Another day in the life of an engineered Corvette's owner

[KR4K40]

So. The Federal Corvette. Pretty badass ship right? It's big, bad, menacing looking, packs a punch and dances around its enemies in a beautiful ballet of lead, fire and death. Sounds good right?

Well, life aboard the Federal not-quite-a-flagship aren't that bright, and there is one very simple reason for it. Before I make a case, let me show you some examples:

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler

These are a few of many jumps for a 120LY journey. And trust me, in that ship it is indeed a journey. Now you're gonna ask: but what about engineering that FSD?

Spoiler

Ruh-roh. This corvette has been engineered already.

Spoiler

And not just a little. This is a perfect +50% increase with a +4% fuel per jump on top of it. And guess what? It's using lightweight alloys.

Point is, the Corvette is painful to use. It has the absolute worst jump range in the game, bar NONE. In the same configuration, a T9 has comparable range per jump and higher total range thanks to its larger fuel tank. Even an Eagle has better per jump range and similar total range in a similar configuration. Even after Engineering, it has a just usable jump range.

Now, I know what you're going to say: why don't you get it delivered where you wanna go? Two reasons:
- It's still faster to use it to jump around
- It costs a small fortune, and in this age of bugged missions and all around poor earnings, I am not going to spend several millions moving that ship 60LY

But enough complaining, time for actual arguments!

The Federal Corvette is Core Dynamics' top-of-the-line ship, it's to them what the Anaconda is to Faulcon DeLacy, what the Imperial Cutter is to Gutamaya. Core Dynamics specializes in combat ships with a good mix of combat characteristics while maintaining a decent jump range of about 15LY full A-grade combat fit. From a lore perspective, their top of the line ship should follow the same parameters or even better.

The Federal Corvette is a ~200M ship that costs nearly a billion to outfit properly, and is locked on top of a very tall rank ladder. From a game balance perspective, it should not have the single worst jump range in the game, worse than the cheaper-by-orders-of-magnitude Eagle or a Viper.

From a lore perspective it doesn't make sense for a navy to field several Corvettes when you could buy, outfit and maintain several hundred Vipers for cheaper, a fleet that could respond even faster than a fleet of Corvettes.

Buff the Cutter if you want it to still have that edge over the Corvette, I don't care. But please FD, I beg of you, for both QoL, lore and balance's sake, buff that pitiful jump range. Slashing that hull mass by 200 or 300 tons would make it just right. All of a sudden boom, 15LY range.

Mods please move this to suggestions if you find it appropriate

 

[Banzz]

... the single worst jump range ...

With that FSD class for 900T hull, you are basically just like a fit T9 with more weapons, more armour, more shields and more cargo to move around so from what i remember piloting my own, that still looks like a pretty jump range

 

[JetsonRING]

IMO the Python-like jump range of the Core Dynamics Corvette is FDs way of encouraging players NOT to form squadrons of long-range capable, god-like armed level 5 Corvettes roaming around and creating mayhem/grief for other players, like that YouTube video of when you are a level 36 and go back through level one for the fun of it. Would YOU want a wing of level 5 modified, Corvette flying pirates/gankers to have 50+ LY jump ranges? Not me.

 

[UnhappyDev]

From a game balance perspective, it should not have the single worst jump range in the game, worse than the cheaper-by-orders-of-magnitude Eagle or a Viper.[/B]

It's fine as it is. If you don't want to jump, take an Asp to your destination and eat the transfer fee. If you have a corvette then money shouldn't be a problem

If the vette's jump range got a buff it would tread on the toes of the conda. IMO that would be wrong, it's a dedicated combat ship

 

[Jon flint]

It's not perfect but a fully engineered battle vette (with a full loadouts of hull armour and hull reinforcements) as well as a fighter bay will still do 18-19ly, it's never going to be an exploration ship but adequate for the bubble.

If it were to get a buff to range, id say put it on par with an FDL, with max engineered range of about 26-28ly.

