I've started using a Beluga tonight, having used a passenger-kitted Python thusfar (because it's what I had).
I don't know if it's just the luck of the draw, but the missions that were available tonight were noticeably less lucrative than before. I played for 3 hours and made 7mil, while in my Python I was making 20mil in 4-5 hours, with fewer but much more generous fares, several over a million (business groups, rich tourists, CEOs, &c). (I tried logging to refresh the offerings, but even that made no real difference.)
I know that DB said no activity should make significantly more money than any other (or words to that effect) otherwise everyone would be doing only that, and that's understandable. So, I wondered briefly if the fact that I now have more passenger space than I had in the Python resulted in Elite Central offering me lower rates per fare?
Surely not, because that would make the Beluga pointless - if you can't make more money with it, what's the point of shelling out ±170MCr for it? Maybe it will improve over the next few days.
My completely unmodded Beluga is fitted defensively - 6A shield gen, 4 shield boosters, confetti, point defence, and all 5 hardpoints are mine-layers. No guns.
I have a fuel scoop but haven't needed it - just slows me down and increases heat, so I disabled it (I'll keep it though - you never know!). The 7C fuel tank seems to hold enough diesel for quite a few jumps.
The Beluga handles reasonably well. I didn't bother trying to dock it, leaving that to the DC, which is very relaxing (but you get scanned...). I usually dock manually, but the BL is kinda big, y'see. But otherwise it's fine. The 7A FSD gives me a quoted jump range of "18.65 LY (20.00 LY)" with 8 sacks of bromellite, a full tank, and no fat tourists - which is pretty reasonable.
I got interdicted once (Vulture, I think) and hightailed it, releasing a stream of confetti laced with mines behind me, without getting a scratch.
The FSD generates a lot of heat - not a major problem if you keep an eye on it.
I'll keep the Beluga for a while and see if it makes money any faster. If not, it's for the knacker's yard. I might get rid of the Vette as well - it seems that the bigger and better the fighter you're in, the bigger and better are the ships of the foes Elite Central sends to kill you. I think this is called balancing [blah] . <eyes a Sidewinder...>
I had one odd message, appearing over the INFO panel, that I've never seen before, upon coming out of FSJ (but I can't find it in my recording) - was something like "Operating outside safe limits". No idea what it meant, but things returned to normal after a bit of a wobble. Has HSE infiltrated ED as well, now?
I don't know if it's just the luck of the draw, but the missions that were available tonight were noticeably less lucrative than before. I played for 3 hours and made 7mil, while in my Python I was making 20mil in 4-5 hours, with fewer but much more generous fares, several over a million (business groups, rich tourists, CEOs, &c). (I tried logging to refresh the offerings, but even that made no real difference.)
I know that DB said no activity should make significantly more money than any other (or words to that effect) otherwise everyone would be doing only that, and that's understandable. So, I wondered briefly if the fact that I now have more passenger space than I had in the Python resulted in Elite Central offering me lower rates per fare?
Surely not, because that would make the Beluga pointless - if you can't make more money with it, what's the point of shelling out ±170MCr for it? Maybe it will improve over the next few days.
My completely unmodded Beluga is fitted defensively - 6A shield gen, 4 shield boosters, confetti, point defence, and all 5 hardpoints are mine-layers. No guns.
I have a fuel scoop but haven't needed it - just slows me down and increases heat, so I disabled it (I'll keep it though - you never know!). The 7C fuel tank seems to hold enough diesel for quite a few jumps.
The Beluga handles reasonably well. I didn't bother trying to dock it, leaving that to the DC, which is very relaxing (but you get scanned...). I usually dock manually, but the BL is kinda big, y'see. But otherwise it's fine. The 7A FSD gives me a quoted jump range of "18.65 LY (20.00 LY)" with 8 sacks of bromellite, a full tank, and no fat tourists - which is pretty reasonable.
I got interdicted once (Vulture, I think) and hightailed it, releasing a stream of confetti laced with mines behind me, without getting a scratch.
The FSD generates a lot of heat - not a major problem if you keep an eye on it.
I'll keep the Beluga for a while and see if it makes money any faster. If not, it's for the knacker's yard. I might get rid of the Vette as well - it seems that the bigger and better the fighter you're in, the bigger and better are the ships of the foes Elite Central sends to kill you. I think this is called balancing [blah] . <eyes a Sidewinder...>
I had one odd message, appearing over the INFO panel, that I've never seen before, upon coming out of FSJ (but I can't find it in my recording) - was something like "Operating outside safe limits". No idea what it meant, but things returned to normal after a bit of a wobble. Has HSE infiltrated ED as well, now?
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