Poll: Implement Ships and Equipment up to Destroyer Class. C5 Weapons and Tier 10 Modules

Do you want Frigates and Destroyers

  • Yes! I want Frigates, Destroyers and even Cruisers or maybe even more!

    Votes: 100 48.3%
  • Yes! I want Frigates and Destroyers to become Playable.

    Votes: 17 8.2%
  • I could not care less to be Honest lol

    Votes: 16 7.7%
  • I might accept Frigates. But I dont think it should go beyond that.

    Votes: 19 9.2%
  • No! I think Corvettes is as far as it should go!

    Votes: 55 26.6%

  • Total voters
    207
  • Poll closed .
I'd say anything that can't fit into the mail slot of a station would fall under "executive control" type ships, the Panther Clipper will probably be the biggest ship the player will be able to actually pilot.

That said, the game definitely needs something between the corvette size (corvette/cutter/anaconda/panther clipper) and the battlecruiser size. More variety even if it's just for NPC use.

I would definitely spring for a "Exploration Cruiser" if it had several small/medium pads and had a hyperdrive like Jaque's station or all the faragut/majestics, acting as a mobile private outpost for me to explore the galaxy.

There's also a niche to be filled with bulk freighters, which are supposed to be coming into the game eventually. Again, these could be used as mobile bases for the player to store their cargo and ships. They'd also add something to see at stations other than the station itself. Plus, they could act as secret pirate bases in asteroid fields or planetary rings, can't see it until you detail/surface scan the asteroids or rings, and who does that? Perfect hiding place. I would love it if there were "service station" supertankers parked at nav beacons offering refueling for 100x the price that stations charge, no repairs or hangars, just refuel.

A combat frigate/destroyer/cruiser would be harder to balance. I'd think these would be NPC only, but much more likely to show up in a battle and hopefully they'd actually move inside the instance. I'd like them to be in the game but not in the hands of players.
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The problem with ED's large ships is that ED is essentially Diablo III in space setting where ships are characters who constantly get more stats and larger hit-box along with them. It will be weird if FD allow players to fly (and engineer) these rumored "externally docked" ships.

That's why they won't work in ED in the way they work in Star Citizen or multy-crew vehicles in BF-1. Nothing can be done with it.
 
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To me the Farragut and the Majestic are the the space equivalent of the Ford and Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. Not only are they on the big side but they are the sort of vessels that very few nations could field. As far as I know there are only two dozen aircraft carriers in the whole world - most of those in the US Navy and none at all in private hands.

If they were available to players before long there would be millions of them flying about. Each ship probably has enough firepower to hold whole stations to ransom. A few guys in a wing would be able to topple planets.

For a game where we are supposed to be the little guy having that much power just wouldn't feel right to me.
 
IMO ED is all about small individual ships and dogfighting.
Corvette/cutter/conda may be too much already.
Also based on experience from X-series (and what we currently see in ED only confirm this observations), the bigger the ship the less combat depends on pilot and more just on numbers - DPS, DPE, shield/hull etc... In X as example at the point when you can buy destroyers it becomes more strategy than anything else, with dozens of support ships like freighters, fighters&carriers, etc....
For this to work in ED a lot of things need to be implemented, starting with fixing instancing issues and inreasing number of players allowed in single instance.
So, voted no....
 
1.
Well given that most stuff goes Automatic. Its not really strange that this works One Man.
Albeit I do hope that Multi Crew and NPC Crew Reveal that the Automatic is actually Nerfing Performance considerably.
Resulting in Corvettes indeed becoming 2-3 times as Effective with Multi Crew as they are when Piloted alone.

2.
Thats actually wrong.
With the next Update we will receive Bigger Stations including Shipyards where the Farragut Battlecruisers can Dock.
And Generally it seems that FD is moving towards more Diversity in Stations. Which also means we might get Docking Bridges or Huge Landing Pads in the Future.

Moreover. Frigates and Destroyers not being able to Fit the Slot Machine Dock. is one Importand Balancing Factor. As it makes sure that people dont go Trading with the Destroyer thanks to its massive Internal Space. And thus make any big Cargo Ship useless :)

3.
Prohibitive Prices are Fine.
A Destroyer after all should be a Rare sight.
Something you see Piloted by 4 People in Multi Crew going into an 10 Million Credit Mission in a Conflict Zone :)

Also dont Forget if these Ships come on for Players this also Opens up new Missions against NPCs.
An Destroyer with Escorts being an Assassination Target will require substantial bigger Firepower.
And for Powerplay and CGs in Open an Multi Crewed Destroyer for gaining Rewards with 4 People rather than alone. Might be very nice as well :)

There is alot of Options here :)

Let me comment your points.

