Carrying ammo?
Any Speculations on this Support Ship
- Thread starter Red Rocket
- Start date
Carrying ammo?
![[Diplomacy] Carnegie](https://forums-cdn.zaonce.net/data/avatars/m/123/123809.jpg?1553527149){kind=avatar}
DSS probes.
But, the habitation ring with the windows in suggests something on large scale, as does the forward "bridge" area. And the scaffolding around the inner part of the ring compared to the large scale scaffolding on the outer edge suggests that too. As do the rear pylons in comparison to the forward bridge "bulb". (Incidentally, does anyone else think it looks horribly similar to the "Event Horizon"? In which case, I'm never going to have one of the damn things!!!)
It's quite probable there is fore-shortening, but I don't see it making this vessel really tiny in comparison to the fleet carrier at the moment.
I'm also wondering just how many people are supposed to be on this thing
Of course, the one thing we can say with certainty about the whole business is that we just have no solid information details at all
I’m not saying they’re small. I’m saying they’re likely larger than a Cutter but smaller than a carrier. The habitation ring only suggests it is meant for long voyages without the crew having access to a station or planetary base. Think the Hermes from the Martian
I think the exploration ship will give access to universal cartographics
The mercenary ship will give access to an interstellar factor
And the mining ship will give access to a market to sell, or storage for mined stuff.
Outside of that, I think they will offer modules to support each respective task like limpets, scanners, mining tools etc
![[VR] Goooost](https://forums-cdn.zaonce.net/data/avatars/m/111/111637.jpg?1589354934){kind=avatar}
I'm hoping it's Frontier admitting that players wanted something that could be piloted in some capacity. So they made these which are somewhat codependent on the carrier so they're always in the same system, but the support ship can actually do things.
I was going to start my own thread on this to throw some fire at elephant facts, but you beat me.
Yeah these are interesting. My first thought as Max Factor suggested was these were the carriers themselves. Just look at them.. if those little white rows are glass human viewports, even those support ships will be massive..
But then the idea of support ships came about. No idea where from apart from the trailer because the text just spoke of configuration. The question i had was how are these going to be useful if they aren't in the same instance with you? For mining and combat, they'll be useless. Can you imagine these things next to you alongside a ship launched fighter? Maybe these are the things you pilot around a system once your carrier has arrived and is in some fixed position?
Watching the trailer again.. yet it really does seem like they could be along with you slf style.
I guess the exploration support ship would only have one job.. to be a screenshot prop so it could be as big as it needs to be.
Should be interesting.
Yeah these are interesting. My first thought as Max Factor suggested was these were the carriers themselves. Just look at them.. if those little white rows are glass human viewports, even those support ships will be massive..
But then the idea of support ships came about. No idea where from apart from the trailer because the text just spoke of configuration. The question i had was how are these going to be useful if they aren't in the same instance with you? For mining and combat, they'll be useless. Can you imagine these things next to you alongside a ship launched fighter? Maybe these are the things you pilot around a system once your carrier has arrived and is in some fixed position?
Watching the trailer again.. yet it really does seem like they could be along with you slf style.
I guess the exploration support ship would only have one job.. to be a screenshot prop so it could be as big as it needs to be.
Should be interesting.
I didn't mean swappable parts on the fly.
I would have done it like this.
Small drive unit: Jumps 100ly, quicker to refuel. Cheapest.
Medium drive unit: jumps 250ly, take longer to refuel then the small. Medium priced.
Large drive unit: jumps 500ly, takes longer to refuel. Expensive.
Docking facilities:
Small: has two small and two medium pads. Cheapest of the lot.
Medium: has two small, 4 medium and one/two large. Medium priced.
Large: what there is currently. Most expensive.
Then you get the utility module that adds functionality. The exploration module could add another 100ly range on to your ship with the other options that the support ship give.
Mercenary could give other options and so forth.
Some may not have a utility module.
And then the bridge area could have different configurations.
This gives a reasonable amount of flexibility. There is an upgrade path. For the upgrade, it could mean getting the required materials and the required cash.
We shall have to see. I just would have preferred that stance instead of these huge support ships. I struggle with the idea that only one commander can use some medium ships on their own and really struggle with the big five. Now it looks like we can have a huge capital class ship and support ship which we can remote pilot. Just seems a bit much to me.
