Ships Any last tweaks to this Exploration/Passenger ship?

Piratescribe

Piratescribe
What else can I do to improve my Dolphin as an exploration and passenger ship? I feel like, as far as I know what can be done, I've done it!
https://s.orbis.zone/dk_w
I don't mind taking on a little bit of mass if there's another Utility Mod that would be super useful!
I know I need to get a Guardian FSD booster... But I haven't unlocked Guardian stuff yet, so aside from that? (It's a goal.)
(I know getting rid of the passenger cabin would save mass, but I'm pretty married to this being a ship I take passengers out to far reaches.)
I was thinking MAYBE lower the Power Plant to D-rated? But that would only save me a tiny amount of mass while giving me barely 2% surplus power as buffer. Not really worth it, I think?
Thanks for any suggestions!
 
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badibeat

badibeat
Definitely unlock the Guardian Frame Shift Drive Booster. Something you could perfectly do with your Dolphin build. Just add a Point Defence Turret on one of the two top utility mounts to help against the Sentinel's missiles.

I'd recommend to add two 0E Shield Boosters, Resistance Augmented with Super Capacitor experimental. You can start with grade 1 and engineer further later. This gives some boost to absolute shields and resistances, for just 1 ton and 0.5MW more in total. Also engineer the Shield generator to Enhanced Low Power with Low Draw Experimental or to Reinforced Low Draw. The former reduces mass, power draw and distributor draw and helps staying cooler and can even allow the use of a smaller Power Plant and Distributor. The latter gives better absolute shields and resists.

Since some passengers don't like to be scanned and running cool is a good countermeasure I'd also suggest using Low Emissions instead of Armoured for the Power Plant. This is also helpful for fuel scooping. Your 4A PP can easily supply what is required, including for a 4H Guardian Frame Shift Drive Booster and a G5 Engineered 3D Shield Generator if you turn off AFMU, Limpet controllers etc. until required. If the Shield Generator is Enhanced Low Power then a G5 Low Emissions PP can also supply a G5 engineered Dirty or Clean Drive.
The only reason to make a Power Plant smaller is to lower mass and to get the benefits from that. Everything else is the same or better with a larger Power Plant of the same quality, including heat production.

The Clean Drive Engineering fits perfectly with the cool zippy Dolphin Theme, you might either add Drag Drives or Drive Distributors experimental.
You would loose very little speed when going from 5D to 4D Thrusters, making the ship 4t lighter and consuming 0.9MW less before engineering (and producing less heat).
Going from 5D to 4A Thrusters on the other hand would increase speed somewhat more at 2t more mass and 0.33mW more power draw.

Engineer the Lightweight Alloy Bulkheads for no additional mass to Heavy Duty with Deep Plating. Almost everybody does, for a reason.

Spend some time to set up the power priorities if you play in open or encounter hostiles. There are many good posts helping with that.

A lightweight pulse laser can be used to activate some things that need weapons. A mining laser weighs 2t but allows to collect materials from meteorites asteroids for synthesis. You might also use one or two lightweight plasma slug rail guns which in this combination produce significantly less heat, draw less power and distro, at down to just 0.2t mass for one. They also allow to dump fuel to reduce weight for longer jumps (but with them you are more likely to be considered a threat). There are also Plasma Slug Plasma Accelerators with similar benefits.

Enjoy your Dolphin!
 
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Sucette

S
badibeat said:
The Clean Drive Engineering fits perfectly with the cool zippy Dolphin Theme,
Click to expand...
Clean drives use more mw than dirty, and since your resting heat depend of your consumed mw, you're colder with dirty than with clean, defeating the purpose of clean.
The reduced heat generation of clean when in use only make up for that initial difference, while making you slower.

There's absolutely not a single good reason to ever use clean drives.
 

badibeat

badibeat
Sucette said:
Clean drives use more mw than dirty, and since your resting heat depend of your consumed mw, you're colder with dirty than with clean, defeating the purpose of clean.
The reduced heat generation of clean when in use only make up for that initial difference, while making you slower.

There's absolutely not a single good reason to ever use clean drives.
Click to expand...
There's plenty of reason:
The difference in heat produced though power draw between Dirty Drive and Clean Drive is insignificant (0.15MW at G5 * 0.14 Efficiency of a A4 G5 Low Emissions Power Plant = 0.021MW).
However, the thermal Load while boosting gets reduced from 100% + 80% to 100% - 60%, a ratio of 1/ 4.5 or 22%). Staying cool while boosting is useful in many situations.
However, the thermal Load while boosting gets reduced from 100% + 60% to 100% - 60%, a ratio of 1/ 4 or 25%). Staying cool while boosting is useful in many situations.
Edited because i got an 8 for a 6.
 
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Sucette

S
If you want to make numbers comparison, dont' start with full numbers to speak in relatives numbers after. ( tip : % are for idiots)
0,021 heat units (not mw) is 14% of 0, 15.
And FYI, those 0,021 heat units (something you got with a g5 low emission pp, not biased at all) are injected per second in your ship. Matter in the end.
 