 

[KR4K40]

With that FSD class for 900T hull, you are basically just like a fit T9 with more weapons, more armour, more shields and more cargo to move around so from what i remember piloting my own, that still looks like a pretty jump range

You are wrong. The range I show in my pic is after the best possible roll on a top tier engineering upgrade. It's liveable but it shouldn't need that to make it so. Rank 3 or 4 should be enough, like it is the case with most ships in the game today. The T9 is another example of a ship needing the exact same treatment as I proposed, anyway.

It's fine as it is. If you don't want to jump, take an Asp to your destination and eat the transfer fee. If you have a corvette then money shouldn't be a problem

If the vette's jump range got a buff it would tread on the toes of the conda. IMO that would be wrong, it's a dedicated combat ship

So are all other Core Dynamics ships like the Vulture, Eagle, FDS, FGS, FAS, the Delacy Viper III (arguably IV), the Lakon DBS. Only the Corvette and the FDL get that treatment. I specified why I wouldn't deliver the ship: when you have to pay 3 million with no reliable way of making it back quickly WITH THAT SAME SHIP there is no incentive in doing so. In fact, there is every incentive in not doing so.

Also, wrong on the conda. It would be 400t hull mass and smaller internals vs higher hull mass and bigger internals. Vette would still have the inferior jump range of the three but not by an absolutely crippling margin

And        off with the Asp. That ship and the Python are borderline OP by sheer virtue of their versatility. Same with the Cobra III

IMO the Python-like jump range of the Core Dynamics Corvette is FDs way of encouraging players NOT to form squadrons of long-range capable, god-like armed level 5 Corvettes roaming around and creating mayhem/grief for other players, like that YouTube video of when you are a level 36 and go back through level one for the fun of it. Would YOU want a wing of level 5 modified, Corvette flying pirates/gankers to have 50+ LY jump ranges? Not me.

Because squadrons of long-range capable, god-like armed Cutters aren't a thing then? (pro-tip they are, in fact the Cutter is THE griefing ship.) Can you strawman any harder? I specified that the jump range should just get in line with other Core Dynamics designs, AKA around 15LY. That would mean a 20 to 23LY range with grade 5 engineering. 50LY would be impossible even with grade 3 jumponium

Not an argument.

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It's not perfect but a fully engineered battle vette (with a full loadouts of hull armour and hull reinforcements) as well as a fighter bay will still do 18-19ly, it's never going to be an exploration ship but adequate for the bubble.

If it were to get a buff to range, id say put it on par with an FDL, with max engineered range of about 26-28ly.

How the hell do you get 19LY on your corvette? Mine with SCBs, an additional fuel tank, fighter bay, interdictor, ADS, cargo rack and C4 SRV bay doesn't even get 18LY, and that's with lightweight alloys

 

[Frijaz]

What bothers me is that it is supposedly a military patrol ship, you can bet your bunghole the federation would shove a proper FSD on a ship with this much tactical value.

Also, we've already lost the 2 fighters for the endgame rank grind ships, adding 40 tons to give it a 7A FSD is perfectly reasonable and isn't going to cause all your precious Asps any great deal of terror, believe me.

 

[UnhappyDev]

And        off with the Asp. That ship and the Python are borderline OP by sheer virtue of their versatility. Same with the Cobra III

No need to be rude. It's possible for people to have different opinions to yourself you know. No need to spit the dummy when that happens

 

[satrycus]

Here's a somewhat unoriginal solution: military grade FSDs.

Scale like a prismatic shield; same mass and stats as a size higher.

Progressive sizes are rank locked, only available from military settlements/stations, and can only be fitted to certain ships.

They would use a unique fuel, again only available from select settlements and stations, so no travelling to SagA* with one.

 

[Apos]

White dwarfs.

 

[Han_Zen]

Here's a somewhat unoriginal solution: military grade FSDs.

Scale like a prismatic shield; same mass and stats as a size higher.

