Exploring in a dropship !!!!

[Madrax573]

Finally got around to getting myself one of these beauties! And I can honestly say I'm loving it so far......Apart from the FSD range!!

Now I don't do any form of hardcore exploration etc but I do like to go a wanderin'

So I ask you, the good people or the exploration sub forum, on your advice on how to explore in a dropship. And no I don't want "Sell it and get an ASP!" thank you

o7

 

[AJW]

Basically, you can explore in anything with a fuel scoop and an FSD, and the standard advice applies: fit the best FSD available, and the best fuel scoop you can afford, and otherwise reduce mass to a minimum. A quick look at Coriolis suggests that you won't get more than 18 ly or so jump range on a full tank without engineering, but that will still permit 'wanderin' at least until you reach sparse areas between the galactic arms. If you get the urge to travel further though, I'd recommend getting acquainted with Felicity Farseer if you haven't already, as a decent level 5 roll on your FSD will make all the difference.

For more details on setting up an exploration ship, see The Popular Guide to Exploration: https://docs.google.com/presentatio...icL2UCJ1Dox5f4/edit#slide=id.gbe76cfc12_0_463

 

[Zeeman]

Someone got a Dropship to Beagle Point pre-engineers in the Distant Worlds trip. No reason you can't!

Z...

 

[Madrax573]

Yeah I already have a good relationship with Felicity so the lvl 5 FSD mods aren't an issue apart from spending a bit of time hunting down enough mats for plenty of rolls.

Beagle point pre-engineers?!?! Bloody heck that must have been some stripped down dropship! And talk about dedication.

So far according to Coriolis my 'general duties' fit will be around 18lyr fully loaded with a decent grd 5 roll.

Playing around with an 'explorer' build I'm getting around 24lyr. So I should be ok with that I reckon.
https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/fed...weloBhBGA2EoFMCGBzANokMK6A=&bn=Explorer maybe

Any suggestions for fit etc feel free to say.

 

[space voyager]

Exploration in a dropship is easy - you drop into a system and scan. After you get bored of the fsd range, you do as you said not to say.

 

[domaq]

Someone got a Dropship to Beagle Point pre-engineers in the Distant Worlds trip. No reason you can't!

Z...

It was pink as well if I remember correctly...
.
On these type ships, I would definitely invest in some engineering before going on a long trip. You can push 28ly well modified. The Dropship will benefit from having a class larger fuel scoop than the FSD which will make scooping easier. Im not sure about the heat in one though. But then one of our group is out exploring in a Corvette so anything is possible!

 

[Kenneth McGrew]

It was pink as well if I remember correctly...

with engineering its not a bad ship at all, I like to see diverse explorers, more exciting than reading about another asp going to beagle

 

[Edelgard von Rhein]

As someone who has been out exploring in a Dropship, I have to say that I did enjoy the experience. In my case it was pre-engineers - back in 3301, during 1.3 - and my jump range was 18.12 LY, which was enough to get me to Sgr A*. Stay close to the Galactic Plane when crossing the spiral arms and the jump range is not problematic.
.
At the time I was a bit worried about running into fields of unscoopables and had an extra fuel tank but in hindsight it was unnecessary (although it did save me replotting). I carried two AFMUs as well and had no cargo space but never needed to use either of them and since they can now be restocked with synthesis, one would be enough. The Dropship has a good amount of internal space - it has a larger cargo capacity than the Asp Explorer with the same number of internal compartments and also, now, two military compartments - so it can fit the key modules you need. In exploration fit it also runs cold and I never had any problems with overheating when scooping, although with a class 6 fuel scoop you don't have time to get very hot. I would be careful with planetary landings, given its flight characteristics, but if you're not reliant on a large jump range or wanting to travel long distances quickly, then just take your time and explore at your own pace.

 

[Madrax573]

As someone who has been out exploring in a Dropship, I have to say that I did enjoy the experience. In my case it was pre-engineers - back in 3301, during 1.3 - and my jump range was 18.12 LY, which was enough to get me to Sgr A*. Stay close to the Galactic Plane when crossing the spiral arms and the jump range is not problematic.
.
At the time I was a bit worried about running into fields of unscoopables and had an extra fuel tank but in hindsight it was unnecessary (although it did save me replotting). I carried two AFMUs as well and had no cargo space but never needed to use either of them and since they can now be restocked with synthesis, one would be enough. The Dropship has a good amount of internal space - it has a larger cargo capacity than the Asp Explorer with the same number of internal compartments and also, now, two military compartments - so it can fit the key modules you need. In exploration fit it also runs cold and I never had any problems with overheating when scooping, although with a class 6 fuel scoop you don't have time to get very hot. I would be careful with planetary landings, given its flight characteristics, but if you're not reliant on a large jump range or wanting to travel long distances quickly, then just take your time and explore at your own pace.

Good to know!

Let me know if you have any suggestions for my explorer fit.

https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/fed...weloBhBGA2EoFMCGBzANokMK6A=&bn=Explorer maybe

 

[Edelgard von Rhein]

Good to know!

