Added new military slots to the following ships:- Did you say MILITARY?

[Snarfbuckle]

On the other hand, the Anaconda being an exception and getting one kind of defeats the purpose....

The Anaconda while not strictly military IS used by many navies, from the wiki:

Some smaller navies use the Anaconda in the light cruiser and frigate roles. The Anaconda can also be upgraded with a docking bay allowing small fighters up to Sidewinder size to be carried and launched.

- - - Updated - - -

I believe that the official reason why the Anaconda got one despite not being a military ship is because it is a big ship. Big ships are getting hammered in the next patch with massive nerfs to shield boosters, so they gave the Annie a military slot so that it doesn't just become a glass cannon.

Some smaller navies use the Anaconda in the light cruiser and frigate roles. The Anaconda can also be upgraded with a docking bay allowing small fighters up to Sidewinder size to be carried and launched.

From the Wiki.

It's a popular large ship in some navies that can carry a smaller ship so it kind of fits the bill.

- - - Updated - - -

Not much love for falcon delacey

They are not exactly known for their military ships.

I would not be against seeing the Asp mkII as a slightly more agile Asp with a pair of miltiary points.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Remember when the only weapon to really upset the Thargoids was a Military Laser?

- Added new military slots to the following ships:
- Eagle: 1x size 2
- Imperial Eagle: 1x size 2
- Viper Mk III: 1x size 3
- Viper Mk iV: 1x size 3
- Vulture: 1x size 5
- Federal Dropship: 2x size 4
- Federal Gunship 3x size 4
- Federal Assault ship: 2x size 4
- Imperial Cutter: 2x size 5
- Federal Corvette 2x size 5
- Anaconda: 1x5 size 5

Does anyone have any intel on this military hardware? whats the low down? Have I missed a big announcement?

Nutter

Yes, Hull Reinforcement Package, Shield Cell Bank and Module Protection can be fitted there. They're restricted slots, much like the Orca and Beluga's Cabin or Cargo Rack only slots.

 

[Snarfbuckle]

A bit of a shame that a fighter bay doesn't class as military hardware. Would have gone quite nicely into a new Class 5 slot on my Cutter

Well, the Keelback is a trader with a hangar to use a protective fighter so that explains that since it could not USE a fighter bay if they did that.

It's the SHIP that needs to be miltiary not the BAY itself

 

[thirstyfish]

My question... Is the vulture still plagued by power/heat issues?

you better believe it.

 

[Tikigod]

Outfitting (& combat in general) in Elite Dangerous is starting to feel like the taxation system in the UK.

You can have this, but then if you do this, we'll take that, unless you have this in which case you can be allowed twice that, but only if you don't do this, in which case we'll then remove half of that.... But... If... Only... Then of course it's halved... All clear?

And next year, it'll have a few more ifs and buts ontop again...

You mean outfitting decisions have pros and cons, rather than just options which make you super awesome with no draw backs?

That's called balancing.


On an aside to those commenting the Vulture has power/heat issues, it's a fighter ship. The same family as the Viper. If you're whacking on all the bells & whistles outside of combat on top of the top combat modules, then you're doing it wrong. What you're looking for is something more like a Cobra. Not a focused combat ship..... that or you're whacking on the engineer modifications without thinking about the negatives that come with them, which is easy to do the first couple of times but after that it's really on you if you keep screwing up your heat generation or power consumption from things like blind dirty drive application and so forth.

 

[cptdavep]

And to think I just bought myself a Gunship... bwa ha ha ha ha!

 

[thirstyfish]

I really dislike how multiroles seem to be an 9/10 at everything and specialists are slightly better at their intended role but then absolutly useless at everything else. Thats not balanced tradeoffs. Nerf anaconda! Dont buff it! Nerf all multiroles! Anything named after a snake? Nerf it!!!

The cutter is actually a military ship however, as its mentioned by name in an old federal/imperial navy rundown in newsletter 7 someone posted a week ago somewhere. It may be more of your classical cruiser design, built for endurance, crew comfort, and range primarily while still providing ample firepower, for ranging force projection at the borders of an empire to fight off pirates and brigands and remind people in the colonies whos in charge, and not optimized to be used as part of a dedicated battle fleet.

