Analyzing the Asp Scout - Why does it have it's WEIRD stats.

[Snarfbuckle]

This ship is looked at as a "bad" ship and i wanted to see WHY and making a straight comparison with the AspX cannot be done so I added the Cobra MkIII since it is very close in mass with it and armament.

Asp Scout (Base Stats from ED Shipyard)
Size: Medium
Maneuvering: 50% better Yaw than the Cobra MkIII and 10% better Roll than the MkIII / Overall better maneuvering than the AspX
Mass: 20% lighter than the Cobra MkIII / 86% lighter than the AspX
Core Internals: Equivalent size with Cobra MkIII except S4 Power Distributor and Sensors - so +2 points
Optional Internals: Equivalent points to the Cobra MkIII (18) and 33% less than the AspX
Speed (Unladen / 0 pips): 10% slower than the AspX and 27% slower than the Cobra MkIII
Jump Range: 14% shorter than the AspX and 11% longer than the Cobra MkIII
Hardpoints: Similar to the Cobra MkIII
Armour: 33% more than the Cobra MkIII and 17% less than the AspX
Shields: 12% more than the Cobra MkIII and 45% less than the AspX
Hardness: Equal to the AspX and 33% more hardness than the Cobra MkIII
Heat: Fairly low heat generation compared to other ships

Speed / Boost / Maneuverability
As a "Scout" it can perform the role with a relatively useful jump range between 20 to 30 LY depending on engineering. Speed is more problematic as we basically need a DD5 to reach the non-engineered Cobra MkII 2pip speed but stays at a speed of 227 with 2 pips and a boost of 412 with not much else upgraded.

At the same time, it has 33% more armour while having 20% less mass AND 2 points higher total core internals. So even with a DD5 it's a scout that can gain a moderate jump range but cannot RUN when needed except for a possible high wake...

Maneuverability wise it's better on both Yaw and Roll than the MkIII and a medium sized ship so it's a nimble dogfighter for it's size class.

Armament
While equivalent of the Cobra MkIII i honestly think it should have kept the armaments of the AspX to give it an edge due to it's slow speed, making it a highly efficient medium sized but rather slow dogfighter or at least reduced the mediums to small so it had X6 small hardpoints making it a defensive anti-light ship dogfighter.

Defenses
Tanking gives us a bit of a problem too, it's shields are at best a secondary defense since it is slow and have a lot more armour so it becomes a slow armour brawler.

In order to use that more efficiently we need to add more mass with module and hull reinforcement instead of shields. Utilizing B rated modules strangles our speed and jump range so we sit at 220 speed and 400 boost while reaching 2750 effective hitpoints with a reinforced powerplant and a pair of module boosters. Our jump range becomes a moderate 22LY.

And that is with everything top-notch engineered...

http://www.edshipyard.com/#/L=A0j0,...Gq3AwPcCoPcGoPc12GGp50sPc4ypDAqpDEqpDIqpD20m0

Thoughts
So, is this a SCOUT? or a medium sized armour tanked dogfighter? Well, it's the second LEAST armoured medium ship before we reach the light league of ships but at the same time the 9th LIGHTEST ship of all ships. But even with all that it's a ship that is a bit hard to wedge into a useful niche due to the rather extensive engineering required to make it...well...better than the other choices we could have.

Conclusion
It's not a BAD ship but being a gutted AspX i still think it's size should have something MORE than merely maneuverability and armour - instead of making it a medium sized, slow, armour tanked Cobra MkIII with poor jump range.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

It's a Scout. Not a dogfighter and not a fighter.

The only oddball thing about the Asp Scout is that it's slower than the bigger AspX, which is... awkward.

So if you find yourself in prolonged Combat in an AspS, you're basically doing something wrong (unless you're running Trials on the Vessel and its configuration).

(that's essentially what it's made for - Short- to Medium-Range Exploration and Planetary Scouting)

 

[Snarfbuckle]

It's a Scout. Not a dogfighter and not a fighter.

The only oddball thing about the Asp Scout is that it's slower than the bigger AspX, which is... awkward.

So if you find yourself in prolonged Combat in an AspS, you're basically doing something wrong (unless you're running Trials on the Vessel and its configuration).

