Supercruise handling of ships

[Orvidius]

I think this is a really good measure of overall handling in supercruise, even if you just look at the 50% pitch column. Thanks for keeping this up to date!

Mind if I borrow the numbers from that 50% pitch column to add to the table for ship templates on EDastro? EDIT: With attribution of course.

 

[marx]

I've added the Crusader as well, so the list is again complete. No surprises with that one: it's the same as the two other Alliance ships.

@ Orvidius: Of course, go right ahead! As long as credit is given, anyone's free to use what I posted.

 

[Non Grata]

I've added the Crusader as well, so the list is again complete. No surprises with that one: it's the same as the two other Alliance ships.

@ Orvidius: Of course, go right ahead! As long as credit is given, anyone's free to use what I posted.

Any chance you could alphabeticalize it (or order it by pitch)?

 

[Orvidius]

@ Orvidius: Of course, go right ahead! As long as credit is given, anyone's free to use what I posted.

Awesome, thanks! Will do.

 

[marx]

Any chance you could alphabeticalize it (or order it by pitch)?

If you view the Google Docs version, you can sort it by either of those.

 

[LifesAJourney]

So basically, going from an Asp Explorer to a Krait Phantom(...) you lose a bit on the supercruise handling.

I was hoping for a bit better SC handling since the Phantom is lighter than AspX. But ok, I can live with that.

 

[wen99]

I decided to put together a spreadsheet that expands on marx's SC agility values by creating a composite index for ship suitability for exploration with user adjustable weightings:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Hjd2GLzPhtO1eeGzeBEyqxCwyuF2tJvQUaQN3yoV0cY/edit?usp=sharing

 

[varonica]

Did you use the same thrusters class for every ship (such as "D"). Just curious how "similar" the ships were when you compared them. Not sure how much variability in handling comes from mass, thruster type, etc.

What about mass? Will a fully laden type 10 turn as fast as an empty type 10 etc?

 

[Orvidius]

Mass and thrusters don't impact the supercruise handling. The turn rates are specific to each ship, regardless of modules.

 

[Gizoux]

I believe that mass does have an effect, but I'm not sure how much. Fully laden freighters are certainly more sluggish than empty ones.

 

[marx]

Mass doesn't have an effect on supercruise handling, just during regular flight.
At least, it didn't have the last time I tested this: there's always the possibility that Frontier slipped in a stealth change. Like the recent one with cockpit integrity.
Back then, I measured the SC turning times of a stock Type 9 versus one that had the heaviest B-rated modules fitted, and cargo racks loaded full. They were the same. If you could verify both again, that would be handy.

 

[Gizoux]

Sorry I skipped over that detail. Laden would be considered the "acid test" and if that's where your data is acquired, I find it satisfactory.

 

[Speedcuffs]

Necro! Good stuff, excellent.

 

[z64555]

Something of a necro. I used your data and made a 5 star rating page, as well as clean it up a bit for readability. you can find it here: Supercruise Rating of Ships

 

[marx]

A small request: when the Python Mk 2 goes into "early access", would somebody mind measuring the data for its handling and posting it here? I won't be able to do that at the time, because I'll be away from the beginning of May to its middle.

 

[marx]

Alright, new data has been entered then, over five years since the last new ship - even if it's just a variant. As it turns out, the Python Mk II appears to have the same supercruise handling as the original, any differences I timed were well within the margin of error. So, no surprises here.

 

[marx]

Here comes the Type-8 Transporter, with the exact same supercruise handling as the Type-7 Transporter.

 

[marx]

Now comes the Mandalay. Do you like balance? Because if you do, you might want to look away and stop reading here.
In addition to all the other overpowered aspects of the ship, the developers made it the best in supercruise handling too, and by a large margin. In pitch and roll, it matches the Sidewinder, which used to be the best in supercruise, but in yaw, the Mandalay's is twice that.

So, yeah. The previous two new ships this year were decently balanced, I certainly didn't expect that it would be the explorer ship that the devs would make overpowered.

 

[LifesAJourney]

Oh, yeah, this ship is a beast in every aspect. Balancing and compromises are for peasants.

 

[marx]

Here comes the Cobra Mk VI... wait, we're only at V yet. Ahem. So anyway, perhaps not surprisingly, it's almost exactly the same as the Mandalay. I ran some extra tests on both ships to make sure it's not within the margin of error, and I had to correct the Mandalay's yaw a bit, but even then, it's not: the Cobra Mk V is slightly worse at supercruise handling than it. So, it's #2 in this regard, and well above the rest.
But well, balance was thrown out the window last October, so this time it's not as bad, and at least there's a good exobio alternative to the Mandalay now.