Cargo racks for long term exploration

[Svetlo41]

I am working on kitting a ship for long term exploration and I am wondering how important is it to have cargo racks. Is there anything out in deep space I would need to pick up and haul back to the bubble when I eventually return?

Any deep space exploreres have insight on this?

Thanks,
Svet

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

I am working on kitting a ship for long term exploration and I am wondering how important is it to have cargo racks. Is there anything out in deep space I would need to pick up and haul back to the bubble when I eventually return?

Any deep space exploreres have insight on this?

Thanks,
Svet

Essentially, no, there's nothing you need cargo racks for.

 

[W4LD0]

Cargo Racks for deep space exploration come in handy for two reasons; shedding weight to get further jumps and also the ability to pick up anything you may find.

You can find wreckage usually containing either small or large survey caches, with the latter being worth substantially more.

You can also find unknown probes, artifacts, and other such things while traveling you can pick up.

So to answer your questions, yes, cargo racks are useful for exploration.

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

Essentially, no, there's nothing you need cargo racks for.

So to answer your questions, yes, cargo racks are useful for exploration.

There you go OP, I hope that's cleared everything up for you

 

[W4LD0]

Poll anyone?

 

[Caliber_az]

The way I understand it is take them. They add no weight and if your ship suffers from damage then they would take a share. If not then more damage goes to the hull etc. So from what I understand there is no downside to filling up your empty slots with cargo racks.

I am willing to be corrected on this of course.
Caliber_az

 

[Gunnet]

You would be pretty disappointed if you were the first player to encounter a new part of the storyline and had to leave it for somebody else because you couldn't collect it.

Not a likely scenario, but it's enough to ensure that I wouldn't leave the bubble without at least some cargo space.

 

[Taen]

The way I understand it is take them. They add no weight and if your ship suffers from damage then they would take a share. If not then more damage goes to the hull etc. So from what I understand there is no downside to filling up your empty slots with cargo racks.

I am willing to be corrected on this of course.
Caliber_az

This is the correct answer. If you have spare slots, fill them with cargo racks.

 

[Svetlo41]

Great points. I think the answer is yes!

 

[NascentChemist]

While picking up large survey caches is nice, they (like any cargo) massively increase you likelihood of being interdicted at your return to the bubble.

Do you want to risk all your scan data for a couple 100k worth of cargo? My explorer AspX is pretty fragile...

 

[dynamicbob]

i picked up 100 large data caches on my last trip to jaques, now that was worth about 12 mil extra on top of the 20 mil in exploration data i made so it was just topping on the top of the cake ( python was my ship of choice)

 

[Matt L. Icious]

You would be pretty disappointed if you were the first player to encounter a new part of the storyline and had to leave it for somebody else because you couldn't collect it.

This is for me the main reason to consider cargo racks as a must-have for exploration. But that is more on the RP level than game mechanics.

They add no weight and if your ship suffers from damage then they would take a share.

This as well.
But there is more: Using empty cargo racks you can lower the jump range of the fastest-route plotter. Jumping at, say, 80% max range uses significantly less fuel, allowing for much more distance between must-scoop breaks. I find this very convenient when I travel.
That's an option that should really be there independent of having cargo racks or not...

 

[NascentChemist]

i picked up 100 large data caches on my last trip to jaques, now that was worth about 12 mil extra on top of the 20 mil in exploration data i made so it was just topping on the top of the cake ( python was my ship of choice)

12 million is pretty tempting....

How many units was that?

 

[CMDR Endincite]

@OP

Cargo space is 100% required. Carrying several tons of each strain of onionhead (add beer/wine/brandy/whiskey/tobacco/Fesh/snake gin/mega gin/evil juice to taste) will increase the graphics performance of your head by 420%.

 

[Ser Xav]

i picked up 100 large data caches on my last trip to jaques, now that was worth about 12 mil extra on top of the 20 mil in exploration data i made so it was just topping on the top of the cake ( python was my ship of choice)

Am new to the whole Exploration side of ED gameplay. How long does a round trip like this take to complete? Thanks.

 

[Arnoldo]

But there is more: Using empty cargo racks you can lower the jump range of the fastest-route plotter. Jumping at, say, 80% max range uses significantly less fuel, allowing for much more distance between must-scoop breaks.

They add no weight and if your ship suffers from damage then they would take a share. If not then more damage goes to the hull etc.

Both of these; they're an essential part of any exploration build.

Fly safe Cmdr

 

[CMD Malandark]

I believe cargo racks (Empty) play an important part in fuel savings while traveling long distance. Instead of choosing the 'Economical route' from point A to B that adds a great deal of extra jumps you can instead use the Cargo slider bar to increase your jumps that suits you, rather than going all out on the Economical Route.

 

[Ashnak]

Am new to the whole Exploration side of ED gameplay. How long does a round trip like this take to complete? Thanks.

Single trip to Jaques - will depend on your ship's jump range and your stamina.
Distance is about 22,000 ly, so anywhere between (roughly) 500 and 2000 jumps, so 8 to 35 hours of jonk time.

The current CCC is scheduled for one month, which should make it one hour/day for a fully loaded slow carrier (or escort). If you want to tag along, read this thread, then apply for Fleetcomm membership and hurry up. The fleet's meet-up point for the rest of today is at Hillary Depot.

But: the highway to Jaques is really well travelled by now (and the 400+ CMDRs of the CCC won't make this better), so if you take the direct route between the depots (and/or other waypoints, or along one of the neutron highways), you're not very likely to find many unexplored systems. On the other hand, if you're within the CCC, you'll have armed escorts and unarmed stratotankers eager to help you with any problems you might encounter on the way.

And if you decide to come along, don't forget to take along some Galactic Travel Guides.


Errrmmmm.... ... what was this thread about again?

Oh yes, cargo racks. Nope, put me in the 'no' group. Well, _if_ you have spare compartments, then maybe, for the jump range adjustment thingy. But honestly, none of the ships I had so far were so big that I had the luxury of spare compartments. But carrying cargo (any kind) when returning to the bubble after a long expedition trip is like playing russian roulette with an automatic pistol.

There is one good reason for cargo racks, though: to take along some sacrifice to the great mother of all, the ultimate fate of all in this galaxy, the great Black Hole in the center of everything. Hutton Mugs or occupied escape pods are usually deemed adequate.