The Huge Class: Please Fdev. Make it real!

[JTFireblaze]

Yes i like to see it too ^^

The thing with the 10K shields = that’s why i would say a 9 or 10 Internal Shield Generatior doesn’t exist. The standard shield strength of the Imperial Explorer is just saying a bit higher then the Imperial Cutter. So it has more shield power at the end with the exact same 8A prismatic shield generator then the cutter. But surely they huge ships shouldn’t be over powered.
And the Boa has more hull.. Federal Battleship in both a bit...
The Nawhal Liner don‘t need that, less then Anaconda. And so on ^^

Yeah 10k shields was just an example number. I'm not up to speed on what the current "meta" shield strengths are. Maybe a huge ship could have a couple of Class 8 shield generators, front/back or something, having modules in certain slots and areas on the ship could have benefits. Have more powerful shields on the rear side of the ship so your thrusters can't be sniped as easily. Could open up a multicrew role to manage multiple shields and power requirements...

 

[Iskariot]

Many CMDRs have shown interest in this, myself included. It would be awesome if we got the inclusion of the next size-class up from large ships: The Huge Class!
Famous ships from previous Elite's past such as Faulcon DeLacy's Boa (for combat or mixed roles), Gutamaya's the Imperial Explorer (for the exploration), the public release of the Federation's Narwhal Liner (for passengers, obviously), and of course, the much waited for Zorgon Peterson's Panther Clipper (for Trading)! I know there would be issues with possibly getting them inside stations, however, here are few ideas:
1). They can be shaped to ( just ) fit on large landing pads.
2). Or if not that they can only land on HUGE-Class pads that can only be found on planet's surfaces, and dock at external docking buoys in certain systems (as well as possibly to Fleet Carriers too as I've noticed special "Contact Point" hatches on the FC's sides). There are already those external dock arms outside stations for Capital Ships. The Huge Class's wouldn't have to be as big and could dock multiple CMDR's ship to them. With NPC shuttles going back and forth delivering the Ship's cargo/passengers/etc.

Previously i made a reddit post with ideas for this very thing:

https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/9kknmr

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/EliteDangerous/comments/9kknmr/the_huge_ship_class_redux/


How about Fdev? Think this would be a good idea? All the CMDR's I've floated this idea too have shown real interest in it.

I personally think that a new external docking mechanism should be designed for the huge class.
Also the huge class should have the ability to carry a shuttle on board.

 

[Flippimonkey]

Ships are too big and need to be shrunk down because the look silly and it seems forced.

Chop them all down about 15% to 30% and I would fine with new ships that look good / interesting and are "Huge".

As it is the ship design is "meh" at best.

 

[Tryst]

Ships are too big and need to be shrunk down because the look silly and it seems forced.

Chop them all down about 15% to 30% and I would fine with new ships that look good / interesting and are "Huge".

As it is the ship design is "meh" at best.

Yes, there are only about 3 ships in the whole game that look aesthetically pleasing in my view. 2 of them are pure combat ships and the third is a multi-role. All of the cargo ships just look like boxes.

 

[Stumpii]

Here's my thoughts for how to have Huge ships without making the Large ships obsolete. And yes, some of this is inspired by other comments on this thread.

Huge ships would not be able to dock (except in drydocks outside the station).
Huge ships would also have the maneuverability of beached whale and about the speed of one too. They could only be bought or outfitted in special drydocks.
Huge ships would have a much greater jump range then even a stripped down Anaconda, making them suited for long-range transport.
This way, if you are running a trade routes less then 100 (+/- 30) Ly, then a Cutter or T-9 would be the more efficient option. If you are going further then that, a Huge ship would be better because the time you lose at the stations, you get back on the travel.
For loading/unloading I like the idea of detachable sections that are essential boxes with engines and autodock.
Alternately, Huge ships would have to pull up outside the station and rely on smaller ships to load/unload cargo. To facilitate this transfer, the Huge ships would have a docking tube that connects directly to the other ship's cargo scoop, allowing direct ships-to-ship cargo transfer.

Just my thoughts anyway. I think Huge ships are a workable option but it would take some careful working to make it so they don't make T-9s go the way of the T-7.

The above covers most of what I would like to see as a next step in the trader profession. I have a T9 and now grinding get a Cutter for 4 extra T of cargo, but then what? I am not really into mining, so what is the next step up for the pure trader? A larger trade ship would be that next step to a FC.

I would probably not make it flyable. So similar to the FC, we would program in where it needs to go and plot a course and jump it, or let our hired crew fly it (they aren't doing much at the moment) with the obvious chance of damage or destruction based on the route and crew level. We can of course be the support wing in case of attack with the other crew in the SLF. Though I am sure there is some Pilot's Federation law against using two crew at a time.

Would not dock either. As above, support ships can transfer cargo. I mean you can transfer 100s of T of cargo instantaneously when docked at the moment. I don't see a problem with some minutes loading time to load the 2500T (or whatever) of cargo.