Progressive sizes are rank locked, only available from military settlements/stations, and can only be fitted to certain ships.

They would use a unique fuel, again only available from select settlements and stations, so no travelling to SagA* with one.

We are most likely getting military grade FDS with the Meta-Drive concept. A slight problem is that military drives has traditionally only been available for lower class drives (up to class 3).

 

[KR4K40]

No need to be rude. It's possible for people to have different opinions to yourself you know. No need to spit the dummy when that happens

I am rude because I am mad, don't take it personally. I apologize for that, I am simply tired of same nonconstructive answers, completely impermeable to the arguments I lay down, missing the point entirely or just going "use another ship LOL". Having to use another ship is just a testimony to how bad the corvette is in that regard. It's like having a gun in a FPS game is so bad that nobody uses it.

It's also not an opinion that the Python/Asp/Cobra III are borderline OP.

White dwarfs.

My Corvette gets 25LY after white dwarf boost. That's huge for a single jump I have to replot an entire new destination for!
/sarcasm

Here's a somewhat unoriginal solution: military grade FSDs.

Scale like a prismatic shield; same mass and stats as a size higher.

Progressive sizes are rank locked, only available from military settlements/stations, and can only be fitted to certain ships.

They would use a unique fuel, again only available from select settlements and stations, so no travelling to SagA* with one.

I actually posted something along those lines a while back: rank locked modules.

The jump range would have to be absolutely stellar with those restrictions though. Either that or minor bonusses only with minor drawbacks (increased power draw and fuel consumption for example)

 

[Siranui]

Ships should have negative points instead of positive ones (and cost is not really any relevance, considering how easy money is to make). the corvette is a complete monster in nearly every way. How about it be bad at just ONE performance aspect.

Oh, apparently that's against lore and unbalanced.

 

[Han_Zen]

Ships should have negative points instead of positive ones (and cost is not really any relevance, considering how easy money is to make). the corvette is a complete monster in nearly every way. How about it be bad at just ONE performance aspect.

Oh, apparently that's against lore and unbalanced.

In ED, we are free to choose the ship we want. Ships that have negative points that significantly outweigh their positive points will not be used by most commanders. Some still choose to use them for roll play reasons and these players get annoyed. It's likely that Cutters and Anacondas are more popular than Corvettes (based on traffic report numbers), because of the poor jump range. Is FD sees in their stats that numbers are below expected, they may give it a boost.

 

[satrycus]

We are most likely getting military grade FDS with the Meta-Drive concept. A slight problem is that military drives has traditionally only been available for lower class drives (up to class 3).

I don't see it as a problem considering that what you're referring to were military hyperspace drives, not FSDs

Off topic:
I'm wondering if the meta-drive concept is actually going to be the 'season 3' pass giving us access to pockets of witchspace, the Magellanic clouds or maybe even permit locked regions of 'exotic' space.

 

[OCD]

So. The Federal Corvette. Pretty badass ship right? It's big, bad, menacing looking, packs a punch and dances around its enemies in a beautiful ballet of lead, fire and death. Sounds good right?

Well, life aboard the Federal not-quite-a-flagship aren't that bright, and there is one very simple reason for it. Before I make a case, let me show you some examples:

Spoiler

View attachment 113432

Spoiler

View attachment 113433

Spoiler

View attachment 113434

Spoiler

View attachment 113435

These are a few of many jumps for a 120LY journey. And trust me, in that ship it is indeed a journey. Now you're gonna ask: but what about engineering that FSD?

Spoiler

View attachment 113436

Ruh-roh. This corvette has been engineered already.

Spoiler

View attachment 113437

And not just a little. This is a perfect +50% increase with a +4% fuel per jump on top of it. And guess what? It's using lightweight alloys.

Point is, the Corvette is painful to use. It has the absolute worst jump range in the game, bar NONE. In the same configuration, a T9 has comparable range per jump and higher total range thanks to its larger fuel tank. Even an Eagle has better per jump range and similar total range in a similar configuration. Even after Engineering, it has a just usable jump range.

