It is an amazing little ship.
I have 1 very fast Courier - the others are tailored for different purposes so may be as slow as 600 m/s
GALNET - Prototype Frame Shift Drive almost production ready, competitor sceptical - 04 APR 3310
- Thread starter Aleks Zuno
- Start date
I have 1 very fast Courier - the others are tailored for different purposes so may be as slow as 600 m/s
Once I get around to it (after a low activity period in Elite to dedicate some of my free time to another game or two - sacrilege, I know), I might get one of these for my alt to run the AX reactivations with. Clearing gravity wells quickly with that would be quite nice. (And maybe I will just have to consider taking some AX missiles to nuke the big one/Banshee before going in - taking it out with the Scorpion is a bit of a slog and I don't really trust my Elite FPS skills to pull that one off on foot. Consistently enough to not get obliterated, anyway - especially with Revenants around.)
I suppose keeping one handy for if I do carrier-based exploration at some point, on my main, would also be good. But more likely to be a far off scenario on that end, and there might be less inferior versions out by then(if the story development permits for such).
... I do just have one Courier though, aptly named the "Speed Demon". 885 max without a vehicle hanger, 830 with one. Also once considered making one with a little more 'beef' instead of a fragile speed boat(with exploration utility), to use as a short-range mission runner with flechettes and a beam to get occasional attackers/pirates... but never got around to it. That could be another application of the overcharge FSD.
I suppose keeping one handy for if I do carrier-based exploration at some point, on my main, would also be good. But more likely to be a far off scenario on that end, and there might be less inferior versions out by then(if the story development permits for such).
... I do just have one Courier though, aptly named the "Speed Demon". 885 max without a vehicle hanger, 830 with one. Also once considered making one with a little more 'beef' instead of a fragile speed boat(with exploration utility), to use as a short-range mission runner with flechettes and a beam to get occasional attackers/pirates... but never got around to it. That could be another application of the overcharge FSD.
I called it!
Well, I grabbed an overcharged 4C FSD this morning to do some testing. That went in my Dolphin, which runs so cold you could store frozen veg in it. Three Sirius heatsinks went on, along with a couple of AFMU's and a module re-enforcement.
Attempt One was pointed at a target planet roughly 250K Ls from the main star. Off I went, careening around with alarms blaring until, after around 90K Ls, the boost disengaged due to lack of fuel. Unfortunately, due to paying too much attention to keeping on target, and the fact that the dash lighting on either side of the Dolphins console tends to obfuscate the display of info, I hadn't noticed just how quickly the fuel was being used. However, there was just enough left to get me back to my FC in standard 'sane' SC, so no harm done.
Attempt Two was pointed at the same target, but now with extra fuel capacity (52t) and a repair limpet controller and a few limpets. This time I get a lot further (about 140K Ls) before I aborted due the hull integrity dropping to around 30%. Much heat sinking was employed to get the temp down from around 1400% to something comfortable and fuel usage was about half of total capacity (26-27t). Repaired the main modules with an AFMU, but was unable to make any hull repairs due to the cargo door failing completely and subsequently losing all my limpets...somewhere. Headed back to the FC again.
Overall, this could be useful for short bursts...in my personally flawed highly biased opinion. But, until there is a firmware upgrade or engineering to improve vector stabilisation (if you want to call it that), reduce heat generation and improve fuel economy, I wouldn't be using it for in system travel long distance.
Well, not in my Dolphin any how.
I'll be interested to read Sirius' scathing comments (e..g. bunch of amateurs, shoddy engineering, putting customers lives at risk, etc, and so on)...maybe.
Perhaps this will only work effectively in a 'new' ship designed to support it properly.
Attempt One was pointed at a target planet roughly 250K Ls from the main star. Off I went, careening around with alarms blaring until, after around 90K Ls, the boost disengaged due to lack of fuel. Unfortunately, due to paying too much attention to keeping on target, and the fact that the dash lighting on either side of the Dolphins console tends to obfuscate the display of info, I hadn't noticed just how quickly the fuel was being used. However, there was just enough left to get me back to my FC in standard 'sane' SC, so no harm done.
Attempt Two was pointed at the same target, but now with extra fuel capacity (52t) and a repair limpet controller and a few limpets. This time I get a lot further (about 140K Ls) before I aborted due the hull integrity dropping to around 30%. Much heat sinking was employed to get the temp down from around 1400% to something comfortable and fuel usage was about half of total capacity (26-27t). Repaired the main modules with an AFMU, but was unable to make any hull repairs due to the cargo door failing completely and subsequently losing all my limpets...somewhere. Headed back to the FC again.
Overall, this could be useful for short bursts...in my personally flawed highly biased opinion. But, until there is a firmware upgrade or engineering to improve vector stabilisation (if you want to call it that), reduce heat generation and improve fuel economy, I wouldn't be using it for in system travel long distance.
