It's time for an Anaconda competitor

[Hooplah]

Jesus Christ.... 314 jumps to Colonia in a best case scenario.
That really is a royally grindy PITA.

That's why I feel that the gameplay mechanics when it comes to jumping, in this game, is simply whacked.

They should have just made it such that every ship is only afforded a single type of fuel tank that was unchangeable, and that you could jump as far as your fuel could give you till you went empty. And the jump range would be the calculated result of your Fuel Tank capacity, FSD Module type, and ship's mass. And also affected by engineering.

That is your decision playing your game. In previous game versions there were Military drives that significantly increased jump range but had to deal with radioactive waste to deal with. Frontier in ED went with engineering and Guardian FSD boosters (the easiest to obtain) which works a lot better. They also allow adding a fuel tank in the optional internal slots in a combat Fer de Lance to get to somewhere. With all these improvements I'll never miss a Military drive.

I do miss all those special reconnaissance missions going into harms way, taking photos with installed cameras and getting the heck out of there. But maybe that was another time and place with real life issues playing the game in 1993. Probably not politically correct now.

Regards

 

[CMDR Plexus Ironrot]

Looking at our shipyard we already have several good competitors (few examples below):
Dolphin and DB-X are both good small ships for exploration, even if the dolphin is more passenger-oriented.
Same for ASP-X and Krait Phantom in the medium class.
The Krait MKII and the Python are both good mutlirole Medium Ships
Federal Corvette and Imperial Cutter are the natural competitors as "end-game" ships.

I think what is really missing now in the shipyard is a competitor for the Anaconda, so a good multi-role/explorer large ship.
That is something I would be interested to see in one of these small patches for 2019.

It would be the Panther Clipper. HUGE work horse with good firepower good large internals and a decent jump range..Think of a type 9/10 but not a whale to fly. (please...make the thrusters move...I would take a scaled up keelback thruster..make them the way it moves) Decent Pitch and Roll. Poor yaw but good forward thrust (poss close to Conda speed?)

 

[dxm55]

That is your decision playing your game. In previous game versions there were Military drives that significantly increased jump range but had to deal with radioactive waste to deal with. Frontier in ED went with engineering and Guardian FSD boosters (the easiest to obtain) which works a lot better. They also allow adding a fuel tank in the optional internal slots in a combat Fer de Lance to get to somewhere. With all these improvements I'll never miss a Military drive.

I do miss all those special reconnaissance missions going into harms way, taking photos with installed cameras and getting the heck out of there. But maybe that was another time and place with real life issues playing the game in 1993. Probably not politically correct now.

Regards

I played FE2, so I remember and miss those military drives. Required special fuel, and you had radioactive waste to deal with (I usually just jettisoned them in some lawless space, or sold them at black markets) But at least i made long trips more bearable.

I wished travelling around in the bubble didnt involve repetitious time sinks. But that's how the game and lore works I suppose.

 

[Hooplah]

It would be the Panther Clipper. HUGE work horse with good firepower good large internals and a decent jump range..Think of a type 9/10 but not a whale to fly. (please...make the thrusters move...I would take a scaled up keelback thruster..make them the way it moves) Decent Pitch and Roll. Poor yaw but good forward thrust (poss close to Conda speed?)

In previous game versions the Panther Clipper could install the largest weapon available with the Plasma Accelerator. It stuck out way past the length of the ship. This probably won't work too well in the 2019 ED version but not having a Panther Clipper with those four cool rotating thrusters (maybe the inspiration for Joss Whedon's Firefly ship) the Elite games cannot come to full circle until we fly a Panther Clipper. They gave us a Keelback with rotating thrusters. Sorry but not good enough. Come up with a 1200 cargo Panther Clipper and the players will be more than happy to complain about how slow it is even with engineering and possibly needing a wing to protect it. But us long time players since decades ago will smile owning one. Make us happy besides more paint jobs to purchase at the Frontier store with many of us having a emotional connection with this ship!

I'm thinking that the Frontier Devs made better ships with the Cutter and expanding the cargo capacity of a Type-9 and now cannot offer a Panther which is better. They are missing those who love flying a Panther Clipper against all odds. Work on this.

 

[rrobes]

No it won't. Because the Corvette is a ship specifically created and designed for combat by a company that exclusively manufactures combat ships.

Saying that Core Dynamics needs to make an exploration Corvette is like me saying I want Ferrari to make a minivan. That is just not what they do.

Hmm, rather a strong statement. The Corvette is used by many as a mining ship, a cargo ship, a passenger ship as well as a combat ship. The only reason it isn't widely used as an exploration ship its because they crippled its jump range for so-called "balance". Though I've read accounts of Corvettes out in Colonia.

So if you're postulating that it can only be used for combat, many would disagree with you.

The Corvette's maneuverability makes it for me the most enjoyable big to fly, and I have a Cutter and had an Anaconda. With added jump range, it would be a pretty good explorer.

We can agree on one point, the last sentence in my previous post stated that an exploration Corvette "would never happen".

