Is the AspX better than the Orca for long range passenger missions?

CoyoteXStarrk

CoyoteXStarrk
I am currently grinding my butt off to get to the Conda and I have my Orca fully kitted out and A ranked. with PLENTY of passenger space, but I find myself eyeballing the long range sight seeing missions that pay 2-5 million but include 2-3 tourist destinations or maybe even the 10-30 million ones that are 2k+ LY. I also noticed that the average number of passengers for these are also low so my extra passenger space is wasted in the Orca.




Then it hit me that I could just slap a Class 6 First Class Cabin on an AspX and throw on a 5A fuel scoop. It would make knocking out the longer distance mission easier, but I would lose the ability to carry a larger number of passengers.




But are the long range missions even worth it in the long run? I mean the 2k+ ones take a long time, but I make alot and would also have alot of Cartography data as well. So in the end it would be better than running the smaller missions right? Or am I wrong there?




I have flown both and I enjoyed both so I have no preferences there as far as looks and feel. I just wanna make as much money as I can as quickly as I can and have no idea which would accomplish that goal better.
 

ForeverN00b

ForeverN00b
I would use the Orca and be patient/mode flip to get missions going in the same general direction. I'm pretty sure you could fill up your cabins eventually.

Although tbf I'm biased against the AspX, I don't like the cockpit or the sound it makes in normal space. Dat jump range doe.
 

CoyoteXStarrk

CoyoteXStarrk
ForeverN00b said:
I would use the Orca and be patient/mode flip to get missions going in the same general direction. I'm pretty sure you could fill up your cabins eventually.

Although tbf I'm biased against the AspX, I don't like the cockpit or the sound it makes in normal space. Dat jump range doe.
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See my issue is I have no idea if the Long range missions are even better than simply just hopping around doing the short range ones.



I mean I can complete quite a few short range missions in the time it takes to complete just one long range mission. But I have no idea if the higher payout + the scan data makes it better in the end.
 

ForeverN00b

ForeverN00b
You have to figure out how many Ly/hr you can achieve in each ship. That will then let you know which mission types are better.

For scan data, I found that scan 'n jump gives about 10K creds per jump on average. Some of that was before the scan payout buff though so the average number now is probably a bit higher.

Shorter missions are better for rep and influence as you'll have higher mission turnover rate. For pure cash its different, it's dependent on how fast your ship is on a galactic scale. With a cold build and fast scoop, a 45Ly jump range ship can make about 3,000Ly per hour when purely buckyballing (scan and jump as quickly as possible). This number is not factoring in neutron star boosting.

Example: Long Range mission A, 10,000 light years for 10M creds (I have no idea what the scale is for LR pax missions these days). Your Asp has a 50Ly jump range let's say, so that would be about 200 jumps each way, so 400 jumps. Let's say each jump takes one minute (You can get that down to around 45s but for casual travelling let's assume 60s per jump). That's 400 minutes, or 6 hours and 40 minutes. Then add 10K creds per jump so that would be about 4M in scan data. So 14M for that one mission. If you can stack missions in that general direction it would probably be a lot more worthwhile.

Also, for some LR pax missions you would be well served by using neutron star travel if you have an AMFU equipped. You can shave a considerable amount of travel time using this method, if you are going towards the core this is a viable method of travel.
 
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CoyoteXStarrk

CoyoteXStarrk
ForeverN00b said:
You have to figure out how many Ly/hr you can achieve in each ship. That will then let you know which mission types are better.

For scan data, I found that scan 'n jump gives about 10K creds per jump on average. Some of that was before the scan payout buff though so the average number now is probably a bit higher.

Shorter missions are better for rep and influence as you'll have higher mission turnover rate. For pure cash its different, it's dependent on how fast your ship is on a galactic scale. With a cold build and fast scoop, a 45Ly jump range ship can make about 3,000Ly per hour when purely buckyballing (scan and jump as quickly as possible). This number is not factoring in neutron star boosting.

Example: Long Range mission A, 10,000 light years for 10M creds (I have no idea what the scale is for LR pax missions these days). Your Asp has a 50Ly jump range let's say, so that would be about 200 jumps each way, so 400 jumps. Let's say each jump takes one minute (You can get that down to around 45s but for casual travelling let's assume 60s per jump). That's 400 minutes, or 6 hours and 40 minutes. Then add 10K creds per jump so that would be about 4M in scan data. So 14M for that one mission. If you can stack missions in that general direction it would probably be a lot more worthwhile.

Also, for some LR pax missions you would be well served by using neutron star travel if you have an AMFU equipped. You can shave a considerable amount of travel time using this method, if you are going towards the core this is a viable method of travel.
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I can't even DREAM of the core yet. I think the longest mission I have done so far was 400ly


Right now I wanna keep it 2k or under unless the money is just RIDICULOUS. Once I get my Conda though I think I might try doing some long range exploring.
 

