Utility Fighter: Golem

[CMDR SoldiersFortune]

Right now we have three fighter chassis available for fighter bays; the Fed Condor, the Imperial Interceptor, and the Alliance Taipan. I would like to suggest a fourth chassis be added along with the following loadouts.

Name: Golem
Manufacturer: Lakon
Role: Utility

Loadouts:

Badger
2x Mining Lasers 1D, 1x Prospector Limpet Controller 1F (25x Ammo)
Purpose: Multicrew; allows increased yield of asteroids and more participation from multicrew members.

Mole
1x Abrasion Blaster 1D, 1x Sub-surface Displacement Missile 1B (25x Ammo)
Purpose: Multicrew; allows multicrew pilot to extract deposits independently of main ship thus improving efficiency.

Otter
1x Seismic Charge Launcher 1F (25x Ammo), 1x Pulse Wave Analyzer 0F
Purpose: Multicrew; allows multicrew pilot to scout ahead for core asteroids and once discovered, help place charges on fissures.

The overall goal of adding this type of fighter to the game would be to make mining more viable for multicrew ships and improve player interaction and cooperation.

 

[Vadim Kleitsin]

The important question for me is, can my NPC pilot operate these new fighters if they were to be implemented?

There are two reasons why I stuck the fighter hangar on my Type 9. Firstly, all the hardpoints are filled with mining gear. Secondly, if she's gonna take 6%(or more) of my income, I may as well get some use out of her.

Edit: Also the NPCs would need to learn to move back when seismic charges are about to go off. I didn't move back enough one time because I knew the 8A shield would withstand the blast but I also blew half the hull on the deployed (escort) fighter in the process. Maybe give utility fighters heavier armour and shields since they probably don't need to be that fast.

 

[ohforf3]

I would suggest adding a cargo hold to it and giving it remote access to the main ship's limpet controllers. Load up on limpets from the main ship and the collectors you fire off use the shuttle as a relay to path find home. It could then also be used to sell after the trip if your at an outpost instead of a station.

A feature that would be needed for advanced outfitting is ammo for the shuttle tools so you can restock while mining(x ammo per ton). Hell I would like that without the shuttle so I don't need to have 2 SSD launchers.

 

[CMDR Bausell]

I’d just want to see one with two to four tons of cargo capacity we could use to ferry cargo around. I know in some of my ships I’d be happy to have it in place of collector limpets.

 

[CMDR SoldiersFortune]

The important question for me is, can my NPC pilot operate these new fighters if they were to be implemented?
...
Maybe give utility fighters heavier armour and shields since they probably don't need to be that fast.

The actual function of these utility fighters would probably be too advanced for NPC pilots. The idea was to give incentive to assemble a multicrew team of human pilots to go operate as a mining crew.

I agree that they should be sturdier than a Taipan, however I wouldn't want to sacrifice too much speed otherwise their ability to scout for crackable asteroids would take a hit.

I would suggest adding a cargo hold to it and giving it remote access to the main ship's limpet controllers. Load up on limpets from the main ship and the collectors you fire off use the shuttle as a relay to path find home. It could then also be used to sell after the trip if your at an outpost instead of a station.

I tried to think about a design that would work with the current mechanics for fighters when considering loadouts. Collector limpets on a fighter didn't seem to make much sense as collectors tend to die very easily and frequently, not to mention they are typically most effective in a swarm. If the main mining ship has collector limpets it doesn't seem very effective to put additional collector limpets on the fighter. The main purpose of the fighter is to simply provide additional resources for the main ship's collector limpets. It's not really meant as a way for the ship's owner to go mining and leave his ship in the hands of the AI, but rather for the main commander to bring additional human multicrewmembers aboard to help with the mining process.

 

[Vadim Kleitsin]

The actual function of these utility fighters would probably be too advanced for NPC pilots. The idea was to give incentive to assemble a multicrew team of human pilots to go operate as a mining crew.

I agree that they should be sturdier than a Taipan, however I wouldn't want to sacrifice too much speed otherwise their ability to scout for crackable asteroids would take a hit.

I agree with your point about about the NPCs. I'm not sure though how useful speed would be, given that you'd need to check multiple rocks and I suspect maneuverability might be more important so that you can grab the surface deposits after a core asteroid has blown. With that in mind, yes, armour would probably weigh down the ship anyway.

Looking back at the original post, I'd suggest that the seismic charge equipped fighter should be more heavily armoured than the others, given the riskier task that it'd be assigned to do. Also, it might need to hang around the mothership anyway, given that a prospector would be needed to highlight the fissures in the first place.

 

[ohforf3]

I tried to think about a design that would work with the current mechanics for fighters when considering loadouts. Collector limpets on a fighter didn't seem to make much sense as collectors tend to die very easily and frequently, not to mention they are typically most effective in a swarm. If the main mining ship has collector limpets it doesn't seem very effective to put additional collector limpets on the fighter. The main purpose of the fighter is to simply provide additional resources for the main ship's collector limpets. It's not really meant as a way for the ship's owner to go mining and leave his ship in the hands of the AI, but rather for the main commander to bring additional human multicrewmembers aboard to help with the mining process.

Yes they are not that useful for combat but this isn't a combat ship.

I am also considering solo players using the miner for a more maneuverable mining ship than the huge cargo hauler without sacrificing as much cappacity. Being able to launch prospectors and collectors like you were in the main ship would cut down on the constant switching.

 

[Snoiperman]

The important question for me is, can my NPC pilot operate these new fighters if they were to be implemented?

There are two reasons why I stuck the fighter hangar on my Type 9. Firstly, all the hardpoints are filled with mining gear. Secondly, if she's gonna take 6%(or more) of my income, I may as well get some use out of her.

Edit: Also the NPCs would need to learn to move back when seismic charges are about to go off. I didn't move back enough one time because I knew the 8A shield would withstand the blast but I also blew half the hull on the deployed (escort) fighter in the process. Maybe give utility fighters heavier armour and shields since they probably don't need to be that fast.

I just want them to be human multicrew exclusive. Then make multicrew profits be doubled for each person in the multicrew.