(that's essentially what it's made for - Short- to Medium-Range Exploration and Planetary Scouting)

Except it's not a good scout. The Cobra MkIII would make a BETTER scout unless i was desperate for more armour. It's faster, greater range, same amount of total optional internals AND can use small landing pads.
The slower speed and jump range can be credited to the fact that it's FSD and Thruster is 1 size smaller (S4 instead of S5) than the AspX but at the same time it's lighter than the Cobra MkIII which has the same size FSD/Thruster.

The oddball thing is not that it's slower than the AspX but that it's slower than the Cobra MkIII which is 27 tonnes heavier stock and has the same sized thrusters.

But if I wanted a short to medium range exploration and planetary scout i would rather use the Cobra MkIV since it's far cheaper and can reach 30Ly in range and is just as "fast" and have enough internals for any kind of exploration I would like.

 

[Stealthie]

I tend to think it's futile to try and make logical sense of the ship stat's in ED.

For the most part, FDev have done a fairly decent job of "balancing" the ships but it's been achieved using hidden buffs & nerfs rather than as a result of consistent, plausible, ship design.

People's lack of interest in the AspS is a bit unwarranted IMO. It is, basically, pretty similar to the Cobra 3 and the Viper 4 and those ships are pretty well-regarded.
I guess the problem is that most people have already got a Cobra 3 or a Viper 4 so there's little reason to use an AspS as well.

Personally, I use my AspS as a materials scavenger.
Decent jump-range, agility and internal space means it's useful for scooping mat's and goodies from orbit and deploying an SRV on the surface.
And, if you drop into a USS where people aren't happy to see you, it's armor means it's better than a DBX.

 

[Snarfbuckle]

I tend to think it's futile to try and make logical sense of the ship stat's in ED.

For the most part, FDev have done a fairly decent job of "balancing" the ships but it's been achieved using hidden buffs & nerfs rather than as a result of consistent, plausible, ship design.

People's lack of interest in the AspS is a bit unwarranted IMO. It is, basically, pretty similar to the Cobra 3 and the Viper 4 and those ships are pretty well-regarded.
I guess the problem is that most people have already got a Cobra 3 or a Viper 4 so there's little reason to use an AspS as well.

Personally, I use my AspS as a materials scavenger.
Decent jump-range, agility and internal space means it's useful for scooping mat's and goodies from orbit and deploying an SRV on the surface.
And, if you drop into a USS where people aren't happy to see you, it's armor means it's better than a DBX.

I think one issue is also that it's a more armoured but slower Cobra MkIII while medium sized. And it costs 4 million compared to the 350K for the MkIII.

One would think that something that is a stripped down AspX and is between the 4 million to the AspX 5.5 million should at least have a LITTLE better stats than the MkIII.

If armour was the bees knees it would be one thing but it's a very subpar ship that is very overpriced for what you can get at under 1 million.

It basically needs:

- Keep the AspX hardpoints
- Place it between the AspX and Cobra MkIII speed

 

[M. Grey]

Add Heat to the list.
The Asp Scout has a quite low base heat signature. It can be easily fitted/modded to have a < 20% heat output.
This and the tough hull make her a great smuggler.

 

[Snarfbuckle]

Add Heat to the list.
The Asp Scout has a quite low base heat signature. It can be easily fitted/modded to have a < 20% heat output.
This and the tough hull make her a great smuggler.

Ah, a very good point. Missed that part.

It still does not really exonerate the rather poor stats and high pricetag.

 

[CMDR Ofan]

I love the AspS it fits in well with progression of a new character being a ship that allows more weapons, better cargo and decent jump range and versatility at a good price.

A lot of the hate come from a perspective of an established player who already has a lot of ships saying "why would I add it to my fleet" or people who game vast amounts of money very quickly and can afford bigger and better and say "why would I buy it when I can afford X".

I've had great fun with it on two of my alt accounts without ever stopping to worry about its stats or why should I, it has been a convenient purchase that was useful to me.

 

[Snarfbuckle]

I love the AspS it fits in well with progression of a new character being a ship that allows more weapons, better cargo and decent jump range and versatility at a good price.

A lot of the hate come from a perspective of an established player who already has a lot of ships saying "why would I add it to my fleet" or people who game vast amounts of money very quickly and can afford bigger and better and say "why would I buy it when I can afford X".

