I've seen quite a few posts from commanders mentioning a jump range of well over 50 light years. On my aspx I've done the things one normally does to maximise jump range and I can only get 46ly. I've got everything D-rated where possible, G5 FSD upgrade (it's not the best possible roll but it's pretty good, and I don't have the patience to grind up the mats for hundreds more attempts to try to squeeze that final 1% out of it), power plant is A-rated but one size smaller than normal, etc etc. Are there any other tricks I can do, other than completely removing all modules that aren't completely utterly totally 100 percent necessary? Which I think would only be the shields anyway.
How do you get 50+ly jump range?
- Thread starter BradHann
- Start date
To some degree you under class some of the heavier things. Like a 3D power plant in an anaconda etc. I also severely cut down on the thrusters and distributor. I had no boost, but with that and some luck on the FSD engineering I was able to meet the requirements for the Distant Stars expedition. I have since engineered the weight out of the sensors and so that let me put in an thruster, power plant and distributor that lets me boost. I have 51.x full, 57 empty.
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Engineer lightweight life support & sensors (& chaff / point defence / heat sink launcher if you use them).
Get 4D thrusters & G5 clean drive mod (clean for better heat management).
If you're exploring, get rid of guns (or at least lightweight them).
If no guns & lower class shield, you can go down one more class with powerplant. If you need a bit more juice, engineer it - G1 overcharged can give surprisingy good results (and even lower the mass of PP if you're lucky). For heat reasons, always have A rated PP.
Here's my heavily RNGineered long range Asp.
http://edshipyard.com/#/L=A0g1,,CEg...Q4Go62wAF6xb3AuEEImaxKp77ggPc02X01IM02UI02jw0
She can boost, carries an SRV & has light shields + other defences (but no guns).
Get 4D thrusters & G5 clean drive mod (clean for better heat management).
If you're exploring, get rid of guns (or at least lightweight them).
If no guns & lower class shield, you can go down one more class with powerplant. If you need a bit more juice, engineer it - G1 overcharged can give surprisingy good results (and even lower the mass of PP if you're lucky). For heat reasons, always have A rated PP.
Here's my heavily RNGineered long range Asp.
http://edshipyard.com/#/L=A0g1,,CEg...Q4Go62wAF6xb3AuEEImaxKp77ggPc02X01IM02UI02jw0
She can boost, carries an SRV & has light shields + other defences (but no guns).
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Wow, a 2A power plant? I thought I was doing well by putting in an engineered 4A. I wouldn't have considered going down by 3 sizes, but it's good to know that it can work. This has given me something to think about.
Like this ...
link: https://eddp.co/u/Y9EuiQfV
50.4Ly, even with shields, PVH and boost.
You can see the modules that are Engineered in the Coriolis link.
A 51.4% roll on the FSD, which can take quite a few rolls and re-rolls.
4D thrusters, 2A power plant, 2D power distributor
The smallest possible D rated modules and lightweight engineering mods.
Power management isn't a problem with a 2A. The AFMU does not need to be powered on when not in use.
The PVH never needs to be powered on at the same time thrusters are powered on.
link: https://eddp.co/u/Y9EuiQfV
50.4Ly, even with shields, PVH and boost.
You can see the modules that are Engineered in the Coriolis link.
A 51.4% roll on the FSD, which can take quite a few rolls and re-rolls.
4D thrusters, 2A power plant, 2D power distributor
The smallest possible D rated modules and lightweight engineering mods.
Power management isn't a problem with a 2A. The AFMU does not need to be powered on when not in use.
The PVH never needs to be powered on at the same time thrusters are powered on.
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You can also try for a lighter power distributer and get a increased capacity mod. If you get a good roll, you can still boost (just with a long recharge after). A 4d thruster is also possible for an aspx if you don't plan to go to high g planets (read:1.5 g or more) with high risk.
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An Engine Focused mod on the power distributor doesn't even need to be that good of a roll to be able to boost with an undersized PD. You only need about a 20% increase in eng capacity.
And 4D thrusters, (any size thrusters) can land just fine on any planet. (if you're careful)
For more info on thruster performance under high G, see ...
https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/218171-Thrusters-Acceleration-and-High-G-Planets
and https://youtu.be/0nErX1tFyC4 , 4D thrusters under 9.7G? No problem.
If you're accident prone, or fond of lithobraking, you should avoid High G planets anyway, no matter how good your thrusters are.
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That won't help improve your (max) jump range. It only improves the range the route plotter uses.
No matter how big your tank is, you don't have to keep it full. Smaller tank means more time fuel scooping.
IMO, it's only useful if you're in a hurry to get somewhere and you want the route plotter to plot bigger jumps.
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Believe me, control with a 4d and an aspx and a 5d with an aspx are night and day. Being able and it being worth it or even remotely enjoyable are very different. it's perfectly possible to paint my room with a toothbrush, but I'd rather use a roller.
Also, if you just get the boost for engines, you lose out on 5 to 10% sys capacity, and considering sys capacity is already crap, 5 to 10% off crap is craaaap. And I'd rather keep my shields.