1) I agree this is sience Fiction and many things can top our imagination when times go by. But you can't convince me that a destroyer
can get operated by a wing of 4. But anyway the imagination of super power ship for super rich. No, I don't like it.

2) All what Frontier showed so far are more diverse smaller stations. Starports are updated with new interior, but size is still the same
and currently there is no sense to significantly enlarge them. There are no plans known to increase size of stations (and landing pads at all).

3) Prohibitive prices are fine. Yes, they are but from economical stand point ( War is all about economy) ROI is a mess and will not payout at all
e.g. 10 Million Mission is just about enough to upgrade one E Module to D.

For Powerplay this might be the dream in a Conflict zone (I don't say its the wet dream of a 1 to rule them all ship) but its suspected just to be this.
On the other hand FD is to keep the balance in this game and alone for this it might be showstopper to come real beside the fact its in the back-end
of the list so it will take some seasons to be in game. Don't expect too much.

So conclusion is the same. No. don't do it. There are better things delivering more fun.

Regards,
Miklos
 
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Multi crew and make them make an anaconda with E class drives and no engineering, feel like a Vulture.

Also limit the weapons to vast ones that can;t hit a moving target smaller than a city block, and the rest are class 2 slots able to fit class 1 turreted.
 
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I voted no for this. Basically, no matter what rank you would achieve, not a single entity would be allow rogue elements to own, let alone operate true capital ships or vessels which can be used for force projection.
 
Probably Farragut or Majestic class carriers should be left for NPCs only.

Though I would very much like to see larger frigates and destroyers in action sometime in the future.
 
I voted yes, but with the caveat that they should control like big ships, and that they should be operatable by solo players like myself.

When I say control like big ships I mean, slow to turn, accelerate, stop. it must rely on fighters/small turrets for defence against small ships. so engaging in dogfights.

By Operatable by Solo Players I mean that there should be no requirement for multi crew, or if there is there should be an NPC crew available.

So yes but not just bigger versions of what we have got.
 
I want to see more "big ships" that behave like "big ships", but I don't think I want them to be player pilotable.

Right now we have two destroyers in the game that really don't do much. I want to see more big ships that can show up at other times, that actually fly around and do things. A large ship showing up and causing havoc would be awesome, giving the current cap ships some AI would be a start, but something maybe half that size that could show up in combat zones, or signal sources, or even near resource extraction sites to provide fire support for the local police...

This.

I want more ships that aren't player controlled, either beyond the control of players (e.g. Capships like we have now, but more), and some that players wouldn't want to use (orbit shuttles for flavour), and large bulk freighters that factions use just to transport things in massive amounts, and have escorts.
 
I would love to see larger ships playable in game, and looking at the poll a majority of players would like the same thing. Sadly FDev will ignore this. Hell even the Panther Clipper will get greatly reduced in size to the size of about a Anaconda.
 
"Why not?" is really my answer. I believe that most people are in agreement that larger ships would need to come with more restrictions in terms of the number of CMDRs needed to fly them effectively as well as the manner in which they dock however neither of these are insurmountable obstacles.
 
Frigate and cruiser would be a very very welcome addition, cause yo'll have to change your way to fight the battle: no more as a pilot instead being now a commander.

Honestly, I would like a big ship which behave as a big ship, not a corvette which is "drived" as an imperial eagle, although with a lot more of mass.

Yes, it is a dream: let's hope it come true on day or another...

:)
 
What I want, is a proper Carrier type ship that can hold up to four medium size ships. Larger ships won't be much fun in combat, because their huge size means near zero maneuverability. All weapons would therefore be turreted or be seekers like missile batteries and torpedoes. Hence why a Carrier would be great. It'd have great defensive capabilities naturally, but the idea is for you and up to three wingmen to get into your Vultures or similar, and go out and fight. If you die, respawn on Carrier - who in the fight is probably best left for the AI to control.

We'll get *some* of this with patch 2.3 where we get multicrewed ships. If I remember correctly, the ships with fighter-hangars will be able to carry up to Sidewinder and Eagle size ships. But these are just too small to be effective in any PVP (hell, even vs NPCs) situation.

Now that we get Naval-Yards, bigger ships than what can fit through the slot is viable. So in some distant future... crossing fingers and toes :)

Depends on what you want to Fight.
If you actually want to Sink an Farragut Battle Cruiser rather than just force it to Retreat.
I would expect you would need to bring at least Cruiser Sized Vessels because anything smaller than that will not Penetrate more than the Outer Layers of the Farragut. Thus no matter how much you trash anything on the Outside you.ll never actually reach the Core and Destroy it.