Now, I know what you're going to say: why don't you get it delivered where you wanna go? Two reasons:
- It's still faster to use it to jump around
- It costs a small fortune, and in this age of bugged missions and all around poor earnings, I am not going to spend several millions moving that ship 60LY

But enough complaining, time for actual arguments!

The Federal Corvette is Core Dynamics' top-of-the-line ship, it's to them what the Anaconda is to Faulcon DeLacy, what the Imperial Cutter is to Gutamaya. Core Dynamics specializes in combat ships with a good mix of combat characteristics while maintaining a decent jump range of about 15LY full A-grade combat fit. From a lore perspective, their top of the line ship should follow the same parameters or even better.

The Federal Corvette is a ~200M ship that costs nearly a billion to outfit properly, and is locked on top of a very tall rank ladder. From a game balance perspective, it should not have the single worst jump range in the game, worse than the cheaper-by-orders-of-magnitude Eagle or a Viper.

From a lore perspective it doesn't make sense for a navy to field several Corvettes when you could buy, outfit and maintain several hundred Vipers for cheaper, a fleet that could respond even faster than a fleet of Corvettes.

Buff the Cutter if you want it to still have that edge over the Corvette, I don't care. But please FD, I beg of you, for both QoL, lore and balance's sake, buff that pitiful jump range. Slashing that hull mass by 200 or 300 tons would make it just right. All of a sudden boom, 15LY range.

Mods please move this to suggestions if you find it appropriate

as a fellow founding member of the Iron Slipper (corvette) club I endorse this message
it takes me ages to get to a good CG
A 9 sized FSD please and we could even trade the free space inside it

 

[satrycus]

I actually posted something along those lines a while back: rank locked modules.

The jump range would have to be absolutely stellar with those restrictions though. Either that or minor bonusses only with minor drawbacks (increased power draw and fuel consumption for example)

I'd hazard a guess and say with such a drive a combat Fed Corvette would get ~22LY unmodded, maybe a bit more.

 

[Jon flint]

How the hell do you get 19LY on your corvette? Mine with SCBs, an additional fuel tank, fighter bay, interdictor, ADS, cargo rack and C4 SRV bay doesn't even get 18LY, and that's with lightweight alloys

Probably dependant on loadout here's mine (with a good but not perfect lvl5 fsd mod)...

Spoiler

Hardpoints: (all gimballed)
4A Multicannon (overcharged/corrosive)
4A Multicannon (overcharged/thermal shock)
3C Multicannon (overcharged/thermal shock)
2D Beam laser (lightweight mount/thermal shock)
2D Beam laser (lightweight mount/thermal shock)
1E Beam laser (lightweight mount/thermal vent)
1E Beam laser (lightweight mount/thermal vent)

Utility Mounts:
6x0A Shield boosters (lvl3 Heavy duty)
2x0I Point defence

Core Internal:
1A Mirrored surface composites (lvl5 heavy duty)
8A Powerplant (lvl1 overcharged)
7A Thrusters (lvl5 dirty drive)
6A FSD (lvl5 increased range- optimised mass +50%/fuel per jump +1.2%)
5D Life support
8A Power distributor (lvl1 charge enhanced)
8D Sensors
5C Fuel tank

Optional Internal:
7A Prismatic shield generator (lvl5 reinforced)
7A Fuel scoop
7E Cargo rack
5D Hull reinforcement package (lvl1 heavy duty)
5D Hull reinforcement package (lvl1 heavy duty)
5D Fighter hanger
4D Hull reinforcement package (lvl1 heavy duty)
4D Hull reinforcement package (lvl1 heavy duty)
1C Advanced discovery scanner
1I Planetary approach suite

All that gave me a fully fuelled range of 18.91Ly and an absolute max of 19.17Ly.

