The Anaconda, with Size 7 shields equipped, can carry more passengers than a Beluga with no shields. That is absurd. The Beluga needs AT LEAST an additional Size 6 slot. Two size 6's (dedicated to passanger cabins only) would make more sense since it's a much larger ship designed for this purpose. Come on now, did no one even consider this when the ship was designed?
Buyers Remorse, Thy Name Is Beluga
- Thread starter AJStoner
- Start date
The Beluga could be so much more. Aside from what you mention, I honestly believe it should have the same range as the conda....how magnificent it would be to take a beluga on super long range explores with that gigantic front window? Considering the beluga's purpose, I was shocked by its specs and mine still sites in dry-dock awaiting love.
Maybe from a strict min/max standpoint you are correct that the Anaconda is better overall. But I disagree that the Beluga is a useless ship. The Beluga does have some interesting advantages which are especially helpful when doing sightseeing missions for example. First of all, it handles a lot better than the Anaconda. It's just a more nimble ship and is actually a lot more fun to fly in some ways. It also has a monstrously gargantuan gas tank. This is often quite helpful when doing missions inside the bubble. Finally, the view out of the cockpit is quite a bit nicer in the Beluga. I am really happy that the Beluga is part of my fleet and there are times when it is the best tool for the job for sure.
That makes no sense. We are talking about the exact same cabins being installed.
All well and good, but it should definitely have more space for passengers given its size compared to the Anaconda.
I thought you can only install luxury cabins in Saud Kruger ships? IE: Dolphin, Orca, Beluga. That's Morbad's point.
Edit: Ninj got Ninja'd.
I'd like to propose an alternative solution: passenger missions stay as they are, but we also get a "passenger market" where we can "buy" passengers (or more accurately, sell tickets).
Basically, instead of doing what we do now, which is actually very odd (right now we say "I've got this giant space ship, please someone charter me") instead of that, we do what happens in real life, we say, "I'm going to system-X, and I have Y tickets for sale."
The point of all this is, the purpose of a Beluga is that people would actually pay to travel in one, just like people will pay to travel in an Airbus A380. So if you have a Beluga, and it's parked at a planet, you should have no trouble selling tickets to whatever destination you name. By contrast, while it's true that an Anaconda can technically carry more people, that's like saying that a military aircraft can pack more people into it than an A380 - technically true, but you would buy a ticket to fly like that.
Basically, instead of doing what we do now, which is actually very odd (right now we say "I've got this giant space ship, please someone charter me") instead of that, we do what happens in real life, we say, "I'm going to system-X, and I have Y tickets for sale."
The point of all this is, the purpose of a Beluga is that people would actually pay to travel in one, just like people will pay to travel in an Airbus A380. So if you have a Beluga, and it's parked at a planet, you should have no trouble selling tickets to whatever destination you name. By contrast, while it's true that an Anaconda can technically carry more people, that's like saying that a military aircraft can pack more people into it than an A380 - technically true, but you would buy a ticket to fly like that.
There are situations where this is not always the case. Think about sightseeing missions where you definitely need a big fuel scoop in the Anaconda, but you might not need it in the Beluga. My Beluga can jump like 346LY before it needs to re-fuel. Also, only the Saud Kruger ships can be outfitted with Luxury passengers. Sight seeing missions pay a lot better now than Passenger haul missions and in many ways I like the Beluga better than the Anaconda for that task.
My Beluga is the money maker in my fleet. If I need credits I run passenger missions from allied systems and make millions per/0.5 hour. Depending on whether I have 3 or 4 passenger cabins installed, I also have either 64 or 96 tons of cargo space which is full of high profit cargo. Its so maneuverable in SC, I have yet to be interdicted after dozens and dozens of attempts. My Beluga will always be in my fleet. It makes me lots of credits.
Edit: Its also beautiful
Edit: Its also beautiful
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Non-combat bonuses for specialized ships:
Fuel scoop rate for DBX and DBS.
DSS time discount for Asp ships. (Can't think of anything the AspX really needs, aside from a limpet slot.)
Cabins multiplied by 1.5 or 2 for passenger ships.
Cargo ships do not count cargo tonnage for jump purposes.
Ammo synthesis time bonuses for combat ships in supercruise.
Fuel scoop rate for DBX and DBS.
DSS time discount for Asp ships. (Can't think of anything the AspX really needs, aside from a limpet slot.)
Cabins multiplied by 1.5 or 2 for passenger ships.
Cargo ships do not count cargo tonnage for jump purposes.
Ammo synthesis time bonuses for combat ships in supercruise.
It's also about the 20 grand in repairs I need to cough-up every time I land the thing because I can't mount shields in any slot by a 6 which I need for passengers. Even the auto-dock slams the damn thing into the walls.
That's a valid question. The Orca is also pretty awesome at that, probably better even. But the great thing about Elite is you don't always need the absolute best min/max ship in the game for each role to be effective. Sometimes it's just fun to try a ship like the Beluga or the Type-9 in order to experience different things in the game? I think those of us who have made good use out of the Beluga wanted to contradict the OP's view that the ship is useless. It's not.
Heh, well I'm not saying it's a smart choice (which is why I fly an Orca instead)