Long Range Anaconda set-up?

The first concept art for ship-launched fighters did show a Sidey launching from an Anaconda, but I suppose that didn't work out quite well once they got around to actually implementing the SLF-s. So, unless we get larger ships with larger hangar bays, I wouldn't expect to see ship-launched Sidewinders.

As for the Anaconda and its supercruise handling: Hanekura Shizuka put it perfectly above, you don't pilot one, you helm one. Personally, I got used to it quite quick, because I've always liked how flying an Anaconda feels like flying an actually large ship, as opposed to the Asp which felt more like a little boat to me. The SC handling of various ships is rather inconsistent though: for example, an Imperial Clipper slightly outperforms an Imperial Courier(!) there, and the Asp Explorer is nearly the same.

What is very good with an Anaconda is that even if you don't want to min-max its jump range, you can still get a decent build that does over 50 ly on a full tank. Mine has an SRV bay, a fighter bay, some weapons, not paper shields, and still does around 52.5 ly full tank jump range. (Don't have the build handy at the moment, but I can include it later if you'd like.) Of course, you can do a paper build and go higher than that, to 55-63 ly, but do you actually require that? The route planner can only plot a straight line for you in the core, so outside that you don't save many jumps then. If you want to go to the very edges of the galaxy, then the increased range is useful, but if you're travelling, I'd say you should consider how much is worth sacrificing for the jump range.


Oh, and if you want to do "easy" exploration in a ship with still a good jump range, a modded Imperial Courier can reach 43.75 ly on a full tank and pretty good speed, although no SRV bay. (Including that would bring it down to 39.4 ly.) Alternatively, you can have an SRV bay and blazing fast speeds (500 m/s forward speed and 670 boosted) with 35 ly jump range. See this thread for some examples.

Would definitely like to see your set-up cmdr.

Thanks

Frawd

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that's why you bring a fighter bay ;-)

my luxury exploration vessel hits the 50 ly just so, with a fighter bay, passenger cabins, 6A thrusters, 5D shield generator, full set of scanners beside kws, 2 srv, and a lot of things modded lightweight or the other way around .... for exampel a 5D powerdistributor modded ENG, which allows me to boost.

i won't break any record in it, but it is a amazing feeling piloting (uhm, helming) such a thingy.

Frawd welcome to the Annie club. I have kept the same ExploraConda setup since DW. I'll post later. Don't bother with fighter bay.

Would definitely like to see everybody's set-up...post away :)

Frawd
 
Would definitely like to see everybody's set-up...post away :)

Frawd

Most of my setup was given earlier. I don't have a SRV bay. I'm also not a fan of Engineering Everything; I think there are some engineering efforts that are definitely worth it (FSD obviously, and a little bit of tweaking to the Power Plant) and some that are not. So... my current setup:

2A Power Plant, level 1 overcharged.
5D thrusters
6A FSD, level 5 increased range
1D power distributor
8D sensors
5D life support
7A fuel scoop
5A AFMU (2 of these)
6D AFMU (3 of these)
4D Shield Generator
Standard Docking Computer (hey, no shame in it with a 'conda; besides, how often do we actually have to dock this thing?)
Advanced Discovery Scanner
Detailed Surface Scanner
18t of fuel - 16t main tank, with a 2t auxillary. Enough to make two full jumps without having to worry about the thrusters refueling at an inopportune time.
Jump range, full tank: 58.43ly.
 
Most of my setup was given earlier. I don't have a SRV bay. I'm also not a fan of Engineering Everything; I think there are some engineering efforts that are definitely worth it (FSD obviously, and a little bit of tweaking to the Power Plant) and some that are not. So... my current setup:

...
5A AFMU (2 of these)
6D AFMU (3 of these)
.

5 AFMU ... :S
Still having problems parking then ... ;)
 
Here's how I have mine set up. Over 50LY even with a fighter bay and 2 SRVs. Shields are enough to take a few hits, too :)

It scoops fast, runs cool, and it just generally performs nicely for me.

https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/ana...ODWARL//zNQBQAApfdZKfUAAAA=&bn=Codger CondaEx

PS - the secret to the mail slot is to go in high -- 98% of the ship is under you, you're at the very top. And go at least 80-90, if you go slow the station will start to rotate while you're still inside the slot and mess you up.

You get used to it pretty fast.
 
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5 AFMU ... :S
Still having problems parking then ... ;)

If you've got empty slots sticking something weightless in there (like an AFMU) gives it a chance of being damaged if you overheat with a concomitant reduction in the chances of damage to something you do need.

So you might as well fill them up...
 
Thanks for all the comments Cmdrs...

