Sanderling is correct.
The top three ships in game for max speed (not gravity assisted) are:
Viper III at 932m/s
iEagle also at 932m/s
Courier at 885m/s
However the huge boost modifier for the viper and the general boost profile make it so more responsive then the iEagle and just leaves it in it's wake.
For me however the Viper III is a great little ship but I find it a tad to limiting in what it can fit for a more multirole setting etc which is why I fly the courier as my 'fast' ship
OP the viper III is indeed a great little ship and I'm glad you've finally gotten to see it many hours of fun coming to you in that cockpit I think. \o/
The viper 3. It's boost modifiers simply make it better than the iEagle and iCourier. It accelerates much faster, and the boost lasts longer, which means much better at changing direction.
https://s.orbis.zone/9igm - best build imo, boost is 896 (dirty distros), jump range just shy of 20ly, 3a PD gives perma boost
https://s.orbis.zone/9igq - fast viper, boost 924 (dirty drag), 3d PD can run dry after 5-6 boost chain, no jump range ( add guardian booster to travel )
I did some investigation. I don't think the numbers agree with you here.
Lets start with Racer configurations on Coriolis, initially it looks like a win for the Viper
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And then there are two different numbers reported for the top speed of the viper, that's because you only get FULL speed when you have less than a full tank
Any more and you start to slip out of the optimum window of the enhanced performance thrusters
The courier on the other hand, has plenty of mass to spare
So when you start engineering, you can make a much better build with no speed loss on the Courier e.g. https://s.orbis.zone/9jHu
Now let's see if we can get the viper to boost as often?
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It would depend on the distance!
Let me just start by saying, I think you are right, that is probably the best Viper build, so if we build a similar courier https://s.orbis.zone/9jJ9 and compare
Also you can have have a very fast courier and you have about 9T left for Shields and Guns
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Deleted member 121570
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Whilst the Courier's the best 'fast multirole' ship due to it's 35t hull and comparative weight advantage there, that assumption is just flat wrong.
The Viper has a longer boost duration, and a much higher boost multiplier. It accelerates significantly faster than the Courier, and will leave it a long way behind almost immediately.
Most importantly of all though...turning at those speeds also requires boosts into lateral/vertical thrusters. Due to that longer duration, and higher multiplier giving more power into acceleration - the Viper will turn much, much better than the Courier. Oh, and it'll permaboost, and the Courier can't.
So in real terms and practice - a Viper can make a turn on one boost that takes a Courier two. The Courier's slower speed, wider turning arc and slower acceleration all significantly impair it's performance as a pure speed racer. (The iEagle is even worse). Viper 3 leaves them both standing, and will keep leaving them every single turn until they're no longer in the rear-view mirror. A regular Eagle will also handily out-turn a Courier.
Gutamaya make pretty ships, and occasionally useful ones. But not racing ships.
To be clear, I'm talking about fully engineered ships, FA-off. Don't get too hung up on the 'top speed' on coriolis. It doesn't matter so much once you throw some turns into the mix.
You're looking at stats, but build them, and then go fly them, ideally on a planet surface. There you can have some fixed reference points to compare.
Those paper stats? They just won't hold up. I too spent time looking at stats when I first started 'hooning' with Sanderling. However after building and actually flying the ships, I came to a very different conclusion.
Viper 3 is top dog, hands down, no contest. Whether you fly it with a 3A or a 3D PD comes down to how much turning you want/need to do.
Personally I prefer the 3A for perma boost, running the cap dry while zooming through some canyons results in a quick death at those speeds =)
If you try to follow someone in a viper 3 through a canyon system like we hoon in, flying a courier, you will quickly find yourself falling behind, just not able to make the turns to keep up.
It's all about the time under boost modifiers, it makes all the difference, and coriolis just doesn't show this.
You can most definitely build a 'faster' combat ship out of a courier than a viper 3, but again, the boost... it will come down to your preference of flight styles, viper 3 might be a bit slower, but it will be much more manouverable due to its boost being able to re-vector it 180 degrees at full speed in a single boost, even with slightly lower pitch/turn rates. Fly FA-off + use scoop boosting and then you'll really see the difference that viper boost makes =)
You're looking at stats, but build them, and then go fly them, ideally on a planet surface. There you can have some fixed reference points to compare.
Those paper stats? They just won't hold up. I too spent time looking at stats when I first started 'hooning' with Sanderling. However after building and actually flying the ships, I came to a very different conclusion.
Viper 3 is top dog, hands down, no contest. Whether you fly it with a 3A or a 3D PD comes down to how much turning you want/need to do.
Personally I prefer the 3A for perma boost, running the cap dry while zooming through some canyons results in a quick death at those speeds =)
If you try to follow someone in a viper 3 through a canyon system like we hoon in, flying a courier, you will quickly find yourself falling behind, just not able to make the turns to keep up.
It's all about the time under boost modifiers, it makes all the difference, and coriolis just doesn't show this.
You can most definitely build a 'faster' combat ship out of a courier than a viper 3, but again, the boost... it will come down to your preference of flight styles, viper 3 might be a bit slower, but it will be much more manouverable due to its boost being able to re-vector it 180 degrees at full speed in a single boost, even with slightly lower pitch/turn rates. Fly FA-off + use scoop boosting and then you'll really see the difference that viper boost makes =)
Shouldn’t it be the Mamba? I’m not saying it is the Mamba but I thought that was the whole point of the Mamba and why, despite its size, it has basically no space for anything useful and why, despite being essentially a remodelled FDL, it handles like a dog?
yeh ... I really want to love the Mamba but every time I fly it I just get annoying by how amazing it isn’t quite ...
yeh ... I really want to love the Mamba but every time I fly it I just get annoying by how amazing it isn’t quite ...
Deleted member 121570
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Mamba description is pure bull****. Nothing to do with racing whatsoever. FDL is in most circumstances way better for racing in the slow/fat medium class
Let me just start by saying, I think you are right, that is probably the best Viper build, so if we build a similar courier https://s.orbis.zone/9jJ9 and compare
In a straight line, I can definitely see it pulling away from the courier. If we assume (yeah I know) that acceleration and deceleration during boosting is relatively equal, we can also assume that the speeds will average out between the max normal and max boost. So an average of 806.5 for the Viper and 768.5 for the courier. Or the length of a Viper every second. (29.8M according to https://elite-dangerous.fandom.com/wiki/File:Bp-viper-mk-3.png) It would be really interesting to see this if this holds up in practice.
Also you can have have a very fast courier and you have about 9T left for Shields and Guns
I love the courier, spent many months in one as a 'fast' multirole and I will defend the ship, however Sanderling is 100% fully correct in this. in those 'similar' builds the number just don't give any indication of how it flies in game.
I spend many hours flying with sanderling pushing my courier past it limits and while a lot of it has to do with his insane skill the ship itself just can't compete with a similarly fit viper at all...
Damn, now I might have to try one out as well!
Any chance FD could give us an Imperial Viper too? I'm just can't get comfortable in those generic federal seats, it needs a proper Imperial cabin
(Only somewhat joking, looking up and back in VR and the square seats get in the way much worse in my Mamba than in the Courier)
Deleted member 121570
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I seriously hope not. The price of those nice seats seems to be turning capability...
None of the imp ships turn worth a fig.
In fairness, not much point lookin' back & up in a Viper. You just see the skanky cockpit