Iguana - Lakon's Specialized Exploration Vessel

My exploreAconda has a whopping TWELVE optional internal slots, one is restricted... making it actually 11 to choose explorer options.


7, 6,6,6, 5,5,5, 4,4,4, 2
Seems to me that this exploration ship should have more than five but less than 11 optional internals... and other than the FSD none of the slots should be over a size 2 or 4.

That would make this ship less versatile than the ExploreAconda, more fragile, less hardpoints/utilities... but longer jump range.

That seems like more balance to me.

5 optional internal slots is too small.

If I happen to find the 7 Cities of Gold in my deep space exploration.. how in the world am I am going to bring home proof without a cargo rack?
 
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My exploreAconda has a whopping TWELVE optional internal slots, one is restricted... making it actually 11 to choose explorer options.


7, 6,6,6, 5,5,5, 4,4,4, 2
Seems to me that this exploration ship should have more than five but less than 11 optional internals... and other than the FSD none of the slots should be over a size 2 or 4.

That would make this ship less versatile than the ExploreAconda, more fragile, less hardpoints/utilities... but longer jump range.

That seems like more balance to me.

5 optional internal slots is too small.

If I happen to find the 7 Cities of Gold in my deep space exploration.. how in the world am I am going to bring home proof without a cargo rack?

Heh, as if gold is worth that much. Realisticly unless you are actively searching for objects to haul, you'll find none the further you go from the bubble and that includes alien stuff.
 
My exploreAconda has a whopping TWELVE optional internal slots, one is restricted... making it actually 11 to choose explorer options.


7, 6,6,6, 5,5,5, 4,4,4, 2
Seems to me that this exploration ship should have more than five but less than 11 optional internals... and other than the FSD none of the slots should be over a size 2 or 4.

That would make this ship less versatile than the ExploreAconda, more fragile, less hardpoints/utilities... but longer jump range.

That seems like more balance to me.

5 optional internal slots is too small.

If I happen to find the 7 Cities of Gold in my deep space exploration.. how in the world am I am going to bring home proof without a cargo rack?

this is just hypothetical nonsense, but if you want 11 slots take a conda.

eggs have shells and apples are green some are even red but so what?

you want an omelette use the egg, want a fruit you had better use the apple.

explore with the kitchen sink and a whole team of Sherpa's and an Argos stock room take the conda, longer range and a tough choice between shields and a SRV - Iguana or whatever (this is just hypothetical), but you don't need to take any of that rubbish with you, I personally would like to see a ship which required a true sacrifice to get extra range.

fsds that could blow up for range, worm holes that could rip ships apart, malfunctioning drives which could send you to ANY star, sometimes without a return lets have some danger.

lets not forget that most of the stars are reachable and most have the 100ly gap which is now crossable, there are still clusters at extreme distances, but to get to them needs to be dangerous, otherwise any increased range ship just shrinks the galaxy and fast travel becomes the norm - especially if you can pack everything into that said ship as everyone would ditch there condas, asps, etc.
 
It is obvious you didn't read my post, I don't want 11 slots.

I don't blame you for not reading it.

No big deal.
 
It is time for a thin hull long jumping ship, I think. Though, your build has a flaw, I wouldn't like a size 8 FSD with a size 7 fuel scoop..

Not sure you realise how little fuel a 220T ship will use with an 8A FSD... A 4A scoop would top it up in about 7 seconds or less after each jump.

Z...
 
Ha! Nice photoshopping. :)

Seriously though, I strongly hope that we will get a larger, dedicated explorer at some point in the near future. I keep thinking along the lines of a "Python Explorer" or "Type-8 Explorer" or something like that. A long jump range is great for an exploration vessel, sure. However there is a huge gap between the AspX and the Anaconda where nothing can compete with those two ships for range. And technically that's all we need. An in-between ship, with a similar range.

My ideal explorer wouldn't be 100 ly when engineered, with only 5 optional internals. Yick. It should be more versatile and survivable than the AspX, not less.

