Love for cargo ships.

[Commandeur_Brin]

Just as tourist ships will have specific modules for ferrying VIP tourist we should get "bulk cargo racks" that holds double the quantity of commodities.

Cargo ships have no use of their own today and would remain useful even when you get bigger ship.

T6 is maybe the most balanced but you quickly go to something bigger.
T7 is outclassed by the Clipper and Python and the latter can hold more AND land at outpost
T9 is outclassed by the Cutter which makes no sense

The idea :

- "Bulk cargo racks" would range from class 3 up to 8 and cost at least twice but would hold twice the amount.
- T6 could go up to 200 cargo, T7 up to 400 and T9 up to 1000
- The added weight would be taken into account into the flight model

Benefits :

A suitable role for trading vessels.

Losses :

None.

 

[Deleted member 38366]

Kinda agree, despite still doing occasional Trade runs - I never use an actual, dedicated Trade Ship.

Multirolers and even ( *lol* ) the large "Imperial Combat Ship" are far better at everything.
And to top it off - they additionally yield the survivability AND pack the needed punch to deal with trouble.
They offer everything the supposedly dedicated Transporters don't offer - essentially killing off their role.

I'd like to get me a T7 and T9 back (I even own multiple Paintjobs) simply because I liked the way they handle.
But there's no sane reason to do so.
And in the V2.1 Meta, they've become so incredibly vulnerable that even I (more than sufficient Credits) can't see any reason to throw away big Insurance money in those death traps and/or risk failing Missions.
(my Combat Rank likely contributes to that dilemma - dealing with several ELITE Anacondas etc. per Trade run aren't a big deal for my Python, Anaconda or Cutter. Or getting jumped by a Wing of 7 during a Salvage MSN. In a T7/T9? *uhm* No thanks.)

 

[SheepDip82]

I'd really like the trade ships to get some sort of buff, maybe in the form of "high capacity" cargo bays - they offer far less than you can get from a multi-purpose.

The T-7 is useless - 17m cr for a max cargo of 232t, but you can squeeze 112t into a ship that is 17 times cheaper. 17! For T-7 money - you could buy an ASP (128t, high jump range), a FDS (164t, better jump range), or for a bit extra a clipper.

It's not even getting a fighter bay!

 

[Conch]

I think the OP is right, and allot of people are willing to take the risk of flying a deathtrap if the payout is good.

 

[Cosmo]

Add some massive cargo ships (freighters) that dock outside stations.

 

[Mephane]

What I would like to see is special large cargo, as in pieces of special cargo that is more massive than 1 ton and requires specialized cargo racks. These cargo racks could then only be fitted into special module slots found on the pure traders (Hauler, T6, T7, T9; maybe the Keelback, too). Also, these cargo racks should function as a regular cargo rack, too, just give the added ability to carry this extra large cargo. Then these types of cargo could have a higher cr/t ratio than regular commodities that fit into 1t canisters, and there could be well-paying transport missions for these large pieces of cargo, too.

 

[Chaz]

Yep I would like to get myself another T7 or T9 for a bit of trading as I kind of enjoyed my time in them back in the day pre 2.0, but as has been said above, there is absolutely no sane reason to do so especially not now.

There is practically no advantage to flying a dedicated trader like the Lakon T's. I always assumed that the trade ships would have had extra strong shields or hull armour to make up for their lack of speed, manoeuvrability and firepower, but that just isn't the case. Their stats in those departments are just as lacking as in the rest of them.

They do need some love and special attention. The 2 best traders in the game are the Anaconda and the king of traders, the Cutter. When it should be the Type 9 as the other 2 are essentially multi-role gunboats. It's the same again in the mid size trading range, the Clipper and Python just blow the T7 away for trading, when the T7, the dedicated trader, should be leading the way.

The thing is that apart from trading there is nothing else that the T7 and T9 can realistically do, as neither are particularly suited to mining. So if there's no advantage to using one as a trade vessel then they are pretty much redundant.

I like the OP's idea of bulk cargo racks that only the dedicated trade vessels can fit, as this would give them a speciality in the same way that the passenger ships have, which are the only ones that can fit luxury cabins.

 

[Goose4291]

Because money grows on trees, these ships now sadly get bypassed by quite a lot of commanders.

When you can make 75 million + in a Cobra in a robigo/sothis run, why would you bother with a T-6/7/9 on your way to winning the game and buying an Annie/Cutter/Corvette?

