Ships Boa / Panther / Other "Mega Transport" Class

Many of you remember the Boa from Frontier & FFE. It was bigger than the Anaconda and second only to the mighty Panther Clipper in size and cargo capacity. I liked the Boa - it was elegant, massive.

Now I understand that the Panther Clipper is "coming soon" - and has been so for the last few years. I wonder if FDev have any plans for the Boa?

I have a suggestion for mega-transport/trader ships: make them too large to dock. The ships would have to berth outside the station and use a shuttle or drone to offload cargo. FDev could bring back the Orbital Shuttle or the Worm from the original Elite for this purpose. This mega-trader/mega transport class would have to have its drawbacks to prevent it being used as a massively armed battering ram - taking it to riskier trade routes would have to be, well, riskier...

I'd be interested to learn what other Commanders think of this? Sorry if all this has been said and repeated before...
 
...never met a Panther Clipper, but, sure, a Boa’d be nice!

The Panther Clipper was huge, something like a 2000T capacity. It was very slow and in Frontier you couldn't change the drive. I think there's room in the game for it, and for others (the Boa especially). The disadvantage with the Panther was that it could be upmodded to make it invincible and indestructible. I think with mega-transporters they have to have disadvantages to prevent them inadvertently becoming a behemoth supership - so emphasis on trading, not on fighting.

Agreed that this sounds a lot like carriers - but carriers are different. I think there is room in the game for a mega-transporter / super-transporter class ship range.
 
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Sorry if all this has been said and repeated before...

It has been said before, but no harm done. Iterations of this idea seem to come up once every month or two.

I really like the idea, I just don't think we will be seeing anything like it in the next few years simply because of the amount of work that would be required to implement it.

If you are really concerned about seeing the Panther Clipper and Boa in the game, there is still the possibility what we might get them even if we don't get external docking:
  • There's an animation of the Panther Clipper on a landing pad (presumably a large pad), so it is quite possible that the final design of the Panther Clipper/Panther LX will end up being a large pad ship that scrapes the sides of the mailslot on its way in and out.
  • The original 1984 Boa was an improved version of the Python, being smaller, requiring less crew and having a larger cargo capacity. It is quite possible that we might end up getting a variation on this design (improved Python), although it would probably need to use a large pad for game balance. For reference, my Boa thread from a about month ago.

Edit: Almost forgot about this Panther Clipper thread from a few weeks ago. The thread highlights the problem that is most likely keeping the Panther Clipper from being released: everyone wants the Panther Clipper to be something different. It is extremely difficult to take something that people fondly remember as "the single best ship in the game for absolutely everything" (even though it couldn't be the best at everything at the same time) and add it to a game where there is not a "single best ship for everything" without disappointing someone. The people who want it for combat will be disappointed if it is a trade ship, the people who want it as trade ship will be disappointed if it is a combat ship, explorers will be disappointed if it doesn't have good jump range, etc.... The only way to make everyone happy would be to make the Panther Clipper the "single best ship for everything" and make just about every other ship in the game obsolete, which doesn't exactly seem to be one of FDev's design goals. If we do eventually see the Panther Clipper in the game, my money is on it being some combination of a heavy cargo ship and floating weapons platform, since these seem to be the 2 things most people want it for.
 
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I think it would be interesting if they added it as a big cargo ship, and combat-wise, made it a ship that absolutely has to rely on turrets to survive. Forget T-9 maneuverability and speed, make it even worse. Make it nearly impossible to keep just about anyone in your sights or run from anyone, but give it plenty of hardpoints spread around the entirety of the hull so that it can keep firing on enemies no matter where they are. It would not make for a very fun combat play-style(for most people), but it would make it stand out from all others. And of course make it very sturdy so it can weather the storm while it swats the flies away.
 
It might be a weird thing to say, but the trade ships in general seem like a niche that could be explored more.

We have only a few dedicated trade ships, those being the Hauler, Type-6, Type-7, and Type-9. Everything else is a multirole of some sort (e.g. the Keelback and Type-10 are "combat freighters," the Python is the largest medium cargo ship but is decent at everything, etc.). Lakon has the most entries in this; three of four dedicated haulers are Lakon and the only current ship which is not is the entry-level Hauler. The only ships you are likely to see used for bulk hauling other than Lakon's offerings are the Python and Krait for outposts and the Anaconda and Cutter to about anywhere else, all of which are classed as multiroles.

I never had the opportunity to play the old Elite games but I have looked at the ships. I think there is space for the Boa, especially if it could be a dedicated medium hauler with a bit more room than the Python, or a large that sits between the Type-7 and Type-9. I also thought it would be cool if Zorgon Peterson made a ship like the Fer-de-lance in size and design but focused on cargo, but that is not something I got from looking at the older ships, they just do not have many ships and could use some love.

We do need something to round out the selection on trade and exploration ships, though. I started playing a little while before Horizons came out and it just occurred to me that not a single dedicated trade or exploration ship has been added to the game in that time, unless you count the Keelback as a hauler. The Imperial Cutter was added a little while after I started playing and has the highest maximum cargo capacity in the game (even with the Type-9's buff) but that is a multirole!
 
I love the T series ships, and would love a T8 to be launched which could be aimed more at explorers, or give it a larger cargo capacity than a T7 but with a better jump range than the T9?

Personally (as a player of the original, 1980s Elite), I'd love them to bring back the Boa, but it would have to be a good chunk better than the Python, IMHO.

o7
 
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