For instance, if it were a "Python Explorer", I could see starting with a base Python, upgrade a size-6 slot to size-7 (for the scoop!), reduce the other size-6 slots to size-5, and increase to a size-6 FSD, reduce the weapon hardpoints, and adjust the hull mass to balance the jump range against the AspX and Anaconda. This would result in a very versatile explorer that is a bit less versatile for multi-role, though the potential cargo capacity would be the same. Just thinking aloud here. :)
 
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Ha! Nice photoshopping. :)

Seriously though, I strongly hope that we will get a larger, dedicated explorer at some point in the near future. I keep thinking along the lines of a "Python Explorer" or "Type-8 Explorer" or something like that. A long jump range is great for an exploration vessel, sure. However there is a huge gap between the AspX and the Anaconda where nothing can compete with those two ships for range. And technically that's all we need. An in-between ship, with a similar range.

My ideal explorer wouldn't be 100 ly when engineered, with only 5 optional internals. Yick. It should be more versatile and survivable than the AspX, not less.

For instance, if it were a "Python Explorer", I could see starting with a base Python, upgrade a size-6 slot to size-7 (for the scoop!), reduce the other size-6 slots to size-5, and increase to a size-6 FSD, reduce the weapon hardpoints, and adjust the hull mass to balance the jump range against the AspX and Anaconda. This would result in a very versatile explorer that is a bit less versatile for multi-role, though the potential cargo capacity would be the same. Just thinking aloud here. :)

That makes sense as well! And continuing on duckofdeath's suggestion, a more balanced and versatile explorer would have more internals than the Iguana, but a more standard base jump range, but with the ability to exceptionally extend that range far beyond any Conda jump boost, to reach those faraway stars. Indeed, exploration doesn't require a high galactic travel speed as much as it calls for the ability to navigate extremely sparse areas. This way you could have something lighter than an ASP, bit larger, around the same or just a bit higher jump range, but not multipurpose. And able to triple, quadruple boost when needed (at a cost).

I'll try to mock up a DeLacy exploration ship then :D
 
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just cracked it, slotted a grade 5 FSD into my dolphin in the passenger slot and used the class 4 old FSD space for a cargo rack using this simple 5 minute trick

perfect ship!



l1moXLW.jpg


here she is, all outfitted up :) don't need the iguana now, off to the lemon slice nebula :)
 
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Not sure you realise how little fuel a 220T ship will use with an 8A FSD... A 4A scoop would top it up in about 7 seconds or less after each jump.

Z...
The fuel usage on jumps is dictated by the FSD. The size 7 FSD uses 12.1 tons on a max range jump, a size 8 would probably use close to 20 tons per jump.
 
If it could outboost an Orca I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

I'm weird - I always fit A rated thrusters to my exploration vessels. :p
 
I was thinking more about this today.

I would like a ship that looks a lot more like the kind of vessel designed for longer trips of exploration. Shouldn't an exploration build look more like a bridge between, say, the generation ships with botanical gardens, etc... rather than a standard vessel in the rest of the fleet options?

In the same way that the beluga liner looks more like an airliner, in the same way that the Imperial Eagle looks more like a fighter jet.... shouldn't an exploration vessel look more like... an exploration vessel?

Give it some planetary sensors that stick out. Give it a small area you can see through to some biology growing inside...etc.

Perhaps this is a little to boxy but you get the idea... slap a small botanical garden on there.

ea_scout_skydancer_ortho_by_unusualsuspex-d7axsse.jpg
 
Looks neat though first thing that popped into my head on the shape was it could have been drawn in profile by a well known trio of British car journalists. Sorry it's the ten year old spirit still living within me :D going to rep you up though just for the sheer amount of effort mocking this up it must have taken.
 
I was thinking more about this today.

I would like a ship that looks a lot more like the kind of vessel designed for longer trips of exploration. Shouldn't an exploration build look more like a bridge between, say, the generation ships with botanical gardens, etc... rather than a standard vessel in the rest of the fleet options?