I for my Part would be Happy to go as Big as Destroyers.
Maybe as far as Cruisers.
But I would not actually want to Pilot anything beyond that.

A Battleship or Carrier might be something that could function as an Clan Base or something. And be Ordered around to carry Clan Members.
But I am not sure I would want to sit inside that and watch my turrets Firing.

The problem with ED's large ships is that ED is essentially Diablo III in space setting where ships are characters who constantly get more stats and larger hit-box along with them. It will be weird if FD allow players to fly (and engineer) these rumored "externally docked" ships.

That's why they won't work in ED in the way they work in Star Citizen or multy-crew vehicles in BF-1. Nothing can be done with it.

Hmm on that one I disagree.
In the later Areas. Ships tend to become fairly dependent on the same Techs.

I would not consider an Anaconda so much Inferior to an Federal Corvette.
Actually the Ships Generally are not that far apart that your Invincible in one.

And in my Eyes.
A Destroyer would be mostly something thats strong against Corvettes and Frigates. But Weak against Fighters.
Meaning it would come with 3-4 C5 Turrets. That Turn Fairly Slowly and thus wont be able to really track Fighters.
But which Deal Extensive Damage to enemy Corvettes and Frigates.
Having 4-6 C2 and C3 Hardpoints which would be Spread over the Ship for Defensive Purposes. Which means that a Fighter would likely never be in Arc for more than 2 or 3 of these C2 and C3 Turrets thus actually not receiving much fire from a Destroyer unless the Destroyer gets Lucky and manages to turn his Ship onto that Fighter and cross his Bigger Turrets.
Due to the Armor and Shields of the Destroyer however. Smaller Ships would need to Bring Torpedoes to get them Down.
Which would Finally Give Torpedoes some Use. Cause right now they are seriously useless :p

To me the Farragut and the Majestic are the the space equivalent of the Ford and Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. Not only are they on the big side but they are the sort of vessels that very few nations could field. As far as I know there are only two dozen aircraft carriers in the whole world - most of those in the US Navy and none at all in private hands.

If they were available to players before long there would be millions of them flying about. Each ship probably has enough firepower to hold whole stations to ransom. A few guys in a wing would be able to topple planets.

For a game where we are supposed to be the little guy having that much power just wouldn't feel right to me.

Well this Poll also gives Options to limit it to Screening Ships.
While only the real Big Nations got Capital Ships.
Pretty much every Nation and even Private Companies and People. Own Ships in the Size of Destroyers.
For a Fact some Companies own Transport and Luxury Liners in the Size of Cruisers :)

So the Poll does not forcibly say go up to make Farragut Playable :)

Also. Farragut being Playable could be something that Requires Triple Elite Rank and Max Standing as well as being Pledged to that Faction etc.
Meaning it could actually be limited quite a bit.
Or it could work in the form of a Loaned Ship. Meaning as Part of the Federation for Example. If you rise high enough. You might be allowed Command of a Farragut Battlecruiser for a Limited amount of Time. :)

There is more than enough ways to make sure things aint going out of hand :)

IMO ED is all about small individual ships and dogfighting.
Corvette/cutter/conda may be too much already.
Also based on experience from X-series (and what we currently see in ED only confirm this observations), the bigger the ship the less combat depends on pilot and more just on numbers - DPS, DPE, shield/hull etc... In X as example at the point when you can buy destroyers it becomes more strategy than anything else, with dozens of support ships like freighters, fighters&carriers, etc....
For this to work in ED a lot of things need to be implemented, starting with fixing instancing issues and inreasing number of players allowed in single instance.
So, voted no....

If that was True. Elite would be an Epic Fail.
Cause Sorry but the Combat Systems in Elite Suck.
The Crafts in Elite are less controllable than WW2 Aircraft. And the Controls for Combat are sluggish and complicated despite not even offering full Control.
Heck you cant even set 3 different Fire Buttons. Which means that most Missile Builds are useless cause you cannot Fire them Properly without always changing between weapons which then however would prevent you from using other Weapons.

ED Should go Bigger here.
The System especially with Pip management etc etc. Is actually much more suited to control Bigger Vessels in Multi Crew rather than Playing Fighter Pilot.

Let me comment your points.

1) I agree this is sience Fiction and many things can top our imagination when times go by. But you can't convince me that a destroyer
can get operated by a wing of 4. But anyway the imagination of super power ship for super rich. No, I don't like it.

2) All what Frontier showed so far are more diverse smaller stations. Starports are updated with new interior, but size is still the same
and currently there is no sense to significantly enlarge them. There are no plans known to increase size of stations (and landing pads at all).