You are forgetting that the multirole ships also cost much more than their specialist counterparts. For example: The Python, T7, and FDL are all in a similar size/price/capability range to each other. My FDL cost 65 mil (or so) to outfit, a T7 would cost ~30 million to outfit, and my python cost 106 million to outfit. While the multi-role ships are more flexible than their specialist counterparts, they are also much more expensive. Boom. Tradeoff right there.

 

[Erika]

You are forgetting that the multirole ships also cost much more than their specialist counterparts.

Hull cost is essentially a non issue. A massive fuel scoop doesnt cost any less for a specialist, and the anaconda and corvette have identically sized core internals.
Further, actual cost in the end is not even that big an issue since due to the way insurance works, once you can afford a ship, you can afford to lose it unless you are doing something really inadvisable, repeatedly.

As for your specific example. Comparing pythons to t7s and bringing pad size into it is kind of silly, im not going to be the first person to suggest that their pad sizes should probably have just been swapped

 

[Agema]

I'm assuming the new military slots are additive to existing non-specific slots, as a) I haven't played the beta, b) the update log suggests so, and c) I'm a l-o-n-g way away from my fighter ships to check them out.

I'm a little concerned that the FDL has no military slots at all. If it's listed as a Heavy Fighter, it should be one. The argument that it is not used by navies or system authorities is not very strong; what manufacturer is going to forgo that potential advantage for the luxury ships their very rich clients want? Does no-one make bulletproof limos/hummers for civilians in the real world? It's not only that, but despite a volume about 3-4 times physically larger than a Vulture, it now effectively has less internal space. FDL 5,4,4,2,1; Vulture 5(m), 5, 4, 2, 1, 1. Applying ^2 as if to reflect cargo terms, that's FDL 70, Vulture 88. Via HRPs, the Vulture now also probably has more potential hit points - although the FDL is a still a better ship via for numerous reasons. In short, I guess you can argue it for game balance, but it's tenuous thematically and almost nonsensical in other ways.

Generally, however, I think the military slots are a good thing. Have to worry much more about those Federal ships now, which never really convinced as competent military equipment.

 

[thirstyfish]

Hull cost is essentially a non issue. A massive fuel scoop doesnt cost any less for a specialist, and the anaconda and corvette have identically sized core internals.
Further, actual cost in the end is not even that big an issue since due to the way insurance works, once you can afford a ship, you can afford to lose it unless you are doing something really inadvisable, repeatedly.

As for your specific example. Comparing pythons to t7s and bringing pad size into it is kind of silly, im not going to be the first person to suggest that their pad sizes should probably have just been swapped

I can compare a python to a t7. Here's how: The way I would outfit a t7 would allow it to carry 212 tons of cargo. The way I would outfit a trading python would allow it to carry 216 tons of cargo. Pad size is relatively minor IMO. I mentioned it because...I don't really know. The bigger thing is what these ships can do. The python can haul about the same amount of cargo as a t7, and can have combat abilities comparable to the FDL. That is how I am making my comparison. While credits are easy to come by to those using the mission exploits, I am not one of those. I don't use the mode switching mission exploits. Credits aren't as easy for me to come by. For example, my FDL has an insurance cost of appox 4.5 million. It would take me two really good runs in a high res to make that level of money. One run for me is staying in the high res until I have to go reload. On a really good run, I can make 2.2-2.3 million. However, my average run nets me 1.5-1.9 million. My Python would take even more to recoup my insurance.

 

[Tango-Zero-One]

Why won't the python get some of those love?
No fighter bay, no military hardware...

 

[knowles2]

Oh, so not losing a slot then for a ExplorerConda? Just an extra slot that can only be used for PvP?

We are going to need every slot we can spare for when the idiots starts a war with the aliens.

 

[IndigoWyrd]

I'm assuming the new military slots are additive to existing non-specific slots, as a) I haven't played the beta, b) the update log suggests so, and c) I'm a l-o-n-g way away from my fighter ships to check them out.

I'm a little concerned that the FDL has no military slots at all. If it's listed as a Heavy Fighter, it should be one. The argument that it is not used by navies or system authorities is not very strong; what manufacturer is going to forgo that potential advantage for the luxury ships their very rich clients want? Does no-one make bulletproof limos/hummers for civilians in the real world? It's not only that, but despite a volume about 3-4 times physically larger than a Vulture, it now effectively has less internal space. FDL 5,4,4,2,1; Vulture 5(m), 5, 4, 2, 1, 1. Applying ^2 as if to reflect cargo terms, that's FDL 70, Vulture 88. Via HRPs, the Vulture now also probably has more potential hit points - although the FDL is a still a better ship via for numerous reasons. In short, I guess you can argue it for game balance, but it's tenuous thematically and almost nonsensical in other ways.

