Ship set up

Eaglechief

E
Hello all, I was wondering what a great explorer set up might be. I do not know what to really pick for this and some feedback would be great.
What I would like is some ship setup ideas that let me(I hope)
-Land on planets
-Do the far range passanger missions for good money
-Have a great jump range on it I have been playing around with some stuff, but not sure what ship to really pick.

I have an anaconda(but not the money for a full grade A setup by no means) Thank you all for your help
 

Ashnak

Ashnak
Default response would be the AspX, followed by Orca and Dolphin. DBX can get the best jump range, but is limited on compartments.

The AspX is a great utility ship, but only if you want to live in a tractor. If you have the money, Orca is a favourite luxury exploration ship. If you don't have the money, the Dolphin isn't far behind. Orca has more space, so you can take two AFMUs and multiple SRVs, Dolphin can land on a tea towel and is basically impossible to overheat in supercruise.

Dolphin example.
 

Major Klutz

Major Klutz
Take a look at this post ... https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showt...oration-ship?p=5585663&viewfull=1#post5585663
It's a comparison of ship type vs cost with exploration loadouts.

For exploration, at minimum you need... Advanced Discovery Scanner, Detailed Surface Scanner, Fuel Scoop
Optional but highly recommended ... shields, SRV, AFMU

Outfitting your Anaconda for exploration will cost you around 18 million (over the cost of the base ship)
Here are some suggested loadouts, with normalized components for cost comparison.
You can add passenger cabins or other modules as desired.

Anaconda
Diamondback Explorer
Asp Explorer
Hauler
Orca
Dolphin
Courier
Adder
Type-6
Python
Beluga
Keelback
Cobra Mk 3
Clipper
Cutter
Viper
Sidewinder
Vulture
Corvette
Fer-de-Lance

Cost Comparison ...
Jump Range Comparison ...

Most explorers try to maximize their jump range in order to get where they are going faster, or get to places other ships can't reach.
This means minimizing the weight.
D rated modules are lightest. Engineers can lighten modules even more.
Engineering your FSD for increased jump range is also highly recommended.

These are my actual exploration ships with engineering included. Anaconda. Asp. Diamondback. Courier.
 
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Orvidius

Orvidius
Basic "rules" (suggestions) for exploring, I would say are:

  • Fly the ship you enjoy most, within what you can afford and still cover at least a few rebuys. (But most popular are Diamondback Explorer, Asp Explorer, and Anaconda, because of their jump ranges)
  • A-rated FSD. If you can, get a grade-5 range boost from Felicity Farseer (engineer).
  • Install the largest fuel scoop you can afford, in one of the largest slots on the ship. It doesn't add mass, so bigger is better.
  • It's preferable to use the smallest A-rated power plant you can get away with (for heat efficiency), preferably by turning off other modules when they're not in use. You can engineer it either for more power output, or for reduced heat emissions.
  • D-rate almost everything else, to save weight. Including: shield, thrusters, distributor, sensors, life support. Some engineering options exist to reduce weight further on these. The distributor can be engineered for emphasis on engines, to allow for better thruster boosting.
  • Don't forget an Advanced Discovery Scanner, and Detailed Surface Scanner. The discovery scanner can be engineered for either faster scanning, or longer range.
  • AFMU (repair unit) is a great idea, but it can't repair your hull or power plant, so you can't repair indefinitely. It also can't repair itself, so sometimes people install two of them, so they can repair each other. Bigger is generally better, as these don't add mass.
  • If you want to land on planets, don't forget a planetary vehicle hangar bay (SRV).

This is just a starting point, of course. Some people do completely different things, like explore with a combat build. But these are good suggestions for keeping the weight and heat down, and extending your jump range.

EDIT: And certainly feel free to ignore all of this! There's no "wrong" way to go.
 
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[VR] optimal_909

[VR] optimal_909
It is like asking how it is best to have a steak (to me it is medium/medium-rare). :D

You'll want the best looking ship that (something on which everyone agrees) scoops as fast and as cool as possible. The rest depends on you, for example, I always fit the best thrusters to have safety margin upon returning and it makes planetary flights MUCH more enjoyable. Also, I prefer strong shields.
 
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Major Klutz

Major Klutz
True.
The lightweight builds I posted above are optimized for jump range and nothing else.
You only need about 20 or 25ly range to get to most places you might want to go. Higher jump range will only get you there faster.
Adjust your build to suit your needs and style.

The only hard rules are, the biggest A rated Frame Shift Drive you can fit on the ship and the biggest and highest rated Fuel Scoop you can afford.
You'll also want an Advanced Discovery Scanner (ADS) and Detailed Surface Scanner (DSS) if you want to make money from the exploration data you'll gather on your trip.