 

[VR SenseiMatty]

the Elite games cannot come to full circle until we fly a Panther Clipper...

...and we can land on atmospheric planets of course

 

[dxm55]

We can agree on one point, the last sentence in my previous post stated that an exploration Corvette "would never happen".

Sure you can have one.

Just engineer the FSD to a G5 with Deep Charge experimental effects.

You would at least have abt 20LY.

Then throw in a Guardian FSD booster.

 

[Morbad]

Offer a lightweight Corvette with larger FSD (mod jump range of 60-70 lys). Its SC handling is top notch for a big and has room for everything you would want to take way out.

But it will never happen.

And it shouldn't happen. You can already get a solidly outfit vette to over 30ly, which is plenty enough to get to 99.9% of places, and even enough to cover long distances in an acceptable period of time.

The overwhelming bulk of the exploration I've done has been with sub-20ly ships.

Jesus Christ.... 314 jumps to Colonia in a best case scenario.
That really is a royally grindy PITA.

Took my ~19ly jump combat corvette ~1500 the roundabout way. It was fine.

Most ships with an efficient fuel scoop can jump every 60 seconds including "honking" with the now built-in discovery scanner for every ship if they are not interested in anything else.

~45 seconds, with some room for improvement:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVT7xX8Yqho

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

Whatever new ships we may get in the future, and for the love of all that's holy, please no more rank locked ships.

OTOH to counter.... please for the love of god DO give us ships that we have to work for and cant just buy with cash (because the economy is irreparably bust with billionaires playing along side people with barely enough for next rebuy due to huge imbalances).

maybe not ranked locked because some do not want to be in the military, but i would personally like some other form of gate / reputation system... basically something long term, a ship i can look at and think, i really want that but it is 100hrs gameplay away.

just my 2p, we all have different wants from the game.

 

[Kissamies]

My modern thinking is that while you can explore with any jump range, a proper exploration ship should have at least about 60 ly jump range. Sure, you only really need it in the notoriously sparse regions of the galaxy, but it's also useful if you are far out there in the black and suddenly feel homesick.

 

[[VR] Mad Mike]

In my fantasy of a game that lore, balance, and all that rot actually matter and actually impact gameplay, the hull mass stats on the Anaconda and Cutter would be swapped. Suddenly the 400 year old refurbished flying junk pile (ie. the Anaconda according to lore) would perform like obsolete technology actually does: poorly. The Cutter -- y'know, the super expensive, rank locked, carbon fiber space limo -- would be on the bleeding edge of 'modern' technology and arguably worth the extra effort to acquire. Better than being reduced to a glorifed freight lorry.

Yeah, yeah. Wishes, horses, riding beggars and all that baloney. A man can dream.

definitely logic to that... but i think i would come at it the other way.

the 1970s the golf GTI weight far far less than the modern 2019 equivalent.... because it was not bogged down with side impact protection and all that stuff which keeps you alive in an accident. i could get my headcannon around a 400ton ship <just about> if the logic was all that time ago ships had to be light so that they could get anywhere, and weapons were comparatively far weaker....... so if you want your super light weight conda you can have it, but its armour rating is such that even a faint sneeze would damage it.

then putting modern armour on it would toughen it up, at the cost of mass.... that way no one out in the black is marooned but they have to be really careful.

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

My modern thinking is that while you can explore with any jump range, a proper exploration ship should have at least about 60 ly jump range. Sure, you only really need it in the notoriously sparse regions of the galaxy, but it's also useful if you are far out there in the black and suddenly feel homesick.

My AspX is under 50 Ly and range has never been an issue.

 

[CoyoteXStarrk]

Sure you can have one.

Just engineer the FSD to a G5 with Deep Charge experimental effects.

You would at least have abt 20LY.

Then throw in a Guardian FSD booster.

Just for giggles I made a tin can Vette explorer in Coriolis with just the same basics that you would use for a tin can Conda and I got over 40lys. All that is left to do is add the specific modules you want. So I have no idea what @rrobes is talking about. The Corvette explorer is already in the game lol

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous

s.orbis.zone

 

[dxm55]

Just for giggles I made a tin can Vette explorer in Coriolis with just the basics and I got over 40lys. All that is left to do is add the specific modules you want. So I have no idea what @rrobes is talking about. The Corvette explorer is already in the game lol

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous

s.orbis.zone

Exactly.

And a fully armed and shielded Vette can see maybe 25LY with some careful engineering.

My fully armed A-rated engineered Annie w a Mil hull makes about 30

 

[CoyoteXStarrk]

Exactly.

And a fully armed and shielded Vette can see maybe 25LY with some careful engineering.

Sounds about right. In fact that Vette build I just made might just be my next explorer build just for kicks. The Vette looks alot better in pictures than a Conda and 40lys is enough to explore on. I have ventured out into the black on less.

 

[Phazon Xenomorph]

Sounds about right. In fact that Vette build I just made might just be my next explorer build just for kicks. The Vette looks alot better in pictures than a Conda and 40lys is enough to explore on. I have ventured out into the black on less.

Not good for Formadine rifting though, not with ease anyways.

 

[WR3ND]

Computer says no.

Yeah, some seem to be confusing exploration with travel. Of course that's more important to some exploration types, but not fundamental in the sense of systems explored per time.

Travel is actually pretty important to most all game-play types to one extent or another, not just exploration. Funny enough, if your goal is just to explorer systems and not race off somewhere nor make it to the furthest stars on the fringes, travel range probably matters less than in some other career choices in the game.

Had I just raced off to the Skull & Crossbones nebula instead of taking my time in my Vulture, I would have more than likely missed some rather nice systems along the way, including this one.

Spoiler

 

[Morbad]

Not good for Formadine rifting though, not with ease anyways.

I'm always full on jumponium.

 

[sandkid]

My two credits:

I like new ships (who doesn't) and it's a fact FDev designs the game to push commanders towards large ships - i.e., they are 'supposed' to be superior to medium and small ships. That said, I don't think the Annie needs a competitor as a multi-role or explorer.

I think we need more creative cockpits. The Krait and Mamba are good stabs at this, but there could be yet more. At the end of the day, exploring is more about the view (and a little about handling, I'll grant that) and the best ships for exploring (from a jump range perspective) generally lack a solid cockpit design that screams 'for viewing pleasure'.

-Where is a ship with a cockpit slung asymmetric?
-Where is a ship with a cockpit mounted on the keel - a la 'Blimp' style?
-Where is a ship with a cockpit that really is a fishbowl - take the T-9 cockpit and move that chair up to the glass!

What drives me bonkers about the Annie is it is so good for range but so bad for viewing or piloting. I'd give up two hardpoints for a function that allows me to 'swap cockpits' from the actual cockpit to the viewing gallery on the prow. Landing on planetary surfaces with a view from there would be epic!

-What if we could swap to the upper observation deck of the Beluga Liner?
-What if you could swap to the other multi-crew chairs in your own ship - especially split chairs, like the Asp Explorer?

Go simpler...what if you could control your turrets as the helm? This means you can't steer obviously - but in a Type-9, you're only going to fly straight anyways! Outside of practical purposes, what if in the DBX you could 'view' the underside of your ship via its large hardpoint, pending it was a turret? Applied to the largest ships, turrets become more than weapons but additional viewing points for the ship.

I guess to sum up my two credits...

I like new ships.
But I really just want more ways to interact with the ships I already have.

All cars have the same functions - it's bells and whistles, or aesthetics, that make them special. A Ferrari is still a four-wheeled vehicle that uses a few pedals, a stick, and a wheel to operate. An Anaconda still flies like a DBX - it turns too slow in normal space, and carries all the crap you could ever need.

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

My two credits:

I like new ships (who doesn't) and it's a fact FDev designs the game to push commanders towards large ships - i.e., they are 'supposed' to be superior to medium and small ships. That said, I don't think the Annie needs a competitor as a multi-role or explorer.

I think we need more creative cockpits. The Krait and Mamba are good stabs at this, but there could be yet more. At the end of the day, exploring is more about the view (and a little about handling, I'll grant that) and the best ships for exploring (from a jump range perspective) generally lack a solid cockpit design that screams 'for viewing pleasure'.

-Where is a ship with a cockpit slung asymmetric?
-Where is a ship with a cockpit mounted on the keel - a la 'Blimp' style?
-Where is a ship with a cockpit that really is a fishbowl - take the T-9 cockpit and move that chair up to the glass!

What drives me bonkers about the Annie is it is so good for range but so bad for viewing or piloting. I'd give up two hardpoints for a function that allows me to 'swap cockpits' from the actual cockpit to the viewing gallery on the prow. Landing on planetary surfaces with a view from there would be epic!

-What if we could swap to the upper observation deck of the Beluga Liner?
-What if you could swap to the other multi-crew chairs in your own ship - especially split chairs, like the Asp Explorer?

Go simpler...what if you could control your turrets as the helm? This means you can't steer obviously - but in a Type-9, you're only going to fly straight anyways! Outside of practical purposes, what if in the DBX you could 'view' the underside of your ship via its large hardpoint, pending it was a turret? Applied to the largest ships, turrets become more than weapons but additional viewing points for the ship.

I guess to sum up my two credits...

I like new ships.
But I really just want more ways to interact with the ships I already have.

All cars have the same functions - it's bells and whistles, or aesthetics, that make them special. A Ferrari is still a four-wheeled vehicle that uses a few pedals, a stick, and a wheel to operate. An Anaconda still flies like a DBX - it turns too slow in normal space, and carries all the crap you could ever need.

Being able to fit camera turrets to utility slots would be perfect for parallax exploration. Stick the camera views into the bottom panel, since it's meaningless for anything other than launching the SRV.

Always assuming FDev don't randomly decide to require you to be stationary to use them.