Let me know if you have any suggestions for my explorer fit.

https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/fed...weloBhBGA2EoFMCGBzANokMK6A=&bn=Explorer maybe

Assuming no additional engineering:
I would suggest only taking one AFMU. The 5A is the most expensive item on your ship so if you replaced that with a cargo rack, you'd save enough to be able to fit a 6B fuel scoop instead of a 6C. Also, by turning off modules like the cargo hatch, SRV hangar, AFMUs and mining laser when not in use, you can afford to downsize to a 3A power plant. If you are on a tight budget, buy the most expensive items in Li Yong-Rui territory (Lembava has decent outfitting) and you get a discount of 15% on outfitting - even with a 6B fuel scoop you'll then be spending not much more than 30MCr, rather than the 40MCr on the build you link to above.

 

[marx]

Hey, nice to see an exotic exploration ship!

Let me know if you have any suggestions for my explorer fit.

https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/fed...weloBhBGA2EoFMCGBzANokMK6A=&bn=Explorer maybe

Assuming that the "you" was plural, I have a few suggestions for this.
First, module reinforcement packs won't do you much good for exploration, unless you were hit by players looking to snipe your FSD before you got away. As far as I could tell from testing, MRPs only protect against combat damage, not heat damage and such. I didn't test them on neutron stars though.
Instead of bi-weave shields, you might want to go with regular shields instead. For exploration, you don't need quicker regen, but you'd want a higher base shield to survive a bounce with a planet or any other burst damage. That said, that 124 MJ will just mitigate some of the damage and not protect you from it. You could either go with a 5D shield and save 12T of weight for the same shield strength, or go with 5A and get +60 MJ for the same weight.

Oh, and why a 1D mining laser instead of 2D? Or was that just a mistake on the build site?

 

[newman1702]

You can drop a little more mass by dropping from a 5A to a 4A power plant, which still has enough power for everything if you keep both of your AFMU's offline until needed, which you should do anyway (last thing you want is start repairs on FSD or thrusters while in supercruise by mistake and taking even more damage - dropping to normal space before initiating any repairs is a good habit to have). I would also get rid of the HRP's / MRP's, and if you want to try and squeeze a little more range out of her, you could try and downsize and D rate your distributor as well, then use an engine focused engineer mod (provided you have access to needed engineers, that is) to retain boosting ability. Otherwise, build looks good.

 

[Madrax573]

Some tweaks to the build.

https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/fed...weloBhBGA2EoFMCGBzANokMK6A=&bn=Explorer maybe

Went with 5D shields. Don't need the regen aspect so....Swapped PD to 5D over 4A (1MJ less per system etc) but slightly better range.

The mining laser is only class 1 as it's really a last resort should I find myself needing some mats for a boost etc.
I know I should drop the HRP/MRP but for 0.6lyr I can't bring myself to not use a specialised slot! I suppose if I decide to try a more dedicated time away then I'd probably go that way.

 

[Ashnak]

Scale everything down a bit, and you can squeeze out another ly or so in jump range.

But unless you have a specific liking for the driftship, grind a little more until you can get a FAS, and slap on a few modifications to other components as well. Took mine to Sgr A* and back via the Colonia route some time around November last year.

Spoiler

 

[Madrax573]

Yeah I have a 'thing' for the dropship....not sure why I just do.

 

[Major Klutz]

You should name your ship the Marquis de Sade, because you must be a masochist to explore in that.

My suggestions .... https://eddp.co/u/T2dooqMG

This gets you up to 27ly range

 

[Pirate715]

Im currently just past 5k ly away from sol with my FDS explorer. I didnt really engineer it too much my jump range is just 20 ly. I too have a special affinity for the drop ship. I'll post up my build in a little bit. I did my Sag a trip in an asp but im actually enjoying the FDS more.

 

[Madrax573]

Engineered my FDS's FSD (try saying that fast while drunk!) to grd 5 last night got a 53.2% upgrade to range So now my fully mission fit (General Duties) ship goes 18.8lyr fully loaded for bear.

I'll plug the stats into my exploration fit later but I think I'll be happy with those numbers \o/

 

[WR3ND]

Jump range is mostly irrelevant for general exploration efficiency. It's only really necessary when trying to race places or get to really hard to reach and rare patches of systems that require longer jumps to reach. A good fuel scoop is generally more important in terms of overall exploration efficiency.

A 20 LY jump range is perfectly adequate for getting to 99.99+ percent of systems in the game.

Here's my fully combat loaded Vulture explorer ship, The Ronin out at the Skull and Crossbones Nebula, 15K LY out along the rim. ↓

Spoiler

And here is its current loadout. → https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/vul...AA=.EweloBhAOEoUwIYHMA28QgIwV0A=&bn=The Ronin

 

[Madrax573]

Jump range is mostly irrelevant for general exploration efficiency. It's only really necessary when trying to race places or get to really hard to reach and rare patches of systems that require longer jumps to reach. A good fuel scoop is generally more important in terms of overall exploration efficiency.

A 20 LY jump range is perfectly adequate for getting to 99.99+ percent of systems in the game.

Here's my fully combat loaded Vulture explorer ship, The Ronin out at the Skull and Crossbones Nebula. ↓

Spoiler

https://i.imgur.com/taJEwvZ.jpg

And here is its current loadout. → https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/vul...AA=.EweloBhAOEoUwIYHMA28QgIwV0A=&bn=The Ronin

Can't rep you again yet!

Completely agree I recon I'll be getting around 24 lyr (working atm so can't plug in the actuals yet) which is more than enough for my exploration needs. I'm more interested in QOL stuff when hanging out in the bubble doing stuff really.

Loving the dropship so I can see a fair bit of time spent in it so as much QOL stuff as I can pack in