What ever happend to the Panther Clipper LX ?

Marcus Franconium

Marcus Franconium
What ever happend to the Panther Clipper LX ? The last we heard and seen any thing about that ship was almost 6 years ago .
With the carriers beeing a thing now . A larger cargo transport is needed . Even maxing out Imperial Cutters and T9 ships in cargo space they barely make a dent in the the cargo capacity of a carrier.

And if i remember correctly the panther clipper LX is one of the most anticipated ships since the release of elite in 2014 .
 

Chorda

Chorda
The anticipation and hype are probably why FDev are leery to touch it, given all the recent controversies. There's a lot o people ready to be loudly disappointed if FDev get it wrong.

A lot of questions remain as to what the exactly the XL will be; as a 2100 ton bulk carrier, like the original, it could render the Cutter and Type-9 obsolete. The Cutter is 192m long, so if the Panther XL is to be mail-slot and large pad viable, it's likely going to involve the same sort of nonsensical stats that the Anaconda enjoys. It has also been described as the Type-9's 'big brother', but surely that's the Type-10 now?

I believe one of the older wiki's speculated that the XL could be a smaller, atmosphere-capable version of the original (if you recall, the first one was a flying brick that couldn't make planetfall). I'd be good with that, the XL essentially being a cargo version of the Beluga: just as hard to mailslot, and with the ability to fit 'supercapacity cargo racks' the way the Beluga can use luxury cabins.

The ingame files recently saw some UI updates apparently, so there's that.
 

Marcus Franconium

Marcus Franconium
Chorda said:
The anticipation and hype are probably why FDev are leery to touch it, given all the recent controversies. There's a lot o people ready to be loudly disappointed if FDev get it wrong.

A lot of questions remain as to what the exactly the XL will be; as a 2100 ton bulk carrier, like the original, it could render the Cutter and Type-9 obsolete. The Cutter is 192m long, so if the Panther XL is to be mail-slot and large pad viable, it's likely going to involve the same sort of nonsensical stats that the Anaconda enjoys. It has also been described as the Type-9's 'big brother', but surely that's the Type-10 now?

I believe one of the older wiki's speculated that the XL could be a smaller, atmosphere-capable version of the original (if you recall, the first one was a flying brick that couldn't make planetfall). I'd be good with that, the XL essentially being a cargo version of the Beluga: just as hard to mailslot, and with the ability to fit 'supercapacity cargo racks' the way the Beluga can use luxury cabins.

The ingame files recently saw some UI updates apparently, so there's that.
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The largest we could it expect it to be is beluga lenght and T10 with a masive block that barely through the slot. Calcutated it should in theory hold close to double or more than T9 cargo space.
 

Jaden Capek

J
The Type 9 dimensions are roughly 117 x 115 x 33.

The Beluga's dimensions (including wingspan) are around 209 x 132 x 46, and it almost touches the back and ceiling of the large- size hanger.

Theoretically you could make a Panther Clipper LX with dimensions around 205 x 135 x 45 and it will still fit in the large pad, although barely.

If it's perfectly rectangular, the Panther Clipper will have a volume of ~968,625.

The Type 9's volume is a little less than 444,015.

This means the Panther Clipper can, in theory, hold about twice as much cargo as the Type 9 and the dimensions can still make sense. I can see it holding around 1400 tons of cargo and, thanks to the square cube law, it'll likely be obscenely heavy.
 
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Darth Wonko

Darth Wonko
Bottom Hat said:
I hazzed it. And I'm not saying sorry for this one, it's not like it's a planet this time.
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Damn you, Bottom Hat!!!

1647448041717.png
 

Cmdr Kellett781

C
I didn’t see the PC eclipsing the trade cutter or type 9. You can do so many different things with those ships. I think the PC will be good for bulk trading in tandem with a fleet carrier and that’s about it. Just a hunch.

the newest hacker renderings in game that have seen was a new model. Though the radar scan image was still the old model. So it’s still being worked on at least.

All the crying we will hear about the PC when it finally does drop, will be from people that do NOT have fleet carriers to unload.
 

Esare Kranse

E
The calculations of relative size for the Clipper that I see here are not taking into account the volume of the various ships that is non-cargo volume. Remember that the cargo racks are a quite small proportion of a lot of the current ships, where the Panther clipper is effectively a giant Cargo bay with an engine and a cockpit bolted on to it.
An example of the proportion of space allocated in current ships to optional modules would be the Cutter.
Compared to a 787-8, the cutter has:
2.5 times the length,
almost 2 times the wingspan
twice the height
Six times the cargo payload
But around a quarter of the all economy passenger capacity (weird)
Doubling the length of the Type 9, most all of the stretch would be extra cargo capacity as it would not need a second set of core module slots, this would give roughly three times the type 9's current optional slots, or right on the money of the Panther's 2100t cargo capacity
 

Esare Kranse

E
Cmdr Kellett781 said:
I didn’t see the PC eclipsing the trade cutter or type 9. You can do so many different things with those ships. I think the PC will be good for bulk trading in tandem with a fleet carrier and that’s about it. Just a hunch.

the newest hacker renderings in game that have seen was a new model. Though the radar scan image was still the old model. So it’s still being worked on at least.

All the crying we will hear about the PC when it finally does drop, will be from people that do NOT have fleet carriers to unload.
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The PC was a great heavy trade ship back in the day as it was covered in external hardpoints and with its huge cargo capacity was a great way to make credits on trade routes between orbital stations.
in ED, the clipper would be perfect for Gold runs, CGs, bulk passengers and heavy mining operations. I'd even use one (if it was capable of planetary landings) for guardian farming, as I could equip a couple of dozen SRVs (so I never have to reload/refuel with synthesis) and still have loads of space for Guardian SWAG.
 

Ian Doncaster

Ian Doncaster
Esare Kranse said:
or right on the money of the Panther's 2100t cargo capacity
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Though in FE2 the Panther's cargo capacity also had to include hyperdrive, weapons (unless you were doing ultra-safe systems only or relying on ramming), shield generators (likewise), and various utility modules so the practical cargo capacity was more like 1200-1400t depending on how reckless you were with defences.

Still ridiculously excessive in a game where trade earnings were balanced around a roughly 10t hold capacity, of course.
 

Nikephorus Phocas

Nikephorus Phocas
So the Python Mk2 is confirmed and are there not a couple other ships to be released with U19 or did I simply missread or just make up something?
If the former, than it's possible the PC could be introduced?
 

fennster

fennster
Nikephorus Phocas said:
So the Python Mk2 is confirmed and are there not a couple other ships to be released with U19 or did I simply missread or just make up something?
If the former, than it's possible the PC could be introduced?
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They said at least 4 new ships in 2024, including the Python MkII. Not specifically at any given date/update and also that they would be variants of existing ships.
 

Nikephorus Phocas

Nikephorus Phocas
fennster said:
They said at least 4 new ships in 2024, including the Python MkII. Not specifically at any given date/update and also that they would be variants of existing ships.
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Good, so I wasn't misshearing/reading. That's not to say a PC is in the works but it does give hope for those that want it, it might be part of that 2024 package of ships?

To be fair, FDEV isn't going to get it right. That's not my opinion but people are going to moan it's 'not right' regardless. I have zero expectations for anything in this game. And that's not bad, I'm not an OG with the game so I don't have a dog in that hunt. It's why I'm part of the "I don't see much wrong with the game" crowd and not part of the "game is doomed and dying" crowd.

I like my position better
 

Cosmo

Cosmo
They put development into the Python MkII instead of the Panther Clipper LX so we still don't have the latter. However, there is a chance it's one of the 3 upcoming ships.
 
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