ForeverN00b

ForeverN00b
CoyoteXStarrk said:
I can't even DREAM of the core yet. I think the longest mission I have done so far was 400ly


Right now I wanna keep it 2k or under unless the money is just RIDICULOUS. Once I get my Conda though I think I might try doing some long range exploring.
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The Anaconda has terrible supercruise maneuverability just FYI. For that reason I don't use it for exploration. If that won't bother you then it is the most versatile of the explorers due to it's internals.

I quite like the Clipper for exploring. It looks good, has a nice cockpit and flies like a dream in SC (and normal space too once you understand it's limitations with the lateral and vertical thrusters).

As another poster said, Python is an option. However, for passengers I'd choose an Orca over a Python.
 

Suhono

Suhono
I made my early fortunes running long-range passenger missions in an AspX, and later an Anaconda. But now if I go exploring, I go in an Orca. It's fun to fly, handles fine in SC, has a great canopy, and I've gotten mine to a 50.51 ly jump range, which is more than enough for me. But I'm biased. I love the Orca.

As others have mentioned, definitely consider ly/hour, but also consider how much you're getting paid per lightyear. The longer range missions underperform considerably in this regard compared to short-to-medium range missions. I found a sweet spot somewhere around 2-5k ly, but your mileage may vary, and they may have changed payouts since I last did these missions about a year ago.
 

khaos526

khaos526
AspX is great for landing on planets, and you kind of want that when exploring in case you need jumponium mats if you get stuck, or even AMFU synthesis if you need it. I've taken mine all over the galaxy as far out beyond Beagle Point before the new engineering upgrades. Took it to the core before engineers as well. So it's a great ship and so maneuverable for planet scanning. I kept it and it's now in Colonia and I use it for planetary exploration for life or geysers and such. Orca is good, but I wouldn't really use it for exploration though. DBX has a great jump range as well, you might even want to consider that as it''ll be cheaper.

And as stated, the Anaconda I'm not a fan with it's maneuverability at all in SC or on planets. Great jump range and it's now my main exploration ship after testing it out on several long exploration trips around the galaxy and finally coming to terms that I'm used to it now.

But really look into the DBX, the jump range and price tag alone will be ideal in your situation...
 

smiths121

S
Info to help you make a decision. Obvious your YMMV (should that be YLYMV!) wil vary.

I recently did a 6KL and 13KLY tourist mission. The latter was a tad long for my attention span. I made about 50MCr out of the 6K and 120Mcr outof the 13KLY. KLY I did i 3 sessons over a weekend, the 13Ky took me sessions over 9 days (did not play every day cos of RL and work). So my advise is if you can find the 1-2klY take then, about 5MCR per 1000LY exploration on top of payout.

I did the 13KLY in a Type-6 and the 6KLY in a Dolphin. I actually rate the Type-6 as a better longer range tourist ship than the Dolphin. Without board switching, you are unlikley to get long range to the same place, so extra cabin space is not needed. My Type-6 was about 8MCr and my Orca about 18MCr. You can kit them a lot cheaper than that

Simon
 

Tex Arcana

Tex Arcana
smiths121 said:
Info to help you make a decision. Obvious your YMMV (should that be YLYMV!) wil vary.

I recently did a 6KL and 13KLY tourist mission. The latter was a tad long for my attention span. I made about 50MCr out of the 6K and 120Mcr outof the 13KLY. KLY I did i 3 sessons over a weekend, the 13Ky took me sessions over 9 days (did not play every day cos of RL and work). So my advise is if you can find the 1-2klY take then, about 5MCR per 1000LY exploration on top of payout.

I did the 13KLY in a Type-6 and the 6KLY in a Dolphin. I actually rate the Type-6 as a better longer range tourist ship than the Dolphin. Without board switching, you are unlikley to get long range to the same place, so extra cabin space is not needed. My Type-6 was about 8MCr and my Orca about 18MCr. You can kit them a lot cheaper than that

Simon
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Type 6 is a good suggestion.
My bias will always be toward the ship that can do the most: So an Asp will win (Python trumps for multi-purpose epic); but Type 6 is definitely good compromise....hauls many things.
PS. Orca is a damn fine vessel to have in a garage one might be building...the multi-person hauls can pay off nicely. And with a good fuel-scoop...
 

Seizewell Warrior

Seizewell Warrior
The AspX can get to the core with a ~30LY jump range. Stars come thick and fast, in fact i made it to Colonia on a 26 LY range. Just a lot of jumping. The only issue I have with the AspX is that it could do with one more module slot as you may have to choose between the passenger cabin and either your AFMU or SRV. The former is essential if you're planning to hit the neutrons to speed up the journey and the latter to gather mats to refill the AFMU or make jumponium.
 

Bunkerkind Anni

Bunkerkind Anni
IMHO the only reason to use an Orca for passenger missions, is to fit luxury cabins.
for any other passenger missions, other ships are better.
 
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