Horizons How many people have bothered to buy a Beluga for passenger cabins
- Thread starter Susanna
- Start date
Haven't bothered even though it's super pretty. With the amount of credits I have it would be crazy to spend so much on a ship that is more or less stuck with cranky and demanding passengers. The only thing it seems to have going for it (for what I'd use it for) are luxury passenger capability - but I'm not sure if those are actually worth it given how rare they seem; and I shudder at the thought of how demanding they would be.
Cargo doesn't pester me, and enemies pay me for making them go away. Other ships can take passengers as well if/when I so want (save for luxury as mentioned).
Cargo doesn't pester me, and enemies pay me for making them go away. Other ships can take passengers as well if/when I so want (save for luxury as mentioned).
Got one on day 1 but it has been sat at Founders un loved right up until last night.
I have now kitted her out for all passenger class's and fitted her with a 31lyr FSD.
I have to say, I have not taken any missions yet, but at least she is now ready for when the right ones turn up.
She does fly really well and has a massive internal fuel tank, so large, she can make 10 jumps at max range before needing a top up.
I have also fitted her with an A6 fuel scoop for those who wish to go a little further, say Sag A or somewhere dumb like that
I like here a lot.
I have now kitted her out for all passenger class's and fitted her with a 31lyr FSD.
I have to say, I have not taken any missions yet, but at least she is now ready for when the right ones turn up.
She does fly really well and has a massive internal fuel tank, so large, she can make 10 jumps at max range before needing a top up.
I have also fitted her with an A6 fuel scoop for those who wish to go a little further, say Sag A or somewhere dumb like that
I like here a lot.
The ship is massive, magnificient and has the yaw rate of a T7 on steroids. Tried a couple passenger missions but payout was kinda low for the effort (and the passenger made me visit the same beacon twice, 250ly away from the mission board)
The 128tons fuel tank, ship sounds, and optional internal slots are very nice.
The 128tons fuel tank, ship sounds, and optional internal slots are very nice.
I don't have the monies for that... so no...
^ THIS ^.
On day one of the Beta, the minute I saw the pathetic jump range of this so-called "Ultimate Passenger Liner" I knew it would be a flop out of the gate. Jump range is everything when it comes to passenger mission work, and the Beluga isn't even in the top 5 of ships in the game for transporting anything efficiently.
As so many other commanders are doing, I outfitted my Anaconda for passenger duty to take advantage of its 46 Ly jump range fully equipped with a no compromise weapons load out and everything else you could possibly need. Compare that to the lack-luster 32 Ly maximum range of the Beluga with FULL Grade 5 upgrades and the choice between ships is a no brainer.
As I have been saying since day one... Since the days of steam powered passenger ships, it has always been about speed and getting passengers from A to B as quickly as possible. The Ocean Liner builders of the Golden Age were in an arms race to see who could build the most luxurious ship technologically possible that also could make the run from New York to England in the least amount of time. The passenger liners of 3302 would more likely than not be using cutting edge jump technology the same way the Ocean Liners of the 40s and 50s used cutting edge propulsion technologies.
Why Frontier failed to do their research to uncover these historical facts is mystery, but this is why the Beluga Liner has been such a failure in terms of player adoption. I like the ship and how it performs in normal space etc., but I would never use it for passenger missions when I have a far more capable ship in the Anaconda.
Last edited:
I'm still working with my passenger fitted Orca. I've got the credits and outfitting plan for a Beluga, but I'm in no rush. I mainly want to let the missions get patched up, and see how the passenger flow actually works a bit more clearly.
The biggest downfall for the Orca and Beluga are, IMO, that other ships can carry anything more than Economy cabins. I can't even be sure I've ever seen a passenger mission that required Luxury Cabins (which IMO, should be required for most ALL "Wealthy Tourist", "CEO", and spendy types)... which means that any other ship does those missions (and most everything else) better than the Orca and Beluga.
The biggest downfall for the Orca and Beluga are, IMO, that other ships can carry anything more than Economy cabins. I can't even be sure I've ever seen a passenger mission that required Luxury Cabins (which IMO, should be required for most ALL "Wealthy Tourist", "CEO", and spendy types)... which means that any other ship does those missions (and most everything else) better than the Orca and Beluga.
Like the T9 bought just for completion and parked. You have to do something with all the zero`s, may be useful at some future date.
Just updating my prior post in this thread, my vote will change to YES.
Yesterday I played a couple decent sessions and the full focus was on buying, outfitting, and making the maiden voyages in the Beluga. Some thoughts follow:
The ship: Exterior is beautifully done. Elegant yet tasteful. Somehow I do wish those long nose wings had been full length tapering wide at the rear, like the Concorde, but still... The Bridge is the most elegant I have flown, excellent view (with a minor annoyance mentioned below). Sounds of the engines are excellent, though I miss the Orca's "ding" on boosting.