In the same way that the beluga liner looks more like an airliner, in the same way that the Imperial Eagle looks more like a fighter jet.... shouldn't an exploration vessel look more like... an exploration vessel?

Give it some planetary sensors that stick out. Give it a small area you can see through to some biology growing inside...etc.

Perhaps this is a little to boxy but you get the idea... slap a small botanical garden on there.


Nah, with the caggo space many of our ships have, we can bring food for a few years for a single human.
 
Heh, ye shall not worry, lads, I started mocking up the Quetzalcoatl :D

@HeisenHorn01 : just a few hours; the most tedious thing is doing all the math with modules weight and stuff!
 
What a surprise! Our anonymous informant just handed us a new top secret ship concept :D

This one's called the Quetzalcoatl and is built by Falcon DeLacy (nevermind the logo on the shipyard!!). A quick glance at the docs tells us we're looking at a large exploration vessel, designed for survival and extremely long range missions. Based around an early Anaconda design, it shares with it the FSD size. But the Quetzalcoatl's wings fold in a supercool fashion for landing and slipping through the mailslot, which a definitive plus.

The hull is made lighter (thus more fragile), which restricts the size of internals. Except for the FSD, core internals are dowsized to match both the hull strength and the undersized power plant. Just like on the Iguana, the power distributor is a modified version, dropping any Weapon Charge capacity for slightly better Engine and Systems ones. The two small hardpoints can thus only fit mining lasers, which will draw their power from the Systems charge.

Compared to the Conda, most internals have been shrinked or divided in two, while others had to be removed. The size 7 slot is restricted to the fuel scoop, for technical reasons (weight, mostly). DeLacy maintained the size 5 slot at the expanse of a few more size 3; for fighter bays rather than shields, which probably couldn't be powered properly. Rest is size 3s and size 2s for various exploration equipment. The ship comes with both high-end scanners on purchase.

Utility mounts are numerous, again for various travel and exploration utilities.

If the stock jump range isn't partiularly impressive, it skyrockets with a lighter and more efficient loadout, almost matching that of an engineered exploration Anaconda. The autonomy is decent and can easily be extended with an extra tank that wouldn't cost too much on internals. Once engineered, the Quetzalcoatl really outmatches the Anaconda while still offering a comfortable environment for deep space endeavours.

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What a surprise! Our anonymous informant just handed us a new top secret ship concept :D

This one's called the Quetzalcoatl and is built by Falcon DeLacy (nevermind the logo on the shipyard!!). A quick glance at the docs tells us we're looking at a large exploration vessel, designed for survival and extremely long range missions. Based around an early Anaconda design, it shares with it the FSD size. But the Quetzalcoatl's wings fold in a supercool fashion for landing and slipping through the mailslot, which a definitive plus.

The hull is made lighter (thus more fragile), which restricts the size of internals. Except for the FSD, core internals are dowsized to match both the hull strength and the undersized power plant. Just like on the Iguana, the power distributor is a modified version, dropping any Weapon Charge capacity for slightly better Engine and Systems ones. The two small hardpoints can thus only fit mining lasers, which will draw their power from the Systems charge.

Compared to the Conda, most internals have been shrinked or divided in two, while others had to be removed. The size 7 slot is restricted to the fuel scoop, for technical reasons (weight, mostly). DeLacy maintained the size 5 slot at the expanse of a few more size 3; for fighter bays rather than shields, which probably couldn't be powered properly. Rest is size 3s and size 2s for various exploration equipment. The ship comes with both high-end scanners on purchase.

Utility mounts are numerous, again for various travel and exploration utilities.

If the stock jump range isn't partiularly impressive, it skyrockets with a lighter and more efficient loadout, almost matching that of an engineered exploration Anaconda. The autonomy is decent and can easily be extended with an extra tank that wouldn't cost too much on internals. Once engineered, the Quetzalcoatl really outmatches the Anaconda while still offering a comfortable environment for deep space endeavours.

The funny thing is, this is the kind of specialisation that people want. A ship that can do only one thing, but do it really well
 
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