My Homage: Python vs Asp

Tunksy

Tunksy
I'm looking to make a pilgrimage to Beagle Point and fly in the wake of those who came before.

After some time considering which ship to take I've narrowed it down to two.
As much as I'd benefit from an Anaconda and it's Star Destroyer look from the big chair, it just costs too much for me at this point in time.

The plan is to use either ship in its planetary explorer guise in Coriolis.
Asp: https://coriolis.io/outfit/asp/0p0tdFfliddsnf5------0202--3cv40i0i432i2f.AwRj4jRZekg=.Aw18WQ==
Python: https://coriolis.io/outfit/python/0p0tdFflidsssf5-----0202--3cv2110s--432i2f.AwRj49RZe8g=.Aw18eQ==

Background: My time in the black has been in a DBX which has taken me through to 8% Pioneer, followed by my current Asp which I will use to ascend to the thin-aired heights of Elite.

My questions are; will the Python be worth the reduced jump range? And how does it handle compared to the Asp?
Also, I'm open to ideas on what to use it's two extra slots for during this trip.

My gratitude in advance fellow Commanders. o7
 

Caldeon

C
Which ship you should take depends only on your own taste. I personally cant go any further than 1 Kly with an Asp, i hate it :)

I flew to Beagle in a Python and can tell you, that the abyss (gap between scutum-centaurus and sagittarius carina arm) is not fun with low range. You should at least put an FSD engineer upgrade on it. If your lucky you can get 30-35 LY with a defensive build for your python. And thats the most important point: Defense. Think about flying in the bubble with a stripped down and very slow ship, no weapons, extremely low shields and no point defense. What do you think how long you will last in that? Get at least 5A shields (+ 1 booster) and 2 point defenses. Not to mention that dangers in deep space were already announced before. When you still take 3D shields, then you have to accept to be killed on your return just before you can cash your data. Its murphys law :)
 
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Cdr Voorheez

Cdr Voorheez
I took a Conda to BP and back. I wish I had been in my Asp. My Python is great for bubble work and missions but as previously said without a good FSD upgrade the range is too low and it's way too risky now flying anything stripped down for exploration.
Good luck CMDR.
 
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Kuroshio

Kuroshio
I took a 24.66 ly Python on Distant Worlds, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. (I was very lucky in the Abyss as well, no re-routing or failed plots, and I got out from Beagle Point with only two J2 jumps.)

It was a 5D (+2x2D boosters) shields build with turreted class 2 pulse lasers, PvE tested in the bubble before leaving, with a 6A scoop, AFMU, 2 SRVs and a fuel transfer limpet controller. Everything you need for independent, long-term exploration.

My main argument for the Python was psychological, however - it's a ship that feels sturdy, you can turn your head and have a beautiful bridge to see - a place where you can imagine sitting down on the stairs when landed, drinking a cuppa, and enjoying the view. It feels safe and like a home far away from home, with landing gear that looks industrial and tough (it even has an elevator instead of stairs, my main reason for looking forward to first-person-mode). You never feel cramped or fragile, but you'll never feel like your flying an oil-tanker as well.

Do a trial run, and if you like it, join the Pythoneers. :)
 

Dregory The Crow

Dregory The Crow
That Python is a cannon fodder. Poor armour, poor shields and slow. No chaff, no point defence. 4 SRVs? What for? 2 is more then enough.

I was thinking about exploration in Python and I come to this. With grade 5 FSD mod you should be able to get 33+ Ly jump range.
 

Tunksy

Tunksy
Caledon, what do you hate about the Asp? Merely curious.

I admit, I have played in solo so far, so I haven't been too worried about interdictions on RTB.
Having been out in that gorgeous black for a few updates, has the AI improved to the point that sub and run won't cut it?

On the engineer side, how much of a grind will it be for an FSD upgrade compared to shooting rocks for jumponium as I travel there?

Even with a standard FSD I'm willing to push as close to BP as I can and have a second crack on a parallel course to the DW waypoints. It's as much for the experience/challenge of doing the trip four times as it is getting there.

