General Make Fleet Carriers viable for exploration

[CardioTherapy]

Currently fleet carriers took more time to explore the space compared to a good exploration ship. However, they are quite expensive to buy, to maintain and to jump. Considering this they need to be made more viable for traversing the galaxy.

My suggestion is not to increase the jump range or reduce the cool down time but to add jump schedule for FC.

How it can work:

• Either, the same way as the route plotting for ships. Choose a system on the map and the fleet carrier will plot a route.
• By adding names of systems where the carrier will jump one after another. This will require the use of 3rd party tool as the carrier route plotter.

In both cases the carrier will use its main advantage to the ships – the fact that it exists offline.

So, I plot a route and leave the game either to sleep or for work or I have another activity. My carrier will jump after the preparation time and then will cool down (5min) and will start immediately the preparation (30min) for the next jump. It will do as many jumps as there is tritium in the depo.

Usually, one jump takes average of 100 tritium so full depo will make for 9-10 jumps. This doesn’t seem like a lot but from my experience I can tell you that doing 9 jumps when you are offline is a huge help. It will also use, as I mentioned, the main advantage of the carrier - existing and operating offline.

 

[Bigmaec]

Came in expecting a demand for a buff of efficiency.

Got a suggestion for a route plotter.

Approved

+1

 

[Starsong]

Currently fleet carriers took more time to explore the space compared to a good exploration ship. However, they are quite expensive to buy, to maintain and to jump. Considering this they need to be made more viable for traversing the galaxy.

My suggestion is not to increase the jump range or reduce the cool down time but to add jump schedule for FC.

How it can work:

• Either, the same way as the route plotting for ships. Choose a system on the map and the fleet carrier will plot a route.
• By adding names of systems where the carrier will jump one after another. This will require the use of 3rd party tool as the carrier route plotter.

In both cases the carrier will use its main advantage to the ships – the fact that it exists offline.

So, I plot a route and leave the game either to sleep or for work or I have another activity. My carrier will jump after the preparation time and then will cool down (5min) and will start immediately the preparation (30min) for the next jump. It will do as many jumps as there is tritium in the depo.

Usually, one jump takes average of 100 tritium so full depo will make for 9-10 jumps. This doesn’t seem like a lot but from my experience I can tell you that doing 9 jumps when you are offline is a huge help. It will also use, as I mentioned, the main advantage of the carrier - existing and operating offline.

I've wanted this ever since I took my carrier to Colonia and back...

 

[Max Bothin]

it would be a great thing, simply to set a system, have enough Tritium aboard, and "transfer" the FC to that system while not being online. Strange how some things still have to be set manually in the year 3306.

 

[varonica]

Currently fleet carriers took more time to explore the space compared to a good exploration ship.

No they don't, in fact I can explore further faster with a FC than just a ship alone, and get to places I can't get to at all with just a ship.

You see you set the FC target at 500ly, then you jump out in your exploration ship and target that same system and fly to it, scanning systems and looking at stuff as you go, it's not often I can beat the FC to it's target, all it needs is a few NSP's, a couple of ELW or WW or some biology I want to check out and it arrives before I do, so no slow down at all there because I am doing exactly what I would do if I never had a FC, and at the end of the days run I always dock at the FC and set it going for another 500ly. So I am exploring exactly the same number of systems I did before the FC in the same time, and getting an extra 500ly boost per day if I have a distant target I am going to look at.

 

[CardioTherapy]

Came in expecting a demand for a buff of efficiency.

Got a suggestion for a route plotter.

Approved

+1

Route plotter with offline jumping

 

[CardioTherapy]

If route plotter with offline jumping becomes a thing we can imagine a new ingame tool in the left side pannel where you ask the carrier a permition to board to have a second option to see the plotted route on the gallaxy map. This way if you see a carrier plotting a route to Colonia you can join it and maybe move some ships on it. That will make the carriers even more usable.

 

[Factabulous]

All good. Nothing to do with exploration though - it's just about travel.

We really need a 'yeah, we know' listing in Suggestions so people don't re-re-re-re-re-re-suggest them quite as often. It's been ages since we had anything new (and sensible ) suggested.

Edit: Having pre-planned routes would work well with Apex Travel in Odyssey - "Oh, you want to go to Colonia, well there are these Fc heading out on this schedule - either hop aboard on-foot or transfer ships onto them". The current "I'll log in every 20 minutes for a day to get somewhere" is not amazing gameplay

 

[Para Handy]

no I don't like this autopilot introduction idea (if they add it for FC then no doubt ordinary ships will get it too)

 

[Achtung-Goomba]

no I don't like this autopilot introduction idea (if they add it for FC then no doubt ordinary ships will get it too)

I’m not at all averse to allowing FC owners to plot jumps in a similar manner to how our ships already jump, allowing them to plot more than one jump at a time. Of course, I say this as a non-FC owning peasant, but I’m sure it’s a fairly simple QoL adjustment that the FC owners would appreciate.

Edit for clarity.

