Newcomer / Intro Mass: speed, acceleration, maneuverability

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

I'm pretty sure - well, kind of sure - a ship's mass must affect its speed, acceleration and maneuverability, but is it significant in the EDverse?

I'm working on a speedy ship at the moment and got it to boost to 766km/s but curiosity is making the grey matter work. It's fast; not quite "Morpheus is fighting Neo" fast yet but nearly there. So, if the ship's mass is currently say, 100 tons, and I fit, for example some hull and module reinforcements with a mass of, for example, 50 tons, how much is speed (top, boosted), acceleration and maneuverability (normal space, SC) affected?

Or am I just over-analising?

 

[Ashnak]

You're not - but if you want some over--ising, it's 766 m/s, not km/s

The practical answer is, of course, Do It!

The theoretical answer is available e.g. on Coriolis. Set up your ship like you have it in the game, then add cargo, switch pips around, whatever, and observe the changes in the "Profiles" tab at the bottom of the page.

 

[pzykozomatik]

I mainly depends on the thrusters. Their "optimal mass" and "optimal mutiplier" values (see: engineering) determine how your ship's speed and maneuverability react to mass changes. Usually there is a range where additional mass doesn't effect the characteristics much, but over a certain point every additional ton gives a noticeable hit to your top speed and boost. Similarly there is no point in losing mass if you're under a certain threshold.

 

[Chris Simon]

What they said ^^

There is not much point in lowering ship's weight under the optimal mass of your thrusters. But above that, every ton means at least a couple m/s of speed.

 

[Sylow]

It's a give and take. You gain speed, you sacrifice other aspects. Nobody can give you the absolute answer, as it depends on your preferences. I advise to at least try it. You might get addicted and never want to fight in another way any more. Or you might just find it curious but decide that some of the sacrifices were too much.
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I personally usually by now fly my Courier a bit heavier. I keep my mass low enough to not really notice a difference in turn rates. The top speed is lower, but the speed advantage against NPCs is still so high that I really don't gain anything by pushing it up any more. But that's again, me as PvE pilot and my personal preference. PvP players will tell you a different story, as will probably do others who fly differently than me.
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[BradHann]

Related - do cargo and fuel count towards your mass? I know they do for jump range, I'm almost positive they don't for shields. But not sure about thrusters (I don't think so, but can't confirm).

 

[Ra'Kaan]

i always go into combat with a half tank of fuel.

 

[Clicker]

Yes, additional mass does affect acceleration, turn rates and terminal velocity.

These are also limited within the game mechanics to make the game playable.
Just don’t try to apply actual physics into your thinking.

Clicker

 

[Ashnak]

Related - do cargo and fuel count towards your mass? I know they do for jump range, I'm almost positive they don't for shields. But not sure about thrusters (I don't think so, but can't confirm).

Definitely. Shields are applied to Hull Mass only, which doesn't change. But get a T-9, fly her empty into a station, load her up and then fly out again. You really will notice the difference.

 

[Chris Simon]

i always go into combat with a half tank of fuel.

I used to do that in my Courier, because it meant +20m/s and some turning advantage, but ever since I installed the plasma slug rail guns, I have to admit that it did bite me in the butt a couple of times.

 

[Para Handy]

........, load her up and then fly out again. You really will notice the difference.

Which is a good way of noticing that you forgot to load up with cargo when you see how much faster than normal you are travelling on certain pip settings as you exit.

 

[phong]

When you are tuning thrusters/FSD, is it better to strip the ship first or do it fully laden?

 

[Chris Simon]

When you are tuning thrusters/FSD, is it better to strip the ship first or do it fully laden?

Depends on how you want to use the ship. I'd say engineer it in a configuration you're going to be using so you can see how it behaves right away.

That is doubly true for thrusters. For example Dirty Drives are much more sensitive to mass so every ton extra is also extra noticeable and for a ship that is going to be frequently overloaded, something like Clean Drives are much better choice. They don't have as high peak performance but due to higher optimal mass value, they suffer less performance drop as your ship's mass increases.
If you really want to tailor your ship to your liking a 100%, count on spending days or weeks and loads of materials on engineering.