Engineers A-Rated+Lightweight or D-Rated+Improved?

[Stealthie]

I've been compiling a spreadsheet of all my ships and their components (us ED players sure do know how to party) and I realised that I've been a bit schizophrenic with the way I apply upgrades.

Without going into specific items, half the time I'll use a basic/lightweight item and then apply a mod' to improve it's performance and other times I'll use a higher-standard item and then apply a mod' to reduce it's weight.

I was just wondering, is there any hard & fast rule as to which option yields better results?

For example, how does a lightweight alloy hull with a G5 heavy-duty mod' applied compare to, say, a military hull with a G5 light weight mod'?
Similar issue with things like sensors, scanners, HRPs too - basically anything that offers a light weight option and an improved option.

Anybody conducted any test-builds to see how these philosophies compare?

 

[Alexander the Grape]

Armour: LW Mil spec is heavier and stronger than Heavy Duty Lightweight Alloys. Also has better resistances

HRPS: Heavy Duty 1 class down is lighter and stronger than Lightweight 1 class up

Sensors: Light Weight A rated is lighter but with less resolving range than Long Range D rated

 

[Ralph Vargr]

There are two types: A, and D.

You will have to experiment. Alexander's experience corresponds with mine, but nothing is a substitute for A FSD's, or A power plants. Life Support and Sensors are strangely inverse. Thrusters are generally biased towards picking an A grade, but for explorers, this can be a negotiable thing.

Until, you meet your first High-G Planet. Don't land, and you will be OK.

D rated resistance boosters can be impressively stacked. D shields are only recommended for deep explorers (who will need to stack those boosters).

Long Range Detailed Surface Scanners are REQUIRED.

Sometimes, lightening the sensors can leave you blind. Wide angle sensors can be good in close furballs, but are no good in super-cruise, or identifying long range contacts. Long range general scope angles are cut down to 20 degrees, from 30. The doubling of the range is worth it.

 

[fruitbat]

There are two types: A, and D.

You will have to experiment. Alexander's experience corresponds with mine, but nothing is a substitute for A FSD's, or A power plants. Life Support and Sensors are strangely inverse. Thrusters are generally biased towards picking an A grade, but for explorers, this can be a negotiable thing.

Until, you meet your first High-G Planet. Don't land, and you will be OK.

D rated resistance boosters can be impressively stacked. D shields are only recommended for deep explorers (who will need to stack those boosters).

Long Range Detailed Surface Scanners are REQUIRED.

Sometimes, lightening the sensors can leave you blind. Wide angle sensors can be good in close furballs, but are no good in super-cruise, or identifying long range contacts. Long range general scope angles are cut down to 20 degrees, from 30. The doubling of the range is worth it.

D boosters are not the best way for lightweight/exploration ships.

E boosters weigh less (yes, for every other type of modules d weighs less than e, but sheild boosters for some reason buck the trend).

E resist boosters give the same resist values (as near as damn it) for half the weight.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

D boosters are not the best way for lightweight/exploration ships.

E boosters weigh less (yes, for every other type of modules d weighs less than e, but sheild boosters for some reason buck the trend).

E resist boosters give the same resist values (as near as damn it) for half the weight.

Never tried E boosters. Always defaulted to D as the lowest acceptable. A new wrinkle...

 

[Stealthie]

Just to update...

I tried doing a couple of mod's on a couple of ships and, fundamentally, it seems like the better-standard module will yield the best result after engineering.

For example, I fitted a Reinforced Alloy hull to my AspX and modded it for G5 Heavy-duty armor. It resulted in integrity of 1,057 and a jump range of 35.99Ly
Conversely, a Military Composite hull with a G5 Light Weight mod' yielded integrity of 1,098 and a jump range of 36.47Ly.

It's nice to know that a straightforward "better is better" philosophy is in operation.
I had a horrible feeling that a fully-upgraded lower-standard module might be better in one way and worse in another way - thus leaving the player to try and figure out the "sweet spot" where either a lower-standard module OR a higher-standard module might provide the optimal result with appropriate levels of engineering.

One less thing to worry about. [up]

 

[roboteconomist]

Long Range Detailed Surface Scanners are REQUIRED.

This is depends on your scanning strategy and how you fly. If you are looking for Earth-likes or smaller objects and know how to keep your throttle above 1c, fast scan is more effective.

The only exceptions for A and D-rated sensors are the 'Conda and the Corvette. A good lightweight roll on an A-rated sensor will be 75% less massive than a good long-range roll, but only have about 50% less range.

 

[Ralph Vargr]

This is depends on your scanning strategy and how you fly. If you are looking for Earth-likes or smaller objects and know how to keep your throttle above 1c, fast scan is more effective.

The only exceptions for A and D-rated sensors are the 'Conda and the Corvette. A good lightweight roll on an A-rated sensor will be 75% less massive than a good long-range roll, but only have about 50% less range.

Mine involves crossing hundreds of thousands of light-seconds, and *any* reduction in that beats the lower scan times.

A rated sensors are indeed the choice for a combat ship.

Just to update...

I tried doing a couple of mod's on a couple of ships and, fundamentally, it seems like the better-standard module will yield the best result after engineering.

For example, I fitted a Reinforced Alloy hull to my AspX and modded it for G5 Heavy-duty armor. It resulted in integrity of 1,057 and a jump range of 35.99Ly
Conversely, a Military Composite hull with a G5 Light Weight mod' yielded integrity of 1,098 and a jump range of 36.47Ly.

It's nice to know that a straightforward "better is better" philosophy is in operation.
I had a horrible feeling that a fully-upgraded lower-standard module might be better in one way and worse in another way - thus leaving the player to try and figure out the "sweet spot" where either a lower-standard module OR a higher-standard module might provide the optimal result with appropriate levels of engineering.

One less thing to worry about. [up]

Now, you know why I have the "Black Hole" Felicity Player Card.

 

[Trickylion]

I don't use boosters on explorer build, lightweight d rated is king apart from fsd

 

[fruitbat]

I don't use boosters on explorer build, lightweight d rated is king apart from fsd

Two schools of thought maybe.

Yours, which is perfectly valid and i won't disagree with the merits of it.

However, i like the fact that my annie can still jump 65lys, and has 900mj of raw shield (as although it has decent resistances as well, raw is for impact) which makes face planting very high g worlds a much less minor issue as opposed to a rebuy screen.

 

[roboteconomist]

Two schools of thought maybe.

Yours, which is perfectly valid and i won't disagree with the merits of it.

However, i like the fact that my annie can still jump 65lys, and has 900mj of raw shield (as although it has decent resistances as well, raw is for impact) which makes face planting very high g worlds a much less minor issue as opposed to a rebuy screen.

You don't need 900 MJ to prevent those sorts of bumps and bruises though -- 200 MJ has always been enough for me.