 

[Helfar]

Would be good to give them some love. The mechanics must be in there, or at least in 2.2 with the VIP lounges for Orca and Beluga. A double hold, or maybe one that doesn't show up on the scan(if your smuggling) might give the ships some extra lease of life. Mind you I still see players in T6 and T7, not T9's though as they are just awfull

 

[JW667]

I like the idea very much. There is no real reason to fly a T7, it has become obsolete.
Maybe expand the jump range of trading ships a bit to give them an edge?

But I don't mind the Anaconda and Cutter being hauling beasts. They have a significantly bigger price tag and are big ships.
The Cutter also handles like a pile of crap. Trading and shield-tanking is what it's good for, not much else.

 

[scorpyon]

Totally agree - I hastily made the jump from the T9 to the Conda if anything too early (I made a few trips without insurance! Hardcore! 8) )
This was simply because the negligible difference in cargo space between the 2 ships was vastly countered by the fact that pirates think twice (more often) about taking on a Conda than a scrub-T9.

Doubling (or even trebling) the cargo space for Cargo ships only would certainly fix this issue.
It's also a really easy update if the code has been wired up correctly in an OO fashion (since you should be able to create a polymorphic class block and change the loadout specification of the T9 ship itself to hold a slightly different type of class kmodule inside.

But what do I know.... :roll:

 

[Moonax IRL]

Because money grows on trees, these ships now sadly get bypassed by quite a lot of commanders.

When you can make 75 million + in a Cobra in a robigo/sothis run, why would you bother with a T-6/7/9 on your way to winning the game and buying an Annie/Cutter/Corvette?

I must have missed something, I have the big 3 and most of the rest but I didn't know I won something, when do I get it.

 

[Goose4291]

I must have missed something, I have the big 3 and most of the rest but I didn't know I won something, when do I get it.

Soon(TM)

 

[Lateralus]

When I suggested this back in January, most people seemed to think they were fine; https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php/225926-Trade-ships-need-a-capacity-buff

I still think this needs to happen...

 

[Commandeur_Brin]

But I don't mind the Anaconda and Cutter being hauling beasts.

Neither do I ! They should remain the same ! If the T9 can haul up to, 1000 tons it will have it's own purpose !

 

[Jockey79]

T9 is outclassed by the Cutter which makes no sense

You completely ignored that the Cutter is faction locked at a high rank, so unless you rank grind like a mad person - the T9 is the best hauler until you get Empire rank.

So it does have a purpose, it's a hauler to use while you rank up.

 

[Commandeur_Brin]

You are reaching. The problem remains with the Anaconda being a lot more interesting and basically rendering it purposeless.

 

[Chaz]

You completely ignored that the Cutter is faction locked at a high rank, so unless you rank grind like a mad person - the T9 is the best hauler until you get Empire rank.

So it does have a purpose, it's a hauler to use while you rank up.

Not really because anyone with half a brain would fly an Anaconda instead as the difference in cargo cap is almost negligible, but the gains you make in speed, jump range, defence, fire power, manoeuvrability are huge. There is a difference in price tag, but as has been noted, the creds are much easier to come by these days.

When I was in a T9 it was the step up prior to getting a Conda and the T7 was the cheap step up before that. Now with improved mission payouts etc that's no longer the case as you can go from an Asp to a Python to a Conda and never have to bother with the T7 and T9. Sure you have to grind the rep to get a Cutter but that still does not discount it from being the best trade ship at the moment, and it's a grind that just about every trader has and will make, as the gains made with one are a big leap up from the T9 and Anaconda. It's certainly one I thought was worth doing and judging by the large amount of Cutters I see other cmdr's flying obviously many others have too. On the other hand I can't remember the last time I saw a cmdr flying a T9 and T7's were a rare sight even when I was flying mine back around 1.2-1.5. Everyone seems to be in Condas and Cutters these days at the high end.

 

[Goose4291]

You completely ignored that the Cutter is faction locked at a high rank, so unless you rank grind like a mad person - the T9 is the best hauler until you get Empire rank.

So it does have a purpose, it's a hauler to use while you rank up.

When you say grind like mad, do you mean:

(i) Ask where most Imperial Charity missions are
(ii) Dump credits into all available on bulletin board there
(iii) Instance switch to refresh and return to (ii) until your next promotion?

 

[Quiquag]

I briefly used a T6. the Asp wound up being a better choice.
I pondered a T7, skipped it.
I pondered a T9. TradeConda a far better choice, holds almost as much and can jump 50+ly after being modded.

Trade ships have no purpose in the game as they stand, so I'm all in favor of giving them a capacity boost.