A rennaisance for the DBX?

Stealthie

Stealthie
Yes, another (sort of) Carrier related thread....

It occurs to me, with Large and Medium pads on Carriers being prime real-estate, could this create new enthusiasm for the DBX as the Carrier owner's exploration ship of choice?

If so, maybe we can all start pestering FDev to give the DBX a C5 slot for a decent fuel-scoop?
I don't think it'd dramatically screw anything up if they gave it a C5 slot.
It's got roughly the same mass as an AspX so it's not like fitting a C5 shield would turn it into a monster shield-tank or anything.
 

M00ka

M00ka
Factabulous said:
No thanks. Leave my DBX alone. Just because you don't understand how to fly it ....
Click to expand...

Come on mate, fair suck of the sav :D Even you, a diehard DBX fan has to agree that scooping fuel is like trying to scull a beer by drinking it through a straw. Yeah you will eventually finish but you will be so peed off at the end it won't matter lol
 

Kamiyoda

Kamiyoda
M00ka said:
Come on mate, fair suck of the sav :D Even you, a diehard DBX fan has to agree that scooping fuel is like trying to scull a beer by drinking it through a straw. Yeah you will eventually finish but you will be so peed off at the end it won't matter lol
Click to expand...
Wow your against straws too? The nerve on this forum I swear.
;)
 

Aashenfox

Aashenfox
The DBX is the one ship that has always been near perfect in its role, in my view. More firepower than a Vulture, more armor potential than any other small (I think), ridiculously long jump range, ridiculously good heat dissipation, most viable silent runner build, balanced agility (not poor or great at anything, but good enough at everything)...That silent runner build we were talking about yesterday isn't actually a specialist pvp build, it's my bubble taxi and it humiliates any unprepared ship. The DBX is OP af.
 

Kamiyoda

Kamiyoda
Aashenfox said:
The DBX is the one ship that has always been near perfect in its role, in my view. More firepower than a Vulture, more armor potential than any other small (I think), ridiculously long jump range, ridiculously good heat dissipation, most viable silent runner build, balanced agility (not poor or great at anything, but good enough at everything)...That silent runner build we were talking about yesterday isn't actually a specialist pvp build, it's my bubble taxi and it humiliates any unprepared ship. The DBX is OP af.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure the Dolphin has it beat in terms of potential Armor.

Also Cobra MkIV
 

Hanerib

Hanerib
One of the funniest things that's happened to me was being interdicted by a DBX. Blasted thing kept hitting me with plasma accelerators and had hatchbreakers. I failed a mission because of a hostile DBX. Giving those things larger module slots could be too dangerous.
 

Rat Catcher

Rat Catcher
I have 2 DBX's, one in the bubble, the other in Colonia. For the 'essential' suicide trips back to the bubble, having a great explorer ship waiting to taxi me back is perfect. Before departing for the return trip the sister ship is transported from Colonia (for a very reasonable sum) in readiness for the next time...

Even scooping a near empty tank isn't so bad, cool enough to just 'sit' above the star and sip all that precious hydrogen means that scanning (potentially) the whole system while 'gassing up' is a viable choice...

Not that I'd bemoan a C5 slot though 🐀
 

Dagwit

Dagwit
Not a fan of the DBX.

I built one as a neutron star jump trainer but, as others have mentioned above, found fuel scooping in a DBX to be an exercise in tedium.

Also, it sounds like a choo-choo train. I can live with my AspX sounding like a hairyplane, but the Age of Steam is just too retro for my tastes.
 

askavir

askavir
TO be honest, if the DBX were to be given a size 5 slot, I would probably fit a larger guardian FSD booster instead of a larger scoop, making it a stellar grasshopper with insane jump range.

Even with the size 4 scoop, if you scoop a little at every jump while going around the star aligning for the next jump,taking advantage of the DBX excellent heat efficinecy, the DBX can already go a very long distance before it actually needs to stop to fiil up completely. And at that time, those extra seconds or so it takes to refuel don't really matter that much.

I think for its price the DBX is already an insanely good ship, the lack of big slots is pretty much it's only disadvantage, and buffing it would render the AspX redundant.
 

Kenneth McGrew

Kenneth McGrew
M00ka said:
And don't forget, you can fit Seismic Charge Launchers to the DBX :D
Click to expand...
yes you can! fantastic ship, it went on a diet and got an extra slot thx to someone around here.

LpsiH7Z.png
 

Soron Silin

Soron Silin
It would be nice to have a C5, but it isn't necessary.

Firstly, if I'm really exploring, then I'm only jumping small distances. With short jumps, a C4 fuel scoop has finished before the honk. It's getting out there in the first place that needs the jump range and drinks the fuel. And I do a lot of that because I tend to explore for a few days and then go back to the bubble.

That sort of jump is generally pretty much in a straight line, which means the next jump vector is hidden behind the star when you jump in. Getting around the star with no more than 65% heat generally fills the fuel tank on anything other than an M class star. With those I can find myself perpendicular to the exit vector while still scooping. In that case I throttle back for about two seconds; that is literally all it takes to fill the tank. I can then turn away from the star in the most efficient direction to reduce heat, ie directly away from it, and hit the hyperspace button as soon as the star turns yellow.

With only a C4 scoop, the DBX requires that you treat scooping as an activity. You can't just fly close to the sun on the way to the next vector. To my mind that is more an adorable foible than it is a fault.

I looked into the practicalities of making one of the C4 slots into a C5 a while ago comparing it to the AspX and delving into the displacement mass of both ships. From a volume point of view, I've said before that the DBX is too small already for the stuff it contains. But, from a mass perspective, it has plenty of budget to play with.
I said:
I've just run the numbers. Obviously the Asp Explorer has a more dispersed frame -- it's medium sized -- but it has almost the same hull mass as the Diamondback. It's 280 tonnes rather than 260 tonnes. But the total equipment mass budget for the Asp is 362 tonnes to the Diamondback's 220 tonnes.
Click to expand...
That was simplistically adding the cargo-mass equivalent for each slot. That fails for some non-cargo slots -- a power plant for example is often heavier than the slot it occupies. Even so the AspX exceeds its hull displacement mass and the DBX does not. If it was impossible for the DBX to have a C5 slot then the AspX is already overloaded.
 
Last edited:

Stealthie

Stealthie
askavir said:
TO be honest, if the DBX were to be given a size 5 slot, I would probably fit a larger guardian FSD booster instead of a larger scoop, making it a stellar grasshopper with insane jump range.
Click to expand...

That's a fair point.

Right now, there's a good balance (range/cost/equipment) between the DBX and the AspX.
Giving the DBX a C5 slot, and bunging a C5 FSD booster in it, would probably render the AspX almost completely redundant as an exploration ship.

I still think the DBX could turn out to be a popular ship for people to station on their Carriers, though, cos it's usable for scouting out jump destinations without taking up a large/medium pad.

I mentioned this 'cos I was thinking of scrapping my DBX explorer but I think I'll hang on to it for now.
 
Last edited:

Aashenfox

Aashenfox
Kamiyoda said:
Pretty sure the Dolphin has it beat in terms of potential Armor.

Also Cobra MkIV
Click to expand...
Yep it seems you're right, it's not a big difference to the dolphin though, about 300hp after engineering and the DBX has usable weapons. ;) The cobra mk iv isn't available in my game, so definitely doesn't count. Thanks for the reminders though. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom