Mini-Carriers for solo players

[Qohen Leth]

The way I see it, Fleet Carriers, like other game features, can't decide whether they're intended for individual players or player groups.

For a solo player, FCs are expensive*, they're too big, they're cumbersome, they're a pain to refuel if one doesn't like mining, etc. 16 pads is just way too many for a single CMDR.
* Yes, I know everyone is rich now and you're smart enough to make profit off yours, don't feel obliged to mention it.

I would love to see Fleet Carriers remain intended for groups, alongside a smaller model, with a single landing pad, only big enough to transport a few ships, no NPCs buzzing around, no irrational upkeep. Refuel via fuel transfert limpets, perhaps, with the same fuel as our ships. Incapable of supercruise, of course, but requiring less fuel to jump; and no "online" services (contacts, UC, etc.). Basically, a small personal port of call, particularly well-suited to explorers out in the black. Why not the ability to download exploration and exobiology data for safekeeping?

And of course, just a bit of interior space to stretch our legs.

 

[metatheurgist]

They are clearly meant for groups, until someone woke up and realised they were spending all this time and effort making some for a niche in the player base at a time when everyone was calling the game mile wide and inch deep and we were in a content desert. They made a second mistake by making them available for all. The right move was not to make them in the first place. Same mistake they are making with Colonoscopy btw.

The number of pads is irrelevant, the main thing is the only way they can (or want to) make carriers work is as mini-stations so they will never work as a "big" ship that can SC. The buzzing NPCs is proof that it's just a station and they didn't even bother to remove the default code for security. This is an impost on their DB and server operations and the upkeep is a way of limiting people from using these resources.

That said it is easy even for a solo player to buy a carrier and pay the upkeep, and no I don't do it with the carrier. The carrier makes no CR for me. Once a week of ground CZs has made enough CR to cover the upkeep and also enough extra for me to buy a second carrier.

The fuel is a different question. I could go for them being easier to fuel but the mess they've made of mining and the economy makes that a hard question to tackle for them. Another self-inflicted wound there.

 

[Tifu]

That said it is easy even for a solo player to buy a carrier and pay the upkeep, and no I don't do it with the carrier. The carrier makes no CR for me. Once a week of ground CZs has made enough CR to cover the upkeep and also enough extra for me to buy a second carrier.

No, I'm sorry but this isn't true. And I think mini carriers are really the way to go.

 

[metatheurgist]

No, I'm sorry but this isn't true. And I think mini carriers are really the way to go.

How can it not be true? I do own a carrier and I pay for it with 2 hours of ground CZs every week. And the CR I've made from that has been more than enough to pay for the upkeep and save up enough to buy a second carrier. That's just a reality.

 

[oblivionmanman 2476]

everyone wants a easy way, a fc is a ship if you cant afford dont buy one untile you can. im a solo player i play in open but work on my own,dont wing up or join a sqn,my fc is fully equipt bar shop and all. there is no favortism, you can or you cant.

 

[Qohen Leth]

everyone wants a easy way, a fc is a ship if you cant afford dont buy one untile you can. im a solo player i play in open but work on my own,dont wing up or join a sqn,my fc is fully equipt bar shop and all. there is no favortism, you can or you cant.

It's not about an easy way, it's about options tailored to playstyles. I also own a carrier, it has 10 years of upkeep in its bank, but I don't use it for myself as it's just too much work for too little benefit for what I do.

 

[SteveWW57]

If a search be made on the forum, there is a lot more on the subject of baby carriers (more restricted, smaller and cheaper than fleet carriers). This is old ground.

I posted my thoughts and ideas about baby carriers which I support.

 

[GroG79]

More FC types would be nice

I'd also like a bigger one. Of course for cargo storage. I do not need 40 ships at all times. I'd like to be able to have more outfitting and perhaps be able to sell some ships without making to many compromises

 

[Doctor Dread]

I'd like to see something like that.
But what I'd like more is a proper old-school heavy hauler, 2k+ cargo.

 

[Rubbernuke]

I think there should be much more made of FCs- for example smaller solo based ones, but also options for support. For example options for funding fuel- you have an altered (more expensive) contract and the FC fuels itself, or that you can hire different types of crew for trade offs:

robotic- low overheads, but expensive
regular crew- as now
slaves- cheap (but bar you from slave banning systems)

 

[Qohen Leth]

If a search be made on the forum, there is a lot more on the subject of baby carriers (more restricted, smaller and cheaper than fleet carriers). This is old ground.

I posted my thoughts and ideas about baby carriers which I support.

Didn't find those, sorry.

 

[Ameeleean2]

I miss the most ability to designate one or two of my ships as haulers and option to use fleet carrier cargo hold for trading.
That way I could visit station, buy wares in bulk and then wait 1-2h for transfer to be done while watching movie or reading. I do not have to see those hauling ships taking off and landing. All I need is information when accessing carrier cargo hold when transfer will be completed (we have similar thing for ships and modules already).
I recall times when I decided to buy carrier and how much effort it has taken me to find most suitable for me way to earn credits. It has taken a while so I can tell Fleet Carrier is expensive, but there is not much to spend money on later in the game so my credits went higher and higher and getting more became pointless. I can't even use that wealth to speed up colonization.
Fleet Carrier primary functions for me are:
1. Mobile base- I'm keeping everything there. That is especially useful for explorer type players.
2. Place to engineer ships (pinned blueprints). I just wish I had ability to add experimental effects too.
3. Temporary warehouse- especially now when I'm engaged in colonization feature.