I've had great fun with it on two of my alt accounts without ever stopping to worry about its stats or why should I, it has been a convenient purchase that was useful to me.

It might be a "fun" ship but it's still an oddball with far more negative traits than positive and the Keelback is a better option most of the time.

 

[Rock Hermit]

Someone will correct me if I am wrong but the Cobra MkIII is a small sized ship (admittedly the biggest small sized ship) and the AspS a medium sized ship, thus the differences?

I have the same issue with the Imperial Clipper vs Python - the Clipper should be a 'medium' sized ship but its wing span makes it a 'large ship'.

 

[Snarfbuckle]

Someone will correct me if I am wrong but the Cobra MkIII is a small sized ship (admittedly the biggest small sized ship) and the AspS a medium sized ship, thus the differences?

I have the same issue with the Imperial Clipper vs Python - the Clipper should be a 'medium' sized ship but its wing span makes it a 'large ship'.

Yes. the Asp ships are medium sized and the Cobra is a small sized ship.

 

[avow555]

The Asp Scout is a very oddball ship spec/stats wise.
I have never found a decent use for it.

 

[racer1]

I tried the asp scout. For me a cobra mk3 was better in almost every way.

The agility seemed a bit pointless when the drift made it feel like I was FA-off all the time lol.

It is now parked up in shinrarta storing modules

It's a shame it seemed nearly all the "ships" release ships had very little going for them.

 

[Stealthie]

I think one issue is also that it's a more armoured but slower Cobra MkIII while medium sized. And it costs 4 million compared to the 350K for the MkIII.

Sorry, yeah.

I wasn't very clear but that was my point; anybody who wants a ship which can (in practical terms) do all the stuff an AspS is good at will probably already have bought a Cobra 3 or a Viper 4 because they are both much cheaper.
And then, when you have got the Cr5m required for an AspS, most people will probably just gather the extra Cr1m and jump straight into an AspX.

It's probably mostly shipaholics who buy an AspS and then they wonder what it's actually good for.

IIRC, mine has a jump range of something like 40Ly, which is comparable to my up-armored DBX, but it's much tougher in combat.
Again, the DBX is much cheaper (IIRC) but, if credits aren't an issue, it makes for a better "armored scout" than the DBX.

 

[CMDR Ofan]

It might be a "fun" ship but it's still an oddball with far more negative traits than positive and the Keelback is a better option most of the time.

For a new player making their way up the ship tree, they don't care about min-maxed stats they don't care about which is most agile because they aren't great pilots, the AspS functions just as well at its role as the alt choices available at that tier.

Again you are looking at it with the eyes of a seasoned player who has flown or can buy any ship, that is not the view, or purpose of the ASp S if you look at any of those equivalent ships with that view they won't make sense as none of them is the best all rounder.

To a new player, working their way up it's great and that is its purpose and all it even needs to be.

On my last play through I wanted a ship with more weapons than its alternative, tougher and that can be engineered more easily for range and flexibility to me it was the ASp S with the money and modules I already had. It isn't supposed to be peak at anything it's a low tier ship, it's supposed to be useful when you need it and a buying option.

 

[Vardaugas]

I guess it could make a decent salvage ship chasing USSes in SC and PoIs on planets. You can fit the full exploration suite and get 32t of cargo if you stick with a 4a fuel scoop. Got to test how well it does picking up things in space with the cargo scoop only.

 

[Maro-Val]

Asp scout, cobra 4, keelback, viper 4. Soul-less variants to fill the ships update back then. I would keep only the viper 4 maybe.

 

[Stealthie]

Asp scout, cobra 4, keelback, viper 4. Soul-less variants to fill the ships update back then.

Keelback, soulless?

 

[Snarfbuckle]

Asp scout, cobra 4, keelback, viper 4. Soul-less variants to fill the ships update back then. I would keep only the viper 4 maybe.

The MkIV fills a niche at least since it's the cheapest multirole with the largest amount of optional internals under 1 million.

EDIT: And the Keelback is the smallest ship that holds a fighter if I remember correctly...but only has 1 crew...

 

[Wyaston Hypatia]

I think the Asp Scout is quite a good ship as part of a progression however it is I feel just a bit too expensive. It should cost around 2-2.5MCr, as by the time you can afford it, you soon can afford better ships. It also loses out a bit against the DBX now that's been improved.