Asp Explorer: Shields and Power Distributors

[iain666]

I never did understand why players think more jump range is a good thing , the next system I go to is usually under 10ly away while I'm out exploring .

You want to stop taking it easy ambling about the core and try navigating round the edges.

It depends where you are and what you're doing, there are places where flying my stock Mk III with its 26ly jump range means I struggle. You can cover most of the galaxy without worrying too much, but there are definitely places where a low jump range means you need to work a lot harder to make progress, places where the system I just came from is the only one within 30ly are places I visit regularly trying to cross between the Scutum Centaurus and Outer Arms whilst minimising how far east I need to go to make it.

 

[Cdr Voorheez]

I wonder if I could ask, are ye stripping out the hull bulkheads to get that range? I got lvl2 engineer mods on a 5A fsd and thought I was actually doin ok with 32ly, although I have since come to rethink a few things. Would stripping down to get that range not make it paper thin?

I will post my build tomorrow showing you what ive done. Basically put I am running 4D thrusters 3D PD 3A shield (considering 4D now) 1SRV (Only used 1 on DWE) and have reduced my fuel tank to 16t to maximise range (again I did this on DWE after CMDR Newman advised it, it worked on a 37ly Conda so it will defo work on a 47ly Asp). I am also running a lvl 5 modded 5A FSD with very good rolls.

 

[Duckfat]

I've noticed fuel use goes up exponentially when jumping further and further. Is there a range beyond which jump distance vs fuel scoping times starts to result in diminishing returns?

 

[Cdr Voorheez]

I have not done the math on that one and it would be interesting to see the results. I am using a 6A fuel scoop.

 

[iain666]

I've noticed fuel use goes up exponentially when jumping further and further. Is there a range beyond which jump distance vs fuel scoping times starts to result in diminishing returns?

In terms of time spent scooping per jump made, yes. Longer jumps will burn more fuel and you'll spend more time scooping per jump.

In terms of time spent scooping per light year travelled, no. The reduced number of jumps will more than make up of the scooping time whatever distance you jump.

If you want to maximise the number of systems you visited and don't care where they are then go economical mode on the route planner and scoop once a session. If you want to get to a specific place then jump as far as you can without mucking about plotting single jumps on half tanks unless you need to, the scooping time will not impact on you going faster overall while the route planner is determining which systems you go to.

As soon as you start manually plotting every jump from the galmap based on any criteria at all than all bets are off and most of your in game time will be spent in the gamap (or flying around in system scanning stuff).

 

[verminstar]

I have not done the math on that one and it would be interesting to see the results. I am using a 6A fuel scoop.

Spent ages trying to find a 6A scoop...best I could find was 6C but there doesn't appear to be any mass to them. The fuel tank I'm truly loathe to swap out...even went with dual tanks once but that was just bein silly, I see that now. 47ly would be nice but right now I'd settle fer 35-40. Made the mistake last time plugging in a 5 A or B AFM so that will get ripped out fer a start and replaced with something a bit lighter.

On this return journey, that was only my second time out, so I'm still experimenting what works...third time lucky maybe I'll get the fit right.

 

[KillaALF]

Made the mistake last time plugging in a 5 A or B AFM so that will get ripped out fer a start and replaced with something a bit lighter.

Lighter? AFMs (all sizes) have 0T mass, it does not get any lighter than that.

3D is all the shields I need on my Explorasp.

 

[CMDR JAEKELSON]

A few days ago, my ASP was going to Diaguandri then it was interdicted by NPC. I had no cargo at all.

My 3D shield was gone in seconds........ Had time to high wake but hull went to 80% from 100%.

Had not explore for a long time, was always in bubble, so i was ready to high wake. If i were in black for 6 months, may be i would high wake a lot slower... and dead.

So 3D shields not for me !!!!

 

[Lucius-Darcia]

I never did understand why players think more jump range is a good thing , the next system I go to is usually under 10ly away while I'm out exploring .
I only see jump range as a means of getting somewhere fast , not for casually drifting round the galaxy visiting systems.
I got A5 shields and distributor ,I am armed and still have a 30ly jump that I seldom really use lol.

I can tell you a couple of reasons why more jumprange is better:
-faster travelling
-reaching systems that are unavailable otherwise
(Explored once a cluster of stars, just one way in with my previous posted asp and only with half fueltank reachable pre-2.1)
-you need lesser fuel at lesser jumps. If you want to cross a sector of unscoopable stars via economic routes, you have a much greater range!
-lesser problems with sectors with unknown permit required. There are a lot more since 2.1 i think
-some vast sectors can cause problems with plotting routes even when you have 40ly. Above or under the galactic plane and at the edge of the galaxy

Of course if you explore only in the core you don't need long jumprange that much^^

 

[Cdr Voorheez]

Yeah those NPCs are nasty blighters.

 

[Kuroshio]

Probably in a minority here as well, but I never, ever fit shields (not in trade ships, not in explorers, not even in my shuttle Haulers) that have an optimal mass below hull mass. Compared to a 3A, A 4D shield in an Asp gives you .09 light-years of range while increasing your shield strength, and even a 5D costs you only .29 light-years. We're not talking about losing insane amounts of jump-range.