Performance: The highlight on this ship is it's fuel capacity, which makes trips minimal fuss. Handling is surprisingly snappy. Downsides are several: Jump range feels like a punishment when A rating Sensor, Thrusters, and Life Support (which you'd expect to be top quality on this type ship). Heat can run a bit high, I've neared overheating when charging the FSD to leave a planet outpost. Shielding is very weak. I've fitted a 6A, quad 0A boosters, and still if I bump the tail wing on the airlock, I can see the outer shield ring dim. I've yet to come under fire, but I expect a precipitous depletion of the shielding.
The play: Unlike other ships, the life of the Beluga, Orca, and Dolphin lie fully in the quality of the missions on offer. Combat, trade, piracy, salvage, mining, all can be done without ever touching the mission board. But there is no way to fill my Passenger Cabins, without missions. I've completed both bulk and VIP mission types, I'll post some comments below:
A) I would suggest that there are too many "Sightseeing" tour missions on the boards. Every station seems to have passengers wanting to travel 15k+LY, but often none wanting just to travel 10 to 80LY. I would suggest that a good 80% of missions on offer should be passenger ferry trips within 10-100LY distance. Tons of these missions on offer would be fantastic, my biggest thought should be about finding ones that are heading in a direction I'm interested in going.
B) I would suggest that the present situation, with high concentrations of "Sightseeing" tours, be exactly what you'd find in "Tourist" stations. Passengers having traveled there seeking the long-haul trips to far away wonders.
The combination of the above two points would mean easier grab-and-go ferry mission play in most stations in the bubble. Those CMDR looking to do days or weeks long sightseeing (to augment income from an exploration trip) need only to drop into a Tourist station to browse what might suit them.
C) I would suggest nearly all "Wealthy", "CEO", and "Famous" passenger "ferry" types demanding a First Class or Luxury cabin. Nearly all "Business Persons" demanding Business Class. Common "Tourist", and the various worker/refugee related passengers fall into Business or Economy class. IMO, far too many "Wealthy" types are satisfied by an Economy cabin, further harming the value of fitting the higher rated cabins, and even harming the value of using a Beluga/Orca/Dolphin in the first place.
And the long range "Sightseeing" tour types (which will be completed almost certainly with long jumping Asp/Anacondas) will be happy to take a lower class cabin to suit these ships. It's a long trip they are requesting, and I'm sure they packed a toothbrush.
D) I would suggest that most "Criminal" passenger missions should be found in Anarchy and Low security systems, seeking travel to Medium and High security systems. I would focus the balance of their cabin demands to the ships most likely to be smuggling them... Small and Fast. Make their travel parties able to fit in a Class 2 to 4 cabin (suitable for most all the small fast ships). Nobody will run these missions in a Beluga. Make these payouts higher than other common ferry missions, to offset the risks.
Of course, in WAR state systems, the wanted "Rebel Commander" types would be common, even in Medium/High security systems while the conflict rages. This would be nicely expanded in a common fare mission carrying solders in-system (also perhaps wanted by the other warring factions).
My final thoughts: I've delivered maybe 400-500 passengers now. Last night's missions in the Beluga all went well, and the one in-bubble "Sightseeing" mission was a decent length (maybe 400LY total) and had some fantastic geysers awaiting me once I arrived.
Improving the demand for Luxury cabins by top paying "ferry" missions (not the sightseeing type) would do a lot to improve the appeal of the Beluga/Orca/Dolphin. Very unfortunately, my play last night could have been done by any ship, probably faster, and certainly cheaper than what I paid for the Beluga.
The Beluga itself is good, after a G5 FSD boost it jumps 31LY, and a G1 Clean Drives gives cooler running with a bit of speed. With some mission tweaks it would be better. I felt like I was struggling to find missions that didn't want me to travel long range. It felt like a struggle to find any missions that were interested in my First Class and Luxury Suites for in-bubble trips.
But overall a good time, and I look forward to flying it again!
EDIT: Oh, the minor cockpit annoyance... It seems like the centerline of the HUD display is a bit higher than centered targets. Try centering a FSD jump target on the Nav-ball, and note how much lower it is than the HUD centerline marks (on the left/right arcs). Same when leveling off with the planetary pitch ladder.
It seems like the seat should be just a touch higher, so those targets will be a bit more centered on the HUD, when also centered on the Nav-ball. Small thing, but still seemed to stick out.