Yes I am looking for an explorcondor...I figure I only need one SRV.

I have engineered the 6A FSD but still only have 30LY jump range...I will follow your suggestions.

Frawd

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Lol...thought I'd go for easy exploration (instead of the old sidey with 22LY range and no mod cons)

Frawd


Could you link your build (coriolis if possible)? Stripped down and with a g5 range increase roll, the 'conda can jump over 60, so if you're at 30 you've probably weighed her down way too much. My conda has very good shielding, lightweight weapons, 2 SRV's and a fighter, and it does about 50ly, so 30's definitely a very low value for anything that's not a combat fit conda.

In general, the rules would be roughly as follows.

Core internals

- power plant: smallest A rated one that can power your ship (never D rate this - a lower class A will offer more power, be less heavy, and have better heat efficiency than a 1 class higher D). Mod with low emissions power plant mod if you can spare the power.

- thrusters: 5D (having larger / higher rate ones won't help you with landings, and 5D's work fine even if landing on a very high g, in my case 9.77g world - tested myself and lived to tell the tale); depending on available power maybe consider some grade of clean drive tuning as that decreases your heat output. Only do this if you have available power as clean drives increase the thruster's power output.

- power distributor: depends on if you want to be able to boost or not, and if you've chosen to carry weapons or not. 1D if the answer is no to both questions. If you just want to boost but don't care about carrying weapons, you can get away with a 5D distibutor with an engine focused mod on it that will still allow you to boost. It might be possible to go lower, haven't experimented with that yet but it will depend largely on how good a roll you get, I would gather. If you want weapons you'll need a bigger distributor, just how big is going to depend on your loadout; you can't exactly run big beams or a huge plasma off a tiny distributor. In case of weapons, test before heading out.

- FSD: best you can get with a g5 FSD range increase roll on it. All mats for this can be obtained quickly, PM me if you need help with that and I'll tell you how.

- Life support: 5D, mod with lightweight if you have access to Lori Jameson (will need access to Shinrarta Dezhra by either being Elite or having been a kickstarter backer)

- Sensors: 8D

- Fuel Tank: leave as is or, if packing the 7A scoop, you can consider reducing the amount of fuel you're bringing by taking the 16T tank instead and fitting some small tanks in optional internals. I made it to Beagle Point and back with 26T of fuel capacity (default: 32) without a single problem. Up to you, some prefer total range while others single jump range on a full tank. With the biggest scoop on a Conda scooping at every main sequence isn't exactly a problem so you may as well, but this depends largely on personal preference.


Optional internals

C7 Fuel scoop. A if you can afford it, it's worth it. B if you can't, it will still vastly outperform any C6 scoop.

Shields - up to you, anything from 6A to 5D. I'd advise against bi-weaves and prismatics; bi-weaves recharge faster at the cost of being weaker, not very useful for an explorer most of the time, and prismatics are too heavy and power hungry.

AFMU's - I like to have one 6A and one 4A so they can fix each other. Don't worry about their power consumption as they only need to be on when fixing, and even then only when the ship is stationary, so you can always disable your thrusters to power them if you need to. Just remember to always drop out of sc before using them.

Fighter bay - not useful for exploration in a strictly utilitarian way, but can be fun for expedition meetups and canyon racing. If you're sure to feel the need for low level canyon flying, it's much better to risk your SLF than your Anaconda full of data. I suggest getting a 5D in this case, anything else is too heavy. Even the 5D is 20T.

SRV's - one for shorter hops should be enough, I prefer to have two. 4G hangar isn't that heavy.

ADS and DSS - duh.


Utility slots

Don't be silly and pack a couple of heat sink launchers. Ram Tah can mod them with a g5 lightweight mod making their impact on your jump range almost completely unnoticeable. The rest, again, up to you. Point defence / chaff might be good if you want to feel safer when returning with the data, but don't expect chaff to make the enemies miss you completely as you're flying a big ship - it can, however, prevent them from shooting up your drives or power plant. Throw a lightweight mod on any of these, it's now possible.


Weapons

TBH, you don't need them, nor will they save you if you run into trouble; good shields + submit&hiwake will. If you're worried about Thargoids, know that all we know about them so far (if they even are Thargoids) is that they have far superior technology, can pull us out of witch space, shut our ships down when they want, and their shields barely register damage even when attacked with insane alpha damage builds, so if you were planning to mount guns based on some idea that you want to be able to defend yourself against aliens, all they'll really do is annoy them before they blow you up. You run into trouble in an exploration ship, you run.