So I'm slightly masochistic...

o7
 

Kuroshio

Kuroshio
Just for the record, Pythons had a 75+ percent success rate during DWE - better than Asps, Anacondas and Diamondbacks. You'll need about half a dozen J1 and J2 each if you go by the standard routes to Beagle Point, though it's possible with less. (If you wanna got through with it and have a range of ~25 light-years or more, I can give you my route through the Abyss and to BP.)

I'm still flying a a Python reconfigured for high-value, high-volume trade missions, and as long as you have a good boost frequency, interdictions are nothing to worry about (at least not with my Master combat rank). Invest in a good distributor.
 
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Caldeon

C
Tunksy said:
Caledon, what do you hate about the Asp? Merely curious.

I admit, I have played in solo so far, so I haven't been too worried about interdictions on RTB.
Having been out in that gorgeous black for a few updates, has the AI improved to the point that sub and run won't cut it?

On the engineer side, how much of a grind will it be for an FSD upgrade compared to shooting rocks for jumponium as I travel there?

Even with a standard FSD I'm willing to push as close to BP as I can and have a second crack on a parallel course to the DW waypoints. It's as much for the experience/challenge of doing the trip four times as it is getting there.

So I'm slightly masochistic...

o7
Click to expand...


To be as neutral as possible :) the Asp is a ship i cannot enjoy to fly. It has good range and internals for its size, which are good things, i still dont like the asp. Bought it 6 or 7 times already and will never do it again :)

RTB: Even in solo, without PP pledge and cargo you can still be interdicted by mad NPCs and depending on your combat rank, they can be nasty. It already happened that players died to 2.1 NPCs after being out for months. You also dont know what FD changes in the game while you are out. But as you admit that youre masochistic, that danger might fit you :)

Engineered FSD > Jumponium. You upgraded FSD will work all the time, jumponium only for one jump at a time.

But youre right, you dont need to upgrade your FSD, others have done beagle point in low range ships, like sidewinders, FDS or even corvettes.
 

Tunksy

Tunksy
Nothing wrong with calling a spade a spade, specifics are welcomed.
Currently I'm at Expert, iirc it's around the mid-level ranks(?)
Sounds like I'll be making an appointment the see Felicity or Elvira (is one better over the other?)

Cheers!
 

Henkka77

Henkka77
One more DW-Pythoneer here and i would do it all over again anytime. But with engineer FSD mod next time as my 26Ly jump range not being particularly bad, but which had me scratch my head couple of times in the Abyss.
Asp, nothing wrong with it except it being:

A) ultimately boring
B) horrendeously ugly
C) being a space-Toyota

If youre going to go out there for weeks and maybe for months, take a ship with style, take Python. ;)

But, on behalf of the Asp, i have to say..

If youre willing to fly that fugly platypus, its really agile and exploring with it is ridiculously easy. I just made a few day trip to Jaques Station with my 34Ly Asp and boy that was easy as stealing a candy from a kid.
 

Rollo

R
The python smells of elderberries.

You should certainly go with the Asp. No need for the extra maintenance unit, bring a cargo rack instead (you migh get lucky). Also, heat sink launchers are overrated, I only had use of one once, and that was because I was a bit intoxi...'hic!'..cated. Usually never! happens! Honestly!
But perhaps you should pay one of the Engineering ladies a visit. Spice up your drive and allow yourself to equip your Asp to the fullest. I did. Never know who or what you might meet out there these days...
 

Kuroshio

Kuroshio
Rollo said:
The python smells of elderberries.

You should certainly go with the Asp. No need for the extra maintenance unit, bring a cargo rack instead (you migh get lucky). Also, heat sink launchers are overrated, I only had use of one once, and that was because I was a bit intoxi...'hic!'..cated. Usually never! happens! Honestly!
But perhaps you should pay one of the Engineering ladies a visit. Spice up your drive and allow yourself to equip your Asp to the fullest. I did. Never know who or what you might meet out there these days...
Click to expand...