As for the questions:
-Is it worth to have fleet carrier? Yes
-Is it necessary to own one? No
-Is it meant for group of players? No, since only carrier owner can manage it.
-Will it lessen manual labor for Fleet Carrier owner? No, quite opposite, FC owner will be slave to his own FC. Manual refill, manual jump order, no ability to plot course, no ability to refuel remotely, etc.

 

[Tyres O'Flaherty]

I'm a solo player and I have a carrier. It's convenience really: if I'm out in the black, I don't want to be carrying oodles of data with the (slight) risk of losing it during a hiccup.

I really like my carrier and would not like to be without it. The purchase and upkeep are simply not issues for me.

As @metatheurgist says above, though, fuelling the thing is a different story. Mining tritium is awful. And I'd love to see some other things changed which I won't repeat yet again.

 

[aRJay]

No, I'm sorry but this isn't true. And I think mini carriers are really the way to go.

I also run a FC all by myself I did exobiology for a while while using it to help me explore and I don’t need to consider funding it again for over a decade, I don’t have a bartender and haven’t really used it as an income generator.

If mini carriers use the same mechanisms as the existing ones then the existing problems associated with moving a station and contents from one location to another would get even worse. So I don’t support this idea.

 

[Hank]

A new class of ship that falls between a Large ship and the FC. A ship that has at least two landing pads (including a large pad) and storage bays for each pad is what I want. A ship that you fly like a large ship and but obviously can't fit through the slot. You would have to interact with spaceports and surface facilities with the ships you have on board.

I'm all for a new class of ship.
GL HF

 

[Mainsil]

Maybe something along the lines of a pony carrier that is more or less a u-haul rental. Off the top of my head features would be:

• Weekly rental fee of 1 to 2 million credits
• Security deposit of 20 million credits refunded only if pony carrier returned to authorized rental agent. If they have to come and recover it, you lose deposit.
• Like FCs is immune to damage but has no guns, you want guns get an FC.
• 5K to 10K commodity storage. It is a U-Haul, commodity storage is what it does.
• Use Hydrogen fuel (from all those Colony stations...)
• Jump range of 150 LY, jumps like regular ship but has an added 120 second delay between jumps for balance.
• Fair sized tank capable of doing 7 or so jumps.
• Has one large pad
• No refueling/reaming, etc services. You want luxuries get an FC.

This would allow players angsting about not having a carrier to build their colonies to experience the joy of two cargo runs for every load delivered to the construction site.

 

[Ultra Fluffy]

I'm a solo explorer, as such I spend 99% of my time out in the black. It took me a while to save up for a FC, I regarded it as a challenge. It was a great achievement to finally be able to afford one, then they increased the payout for exobiology. Now I can afford 4 more fleet carriers (if they would let me buy more). So now I have enough credits for 15 years of FC upkeep, and being out in the black, nothing else to spend it on.

Has anyone else made use of my FC when I have returned to the bubble? No idea, there are no logs.
Do I need 16 landing pads? No, just one of each type.
Do I need so much storage? Yes, I fill up the tanks and storage with Tritium and that allows me to fly it to any point in the galaxy and back again.
What do I use it for? It accompanies me on my solo expeditions. It allows me to cash in my data, change ships when I get bored, get to places on the edge of the galaxy my ship cannot get to, repairs my ship after a bad landing on a high gravity body.

What would I like to see improved?

• Easier ways of collecting tritium. Mining it out in the black takes far too long.
• Being able to transfer from the hold to the tanks without me being present.
• More internal decorations (pot plants etc)
• More areas of the FC to explore
• More things to do on the FC
• Some use for the officer's mess
• Longer jumps
• Logs of visitors

Would a mini FC be any use to me? No
Would it be use to anyone else? Yes, probably, but like anything else, it would come with a bucket load of limitations.

 

[Born Free]

i earned the money for my FC by doing exobiology for a little over 2 weeks. maybe close to 3 weeks. i forget exactly.

good luck
(no sense complaining about the cost, since it's not THAT difficult)

all you need is an artemis suit (G3 is nice but not 100% necessary. you can find G3's for sale in the thread "The Great Pre-Upgraded Gear Sharing is Caring Thread")
and you need a smaller ship for exploring. diamondback works, courier works. does not have to be a mandalay.
you dont even need super long jump range. just look for blue & white stars class F and K they have the most bio it seems

 

[SteveWW57]

Didn't find those, sorry.

Here is a thread that includes some ideas. Others are out there.

New Ships, Weapons, Rebalancing etc

Now that we have a war, we can finally see R&D accelerate through the Superpowers. New Ships - I dont even need to go into this. We are over due for not one, not two, not even 3, but a PLETHORA of new craft. Ship Rebalancing - You have numbers on ships that still don't make sense. Slots...

forums.frontier.co.uk

 

[Dougie]

As a new(ish) player I find this idea very attractive. For example: I noticed the issue of not being able to keep / store for future use a second (or more) titan drive component (for when I buy new ships) - I hear they can be stored on FCs but of course as a tyro the 5BCr is nowhere in sight.

A smaller, individual version would be welcome.