3) Prohibitive prices are fine. Yes, they are but from economical stand point ( War is all about economy) ROI is a mess and will not payout at all
e.g. 10 Million Mission is just about enough to upgrade one E Module to D.

For Powerplay this might be the dream in a Conflict zone (I don't say its the wet dream of a 1 to rule them all ship) but its suspected just to be this.
On the other hand FD is to keep the balance in this game and alone for this it might be showstopper to come real beside the fact its in the back-end
of the list so it will take some seasons to be in game. Don't expect too much.

So conclusion is the same. No. don't do it. There are better things delivering more fun.

Regards,
Miklos

1.
You are Already Piloting Ships that would Require like 20 People in Reality. While your Alone.
To Begin with there is not much to Control there anyways.
Assuming that Generator and Engines are Automatic. As well as most Maintenance etc.
A Destroyer would pretty much have a Total Crew of maybe 7 People in Total.
The Commander, The Pilot, The Systems Engineer, 2 Gunners and 2 Drone Controllers for using the Mini Fighters like announced at Gamescom.
There aint much else to do here honestly.
Modern Warships of our Time. Are pretty much Gunners and Maintenance Crew.
But since Guns are Remote or Automatic Controlled. You dont need 1 Gunner for each Gun like we got Nowdays.
And the Maintenance Crew can be dropped Entirely.
You also dont need to Bring reserve Crew to Replace Dead and to Work Shifts.
If you consider this. The Crew of a Modern Warship Frigate would go down from 110 People to below 10 People. :)
Because you pretty much would have
1 Guy Commanding
1 Guy Communicating
1 Guy Weapons Control
1 Guy Steering
1 Guy Navigating
1 Guy Engine Control
1 Guy Radar and Detection

Thats it. :)

I voted no for this. Basically, no matter what rank you would achieve, not a single entity would be allow rogue elements to own, let alone operate true capital ships or vessels which can be used for force projection.

Frigates and Destroyers are not Capital Ships.
In our current Modern World. Alot of Private Entities Own Vessels beyond Cruiser Size.

I voted yes, but with the caveat that they should control like big ships, and that they should be operatable by solo players like myself.

When I say control like big ships I mean, slow to turn, accelerate, stop. it must rely on fighters/small turrets for defence against small ships. so engaging in dogfights.

By Operatable by Solo Players I mean that there should be no requirement for multi crew, or if there is there should be an NPC crew available.

So yes but not just bigger versions of what we have got.

Agreed.
Instead of making em super Slow however.
I would simply give them mainly Bigger Sized Weapons. And very Limited Smaller Weapons.
So the Main Part of their Weapons simply cannot follow Fighters.
This making them very Vulnearble to Enemy Fighters which Ram Torpedoes into them.

"Why not?" is really my answer. I believe that most people are in agreement that larger ships would need to come with more restrictions in terms of the number of CMDRs needed to fly them effectively as well as the manner in which they dock however neither of these are insurmountable obstacles.

CORRECT!
 
I'd love to see a no limit policy on ship size.
But that should come with a new range of possibilities within the game.

In the comments I see a lot relating to fighting capabilities, but what about settling in new areas ?
What about giant ships which contain factories enabling to build an outpost or a small base on a planet (to start with)
What do you need to settle ? get resources, build protect and develop...
I like the idea, for example, of a giant ship which parts can become parts of a base
i like the idea of a ship carrier, not so much for war reasons but to have your own little fleet at hand, customize it, repair etc.
But settling is also about powerplay to make sure that you don't get destroyed in no time, that you establish business routes, etc.
etc.

In the comments I also see a lot about how you would pilot such large ship.
Well, it is linked to the purpose of these ships. I shouldn't be about having the biggest for a fight, but rather about strategy (whether we're talking about fight or anything else)
You give instructions for the ship to go to that system, to orbit that star, to guard that area/system, to have an agressive strategy, to have a defensive or fleeing strategy, etc.
You can equip you large ship with multiple small weapons effective enough against the smaller ships (the ones we own today)so that they don't come near you with aggressive intentions (very like one does today with orbital bases), but ineffective against the shields of the other large ships for which you need huge energy draining weapons (which in turn would be long to charge and ineffective against the smaller and more agile ships), hence the interest of deploying you fleet, etc...
As a player, you could take control of that ship and any part of its activity at anytime, switch places like it's gonna be the case with the next upgrade. What you don't manage will be managed in a default way unless you specify it differently.

That would need to come with the management of some staff : decide to automatise the part that you don't care to manage directly (from ship defense, patrols, getting resources, to refueling, etc.).
I'm well aware that we're talking about a completely different game here but that could become a long term possibility.

Settling and exploring and even fleet battles... this is to me way more exciting than meeting and fighting aliens...
 
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