Having said that, some people still like a small defensive arsenal that can help them squat that annoying interdicting eagle on their way back to the bubble. In this case, avoid weapons that are demanding on the capacitor (beams, bursts, plasmas, rails) - stick with pulses and multis. Missiles are pretty power hungry, and AI has been updated so it can avoid mines pretty well, which makes them fairly useless. Mod with efficient / lightweight as you see fit, incendiary will help multis be better against shields, corrosive makes enemy hull armor weaker, emissive completely counters stealth (silent running), and other special effects purely as you like it.

Hope that helps. There's an old guide I wrote about this in my sig, but I haven't gotten around to update it with engineering info so far. It's old but the general logic behind it still applies.
 
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OMG yes...I was astounded at how SLOW this thing turns. And I've already been killed by a station for being stuck in the mail slot. And I've never gone out of the mail slot without being slightly stuck (although I am getting better)...so, I now have a docking computer <blushes> to at least make it easy to get INTO the station.
I always use a docking computer on mine - I just need to remind myself to power it up after coming back from a long trip :). To get the Anaconda out of the station keep telling yourself to aim high - it should look like you're about to scrape the roof of the bridge on the slot.
Here's my modestly engineered build that got me to Beagle Point easily: https://coriolis.edcd.io/import?data=H4sIAMWteFgC_82YX3ObOBDAvwvPvoz-C_KWxEmau_amE3vah06HkUF2mGLEyJCrL5PvfiuwqaGkUbiX5qE1a-3ub1fS7uKnIFF2Y4LzJ_hQqiSr9sE5Fuh5Fqyt1sH5WuU7DQ-1zt2ircqK_mJKYK3VO20f9cDMGZLP8GWWOpOzYGvSOtc7t-jCbk1tG4ON0H3q-Wt0SIhYRAWbBYXawnfBRaESU6QqbvXjW6tSjYNZYACqsjUoljYztnU_C-oiN6rQYAvNgkeV12AEOaRLs1rlGuHg_MvX7om8ziMkkYh2PK1ivNTfq8vpFNTPL0Zjfu-m-2We8YZjfm-n--W9rIvek_TMRTTGdD-dKfTMhRjzez3db-Tpl4_5nU_2i1Gb9blOVI49GISU_EfOG7X4-nuZG6ttfJ1nlZ7A0pghnt7RwPvS3f14uU8MuJ3om_r5puHA95XZrlTl_it1pYtqgv_rYpMV-srkTR10e3FjwcXiIVtXc5u1tfSV4igYJrKpq9k607aprLqxq-3dHEozQhihdr2Iot7KL0_HkEAYb9VuB0FU-1I32EfSMxZSHHH4V4SMs-dZT-tBq7x6GNH7A50RyhgiKEIUY8QHiiW4gxDj0vyj7ahfp05CJjgVgoqB-nqXxqassm22079iZziiNIIkYBnKgY2eFjklR5IRSQUKBYHuc4peNUeuBx-vjKliQNEjxsAW7JGQLEQEE8afvx6b4FJt3B5g8dX1ziQrtduv5rJTEUHD2-WmuitS_T045_S5O353RRW_Ay82dUckXmT_ahFf5UDEXziD6OjgvX50LZwfn_9uLd4s5vF7U2zuVbFxMbRffjoEMH6AMSRWchq5c3wDg8FSFd-8jis9ucUulKNyEwhvA6E-lynkUkYdT_PkYN7VG_1O2bQ0WVEdmvt7mG9eEZIxIT0Is7Ve1GVpbOV3I0_KpAvxRP80SvLydo1lXEQSUxfhB5i_2tKx88JBIevhtLr_gwQLHrbJ_qDTrN4OMzuQHlL7IYMWoez-OHF9hDCqP83Kq_tRIbsYjopxNwp-ylZWQWT3wPn2MvwxB7EjuyhLa1TysKhdL_PCwrKX2tZU344HEHPd5YAEnxsoV1nm2a6y2aqujPXaaYJIH2dg5HTP-Rv3HIUR4bJDc5H63QbERqBKp97g0F_jvLBxjHERNbfhXqXKMzu8fw8WutgZu2sowmkXgVNEiXAY0LTLv7LqsoZx4NDMD6IFXIJ8IFuqLO8JPmdF0w2cBMo-wg2VzyQMfyH5qaIuYCQqWxuTtjt0HRPhNjQHRNpG45do0a9_EKPO01tdaKuOp5BOrTwo7JjoG5gooz2mK_fKe6-Sb6cN9I2vkRSHWLIOh_1eOLy97Z445Bc4fBJOJGHs6miELw0M24L2L-q9LlXmXjJGytdB-VUayQRmlHY88jfjCRtjfq_jJMI9nst6s9lfqn1rYtLFkjw8ueyRNwz8DZIzh1YK9S5d1HatEr1IVAH3Pl5mxf5t54fA5C75kQkjfybKRT9Bi0rnubKXJt1DN0zMo7b7I9hF-qiK5K2DA6acS9qVItyWIuL1axZn_fI4N8k3KP_uTbKu3KmqFAw1Nn3pRL2whTA4tDxblefDkawvPExkbk-GC3uysXV0RMZGZHxEJkZkckQWtrLPWpWm-PF-_PzTj4BBF_1T8FDnuUsx40hGoTz5rRFjFoHYvS2cvD4IgmGc-Q-dWsy8_RQAAA%3D%3D
 