Generally, however, I think the military slots are a good thing. Have to worry much more about those Federal ships now, which never really convinced as competent military equipment.

They are supposed to be in-addition to existing slots. It looks like they're finally taking the first baby-steps to creating actual, real ship Roles.

As for the Vulture vs. FdL:

Vulture:
"The Vulture space superiority fighter [...]"

FdL:
"The Fer-de-Lance is another classic design that has now been in production for two centuries. The ship became famous for its popularity with top business executives and wealthy bounty hunters, being a fast, well armed vessel, with luxurious accommodation and high quality components fitted as standard."

Despite being well-armed, the FdL is not built as a combat vessel. It is a luxury ship that just happens to be both fast and maneuverable as well as well-armed.

Or, to put it in to more comparable terms: The FdL is my Azimut Atlantis 43 when I mount a couple OSV-96's to the side rails and aft rails and sit on the bridge with an RPG-7.
The Vulture is a Mig-29 with cheap Chinese-made batteries.

 

[Jukelo]

Why won't the python get some of those love?
No fighter bay, no military hardware...

It's a multi-role ship.

 

[CMDR Bisdak Slacker]

Exactly. Dropping HRP for another module for a Python. Good thing there's Selene.

Outfitting (& combat in general) in Elite Dangerous is starting to feel like the taxation system in the UK.

You can have this, but then if you do this, we'll take that, unless you have this in which case you can be allowed twice that, but only if you don't do this, in which case we'll then remove half of that.... But... If... Only... Then of course it's halved... All clear?

And next year, it'll have a few more ifs and buts ontop again...

 

[oRZACK]

The whole point of military slots was to make combat ships better suited for combat than multipurpose ships. That's why the Python didn't get any.

On the other hand, the Anaconda being an exception and getting one kind of defeats the purpose....

Its just a nonsense why conda and not the python.... the python origin was a military vessel

- - - Updated - - -

It's a multi-role ship.

the Anaconda is multirole ship and always have the love of FDEV

 

[Mikey2305]

python is too blooming clever for its own good anyway...

 

[Erika]

I can compare a python to a t7. Here's how: The way I would outfit a t7 would allow it to carry 212 tons of cargo. The way I would outfit a trading python would allow it to carry 216 tons of cargo. Pad size is relatively minor IMO. I mentioned it because...I don't really know. The bigger thing is what these ships can do. The python can haul about the same amount of cargo as a t7, and can have combat abilities comparable to the FDL. That is how I am making my comparison. While credits are easy to come by to those using the mission exploits, I am not one of those. I don't use the mode switching mission exploits. Credits aren't as easy for me to come by. For example, my FDL has an insurance cost of appox 4.5 million. It would take me two really good runs in a high res to make that level of money. One run for me is staying in the high res until I have to go reload. On a really good run, I can make 2.2-2.3 million. However, my average run nets me 1.5-1.9 million. My Python would take even more to recoup my insurance.

Meanwhile one skimmer mission, with out even needing to stack them or anything, can net 2.5+mil, and both ships can do with the installation of an srv hanger, only the python would be better at it (able to get to and land easier).

If you look at the original elite, the purpose of multi-roles is to be jacks of all trade, not in the sense that you can choose to outfit them in different ways, but in the sense that they can do multiple things simultaniously with the same outfit ("combat trader" which is actually applicable here more than i was planning since im bringing up a mission that would involve violence)

If your goal is to fit a ship for a specific job then no multi-role should be able to match a specialist. You are yourself admitting they can be fit to function roughly equivalently. If you fit a multi-role to function in the spirit of a multi-role however it will function ever so slightly worse, but be almost as good at everything, and you can haul almost as much cargo, and take those juicy skimmer missions when you see them.

 

[Doc_Holiday]

Military slots are all well and good, but can I get a single extra size one for the DBX so I can fit shields, a scoop, a small cargo rack, srv hanger, ADS, and DSS?
Or maybe even two size ones so I can add a AFMU to the above?

 

[TomP]

All I can say is that Jameson Memorial is chock full of Commanders right now. Lots of ships with those military slots...