Okay, so some of you guys are talking about size. The service ship becomes the front part of the carrier and is detachable. What it detaches to do? Who knows. But the mercenary variant has two assets in common with the default carrier so that should give you a clue as to the size.
Basically, the carrier is one ship, but with a single size 4 docking structure on the front. The support ship can move around on its own like a regular ship to some degree, but it probably cant high-wake without the carrier.
Thinking about how you move the carrier around, it probably doesnt let you move around in supercruise at all. You have to jump it from the system map. So you can put it around any body in the system with the snap of your fingers, but if you want to get in close, say, inside a ring system or conflict zone, the smaller support craft can supercruise (though the handling and speed is probably terrible).
I kind of hope this is like an actual huge ship, but just not something that would be practical to use carelessly in every scenario.
I think the exploration vessel might be the only one that can make its own H-Space Jumps, because no true explorer only maps one system every 500 light years. It can probably send DSS probes from way further away as well, mapping whole star systems remotely. It can probably take a ton of tourists as well. You can probably also transmit your discoveries instantly. Yeah, it will be OP but then again you'll give up the perks that come with the other vessels.
The mining ship can probably deploy surface harvesters, and synthesize raw materials into tradable commodities like weapons and such. Maybe it can help prospect from afar or at least when you find an asteroid worth blowing up it can snipe it in one shot with a cannon.
The mercenary ship can probably scramble support fighters, maybe offer a MAC Gun strike (think huge railgun with enormous delay. Perhaps you have to laser-paint your target for a solid 10 seconds and the cooldown is 2 minutes.) Though I still really hope this thing can just fly straight into a fight and be a big huge target but powerful as all hell. You'd get the multicrew gunnery view if you wanted to fight with it.
Search and rescue would probably have the ability to not only fuel, but also boost the FSD of stranded individuals. It might have tractor beams as well as refueling limpets that can go deep into gravity wells. Basically anything the fuel rats have had to scratch their heads over, this would have the answer, as well as being able to detect distress signals nearby and on planet surfaces (escape pods) and it might open up the possibility of rescuing lost NPC crew, a long requested feature.
Perhaps Fleet carriers could contract directly with system minor factions to make whatever their current operation profitable, be it combat, or mining, or piracy. You could essentially create a signal source, contract a select amount of faction ships for a task, and split the profits or losses. Maybe it could be like a game of risk played in the orrery, maybe you have direct involvement, or maybe you only intervene when things turn for the worse.
Basically, the carrier is one ship, but with a single size 4 docking structure on the front. The support ship can move around on its own like a regular ship to some degree, but it probably cant high-wake without the carrier.
Thinking about how you move the carrier around, it probably doesnt let you move around in supercruise at all. You have to jump it from the system map. So you can put it around any body in the system with the snap of your fingers, but if you want to get in close, say, inside a ring system or conflict zone, the smaller support craft can supercruise (though the handling and speed is probably terrible).
I kind of hope this is like an actual huge ship, but just not something that would be practical to use carelessly in every scenario.
I think the exploration vessel might be the only one that can make its own H-Space Jumps, because no true explorer only maps one system every 500 light years. It can probably send DSS probes from way further away as well, mapping whole star systems remotely. It can probably take a ton of tourists as well. You can probably also transmit your discoveries instantly. Yeah, it will be OP but then again you'll give up the perks that come with the other vessels.
The mining ship can probably deploy surface harvesters, and synthesize raw materials into tradable commodities like weapons and such. Maybe it can help prospect from afar or at least when you find an asteroid worth blowing up it can snipe it in one shot with a cannon.
The mercenary ship can probably scramble support fighters, maybe offer a MAC Gun strike (think huge railgun with enormous delay. Perhaps you have to laser-paint your target for a solid 10 seconds and the cooldown is 2 minutes.) Though I still really hope this thing can just fly straight into a fight and be a big huge target but powerful as all hell. You'd get the multicrew gunnery view if you wanted to fight with it.
Search and rescue would probably have the ability to not only fuel, but also boost the FSD of stranded individuals. It might have tractor beams as well as refueling limpets that can go deep into gravity wells. Basically anything the fuel rats have had to scratch their heads over, this would have the answer, as well as being able to detect distress signals nearby and on planet surfaces (escape pods) and it might open up the possibility of rescuing lost NPC crew, a long requested feature.