Hello, Frawd :)

The nice thing about the Anaconda is that it allows you to choose how to want to build your ship, without making any real sacrifices.

You are not a new player, nor are you new to long-range Exploration, so I would suggest that you start with something like this https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/ana...ZVA=.H4sIAAAAAAAAA2MW6RBmYPj/nwEOAN/JF78SAAAA

Then, think about what you want to do (or be able to do), and start making modifications accordingly. That template assumes a 50% roll on a G5 FSD, has plenty of power, and has a complement of equipment that you are likely to need. Once you decide what this ship needs to be capable of, then you can add/subtract things, and start paring back on things like the Power Plant, Distributer, etc.

I had more to say, Frawd, but you are experienced, so I'll distill it down to a few personal viewpoints for the benefit of any new Commander who is looking in this thread with the same question:

Decide your goal/purpose, then build the ship to achieve it. Jump range and scoop time are not always King.

[ There were things here that I have redacted. While true, some might have taken personal offense, which was not the intention. ]

I don't personally build ships that are thin on fuel, power, or defensive capability. I believe doing so puts you in a position for bad things to happen.

The difference between a 6A and 6B Fuel Scoop is ~21M credits, and ~6 seconds (at most). Unless you are in a serious hurry, a 4A works just fine for any ship with 32T or less fuel capacity.

[ Beluga suggestion redacted after reading the OP again, as it doesn't fit the bill. ]

Riôt
 
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I use a DC even on the asp in the bubble. Why? It provides the perfect opportunity to grab a drink/take a bathroom break without wasting any time.
I forgot to swap it back to an afmu recently when I did a quick run to the centre, which meant no neutron surfing....doh! But no shame in a DC imo....besides....I like the music :)
 
If you've got empty slots sticking something weightless in there (like an AFMU) gives it a chance of being damaged if you overheat with a concomitant reduction in the chances of damage to something you do need.

So you might as well fill them up...

Makes sense, Commander :)
 
The difference between a 6A and 6B Fuel Scoop is ~21M credits, and ~6 seconds (at most). Unless you are in a serious hurry, a 4A works just fine for any ship with 32T or less fuel capacity.

This is an exploraconda we're talking about, it has a class 7 slot, and it's best used for the scoop. There's no reason to even talk about the class 6 ones since a 7B will vastly outperform a 6A and come at a much lower price. But if one can afford it, the 7A should really be used. Yes, the difference may not be huge but explorers make thousands upon thousands of jumps and it adds up. Not to mention you can get the same scoop rate as a lower class scoop while being further away from the star which helps you not overheat. And if you're concerned about not using c7 shield for safety's sake, you needn't be - a class 6 shield and a bit of engineer magic can provide the Anaconda with more than enough shield power to survive any NPC intediction. And even talking about a class 4 scoop on a 'conda.. let's not. People have things to do with their lives and precious little free time, which is best not spent waiting endlessly for a small scoop to tank up your large exploration vessel. I realize, of course, that money can be a factor for newer players, but the rule remains - best scoop you can afford (and never fly without rebuy money).

Some other things I should mention: thruster class/rating have no impact on planetary landing performance nor do they impact supercruise handling in any way. For this reason, it's far from "foolish" to put in 5D thrusters as Anaconda can't exactly escape enemies by boosting even with the best thrusters installed. Unless you're worried about being interdicted by a Type 9. Didn't think so :) So, smaller thrusters won't change anything actually important for exploration while being lower on mass and power consumption, which is all kinds of useful to an explorer.