I understand that it certainly gives a better feeling of control. Especially lateral thrusters that aren't pushing against gravity.
Of course, the ship will be slower and more sluggish in normal space when you're not landing on a high G planet, so it's up to you to decide if the increased jump range is worth it.
If you take a look at the thread on thruster performance under different gravity, you'll see that after about 1.6G, all thrusters perform the same against gravity (0.6G for ventral thrusters, 1.6G for main engines)
Once gravitational acceleration exceeds thruster acceleration, they all bottom out at 5 m/s²
So on high G planets, you still have to take the same care no matter what thrusters you have.
Re: Eng capacity vs Sys capacity, I have no problem keeping my 3D shields charged. Of course I rarely bump into anything. I do shut them off from time to time but I'm never in a hurry to get them charged back up.
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True - but my assumption was the OP wants his route-plotted jumps to be bigger, who in their right mind hand-picks 50LY jumps each time and finds 46LY isn't quite enough for this hand-picking madness? As for more time scooping, that's not a thing with a 6A scoop, I don't ever specifically stop to refuel and I never come close to running out. I'm also impatient, when I decide I want to be somewhere I want to be there _now_ - hence my preference for maximum route-planned distance. OFC, YMMV.
(I've also just stuck back in 5A engineered thrusters and 4A engine-focused distributor because I'm also impatient when hunting volcanism - even 5D thrusters were too slow for me, let alone 4D! Still jumps over 50LY though, on a full (16t) tank!
)If I'm reading that right, that only effects upward thrust for getting off planets, not maneuvering or slowing downward thrust. My concern was never about getting off the ground.
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Yes, but that's the majority of usage cases for most explorers. You only need to hand-pick jumps if you're either going through very sparse regions, or if you're boosting from neutron stars. In the latter case, having a larger fuel tank does help with being able to chain more before having to drop to a scoopable star.
Smaller tank means less time to top the tank. Since the change to arrival points, you can pretty much always skim the star, so there's no need to stop to scoop - unless your fuel scoop / fuel tank ratio is rather low. (Like with a 4A scoop / 5C tank on a DBX.)
Yeah, mostly right. You don't need better thrusters if you want to just land, but having better thrusters will make actually flying around on planets easier.
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The 2A on my AspX is actually pretty awesome...I went with a Level 1 low emissions from Farseer, and the heat coefficient is .32, power output is 9.4, and the mass...get this...the mass is only 1.2. Gotta love those secondary effects.
It is a fully equipped explorer with ADS, DSS, AFMU, SRV, light shields, standard fuel tank, mining laser, can boost...with a 55.58 max range, and 52 full tank range.
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Yep...this. I do a lot of trying to get to difficult to reach spots, so manual route plotting, primarily in between galactic arms, and often need that additional fuel capacity.
My Asp is doing 54ly on full tank, 57 on fumes. It has 24t fuel tank, SRV, 141MJ shields, chaff; so no major compromise is made.
You need to engineer everything on your ship and roll some good rolls at that. 2A power plant with lvl2 overcharged mod, 2D distributor which allows boost and 4D thrusters with clean drive mod (with some mass reduction), shield with low emissions mod.
As others say, you can fly with 16t fuel tank, but i dont recommend it. It is good for traveling (getting quickly from point A to point B) but not for exploring. You will need to use map filters and by doing that you will fail to spot interesting objects on the map. The most interesting stars (for me anyway) are not scoopable. In the end you will jump a bit more with that 16t tank but will spend more time to carefully plan your route.
You need to engineer everything on your ship and roll some good rolls at that. 2A power plant with lvl2 overcharged mod, 2D distributor which allows boost and 4D thrusters with clean drive mod (with some mass reduction), shield with low emissions mod.
As others say, you can fly with 16t fuel tank, but i dont recommend it. It is good for traveling (getting quickly from point A to point B) but not for exploring. You will need to use map filters and by doing that you will fail to spot interesting objects on the map. The most interesting stars (for me anyway) are not scoopable. In the end you will jump a bit more with that 16t tank but will spend more time to carefully plan your route.
Didnt even put much effort to this build. Heres one example. 50+ ly range is easy with AspX.
https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/asp.../gPFACEQNdhVAAAA.EweloBhBmSQUwIYHMA28QgIwV0A=
https://coriolis.edcd.io/outfit/asp.../gPFACEQNdhVAAAA.EweloBhBmSQUwIYHMA28QgIwV0A=
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I hear what you're saying Major Klutz but I prefer to run small fuel tanks so I don't have to worry about turning my fuel scoop on and off.
Having a 2t and 8t fuel tank combination on my Anaconda means I can only manage 1 jump before refuelling, but I get just under 70 ly range as a result
Having a 2t and 8t fuel tank combination on my Anaconda means I can only manage 1 jump before refuelling, but I get just under 70 ly range as a result
Serious question here, as I have never turned off my scoop other than to repair it...what would a circumstance be where one would need to do that, and for what advantage?