Perhaps Fleet carriers could contract directly with system minor factions to make whatever their current operation profitable, be it combat, or mining, or piracy. You could essentially create a signal source, contract a select amount of faction ships for a task, and split the profits or losses. Maybe it could be like a game of risk played in the orrery, maybe you have direct involvement, or maybe you only intervene when things turn for the worse.
Last edited:
Support vessels can be useful if they can fly in Supercruise with you and then they can also follow your ship from the distance.
For example the Mining Variant is useful if it can join you at the same ring where you're mining so it can provide some large scan of motherlodes and storage capacity. Alternative would be that you can recall it wherever you are (except on planets).
I hope they can "dock" or attach to the FC. Otherwise it would be a terrible immersion breaker the fact that they can jump without FSD, and if they have one I wonder why they are not the FC directly.
The exploration variant (the ocellus one) is the one I like less. The size suggests it is just a bit smaller than a normal starport (look at the windows!). So here we have 3 problems already:
1) Wrong Scale
2) I don't see how that could attach to the main FC (transformer style?)
3) It suggests that there are at least 30-40 people on board while we all know there is no one... because when you have NPC working for you you have to pay the salaries.
Now if the scale gets fixed and this actually introduce people working for you (crew of 5-10 people with a salary of 10,000cr/month) I would like it more, because it would make more sense.
Anyway I would have preferred NO support vessels, but everything integrated in the customizable FC.
For example the Mining Variant is useful if it can join you at the same ring where you're mining so it can provide some large scan of motherlodes and storage capacity. Alternative would be that you can recall it wherever you are (except on planets).
I hope they can "dock" or attach to the FC. Otherwise it would be a terrible immersion breaker the fact that they can jump without FSD, and if they have one I wonder why they are not the FC directly.
The exploration variant (the ocellus one) is the one I like less. The size suggests it is just a bit smaller than a normal starport (look at the windows!). So here we have 3 problems already:
1) Wrong Scale
2) I don't see how that could attach to the main FC (transformer style?)
3) It suggests that there are at least 30-40 people on board while we all know there is no one... because when you have NPC working for you you have to pay the salaries.
Now if the scale gets fixed and this actually introduce people working for you (crew of 5-10 people with a salary of 10,000cr/month) I would like it more, because it would make more sense.
Anyway I would have preferred NO support vessels, but everything integrated in the customizable FC.
I'm expecting the support vessel has no landing pads, and is a simple visual clue about your specialty upgrade (explo, mining etc) without FD having to make the big carrier have interchangeable parts. Notice that each time a support vessel is shown the carrier is in shot behind it, suggesting they are separate. I'm assuming that when you land on the carrier, support ships add new menu options.
Am I the only one thinking this is really stupid? If you have to develop different parts for different mission profiles, does it really matter if you design parts for a support ship or parts for a carrier? Can't wrap my head around this.
Also it's more a fleet carrier fleet, then a fleet carrier this way, right?
It could make a big difference to the code. A station is something that you land on and provides services. A ship is something you sit in and can move around. They are probably very different things in the code. To make one of them do what the other does would lead to massive duplications and lots of new bugs. So it makes sense to implement carriers as both a new station and a new ship. Making them separable is an interesting decision and implies that you can fly the support vessel around in a system. That would work in squadrons. I don't see how it could work for a commander playing alone. Perhaps it has a follow-me capability. That would be a great thing to have available in the code; it's halfway to NPC wings.
Next step: vanity pets. Buy one of twenty different Thargon variants in the shop that follow you around.
Its simpler code wise (two ships, no customisation issues), and since that instance is locked to you (i.e. no other group can be there) its like a mobile circus of sorts where each ship is a tent. It might be that FD add support vessels and you get a 'rag tag fleet' that outwardly shows your fleet capabilites.
My frame of reference now is 'whatever is simplest FD will do'. Carriers are single instances to avoid problems. They are indestructible to avoid open / solo issues (or try to). My guess for customisation is simpler (so in reality the carrier has new menu options with each new support ship).
^This!
Which is the trend since few years already: just a couple of examples: the FSS as a separate view and not integrated in the HUD, new (copy-paste) ax multicannon, all ship variants rather than brand new ship design (type 10, krait phantom, alliance challenger and crusader).