I've been flying a Beluga and a T9 (recently replaced with a T10), and it has occurred to me that ED could support a larger dockable ship than the Beluga, as the Beluga takes up more room than it needs to because of the fins. A ship with the same overall dimensions as the Beluga but "chunkier" would work, and would still fit through a station's mailslot.
But what sort of ship? ED doesn't need a new battleship to eclipse the Corvette, or a freighter which can carry more than the T9 (yes, I know that the Corvette and the Cutter can, but at least they're rank-locked: no need for another). But there is one class of ship that is under-represented in ED and would be interesting: the carrier.
Yes, I know that various ships can carry ship-launched fighters, and there is a "Fleet Carrier" under development for multiplayer. But what I have in mind is something different: a player-ownable "pocket carrier" that can carry 2 or 3 smaller ships - actual ships, not just fighters, but any ship that will fit on a Small pad, which you buy and equip separately. These are the possibilities:
Adder, Cobra, Diamondback Explorer, Diamondback Scout, Dolphin, Eagle, Hauler, Imp Courier, Imp Eagle, Sidewinder, Viper, Vulture
I can see the Alliance building something like this, and selling them to anyone with enough cash, as they do with the T10 (whereas the Feds and the Imperials would probably prefer to use Fleet Carriers). It would add to the game, as wealthy players would still have a reason to fly the little ships for specific missions, and can carry some around wherever they go: no need to pay (and wait) for them to be shipped to you. Handy for smugglers, as you can park your Carrier somewhere and take something small and stealthy past the scanners. And if you want to relocate your collection, you could fly the big ships to the new operating area (starting with the Carrier) and then use small ships to keep nipping back and fetching other large ones (and then having the small ones shipped back to you at a much lower cost, or you could just go back with the Carrier and gather them up). I'm sure players can think of many other uses. It also creates a meaningful distinction between Small and Medium ships: Large ships can't dock at outposts, Medium ships won't fit in a pocket carrier, Small ones will.
Here's what I have in mind:
Internal slots: 8 8* 8* 7* 6 5 4 3 2, plus one Military slot?
8* 8* 7* are reserved: only Fighter Hangar, Fuel Scoop, Hull Reinforcement, Module Reinforcement, or Small Ship Hangar are permitted in these. I've included the fuel scoop as an option because it can exploit a hole in the hull. I've deliberately NOT included "cargo rack" as an option (unlike the Beluga's "passenger cabin" reserved slots).
Max cargo: 316t (+ 2 fully laden Dolphins = 484t). So not a rival for the T9. If cargo racks allowed in reserved slots: 956t, which would be excessive. If you need an in-game justification, maybe the ship just isn't built to take the strain of pushing close to 1000t of cargo around.
Small Ship Hangar: size 8 module, can only be fitted to a Carrier (either in a reserved slot or the one non-reserved size 8 slot), associated with a Small landing-pad on the carrier's topside. Includes internal hangar space for one Small-pad ship (multiple hangars share the same pad). Supports docking computer (both Carrier and small ship need DC installed to enable automatic docking). Having a small ship sitting on the pad without retracting into the hangar is like having hardpoints deployed, you can't supercruise or jump. Unlike the Fighter Hangar this one does NOT fabricate replacement ships! This is why I added a reserved size 7 slot, too small for a Small Ship Hangar: to encourage the player to include a C7 SLF hangar too, for a supply of more expendable combat ships.
Internals: C8 FSD, C8 fuel tank (256t), C7 reactor, C6 coupling, C7 life-support, C8 sensors, C7 thrusters
Net mass (for shielding) 1300t. This is barely within the mass-limit of a size 6 shield, forcing the owner to think carefully about using the one general-purpose size 8 slot for an additional hangar rather than a shield generator (as size 6 is the next-biggest general slot). So you could make it capable of carrying 3 small ship hangars rather than 2, but with weak shields, more suitable for fending off nudges in the station than for withstanding an attack.
Two deployment modes: in-dock or in-space. For in-dock deployment, your small ship goes from the Carrier's hangar into storage. You can also load up a Small ship stored at that location if you have an empty hangar on your Carrier.