Well, not in my Dolphin any how.
I'll be interested to read Sirius' scathing comments (e..g. bunch of amateurs, shoddy engineering, putting customers lives at risk, etc, and so on)...maybe.
Perhaps this will only work effectively in a 'new' ship designed to support it properly.
Try short bursts?
It isn't quite as much hilarity as melting your ship, granted, so very boring, but may help
Hi All
I'm away from the bubble at the moment so I haven't been able to purchase this new drive. Reading through this topic briefly I'm wondering if the new Python Mk2 has mechanical quality's that will enable this drive to be specifically beneficial to this ship, and maybe this ship only in some way?... In other words this drive works best in the Python Mk2.
Just a thought.
As for the other three new ship variants being more suited to this drive
....unless of course the three other ship variants are going to be designed for other as yet unknown specific tasks or uses.
Jack
I'm away from the bubble at the moment so I haven't been able to purchase this new drive. Reading through this topic briefly I'm wondering if the new Python Mk2 has mechanical quality's that will enable this drive to be specifically beneficial to this ship, and maybe this ship only in some way?... In other words this drive works best in the Python Mk2.
Just a thought.
As for the other three new ship variants being more suited to this drive
....unless of course the three other ship variants are going to be designed for other as yet unknown specific tasks or uses. Jack
Try short bursts?
It isn't quite as much hilarity as melting your ship, granted, so very boring, but may help
Indeedy. Preferably between stations or stars for fuel top-ups.
On the plus side though, it does add a bit of excitement to the trip.
Achilles may have overdone it with the power settings on this thing, sheesh. I’d barely turned the overcharge on and it shot me right past a planet that was 2k ls away. I mean, I knew it was going to be fast but not that fast.
I think the parameters of “Titan drive power stuffed into a 40 meter box(my Krait Phantom in this case)” need to be fine-tuned slightly…
I think the parameters of “Titan drive power stuffed into a 40 meter box(my Krait Phantom in this case)” need to be fine-tuned slightly…
Something like that, yeah. It managed to turn my normally artic Dolphin into an out of control fireball.
Ah, fun times...
Perhaps this will only work effectively in a 'new' ship designed to support it properly.
Hi
I'd posted before I saw your post, sorry!
This is why I was thinking the Python MK2 was maybe the ship to utilise this new drive to the best advantage somehow perhaps.
Jack
Probably should have used a T10, its velocity in the SCO will be quite low and it's hard to overheat.
And the tank is already 64 tons, the only ship that has a 128 tons tank is Beluga.
Had a bit of a go with it at some minor BGS work(nothing I particularly needed to but don’t need to ask me twice to be a thorn in Azimuth’s backside), and it is quite nice in the way it cuts down on the dead travel times. Much more than having higher jump range would imo. Definitely great for a mission runner, so I’ll keep one around on the carrier. And scatter a few around places in the Bubble where I think my alt could benefit from having one available nearby.
… having said that, an A rated version would be nice - but just that. I don’t believe it particularly needs engineering, especially when it still benefits from a Guardian FSD booster.
I may surprise someone, but as was written above (maybe it was in another thread) not everyone (myself included) develops the FSD engine for no the increased jump.
Although it may be hard for a person who doesn't fly in open game to understand this.
P.S. That's weird, I just noticed it now. The engineer Marco, located in the Sirius system, does not deal with the FSD engine, but this new engine makes it faster to fly to him, since the main number of engineers is quite close to the star.
Last edited:
You don't have to do that, you can also use the 'buy and store' option.
Attachments
Ah yes, that worked.
I could probably live with the overheating and the fuel guzzling if it just managed to stay pointed in the right direction. With all three together though, it feels like a bit of a backward step simply to get somewhere faster...
...at the moment.
In all fairness to it though, that's just me. Just because I can't see a practical use for it right now doesn't mean it's not useful for something, obviously.
Last edited:
Hi
I'd posted before I saw your post, sorry!
This is why I was thinking the Python MK2 was maybe the ship to utilise this new drive to the best advantage somehow perhaps.
Jack
That was my thinking. I guess we will see...
I tested several sizes of SCOs in various ships with Low Emissions 5 / Thermal Spread power plants, a smattering of heatsinks, and every optional slot full of fuel. I looked at how long a single activation of the SCO would last from baseline heat at zero frameshift throttle (30 km/sec) to the moment that the warning of heat damage happens at 100% heat. This is with my phone as a stopwatch, so your mileage and my fast twitch reflexes may vary.
The sweet spot for these SCOs seems to be class 3. A Viper III can overcharge for about 49 seconds before a heat sink is required. An Imperial Courier can do more than 42 seconds and has a much greater fuel supply. These are the best bang for your buck options.