Greasetrap42

Greasetrap42
You could engineer some more of the modules.
  • Armor - Heavyduty, Deep Plating
  • Power Distributer - Engine Focused, Stripped (you got no weapons)
  • Shield Generator - Enhanced Low Power, Stripped
  • Life Support - Lightweight
  • Sensors - Lightweight
  • Heatsink Launcher - Lightweight (very minimal benifit, but if you got the mats)

Especially the Armor and Power Distributor.

Engineering your Power Plant to a higher Armored level will reduce heat. This makes fuel scooping easier and faster, getting in closer to stars without overheating.

Because you don't have weapons you could consider downgrading your power plant to 3A to reduce weight, then engineer it Armored. You will need to engineer this Armored for increased power. Add whatever special effect (monstered if you are short of power). This would squeak a couple more LY into your jump distance. This could be a hassle for you just to gain a couple LY. (Edit: Coriolus says about 0.5LY. Whoopee.)

Edit:
I don't see the value of the Repair Limpets. Not with DSSA fleet carriers scattered around galaxy where you can do repairs. Unless you are using neutron boosts all the time. There is also a trail of stations between the Bubble and Colonia.
https://edastro.com/galmap/?layer=regions&pins=DSSAcarriers
https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/Colonia_Connection_Highway

Edit:
Supposedly engineering thrusters either Clean or Dirty increases their Mass. So some of my ships have Level1 engineering and Stripped. EDSY shows fully engineering the thrusters makes no difference to the overall jump distance. I guess the mass is insignificant, so engineer away.

Edit:
Engineering Life Support, Sensors, and Heatsink will gain you 1 or 2 LY on your jump. If its your favorite ship and you got the mats go for it. Otherwise skip it. Putting effort towards the Guardian Booster is more worth your time & effort for increasing jump range.

Edit:
If you aren't sure whether to engineer thrusters clean or dirty, just pick one. They both give net advantage. Later you can purchase a second thruster, engineer it differently and compare the performance yourself. You already picked Clean, so stick with it and focus engineering your Armor, Power Distributor, and Shields.
 
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sinisalo

sinisalo
badibeat said:
Staying cool while boosting is useful in many situations.
Click to expand...
Being fast while boosting is even more useful :)

I won't try to talk anyone out of clean drives. If you like what they offer have at it. But trading all that speed and thruster response for what amounts to maybe 2 points of heat in normal flight is a trap in my view. Not worth it to me. But that's me, not the next commander.

The only situation where clean drives have a significant advantage is chain boosting, where the heat stacks. Clean drives will keep the heat in check better here. But that is very situational, and not a good reason to trade away speed and performance in every other situation.
 

badibeat

badibeat
sinisalo said:
Being fast while boosting is even more useful :)

I won't try to talk anyone out of clean drives. If you like what they offer have at it. But trading all that speed and thruster response for what amounts to maybe 2 points of heat in normal flight is a trap in my view. Not worth it to me. But that's me, not the next commander.

The only situation where clean drives have a significant advantage is chain boosting, where the heat stacks. Clean drives will keep the heat in check better here. But that is very situational, and not a good reason to trade away speed and performance in every other situation.
Click to expand...
Well - with the heat "fix" and being so small the Dolphin has become THE ship for smuggling and other stealthy activities in my opinion.
Chain boosting for speed and maneuverability while being hard to detect or building up less heat while silent running seem to benefit that role.
 

badibeat

badibeat
Sucette said:
If you want to make numbers comparison, dont' start with full numbers to speak in relatives numbers after. ( tip : % are for idiots)
0,021 heat units (not mw) is 14% of 0, 15.
And FYI, those 0,021 heat units (something you got with a g5 low emission pp, not biased at all) are injected per second in your ship. Matter in the end.
Click to expand...
I'm quite firm with units and math myself, thank you.
 

Sucette

S
badibeat said:
Well - with the heat "fix" and being so small the Dolphin has become THE ship for smuggling and other stealthy activities in my opinion.
Chain boosting for speed and maneuverability while being hard to detect or building up less heat while silent running seem to benefit that role.
Click to expand...
When smuggling you only have to boost to enter the station, so for less than half a minute.
And if you are speedy enough, the IA won't scan you even if you're not silent running
 

CMDR Cknarf

CMDR Cknarf
Yeah, clean drives need a tweak to be worth it.

I think something is actually borked on the Dolphin, so they have a greater effect, but at the end of the day, you might as well just be faster— you won’t ever get so hot with dirty drives that you will have issues, even in extreme gravity unless you’re intentionally flying aggressively. Even then, it takes some work to do in a dolphin

The crazy performance gain you get out of Dirty Drives far outweighs any negatives. It’s your power plant that dictates how hot you’re going to be over anything else, aside from a ship’s natural characteristics.