In-space deployment requires that both ships be piloted (by PC or NPC). Cannot swap places with your NPC after launch, as this is not VR (you actually are in different ships). Can exceed SLF control range within a system (and both can supercruise), but one ship cannot be abandoned by the other during hyperjump: both ships will jump to the same destination, using the least favourable jump range / fuel limit. If you override this, you WILL sacrifice your other ship and NPC pilot! (PC pilot OK?). As the pad is on the top, deployment is possible while the Carrier is on a planet (or a pad, but an NPC pilot left in the Carrier will request "Enter Hangar" after you launch to avoid pad-hogging).
Insurance? Probably both ships would have to be covered, too risky for the player otherwise. If the ship you're in is destroyed, you find yourself back in your last dock location with a rebuy, and your NPC flew your other ship back to that location too, it is now in storage there (he/she sold/lost/jettisoned your cargo?). If you survived but your NPC-flown ship was destroyed, the NPC used the ship's escape pod (and is now floating in space for you to scoop or abandon), and you can claim a rebuy of that ship (where and how? Maybe next time you dock somewhere?). Not sure what would happen if your last docking was with a small ship at an outpost (no Large pad): respawn floating in space nearby? I know this can happen already if you try to re-enter the game in an "impossible" location.
Refuel: fuel shared automatically when small ship docks. Small ship fully refuelled if Carrier has at least 50% fuel remaining, otherwise fuel shared so that both ships have the same percentage capacity (e.g. both 40% full or whatever). Cargo can be transferred using an interface similar to the one the SRV uses to transfer discovered cargo from its 2-ton bay. Passengers could also be transferred, if both ships have passenger cabins.
Balance: Carrier must be relatively combat-weak for its size, because it's likely to be accompanied by a small ship (more powerful than a SLF) in battle. Good shield (C8 slot), probably decent armour, poor weaponry. Probably several small/medium hardpoints.
One-NPC limit relaxed for carrier? Carrier + small ship + SLF probably OK, but multiple small ships in battle probably not OK.
There needs to be an in-game reason why small jump-capable ships get loaded into a carrier instead of jumping alongside one, and the most obvious one is superior jump range for the Carrier - which could work if the smaller ships have cheap FSD's and the Carrier has access to a size 8 FSD (currently in-game but unused by any player-owned ship). However, an 8A FSD costs an eye-watering 162 million! And the sheer mass of the ship should be enough to stop people turning stripped-down Carriers into jump-racers.
Most of the programming required has already been done, to support ship-launched fighters and ship storage at stations. And if this creates a new demand for custom paintjobs for small ships, there could be money to be made from this!
But what sort of ship? ED doesn't need a new battleship to eclipse the Corvette, or a freighter which can carry more than the T9 (yes, I know that the Corvette and the Cutter can, but at least they're rank-locked: no need for another). But there is one class of ship that is under-represented in ED and would be interesting: the carrier.
Yes, I know that various ships can carry ship-launched fighters, and there is a "Fleet Carrier" under development for multiplayer. But what I have in mind is something different: a player-ownable "pocket carrier" that can carry 2 or 3 smaller ships - actual ships, not just fighters, but any ship that will fit on a Small pad, which you buy and equip separately. These are the possibilities:
Adder, Cobra, Diamondback Explorer, Diamondback Scout, Dolphin, Eagle, Hauler, Imp Courier, Imp Eagle, Sidewinder, Viper, Vulture
I can see the Alliance building something like this, and selling them to anyone with enough cash, as they do with the T10 (whereas the Feds and the Imperials would probably prefer to use Fleet Carriers). It would add to the game, as wealthy players would still have a reason to fly the little ships for specific missions, and can carry some around wherever they go: no need to pay (and wait) for them to be shipped to you. Handy for smugglers, as you can park your Carrier somewhere and take something small and stealthy past the scanners. And if you want to relocate your collection, you could fly the big ships to the new operating area (starting with the Carrier) and then use small ships to keep nipping back and fetching other large ones (and then having the small ones shipped back to you at a much lower cost, or you could just go back with the Carrier and gather them up). I'm sure players can think of many other uses. It also creates a meaningful distinction between Small and Medium ships: Large ships can't dock at outposts, Medium ships won't fit in a pocket carrier, Small ones will.
Here's what I have in mind:
Internal slots: 8 8* 8* 7* 6 5 4 3 2, plus one Military slot?
8* 8* 7* are reserved: only Fighter Hangar, Fuel Scoop, Hull Reinforcement, Module Reinforcement, or Small Ship Hangar are permitted in these. I've included the fuel scoop as an option because it can exploit a hole in the hull. I've deliberately NOT included "cargo rack" as an option (unlike the Beluga's "passenger cabin" reserved slots).
