Superfreighters

Cumquat of Pain

C
nexxo said:
I agree. I totally see a role for player controlled 2k and 6k cargo vessels (even if they can't dock inside stations --at space elevators instead perhaps?). They would be slower to manoeuvre and no good for dogfighting (perhaps have no weapons at all except automatic turrets and really phat shields and armour) and would need to wing up with other players in agile fighters to traverse the rougher parts of space. But they could be good for bulk trading runs or be the centre of a mining operation with three mining players dropping their ore in the big ship for refining and carrying back to the station.
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If it's the size of a Battlecruiser, then no shields. Even a Farragut doesn't have them.
 

Everett Mcgill

Everett Mcgill
I would love these kinds of huge ships in game with missions for us to safely escort them to a destination (or pirate them if that's the way you roll). Many star systems seem like they could be fairly self sufficient, but there are some systems that are obviously lacking in an ability to produce food or water, some lack a scoopable source of hydrogen fuel, and others have no source of metals or other commodities. These kinds of systems (especially the ones with huge populations) could be very dependent on successful superfreighter deliveries for whatever they can not produce themselves.
 
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CmdrKull

C
tasev1 said:
Interesting idea, but very BAD for game mechanics. Just think what this will do to the profits players make (excessive) and the effect on markets! For a supertanker this size, you would also need either special docks, or transfer ships to move the material.
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I've stated before how much I really, really DO want this. It should park 8k from the station and then you can use the complementary 100t (maybe more than that) shuttle to move goods from the station to the ship, like a T6 without a FSD. 2500t max capacity makes it a dream for traders, although forcing cargo loading/unloading to operate through the shuttle means there is only so much time savings vs a T9. The farther the distance between A and B, the more this vessel makes sense.

I believe that someday they will make this ship, and when they do I really hope the go the shuttle route. This is something I want to do when I play Elite :)
 

Flavio

F
I am wondering if we could accept missions that will loan is one of these monsters to pilot for instance once we become an elite trader we could accept a mission to pilot one of these for a corporation or the emperor in order to get it from the shipyard to the npc pilot and have to dock our own ship inside so that the only cargo we can carry I whatever can fit in our own ship. When we reach the destination we then park it outside the station and leave on our own ship and dock with the station as normal. While making the trip, we might get contacted to deliver the ship to a rival etc That way we get to have some variety in ship piloting yet do not have the imbalance of being able to pack it full of cargo and making millions in one trip.
 

Lupin

Lupin
Thinking along these lines seem we do need a supersize case. As an explorer ship with it's own docking bay would also be useful.

latest.jpg
 

talshiarr

talshiarr
I don't know that I'd care about flying one, but the game desperately needs larger NPC ship types for variety if nothing else. The capital ships in the game are meaningless at this point.
 

Tacyon

Tacyon
Be careful of what you ask for .. 2-3 T9's can affect the trade environment of a particular route. Something with a caro hold of ~1000 tonnes could cause everyone to find new trade routes every other day.
That being said, when do I sign up for a Panther Clipper - very sexy hull design.
 

Ginrikuzuma

Ginrikuzuma
Tacyon said:
Be careful of what you ask for .. 2-3 T9's can affect the trade environment of a particular route. Something with a caro hold of ~1000 tonnes could cause everyone to find new trade routes every other day.
That being said, when do I sign up for a Panther Clipper - very sexy hull design.
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^This take the very popular cemeiss/9810 slave route. Its hard to grab 350-500 slaves at some hours of the day. Its usually past midnight that the numbers don't dramatically jump up to like 2k
 

Bruce Warren

B
How would such big cargo ships defend themselves?

Supertankers make sense when you have safe shipping lanes, but space is big and there be pirates out there in the big black. They'd be sitting ducks.
 

veryinky

V
Bruce Warren said:
Supertankers make sense when you have safe shipping lanes, but space is big and there be pirates out there in the big black. They'd be sitting ducks.
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They'd probably use the same jump drives that the cruisers now use, completely different from the FSD small craft have and can't be interdicted. Anything using the old pre-FSD drive from the 3250 era would be invisible to "modern" FSD drive ships.
 

Dhan

Dhan
Tacyon said:
Be careful of what you ask for .. 2-3 T9's can affect the trade environment of a particular route. Something with a caro hold of ~1000 tonnes could cause everyone to find new trade routes every other day.
That being said, when do I sign up for a Panther Clipper - very sexy hull design.
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God forbid traders would have to use some braincells every once in a while. :rolleyes:
 

Redleg

R
Bruce Warren said:
How would such big cargo ships defend themselves?

Supertankers make sense when you have safe shipping lanes, but space is big and there be pirates out there in the big black. They'd be sitting ducks.
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I seem to remember some of the ships from the original game lore. Ones like generation ships that if you disrupted one the punishment was to be marooned. Then there was the behemouth. Massive vessles cobbled together from other vessels with hugh weapons and scores of fighters.
 

faytar

faytar
think they would probably be better if done like main ship pilling cargo sections that can very in number section joints could be attacked and abandoned with in reason , and other types of sections as well armed and armored deference sections and dock sections , instead of modded battle cruisers

https://www.google.com/search?q=sup...&ved=0CB0QsARqFQoTCIztqcfG3sYCFY4tiAodGewEiw# quick google image search has several examples of ways it could be done

and those large canisters you see in the stations could be explained by that , then just need tugs haul them to the big ship and from it :)
 
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paranormal

paranormal
I'm definitely all for it! Make them slow and ugly!
Something like this one utilitarian Vulture TS class ship from X3 series.

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There are bulk containers outside Outposts, something is bound to haul them!)
 

Captain Hammer

Captain Hammer
Tacyon said:
Be careful of what you ask for .. 2-3 T9's can affect the trade environment of a particular route. Something with a caro hold of ~1000 tonnes could cause everyone to find new trade routes every other day.
That being said, when do I sign up for a Panther Clipper - very sexy hull design.
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I see the role of Mega cargo ships in planetary trading. So they would make there way to different inhabited planets
From what I have seen all the planets that can support human life have a station orbiting them. So these ships would show up at these space stations for protection while they trade with the planet.
Obviously they would not be able to land on the planet because of there size.
 
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