An SRV is not necessary, but good to have if you plan on landing on interesting planets.

Shields help protect you from unplanned lithobraking when landing on planets and may help protect you when you return to populated systems.
I take the lightest shields I can fit but you may prefer better shields depending on how accident prone you are or whether you play in open.

Faster thrusters and a bigger power distributor can help you escape following and interdiction in populated systems and make flying long distances over planet surfaces faster.
I take lighter thrusters since I prefer the better jump range, but you may have different priorities.

Sensors and Life support should always be D rated IMO. There's no advantage to heavier sensors or life support when exploring.

Always take an A rated power plant but don't take a bigger Power Plant than you need to power what you have. Low power use and smaller A rated power plants will generate less heat.
I have found that a 2A power plant is capable of powering nearly any ship but you may need more power depending on your shields, thrusters or utility modules.

An AFMU can let you make repairs in space without having to return to a station. Don't power your AFMU all the time. It's a power hog and it only needs to be on when you're actually repairing something.
You can power off your thrusters to turn on the AFMU while making repairs so you can take a smaller power plant without sacrificing any capabilities.

Heat Sink Launchers can help if you jump in between two close stars or if you hit a star exclusion zone and want to super cruise out without taking heat damage.
Some players prefer to skip the heat sink and just repair the damage with the AFMU if it happens.
 
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duckofdeath

duckofdeath
Major Klutz said:
Too long for quote :D
Click to expand...
Some improvements to Major Klutz' excellent list of ships:

Don't use Clean Drive engineer mods for exploration ships.
Don't use B rated AFMU's for exploration ships.

They're both myths for being better. Clean Drive thrusters use the same amount of power as Dirty Tuned and it's the power draw that matters in super cruise, for heat management. So, if you pick a Dirty Tuned drive, you get more speed and better handling on planets at the same "cost".
B rated AFMU's does indeed have larger ammo clips, the A rated is however over 25% more efficient, meaning its effective repair capacity is higher and it repairs faster.

Also, make sure to get the engineer mods for sensors (light weight) and the surface scanner (long range if you're a cherry picking explorer, fast scan if you're the type who has to scan every planet and moon you see). The DSS mods will save you a good full jump time on every fourth planet you scan.
 
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Major Klutz

Major Klutz
I use a B rated AFMU sometimes because it costs less and I almost never actually use it. An A rated AFMU often costs more than the ship.(example)
In my post above, I put the same AFMU in all the ships to standardize for cost comparison in another thread.

The clean drive vs dirty vs no mod comparison came to my attention only recently.
I mainly apply the clean mod in order to get better speed on my undersized thrusters (If I can afford the power), not necessarily for the sake of heat management.

Although dirty tuning may get you better speed at the same power cost, I don't spend all of my time in supercruise. Most, but not all.
I think clean tuning may still be better if I'm landing on a high gravity or hot planet.

In any case, My new philosophy is to roll a level 1 clean drive tuning to try to get a mass decrease and/or power use decrease.
I do the same for Low Emissions Power Plant. I can sometimes get a power output increase or a mass decrease. I haven't yet been able to manage both on a single roll.

I use the fast scan for my DSS since I scan every star as I jump. I usually only roll on level 1 since I don't like the mass increase.
 
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firmicute

firmicute
Ashnak said:
Default response would be the AspX, followed by Orca and Dolphin. DBX can get the best jump range, but is limited on compartments.

The AspX is a great utility ship, but only if you want to live in a tractor. If you have the money, Orca is a favourite luxury exploration ship. If you don't have the money, the Dolphin isn't far behind. Orca has more space, so you can take two AFMUs and multiple SRVs, Dolphin can land on a tea towel and is basically impossible to overheat in supercruise.

Dolphin example.
Click to expand...

and dolphin and orca LOOK GREAT.

If I didn't knew that I want the dolphin for exploring and would want to select a ship, I would look at the cockpits.
because you will see them for a long long long time.

so dont choose one you hate the look of.
 
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duckofdeath

duckofdeath
Dirty tuned thrusters are better for landing. Speed, pitch, roll and all that gets better on dirty tuned drives. Clean is only better if you need to keep temperatures down in combat situations, where that efficiency number gets relevant. Well, of course also on ships with terrible heat management, like a Beluga, for take-offs from planets. But, there are better ways to deal with heat issues on those, primarily the power plant mods.
There's no gain for an explorer to use clean mods, as they're effectively two grades weaker than dirty tuned mods.
 
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