Class 2 is very fuel efficient and fast but is limited by potential fuel amounts. Sidewinders can SCO over 20 seconds with less fuel, and Haulers can haul for 18 seconds with more fuel. If you like miles per gallon, these are your best choices.
Class 4 is dominated by the Dolphin, with 19 seconds of SCO time thanks to itsgodhanded uncanny cooling rate. The DBS is just shy of 19 seconds, as its thermal capacity is much higher than the Dolphin, but it has a lower peak cooling rate. The dolphin carries a crapton of fuel by comparison, though, and is most likely the best choice for class 4.
Class 5 SCOs and above seems to have really high heat, and most ships seem to lose their ability to compensate for that heat at that point. The DBX did 18.4 seconds, and the Krait Mk II did 15.4 seconds. I expect the Phantom and the Python will perform similarly. For giggles I tried the Mamba, and it toastified after 8 seconds.
Smaller ships and smaller class SCOs are most likely to be in the "0% heat club". That means that a heatsink activation will take it all the way from 100% to 0%, maximizing its benefit as you overcharge and letting you accelerate for a short time without heat gain. A dolphin is in the club but a DBS is not. Neither is the Krait. The class 3 and class 2 SCO ships listed are all 0% clubbers. The Chieftain is not. The Sidewinder actually stays at 0% heat for a chillingly long time. I did not measure heat ramp time from 0%, but considering that heat gain is a constant at each SCO class level, the performance will be roughly proportional to the timed ramp from resting baseline heat.
For reference, this old but very useful thread indirectly predicts SCO performance if you look at the thermal capacity and max cooling rate relative to the class of the SCO. https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/a-table-of-all-of-edsys-ship-thermals.551080/ You can see why certain ships do well and others don't. (RIP Harrowdown and thanks for your work)
While testing you can also see that the heat generated by the SCO is constant no matter your speed, while the cooling rate increases as heat approaches 66% and then stays at its maximum from 66% to 100%. This means that as the ship's heat ramps towards 66%, the rate of rise actually slows, maintaining its slowest pace from 66% to 100%. The reason why the class 3 ships do so well is because a bunch of their ramp time is spent above 66%, slowly creeping towards 100%.
It's clear that these new FSDs have been tuned with smaller ships in mind. It's nice for smaller ships to have something they can do that their bigger siblings can't. Not that you can't slap a SCO on any ship and just use it to escape gravity wells and gun your engine at (space) red lights.
The sweet spot for these SCOs seems to be class 3. A Viper III can overcharge for about 49 seconds before a heat sink is required. An Imperial Courier can do more than 42 seconds and has a much greater fuel supply. These are the best bang for your buck options.
Class 2 is very fuel efficient and fast but is limited by potential fuel amounts. Sidewinders can SCO over 20 seconds with less fuel, and Haulers can haul for 18 seconds with more fuel. If you like miles per gallon, these are your best choices.
Class 4 is dominated by the Dolphin, with 19 seconds of SCO time thanks to its
Class 5 SCOs and above seems to have really high heat, and most ships seem to lose their ability to compensate for that heat at that point. The DBX did 18.4 seconds, and the Krait Mk II did 15.4 seconds. I expect the Phantom and the Python will perform similarly. For giggles I tried the Mamba, and it toastified after 8 seconds.
Smaller ships and smaller class SCOs are most likely to be in the "0% heat club". That means that a heatsink activation will take it all the way from 100% to 0%, maximizing its benefit as you overcharge and letting you accelerate for a short time without heat gain. A dolphin is in the club but a DBS is not. Neither is the Krait. The class 3 and class 2 SCO ships listed are all 0% clubbers. The Chieftain is not. The Sidewinder actually stays at 0% heat for a chillingly long time. I did not measure heat ramp time from 0%, but considering that heat gain is a constant at each SCO class level, the performance will be roughly proportional to the timed ramp from resting baseline heat.
For reference, this old but very useful thread indirectly predicts SCO performance if you look at the thermal capacity and max cooling rate relative to the class of the SCO. https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/a-table-of-all-of-edsys-ship-thermals.551080/ You can see why certain ships do well and others don't. (RIP Harrowdown and thanks for your work)
While testing you can also see that the heat generated by the SCO is constant no matter your speed, while the cooling rate increases as heat approaches 66% and then stays at its maximum from 66% to 100%. This means that as the ship's heat ramps towards 66%, the rate of rise actually slows, maintaining its slowest pace from 66% to 100%. The reason why the class 3 ships do so well is because a bunch of their ramp time is spent above 66%, slowly creeping towards 100%.
It's clear that these new FSDs have been tuned with smaller ships in mind. It's nice for smaller ships to have something they can do that their bigger siblings can't. Not that you can't slap a SCO on any ship and just use it to escape gravity wells and gun your engine at (space) red lights.