Yesterday I played a couple decent sessions and the full focus was on buying, outfitting, and making the maiden voyages in the Beluga. Some thoughts follow:
The ship: Exterior is beautifully done. Elegant yet tasteful. Somehow I do wish those long nose wings had been full length tapering wide at the rear, like the Concorde, but still... The Bridge is the most elegant I have flown, excellent view (with a minor annoyance mentioned below). Sounds of the engines are excellent, though I miss the Orca's "ding" on boosting.
Performance: The highlight on this ship is it's fuel capacity, which makes trips minimal fuss. Handling is surprisingly snappy. Downsides are several: Jump range feels like a punishment when A rating Sensor, Thrusters, and Life Support (which you'd expect to be top quality on this type ship). Heat can run a bit high, I've neared overheating when charging the FSD to leave a planet outpost. Shielding is very weak. I've fitted a 6A, quad 0A boosters, and still if I bump the tail wing on the airlock, I can see the outer shield ring dim. I've yet to come under fire, but I expect a precipitous depletion of the shielding.
The play: Unlike other ships, the life of the Beluga, Orca, and Dolphin lie fully in the quality of the missions on offer. Combat, trade, piracy, salvage, mining, all can be done without ever touching the mission board. But there is no way to fill my Passenger Cabins, without missions. I've completed both bulk and VIP mission types, I'll post some comments below:
A) I would suggest that there are too many "Sightseeing" tour missions on the boards. Every station seems to have passengers wanting to travel 15k+LY, but often none wanting just to travel 10 to 80LY. I would suggest that a good 80% of missions on offer should be passenger ferry trips within 10-100LY distance. Tons of these missions on offer would be fantastic, my biggest thought should be about finding ones that are heading in a direction I'm interested in going.
B) I would suggest that the present situation, with high concentrations of "Sightseeing" tours, be exactly what you'd find in "Tourist" stations. Passengers having traveled there seeking the long-haul trips to far away wonders.
The combination of the above two points would mean easier grab-and-go ferry mission play in most stations in the bubble. Those CMDR looking to do days or weeks long sightseeing (to augment income from an exploration trip) need only to drop into a Tourist station to browse what might suit them.
C) I would suggest nearly all "Wealthy", "CEO", and "Famous" passenger "ferry" types demanding a First Class or Luxury cabin. Nearly all "Business Persons" demanding Business Class. Common "Tourist", and the various worker/refugee related passengers fall into Business or Economy class. IMO, far too many "Wealthy" types are satisfied by an Economy cabin, further harming the value of fitting the higher rated cabins, and even harming the value of using a Beluga/Orca/Dolphin in the first place.
And the long range "Sightseeing" tour types (which will be completed almost certainly with long jumping Asp/Anacondas) will be happy to take a lower class cabin to suit these ships. It's a long trip they are requesting, and I'm sure they packed a toothbrush.
D) I would suggest that most "Criminal" passenger missions should be found in Anarchy and Low security systems, seeking travel to Medium and High security systems. I would focus the balance of their cabin demands to the ships most likely to be smuggling them... Small and Fast. Make their travel parties able to fit in a Class 2 to 4 cabin (suitable for most all the small fast ships). Nobody will run these missions in a Beluga. Make these payouts higher than other common ferry missions, to offset the risks.
Of course, in WAR state systems, the wanted "Rebel Commander" types would be common, even in Medium/High security systems while the conflict rages. This would be nicely expanded in a common fare mission carrying solders in-system (also perhaps wanted by the other warring factions).
My final thoughts: I've delivered maybe 400-500 passengers now. Last night's missions in the Beluga all went well, and the one in-bubble "Sightseeing" mission was a decent length (maybe 400LY total) and had some fantastic geysers awaiting me once I arrived.
Improving the demand for Luxury cabins by top paying "ferry" missions (not the sightseeing type) would do a lot to improve the appeal of the Beluga/Orca/Dolphin. Very unfortunately, my play last night could have been done by any ship, probably faster, and certainly cheaper than what I paid for the Beluga.
The Beluga itself is good, after a G5 FSD boost it jumps 31LY, and a G1 Clean Drives gives cooler running with a bit of speed. With some mission tweaks it would be better. I felt like I was struggling to find missions that didn't want me to travel long range. It felt like a struggle to find any missions that were interested in my First Class and Luxury Suites for in-bubble trips.
But overall a good time, and I look forward to flying it again!
EDIT: Oh, the minor cockpit annoyance... It seems like the centerline of the HUD display is a bit higher than centered targets. Try centering a FSD jump target on the Nav-ball, and note how much lower it is than the HUD centerline marks (on the left/right arcs). Same when leveling off with the planetary pitch ladder.
It seems like the seat should be just a touch higher, so those targets will be a bit more centered on the HUD, when also centered on the Nav-ball. Small thing, but still seemed to stick out.
Last edited: