The Silly Ships Expedition

Should the Fed Corvette be allowed on this expedition?

  • Yes

    Votes: 11 55.0%
  • No

    Votes: 9 45.0%

  • Total voters
    20
  • Poll closed .
Its been a while since i've been in a proper exploration trip and I want to do something a bit different this time.

The expedition will have two main features:

1) Flying ships that are not ideal for exploration. The sillier the ship/build the better. Now, any explorer worth their salt will tell you that you can explore in anything, and they are right. But here we will deliberately do it. I'll go into more details later about qualifying ships/builds.

2) Going to a relatively boring area of space, probably no more than 10k LY from Sol (after all, travel might be tricky for some) and spending a few weeks out there doing a deep scan of the region in the hopes of finding something interesting.

Details

When?

Saturday 11th, 6pm GMT - If you can't make it, don't worry.

Start location.

Gooch Terminal in Aiabiko.

Its where i start the game, and not been back in ages, its a good excuse ;)

Destination Location

Destination selected. Will be announced the day of the launch.

Mode

Fleetcomm PG by default, although people are welcome to travel in whatever mode they desire.

Schedule

11th Feb - 17th Feb - Travel to destination
18th Feb - 24th Feb - Free exploration week. Scouting for Events (see spreadsheet for more details) - report in this thread or on Discord any finds.
25th Feb - 3rd March - Event Week

After that, people free to journey back, continue exploring, or whatever.

Ships
Ah, now the fun part. I'll make a preliminary list and people are free to comment. Of course, I can't stop people joining the expedition in whatever ships they choose to take, but to be an official participant, you must be flying a ship that corresponds to whatever is finalized over the coming weeks.

100% acceptable ships - maybe because lacking in internals, or have a poor jump range, not usually chosen by explorers (apart from crazy people, like us!)

Diamondback Scout
Eagle
Federal Dropship
Federal Gunship
Fer-de-Lance
Hauler
Orca
Type-7 Transporter
Type-9 Heavy
Imperial Eagle
Sidewinder
Viper
Vulture
Adder
Cobra Mk IV
Asp Scout
Federal Assault Ship
Keelback
Federal Corvette


100% not acceptable ships - Explorer favourites, usually because no real sacrifices need to be made or just decent for exploration in general.

Anaconda
Asp Explorer
Beluga Liner
Cobra Mk III
Diamondback Explorer
Imperial Clipper
Imperial Courier
Type-6 Transporter
Imperial Cutter
Python
Viper Mk IV

Only ships that make the accepted list will be accepted at the end. If you would like to make a case for a ship to be added to or removed from the list, please do so.

Channel for chat about this on the fleetcomms discord: Discord invite: https://discordapp.com/invite/0hKG2qb9ODixa7Iz

Sign up sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fG-zOvIuj4bteDhASz8KJkvCoqBOU9d0o577ITRvvto/edit?usp=sharing
 
Last edited:
Destination: PLIO EURL NV-X B14-2

Meeting point on Planet 10. Coordinates: -6.45, 146.64 [Dissapointment Crater]

A rather nice icy world with rings. Surface gravity is 0.8g, so shouldn't cause anyone trouble as long as they haven't fitted really weak engines.

System Map
BxOgtZY.jpg

Close to the planet. Look for the large crater on the horizon - basically it should be more or less in line with the rings
8XGkEaF.jpg

As you get closer, you can see the blue lines running through the crater. Look at the 3 lines that start in the crater and outside merge together towards a smaller (but still large) crater. Between those is is another small crater, between two of the lines, and that smaller crater is the landing area.
qxbyiXI.jpg

At this point i've just passed over the large crater and following the lines to the smaller one.
8qilkC7.jpg

Here we have a closer view, you can now see its actualy 2 craters overlapping. Just before it, we have 4 smaller craters clustered.
hRvjodq.jpg

Quite close now
F5NAds0.jpg

Practically there, rather unremarkable terrain. Its quite central to the crater.
ehu3zmG.jpg

And landed, on a slope. Well, any landing you can walk away from...
Fg1lXdf.jpg
 
Last edited:
I will follow this with much interest.

It sounds like an expedition I could actually see myself joining.

I await further news.
 
This is right down my alley!

I did reset my save after 2.2 dropped and flying exclusively in an Eagle. Here's the built, I'll just have to slap a fuel scoop and a SRV on it... Should be a breeze.

Bookmarked!
 
Well I've been to Beagle Point in a Cobra mk4 pre-engineers - it is actually a great explorer due to the internals, only the jump range lets it down...

I've also been to Jaques/Colonia in a Vulture - it was a real pleasure, it ran super cool and could scoop while charging FSD :)
 
I may have to sign my 2nd Cmdr up for this, as long as the Adder makes the final cut. My aim is to make it all the way to Elite in nothing bigger than the Adder. If not I may have to downgrade for a while.

Current build
 
Last edited:
Well I've been to Beagle Point in a Cobra mk4 pre-engineers - it is actually a great explorer due to the internals, only the jump range lets it down...

I've also been to Jaques/Colonia in a Vulture - it was a real pleasure, it ran super cool and could scoop while charging FSD :)

Indeed, i almost made the CM4 my primary exploration ship since its got all those lovely internals, and jump range isn't too bad once you get the FSD upgraded.
 
did you write cutter and meant courier?

___

i suggest NGC 752 Sector. it is a bit harder to reach (but doable pre-engineered), very close, and because it needs manually routeplotting to get there quite unexplored.

or around one of the fueling stations on the way to jaques?
 
I wanted to participate in mi I-Eagle. It would be an I-Explorer! :D

But it's not on the list

55745778.jpg



EDIT: Well, now it's amended! Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Sounds like fun and I might be up for it, if I've made it back from the core by then (went out to Jaques with the August Exodus, then headed to Sag A* and still out there) , looking at your list of ships I'd probably bring along a viper for a chance to show off my new wire-frame paint job on it.
 
Just a curiosity: why the Python is in the "not accepted ships becouse it's already popular for explorers"?

Never met an explorer that's happy with a Python, while met a lot of explorers that would love to bring a Python to exploration and are just waiting for an excuse.

I know, with engineers a stripped down Python can achieve >30 LY jumprange. But a stripped down Python feels wrong every second.
I have this Python I love becouse it's a true multipurpose, can hold a single fight, has srv, can repair, has limpets, etc.

For the expedition I could swap a 6A fuel scoop and fit also a fuel limpet controller. If I bring 60 limpets it has a jumprange of almost 18LY wich is everything but ideal. Also after next patch is deployes I will A rate the sensors and loose other 2LY jumprange.

Manticore Wanderer

I love this ship, especially now it has the Wireframe paintjob, and I'm really needing an excuse to explore in it.
Is it too performing for this expedition?

Note: 0 irony here, a genuine question.
 
Just a curiosity: why the Python is in the "not accepted ships becouse it's already popular for explorers"?

Never met an explorer that's happy with a Python, while met a lot of explorers that would love to bring a Python to exploration and are just waiting for an excuse.

I know, with engineers a stripped down Python can achieve >30 LY jumprange. But a stripped down Python feels wrong every second.
I have this Python I love becouse it's a true multipurpose, can hold a single fight, has srv, can repair, has limpets, etc.

For the expedition I could swap a 6A fuel scoop and fit also a fuel limpet controller. If I bring 60 limpets it has a jumprange of almost 18LY wich is everything but ideal. Also after next patch is deployes I will A rate the sensors and loose other 2LY jumprange.

Manticore Wanderer

I love this ship, especially now it has the Wireframe paintjob, and I'm really needing an excuse to explore in it.
Is it too performing for this expedition?

Note: 0 irony here, a genuine question.

Python has a ton of internals and decent jump range. Its a nice ship for exploration. Its also a popular ship for many types of gameplay. Ergo: Off the list.
 
This rag-tag band of silly ships will be humanities last chance once the Thargoids totally destroys the bubble.

A long way from home, chased by the evil Thargoids, our heroes must protect the civilians, battle dangerous odds and solve mysterious puzzles on their way to their new home world.... ... a world the surviving Dr. Palin thinks is the best option to avoid the Thargoids forever.

Synchronous jumps is a must, because if you are left behind, you are easy prey. A new technology is being developed, that allows smaller ships to latch on to the hull of larger ships with greater FSD capability and therefore makes synchronous jumps easier and farther than before. It is also possible to refuel this way from larger vessels and to repair powerplants and hull.

It is a mini- ED game, where the silly ships are like systems in the old bubble, and we can do powerplay and trade goods between the ships in fighters, just as we did in normal ships back in the bubble between systems. Each capital ship is the base of one of the old-bubble factions. We can get military special missions in each of the new systems we encounter or we can do research missions to determine terraformable worlds and even leave small colonies behind if deemed a good spot. Each silly ship has a 'missions' officer, an 'trade' officer and a 'contacts' officer, just as bases had back in the bubble.
 
Last edited:
Just a curiosity: why the Python is in the "not accepted ships becouse it's already popular for explorers"?

Never met an explorer that's happy with a Python
I have an exploration Python - gets 25-28LY range without an ultra-light loadout (mostly A-rated max-sized modules). Once FSD mods came in the combination of decent range with plenty of internal space was ideal.

On GNE, once the obvious Asps, Anacondas and Diamondbacks were excluded, Pythons and Couriers were easily the next most common.
 
Top Bottom