 

[Para Handy]

I’m not at all averse to allowing FC owners to plot jumps in a similar manner to how our ships already jump. Of course, I say this as a non-FC owning peasant, but I’m sure it’s a fairly simple QoL adjustment that the FC owners would appreciate.

I have no objection to adding route plotting for FCs - it is the autopilot addition I don't like the idea of as in the OP's "... So, I plot a route and leave the game either to sleep or for work or I have another activity. My carrier will jump after the preparation time and then will cool down (5min) and will start immediately the preparation (30min) for the next jump. It will do as many jumps as there is tritium in the depo. "

 

[Achtung-Goomba]

I have no objection to adding route plotting for FCs - it is the autopilot addition I don't like the idea of as in the OP's "... So, I plot a route and leave the game either to sleep or for work or I have another activity. My carrier will jump after the preparation time and then will cool down (5min) and will start immediately the preparation (30min) for the next jump. It will do as many jumps as there is tritium in the depo. "

Fair enough, sorry I misunderstood.

 

[Factabulous]

no I don't like this autopilot introduction idea (if they add it for FC then no doubt ordinary ships will get it too)

FC are not ships - you can't be interdicted - ever, no star can fry you. It's completely safe, just time consuming.

Long distance travel usually ends up with me not playing the game but setting a 20 minute timer on my phone and logging in every 20 minutes to make the next jump. Others are using automation. Even the times when I am playing whilst traveling consist of me playing an alt-CMDR while jumping the FC.

I don't expect fdev to add routing for FC any time soon, most people don't go on regular long distance travel, so it shouldn't be a high priority. But it isn't a slippery slope to auto-jumping ships, any more than the 20k Ly plotter was.

Apex Travel OTOH .. now that is your autopilot

 

[CardioTherapy]

no I don't like this autopilot introduction idea (if they add it for FC then no doubt ordinary ships will get it too)

Have in mind that FC jump is rather costly and have 30 min of preparation time and 5 min of cool down time. Also have in mind that fleet carriers exist offline already and can perfomr activities as trading and restocking other ships. There is nothing to compare between FC and regular ships in term of jumping and ofline gameplay. Not to mention the cost to own and maintain a fleet carrier.
Also in my recomendation FC can do only certain number of jumps offline acrodint to the tritium in the tritium depot which is max 1000 and is good for max 9-10 jumps and then needs to be refill = 47 million credits of tritium.

 

[CardioTherapy]

FC are not ships - you can't be interdicted - ever, no star can fry you. It's completely safe, just time consuming.

Long distance travel usually ends up with me not playing the game but setting a 20 minute timer on my phone and logging in every 20 minutes to make the next jump. Others are using automation. Even the times when I am playing whilst traveling consist of me playing an alt-CMDR while jumping the FC.

I don't expect fdev to add routing for FC any time soon, most people don't go on regular long distance travel, so it shouldn't be a high priority. But it isn't a slippery slope to auto-jumping ships, any more than the 20k Ly plotter was.

Apex Travel OTOH .. now that is your autopilot

It is tme consuming and credits cosnuming, while with regular ship it is free to jump. Also when I spend 5 bil on a carrier and a lot of credits to maintain it and buy fuel I would expect to have ability to carry my fleet easily and fast. some of us are playing in a consol and aslo workin and will not have the possibility to start thr PS or Xbox every 35 min to make jumps. Also FC needs to be restocked with tritium in the depo which holds only 1000 =9 jumps = 47-50 mollions. The regular ships need to refuel free of charge at a star. Small difference right?

 

[Para Handy]

FC are not ships - you can't be interdicted - ever, no star can fry you. It's completely safe, just time consuming.
..........

Have in mind that FC jump is rather costly and have 30 min of preparation time and 5 min of cool down time. ......
.....

However I can absolutely, totally guarantee that within 5 milliseconds of this proposal being implemented by FD the forum would fill up with "Why can't my ship do automatic jumping of a plotted route?" You know that the autopilot suggestion comes up every so often anyway so how will FD refuse it if it can be allowed for FCs.

By all means, petition for FC route plotting but please don't go the "fly my plotted jumps while I am in bed" route.

 

[avow555]

Afk jumping, don't see fdev liking that.

Tritium is still the main issue as far as I am concerned.

 

[CardioTherapy]

However I can absolutely, totally guarantee that within 5 milliseconds of this proposal being implemented by FD the forum would fill up with "Why can't my ship do automatic jumping of a plotted route?" You know that the autopilot suggestion comes up every so often anyway so how will FD refuse it if it can be allowed for FCs.

By all means, petition for FC route plotting but please don't go the "fly my plotted jumps while I am in bed" route.

I wouldn't call this autopiloting as you are restrained by the tritium in your tank. Regular ships can refill from stars and jump infinitely.

 

[Old Duck]

I'm guess I'm the only one who finds fleet carriers plenty viable for exploration.

 

[Para Handy]

........ Regular ships can refill from stars and jump infinitely.

Gosh ship autopilots that also scoop by themselves en-route! - Is that what you really think or are you just desperately trying to keep some justtification?