I'd like to see a smaller exploration vessel, a hybrid between the current "drones" and the Sidewinder (or similar), that can be held in a new "exploration ship hangar" on larger ships (same as the fighter bay hangar).
Exploration Ship:
* Small enough to fit a hangar, large enough to fit a crew member.
* Piloted (not remotely) by hired crew (and multi-crew?)
* Supercruise capable for in system flight only.
* Equipped with detailed surface scanner, a shield generator and perhaps some defensive features (chaff/ecm) to get out of trouble.
* Ship can synthesize fuel while in flight (same as SRV)
* Can not land on planets.
* Can not dock at starports.
Hangar:
* Fits one exploration ship
* Repairs and refuels exploration ship when docked
* Supports rebuilding ship (synthesized from materials) if destroyed
* Large, class 5 or 6 (?)
The CMDR should be able to issue orders to the Explorer ship in the same manner as the fighter; the orders should include "scan planet", "scan planet + moons" and "rtb". Since the ship is piloted, the pilot will die if the ship is destroyed, so care must be taken to ensure the ship is docked before leaving a system. Exporation data exists only in the Exploration Ship's computer until it is docked. Should the Exploration Ship be destroyed, the data since the last docking will be lost. While it seems weird to be able to rebuild the ship if destroyed, this could come in handy if the Exploration Ship is destroyed in a multi-crew scenario (NPC crew member is still alive), or if the NPC crew member is kill, but you want to use Multi-crew to bring in a friend to pilot the ship.
Exploration Ship:
* Small enough to fit a hangar, large enough to fit a crew member.
* Piloted (not remotely) by hired crew (and multi-crew?)
* Supercruise capable for in system flight only.
* Equipped with detailed surface scanner, a shield generator and perhaps some defensive features (chaff/ecm) to get out of trouble.
* Ship can synthesize fuel while in flight (same as SRV)
* Can not land on planets.
* Can not dock at starports.
Hangar:
* Fits one exploration ship
* Repairs and refuels exploration ship when docked
* Supports rebuilding ship (synthesized from materials) if destroyed
* Large, class 5 or 6 (?)
The CMDR should be able to issue orders to the Explorer ship in the same manner as the fighter; the orders should include "scan planet", "scan planet + moons" and "rtb". Since the ship is piloted, the pilot will die if the ship is destroyed, so care must be taken to ensure the ship is docked before leaving a system. Exporation data exists only in the Exploration Ship's computer until it is docked. Should the Exploration Ship be destroyed, the data since the last docking will be lost. While it seems weird to be able to rebuild the ship if destroyed, this could come in handy if the Exploration Ship is destroyed in a multi-crew scenario (NPC crew member is still alive), or if the NPC crew member is kill, but you want to use Multi-crew to bring in a friend to pilot the ship.