A lot of the ships are designed to have a shield in their second-largest compartment, the Asp is no exception. Ignoring design recommendations is something I'd rather not do in a galaxy with an increasing amount of threats. Similar math works for thrusters, though here the sweetest spot is having an unladen mass of 50% the optimal mass of the thrusters - 5Ds come quite close in a typical exploration Asp.

Being able to do a 180 as fast as possible and boost past an interdictor is an ability I don't want to lack; thus, I usually take the smallest boost-capable distributor available. (Also helpful to prevent unwanted violations of the space/atmosphere-ground-interface.)

 

[Lucius-Darcia]

Probably in a minority here as well, but I never, ever fit shields (not in trade ships, not in explorers, not even in my shuttle Haulers) that have an optimal mass below hull mass. Compared to a 3A, A 4D shield in an Asp gives you .09 light-years of range while increasing your shield strength, and even a 5D costs you only .29 light-years. We're not talking about losing insane amounts of jump-range.

A lot of the ships are designed to have a shield in their second-largest compartment, the Asp is no exception. Ignoring design recommendations is something I'd rather not do in a galaxy with an increasing amount of threats. Similar math works for thrusters, though here the sweetest spot is having an unladen mass of 50% the optimal mass of the thrusters - 5Ds come quite close in a typical exploration Asp.

Being able to do a 180 as fast as possible and boost past an interdictor is an ability I don't want to lack; thus, I usually take the smallest boost-capable distributor available. (Also helpful to prevent unwanted violations of the space/atmosphere-ground-interface.)

At the moment i disagree. Espacially on the asp you only have 2 big compartments. If you fit a class 4 or 5 shield it means you don't have a second SRV which is more important in my opinion.
Out in the dark no one disturbed an Explorer...for yet
When Hyperdrive interdictions and thargoids attacks will come in future maybe, i will rethink about my statement and take bigger shields^^
but for now a 3D is more than enough. Just park a good armed ship right on the edge of the bubble to instant swap at your return

 

[goemon]

Probably in a minority here as well, but I never, ever fit shields (not in trade ships, not in explorers, not even in my shuttle Haulers) that have an optimal mass below hull mass. Compared to a 3A, A 4D shield in an Asp gives you .09 light-years of range while increasing your shield strength, and even a 5D costs you only .29 light-years. We're not talking about losing insane amounts of jump-range.

A lot of the ships are designed to have a shield in their second-largest compartment, the Asp is no exception. Ignoring design recommendations is something I'd rather not do in a galaxy with an increasing amount of threats. Similar math works for thrusters, though here the sweetest spot is having an unladen mass of 50% the optimal mass of the thrusters - 5Ds come quite close in a typical exploration Asp.

Being able to do a 180 as fast as possible and boost past an interdictor is an ability I don't want to lack; thus, I usually take the smallest boost-capable distributor available. (Also helpful to prevent unwanted violations of the space/atmosphere-ground-interface.)

more or less with you - the math on thrusters is quite helpfull, which is, for exampel, why i have undersized a-class thrusters on my explonda. and, yes, 6D shields.

 

[goemon]

Just park a good armed ship right on the edge of the bubble to instant swap at your return

and that

 

[disorganise]

Great thread
I'm months away from the bubble but enjoying the discussion. Can't remember my build but expect I have it somewhere.
One thing I never understood is this optimal mass and how the bits all interact. Any one fancy explaining it to a numbnut?

 

[goemon]

Great thread
I'm months away from the bubble but enjoying the discussion. Can't remember my build but expect I have it somewhere.
One thing I never understood is this optimal mass and how the bits all interact. Any one fancy explaining it to a numbnut?

this thread answers it better, then i could: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...plained-in-one-simple-table-(Rating-and-Mass) - see also link in that thread for basic manouverability of different ship types.

 

[Edelgard von Rhein]

Spent ages trying to find a 6A scoop...best I could find was 6C but there doesn't appear to be any mass to them. The fuel tank I'm truly loathe to swap out...even went with dual tanks once but that was just bein silly, I see that now. 47ly would be nice but right now I'd settle fer 35-40. Made the mistake last time plugging in a 5 A or B AFM so that will get ripped out fer a start and replaced with something a bit lighter.

On this return journey, that was only my second time out, so I'm still experimenting what works...third time lucky maybe I'll get the fit right.

Lembava stocks 6A Fuel Scoops and also has the Li Yong-Rui discount. The main station there has some of the best outfitting outside of Shinrarta Dezhra. AFMUs don't have mass, so don't worry about carrying one.

 

[verminstar]

Lembava stocks 6A Fuel Scoops and also has the Li Yong-Rui discount. The main station there has some of the best outfitting outside of Shinrarta Dezhra. AFMUs don't have mass, so don't worry about carrying one.

Ah sweet...actually I had assumed that a big AFM would be heavier but if thats not the case then it's all good...I know the scoops don't have any mass either so a 6 rate and a 2 rate weigh exactly the same...I think ^^

 

[newman1702]

Ah sweet...actually I had assumed that a big AFM would be heavier but if thats not the case then it's all good...I know the scoops don't have any mass either so a 6 rate and a 2 rate weigh exactly the same...I think ^^

That is correct, AFM's and fuel scoops have no mass and thus don't affect your jump range. You can see exactly what modules you have installed on your right side modules tab, it will tell you size and rating next to the module name so you can rebuild that in coriolis.io and save it - it can be helpful to have your builds saved.

 

[Cdr Voorheez]

EDITED.