumps between refuels.
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Someone finally gets it! Hallelujah! I thought for a moment that the ED community had gone mad.
whats wrong with the asp sounds, did you never dreamt of a propeller accelerated space ship?
by logic explanation, yes.
by ingame mechanics NO.
for exploration you need:
Fuel scoop, jump range, vehicle hangar, 2x scanners. a good quantity of fuel. Some shields should always be on top. Now this is already by mechanics more than fixed on a role. Heta sinks, in case you jump into an instant drop star. Its quite a wide spread of things needed to "explore" in fact only guns, armor, SB's don't matter.
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I kind of like the Asp sounds. It makes me think it's putt-putt-putting its way through space.