In space, no one can smell your ship... But they can see it, and it doesn't look like the lovechild of an F-117 and a container crane. :)

Kidding. Love my Asp as well, but wouldn't want to spent 3 months in it.
 
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goemon

goemon
you should fly what you like. you'll spend a lot of time in that ship so that you love piloting the ship is most important.

AspE is hands down the best overall explorer out there, but it is in exploration what the vulture is in combat - a great tool, but getting boring for me fast.

i have flown an Adder, eagles, DBS (!), DBE, courier, python, anaconda for exploration. i have for now settled with an DBE (gives me that amazing "small ship in a big galaxy feeling") and an anaconda (love that floating feeling other call "bad supercruise handling"). I'm thinking about adding a courier to the mix, or a surface exploration DBS.

python is great, has one of the better jumpranges in game, a lot of internals etc. - it can make a great longrange explorer. if you can get a L3-L5 FSD increase via engineers on it, it will jump as far or even more far than any AspE before 2.1. i also wouldn't worry to much about jumprange - a t6 beats a DBE in any longdistance run, because fuelscoop/fas class relation matters more than jumprange.

your build is a bit to much stripped down for my personal liking. a 5D shield instead of a 3D will cost you 0,4 ly jumprange, and give you much much better safety during planetary landings. thruster handling might play a role, when you like landing a lot, so think about 5D/5A/6D thrusters (it isn't necesseary though - any thruster will allow you to land). etc.

as others i suggest a short trip to test your build before setting off; something like veill or eskimo nebula, or a tour to all 7 hypergiants <1000 ly from sol.
 

CMDR Eryn Liamson

CMDR Eryn Liamson
Another DWE pythoneer here. I think I had the lowest jump range of the python fleet at 22LY and I can say this about it: I'd do that again any day. What an awesome ship to fly!
I can't fly an Asp Explorer simply because it's so ugly and boring. It does the job very well, but... yuck.
 

FurtivePygmy

F
I feel there needs to be some more Asp-love here. A little while ago, I made the agonizing decision to take a break from exploring and sell my Asp for some fast credits to upgrade other things. I had owned that Asp since I first upgraded past Cobra and it has seen me through a number of extended excursions up, down, and across the disk. While I can't really argue with taste and how ugly some find it, I will note that its cockpit offers one of the best views of any ship. There is so much window to see through, it made exploring that much more exciting for me. A 35ly ish jump range unmodified is nothing to overlook either. In my case, I ran it naked with class D everything except FSD (obviously), a class 6 fuel scoop (for speed and efficiency), and an extra class 5 fuel tank (which you don't necessarily have to fill) for those long stretches between scoopable stars in some places. No weapons, but mounted heatsinks on all utility slots for stealthing if necessary and/or saving you from flying too close to the sun ;) Asp is fast enough to run when necessary (especially if you go A grade thrusters too), small enough to land in many places on planets (if you're doing that sort of thing) and square enough that it is easy to pivot and maneuver around in canyons, asteroid fields, etc. I did own a python for a while, and although it was an excellent and very flexible multirole, I ended up selling it before too long. I liked the look and feel, but in the end I felt that its biggest strength was in not having any particular strength and being very capable in many roles. The Asp, on the other hand, feels like a born explorer and has been my faithful companion for any serious excursions into the void. Eventually I plan to pick one up again since I've been missing having it around :(
 
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CMDR Eryn Liamson

CMDR Eryn Liamson
Tunksy said:
Decided on this Python build for now https://coriolis.io/outfit/python/0p3tdFflidsssf5-----0202--3c05110s04v4-2i2f.AwRjNcs5c8g=.Aw18eQ==
Any thoughts on the cargo/empty slots?
Gonna take a shakedown run to the hypergiants once I get back to the bubble (docked at Jaques place this morning)
Hell, might use it to run some goods out the guy too!

o7
Click to expand...

Add a 3D shield generator to the C3 slot and upgrade the power plant to a 2A. Any shield is better than no shield, especially if you're planning on landing on planets, and the 2A power plant has better head radiation which you'll want for fuel scooping.
Otherwise, go have fun, and safe flying!
 
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