Always keep an A-rated plant for the efficiency stats. If you have excess power, consider downsizing to another A if you absolutely must have a lighter plant. You can switch off modules not currently in use to make it work.
 

Greasetrap42

Greasetrap42
Before heading out into the black check out the requirements for unlocking the Colonia engineers. You might not be intending on going straight there, but when you travel through Colonia you will definitely want to unlock the engineers and pin some blueprints. And when you are in Colonia you will want to G5 your life support with engineer Ettiene Dorne. (Minimal benefit, but can't do this anywhere else).

Ettiene Dorne
Mel Brandon
Marsha Hicks
Petra Olmanova
 

badibeat

badibeat
Sucette said:
Then dont say such things as "22% is better than 0,021 units"
;)
Or you could be accused of biased maths to prove a point
Click to expand...
I just don't like your tone and the way you try to put things into my mouth.

Still: The unclear thing is, what the thermal load of a Thruster actually is.

I presumed 100% to be the base thermal load of a given Thruster type and class before engineering applies, with different values for normal flight and while boosting (from my personal in-game experience, temperature rises significantly while boosting).
Then for Dirty Drives Grade 5 coriolis lists +60% Thermal Load. (Didn't bother checking in-Game, and originally mistook the 6 to be an 8 because of the small scaling I get when in Windows)
For Clean Drives Grade 5 coriolis lists -60% Thermal Load. These % are probably from in-game data.

The percent "unit" was probably invented by the Devil as a lure for people afraid of multiplication.

Does +60% mean 100/100 of the thing + 60/100 of the same thing and -60% mean 100/100 of the thing - 60/100 of the whole? I presume so. Then 1.6 / 0.4 is 0.25 or 25%, That's how much of the thermal load (apart from the heat generated in the power plant) of a G5 Dirty drive the same G5 Clean drive has. (the 0.22% were wrongly calculated with 80%).

This does not specify how much Energy (MJ) over how much time (s) (1MJ / 1s = 1 MW) is produced during boost and how much additional heat is produced without boost (MW).
For me personally the 0.021MW heating from 0.15MW power draw is 3/4 of what a 0E Shield Booster produces with the same PP and therefore not so relevant.
During boost I see a significant increase of heat level and this also increases the signature and heat build-up when silent running. I don't have numbers for it, but find this much more relevant.
 
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CMDR Deano The Imperial

CMDR Deano The Imperial
I wouldn't worry too much about thermal load on a dolphin and its modules. It's nearly impossible to over heat it. You can charge your FSD in a stars corona while fuel scooping. It very rarely gets above 80%.
 

Phongsalt

Phongsalt
Piratescribe said:
What else can I do to improve my Dolphin as an exploration and passenger ship? I feel like, as far as I know what can be done, I've done it!
https://s.orbis.zone/dk_w
I don't mind taking on a little bit of mass if there's another Utility Mod that would be super useful!
I know I need to get a Guardian FSD booster... But I haven't unlocked Guardian stuff yet, so aside from that? (It's a goal.)
(I know getting rid of the passenger cabin would save mass, but I'm pretty married to this being a ship I take passengers out to far reaches.)
I was thinking MAYBE lower the Power Plant to D-rated? But that would only save me a tiny amount of mass while giving me barely 2% surplus power as buffer. Not really worth it, I think?
Thanks for any suggestions!
Click to expand...
Tweaks to the posted build:
HRP change from 2A to 1D won't increase your range by much, but it will improve it at virtually no cost in utility .(0.2km range of effectiveness.)
Fuel tank switch from 4C to 3C is a little more risky but will gain you a further 2ly per jump, which also adds up over time.
Swapping out the 5c passenger cabin for a 5A fuel scoop and putting a 4c passenger cabin in the place of the old Fuel scoop has the double advantage of decreasing time spent scooping (which will balance out the negative effect of a smaller fuel tank (time spent scooping)), and increasing your range.
 

Piratescribe

Piratescribe
Well I spent all day and maxed out the capabilities of all the Engineers I have unlocked so far (just Farseer, Ryder, and Elvira so far... I plan on working on unlocking either Etienne or Hera tomorrow), and engineered all that they were capable of, and I've gotten to this:

Coriolis EDCD Edition

A ship builder, outfitting and comparison tool for Elite Dangerous
s.orbis.zone s.orbis.zone
Thanks to all the advice people gave! I was able to increase jump by 3 LY, shields have a decent increase, and even my boost speed increased despite dropping an entire size in thrusters from what I had before! I also decreased my fuel tank.
The only choice that I made from an unsettled opinions on here, was I kept and improved the Clean thrusters because I do plan on doing a lot more than I don't want to be scanned with, so that seemed the better way, all else being pretty equal otherwise.
Here in a week I may do the same thing with my Krait MkII as a bounty hunting ship and get feedback and advice for it :)
Cheers and thanks! o7
 
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