I posted this in the ship transfer poll thread, which probably wasn't the best place for it… I hope nobody objects to me starting its own thread too.
I've seen some talk of really big ship transfer vessels, but I'm not sure that these make in-game economic sense. Surely the companies making them could also clean up on bulk goods transport, undermining Elite central premise of the independent CMDR? (Although that might explain how many of the bubble's economies do manage to function, given that there's little incentive—outside of missions—to bulk ship low value cargo anyway…) Also, I doubt we're likely to see these huge ships in game anytime soon—even once ship transfer is in effect.
So anyway: FSD Space Tugs!
Imagine little FSD tug ships: really small, maybe only Viper sized. Basically all FSD and full tank, with the minimum power plant and thrusters necessary to function—think slower and less manoeuvrable than a Type-9 in regular space.
But what they can do is attach themselves to larger vessels and 'pull' them into massive hyperspace jumps. What's more, several of them could work together to transport the larger vessels and/or to make bigger jumps.
This could easily explain the ship transfer process making bigger jumps than your own ship's FSD can, but without invoking huge 'invisible' carrier ships, which really ought to also drastically alter the dynamics of interstellar trade.
Thoughts?
I've seen some talk of really big ship transfer vessels, but I'm not sure that these make in-game economic sense. Surely the companies making them could also clean up on bulk goods transport, undermining Elite central premise of the independent CMDR? (Although that might explain how many of the bubble's economies do manage to function, given that there's little incentive—outside of missions—to bulk ship low value cargo anyway…) Also, I doubt we're likely to see these huge ships in game anytime soon—even once ship transfer is in effect.
So anyway: FSD Space Tugs!
Imagine little FSD tug ships: really small, maybe only Viper sized. Basically all FSD and full tank, with the minimum power plant and thrusters necessary to function—think slower and less manoeuvrable than a Type-9 in regular space.
But what they can do is attach themselves to larger vessels and 'pull' them into massive hyperspace jumps. What's more, several of them could work together to transport the larger vessels and/or to make bigger jumps.
This could easily explain the ship transfer process making bigger jumps than your own ship's FSD can, but without invoking huge 'invisible' carrier ships, which really ought to also drastically alter the dynamics of interstellar trade.
Thoughts?
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