Max cargo: 316t (+ 2 fully laden Dolphins = 484t). So not a rival for the T9. If cargo racks allowed in reserved slots: 956t, which would be excessive. If you need an in-game justification, maybe the ship just isn't built to take the strain of pushing close to 1000t of cargo around.
Small Ship Hangar: size 8 module, can only be fitted to a Carrier (either in a reserved slot or the one non-reserved size 8 slot), associated with a Small landing-pad on the carrier's topside. Includes internal hangar space for one Small-pad ship (multiple hangars share the same pad). Supports docking computer (both Carrier and small ship need DC installed to enable automatic docking). Having a small ship sitting on the pad without retracting into the hangar is like having hardpoints deployed, you can't supercruise or jump. Unlike the Fighter Hangar this one does NOT fabricate replacement ships! This is why I added a reserved size 7 slot, too small for a Small Ship Hangar: to encourage the player to include a C7 SLF hangar too, for a supply of more expendable combat ships.
Internals: C8 FSD, C8 fuel tank (256t), C7 reactor, C6 coupling, C7 life-support, C8 sensors, C7 thrusters
Net mass (for shielding) 1300t. This is barely within the mass-limit of a size 6 shield, forcing the owner to think carefully about using the one general-purpose size 8 slot for an additional hangar rather than a shield generator (as size 6 is the next-biggest general slot). So you could make it capable of carrying 3 small ship hangars rather than 2, but with weak shields, more suitable for fending off nudges in the station than for withstanding an attack.
Two deployment modes: in-dock or in-space. For in-dock deployment, your small ship goes from the Carrier's hangar into storage. You can also load up a Small ship stored at that location if you have an empty hangar on your Carrier.
In-space deployment requires that both ships be piloted (by PC or NPC). Cannot swap places with your NPC after launch, as this is not VR (you actually are in different ships). Can exceed SLF control range within a system (and both can supercruise), but one ship cannot be abandoned by the other during hyperjump: both ships will jump to the same destination, using the least favourable jump range / fuel limit. If you override this, you WILL sacrifice your other ship and NPC pilot! (PC pilot OK?). As the pad is on the top, deployment is possible while the Carrier is on a planet (or a pad, but an NPC pilot left in the Carrier will request "Enter Hangar" after you launch to avoid pad-hogging).
Insurance? Probably both ships would have to be covered, too risky for the player otherwise. If the ship you're in is destroyed, you find yourself back in your last dock location with a rebuy, and your NPC flew your other ship back to that location too, it is now in storage there (he/she sold/lost/jettisoned your cargo?). If you survived but your NPC-flown ship was destroyed, the NPC used the ship's escape pod (and is now floating in space for you to scoop or abandon), and you can claim a rebuy of that ship (where and how? Maybe next time you dock somewhere?). Not sure what would happen if your last docking was with a small ship at an outpost (no Large pad): respawn floating in space nearby? I know this can happen already if you try to re-enter the game in an "impossible" location.
Refuel: fuel shared automatically when small ship docks. Small ship fully refuelled if Carrier has at least 50% fuel remaining, otherwise fuel shared so that both ships have the same percentage capacity (e.g. both 40% full or whatever). Cargo can be transferred using an interface similar to the one the SRV uses to transfer discovered cargo from its 2-ton bay. Passengers could also be transferred, if both ships have passenger cabins.
Balance: Carrier must be relatively combat-weak for its size, because it's likely to be accompanied by a small ship (more powerful than a SLF) in battle. Good shield (C8 slot), probably decent armour, poor weaponry. Probably several small/medium hardpoints.
One-NPC limit relaxed for carrier? Carrier + small ship + SLF probably OK, but multiple small ships in battle probably not OK.
There needs to be an in-game reason why small jump-capable ships get loaded into a carrier instead of jumping alongside one, and the most obvious one is superior jump range for the Carrier - which could work if the smaller ships have cheap FSD's and the Carrier has access to a size 8 FSD (currently in-game but unused by any player-owned ship). However, an 8A FSD costs an eye-watering 162 million! And the sheer mass of the ship should be enough to stop people turning stripped-down Carriers into jump-racers.
Most of the programming required has already been done, to support ship-launched fighters and ship storage at stations. And if this creates a new demand for custom paintjobs for small ships, there could be money to be made from this!