 

[KR4K40]

Probably dependant on loadout here's mine (with a good but not perfect lvl5 fsd mod)...

Spoiler

Hardpoints: (all gimballed)
4A Multicannon (overcharged/corrosive)
4A Multicannon (overcharged/thermal shock)
3C Multicannon (overcharged/thermal shock)
2D Beam laser (lightweight mount/thermal shock)
2D Beam laser (lightweight mount/thermal shock)
1E Beam laser (lightweight mount/thermal vent)
1E Beam laser (lightweight mount/thermal vent)

Utility Mounts:
6x0A Shield boosters (lvl3 Heavy duty)
2x0I Point defence

Core Internal:
1A Mirrored surface composites (lvl5 heavy duty)
8A Powerplant (lvl1 overcharged)
7A Thrusters (lvl5 dirty drive)
6A FSD (lvl5 increased range- optimised mass +50%/fuel per jump +1.2%)
5D Life support
8A Power distributor (lvl1 charge enhanced)
8D Sensors
5C Fuel tank

Optional Internal:
7A Prismatic shield generator (lvl5 reinforced)
7A Fuel scoop
7E Cargo rack
5D Hull reinforcement package (lvl1 heavy duty)
5D Hull reinforcement package (lvl1 heavy duty)
5D Fighter hanger
4D Hull reinforcement package (lvl1 heavy duty)
4D Hull reinforcement package (lvl1 heavy duty)
1C Advanced discovery scanner
1I Planetary approach suite

All that gave me a fully fuelled range of 18.91Ly and an absolute max of 19.17Ly.

I see you don't use shield cell banks, that must be it. Those are heavy.

Ships should have negative points instead of positive ones (and cost is not really any relevance, considering how easy money is to make). the corvette is a complete monster in nearly every way. How about it be bad at just ONE performance aspect.

Oh, apparently that's against lore and unbalanced.

The Cutter IS a complete monster. The Conda is not but it is not rank locked and as such does not require the same amount of work and dedication to obtain. Giving the rank locked ships an edge is only fair. The cutter could use better handling but it doesn't really need it because it's a FAOFF monster. It's the best trader, the tankiest ship in the game, one of the fastest ships in the game, can actually jump around and still maintains decent firepower because MULTICANNONS. The only advantages the vette has are its agility and raw DPS, both of which are kind of underwhelming, and for that it gets an abysmal jump range.

Let's also consider how these ships react to engineering: the corvette gets even more firepower but the Cutter closes in even more, while the cutter's speed goes through the roof, making leaving the corvette in the dust and enabling the cutter to use torpedoes and mines with impunity. Likewise, thanks to its low hull mass, the anaconda reacts noticeably better to dirty drives than the Corvette, both in agility and speed.

That hull mass with those core internals are crippling.

 

[Siranui]

In ED, we are free to choose the ship we want. Ships that have negative points that significantly outweigh their positive points will not be used by most commanders. Some still choose to use them for roll play reasons and these players get annoyed. It's likely that Cutters and Anacondas are more popular than Corvettes (based on traffic report numbers), because of the poor jump range. Is FD sees in their stats that numbers are below expected, they may give it a boost.

Exactly: We are free to choose. Ships are options, rather than a progression path. Once you have a Corvette, it should not trump everything else owned, for every reason.
If one ship does everything better than everything else, then honestly: What's the point of that choice in ships any more, except for 'roleplay reasons'? I'm pretty sure FD didn't do all that work on all of those ships only for one of them to be 'better' and the final destination of everyone who doesn't actively want to gimp themselves.

I don't think that traffic reports are any basis for judging the value of a Vette. It is an absolute statistical nonsense. Long range utility ships will inherently show up on such reports to a greater degree than combat ships by a level of magnitude. Reason being that long range ships are used for... doing a lot of travelling in. They will visit many more locations in the course of a few hours play than a combat ship will.

tldr: The Vette is already awesome. You can't have everything.