Power - you don't need enough power to run all systems at once. Why? For example, using an AFMU while in supercruise is a really bad idea, because if you start repairs on thrusters or FSD, on purpose or by accident, it will emergency drop you and cause further damage. So the only time it's really advisable to use it is while either standing still in space or when landed - and in both situations thrusters get powered down and you have more than enough power for the AFMU. You want enough power to run things like life support, fsd, fuel scoop, thrusters, etc, but for example while in supercruise you don't really need the cargo hatch, or the planetary / fighter hangar, etc. Conversely when on thrusters only, you might have weapons, but fuel scoop can be safely powered down. There's no way you can use all of your systems at once even if you wanted to so there's no reason to have a powerplant that can do it unless running a combat build.

As for running with decreased tanks, it's not foolish and depends entirely on whether you're going for total range or single jump range build. Some places in the galaxy are hard to reach and in those cases single jump range is king. I've run with less than default to beagle point and back and had zero problems, and that was before FDev gave us plotting by filtered stars, and that upper right corner description of next system, including the star type. So I had to check manually and never had a problem, if you've run out of fuel today you've been so careless it probably would've happened even with increased fuel reserves. In the end, it's down to personal preference and mission type, but I'd avoid generalizations like you made, because after lots of exploration experience I can only disagree with most of what you've recommended there.
 
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This is an exploraconda we're talking about, it has a class 7 slot, and it's best used for the scoop. There's no reason to even talk about the class 6 ones since a 7B will vastly outperform a 6A and come at a much lower price. But if one can afford it, the 7A should really be used. Yes, the difference may not be huge but explorers make thousands upon thousands of jumps and it adds up. Not to mention you can get the same scoop rate as a lower class scoop while being further away from the star which helps you not overheat. And if you're concerned about not using c7 shield for safety's sake, you needn't be - a class 6 shield and a bit of engineer magic can provide the Anaconda with more than enough shield power to survive any NPC intediction. And even talking about a class 4 scoop on a 'conda.. let's not. People have things to do with their lives and precious little free time, which is best not spent waiting endlessly for a small scoop to tank up your large exploration vessel. I realize, of course, that money can be a factor for newer players, but the rule remains - best scoop you can afford (and never fly without rebuy money).

Some other things I should mention: thruster class/rating have no impact on planetary landing performance nor do they impact supercruise handling in any way. For this reason, it's far from "foolish" to put in 5D thrusters as Anaconda can't exactly escape enemies by boosting even with the best thrusters installed. Unless you're worried about being interdicted by a Type 9. Didn't think so :) So, smaller thrusters won't change anything actually important for exploration while being lower on mass and power consumption, which is all kinds of useful to an explorer.

Power - you don't need enough power to run all systems at once. Why? For example, using an AFMU while in supercruise is a really bad idea, because if you start repairs on thrusters or FSD, on purpose or by accident, it will emergency drop you and cause further damage. So the only time it's really advisable to use it is while either standing still in space or when landed - and in both situations thrusters get powered down and you have more than enough power for the AFMU. You want enough power to run things like life support, fsd, fuel scoop, thrusters, etc, but for example while in supercruise you don't really need the cargo hatch, or the planetary / fighter hangar, etc. Conversely when on thrusters only, you might have weapons, but fuel scoop can be safely powered down. There's no way you can use all of your systems at once even if you wanted to so there's no reason to have a powerplant that can do it unless running a combat build.

As for running with decreased tanks, it's not foolish and depends entirely on whether you're going for total range or single jump range build. Some places in the galaxy are hard to reach and in those cases single jump range is king. I've run with less than default to beagle point and back and had zero problems, and that was before FDev gave us plotting by filtered stars, and that upper right corner description of next system, including the star type. So I had to check manually and never had a problem, if you've run out of fuel today you've been so careless it probably would've happened even with increased fuel reserves. In the end, it's down to personal preference and mission type, but I'd avoid generalizations like you made, because after lots of exploration experience I can only disagree with most of what you've recommended there.

+1, deserves +10 o7
 
On a side note I noticed that since I got "proper" controls ie. a Joystick and throttle - I seem to be able to stick the ASP though the slot from almost any angle. I don't know what you fly with atm but it's certainly improved my flying skills (once you're used to it.)
 
I was wondering about the docking computer showing up so often here myself. Since the alpha I've only used a stick, or a gamepad if it wasn't available, and never had any problems with docking, so I'm curious: those who use the DC-s, what controllers do you use with the game?
 
I was wondering about the docking computer showing up so often here myself. Since the alpha I've only used a stick, or a gamepad if it wasn't available, and never had any problems with docking, so I'm curious: those who use the DC-s, what controllers do you use with the game?

same as you.

but after being out for months, i always liked the computer doing the docking in my annie.

less stressfull.

and it has enough slots.

just being lazy/having the luxury of it.

luxury is why i fly my explonda - i obviously don't have a DC on my exploration DBE or exploration courier.
 
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