Why are the BIG ships so small ?

[xondk]

I mean, the Python is NOWHERE near the size of a freighter nor is the Annaconda a huge ship. Both of these ships are different in game than they are described in various sources of Elite Lore. Also they are the wrong shape, the python especially looks like it has been squashed.

Also they are both far more manoeuvrable than expected. I have seen the python described as a slow lumbering beast... But in game it actually seem more like a 'heavy fighter' or fast gunship

Humans are incredibly bad at judging scale with no reference points as the OP demonstrates.

Spoiler

View attachment 30238

That's the Anaconda on the right next to the Elizabeth Tower which is 315 feet (96m) high. Yeah, tiny.

This, so very this, people keep saying the ships are small, but don't seem to realize that there's no sense of scale due to lack of things to compare to in space...

 

[Junky Juke]

There will be no need to put a VR headset on to have a feeling of scale, when we will be able to walk in and around a ship. (Nothing against VR of course!)

 

[Vin Cross]

I was trying to explain to a friend that the Cobra was bigger than the little fighters of his preferred sci-fi settings, but not really all that big. Boy, I've had to adjust my perspective on that overnight. I was a little surprised to find that my Cobra isn't much smaller than a Boeing 747. Now the multi-ton cargo capacities of even the Eagle and Sidewinder make so much more sense.

 

[DoppelShifter]

There is one way to compare directly in game, but it's a bit risky and demands a LOT of fine control of your ship:

1 - Look for any spherical closed station (octahedron, orbital, space colony etc).
2 - If you look around, you'll find roads where trucks transport parts and supplies around the stations (I don't know if some special closed stations won't have those roads, but mods of them do).
3 - Park your ship directly above one of those roads (be cautions not to park over another deck, otherwise you'll get a fine for lottering AND get blown up to pieces).
4 - Once safely parked (or at least standing still right above the road), use the Debug Camera and compare yourself to the trucks on the road (which should be about the same size of a normal pickup truck.

There. Now you know how big your ship is.

I was trying to explain to a friend that the Cobra was bigger than the little fighters of his preferred sci-fi settings, but not really all that big. Boy, I've had to adjust my perspective on that overnight. I was a little surprised to find that my Cobra isn't much smaller than a Boeing 747. Now the multi-ton cargo capacities of even the Eagle and Sidewinder make so much more sense.

Just look at the Vulture. It's supposed to be analogous to an air superiority fighter (like the F-22A or the Su-35), but it weights 280 tons in vanilla state, and about 370 tons when fully equipped with a fighter loadout (no cargo space and lots of sensors). And those two real-life atmospherical fighters weight less than 30 tons each, fully loaded.

 

[Patrick_68000]

I mean ...

Small, small ... Go to tell that to the cleaning lady !

 

[Arksun]

That Python does seem to be a bit of a Tardis, 292 Ton max cargo capacity, 60 more than a Type7, but still can land on a medium pad.

 

[777Driver]

That Python does seem to be a bit of a Tardis, 292 Ton max cargo capacity, 60 more than a Type7, but still can land on a medium pad.

Type-7 restriction is due to height not weight.

 

[Seonid]

That's the difference in hull mass.

 

[Bam]

The first time you try to undock your Anaconda you realise exactly how big it is, all other ships fit thru the slot dead center easily, but the Anaconda is one tall beast, you have a hell of a lot of ship below you.

 

[CMDR Hagglebeard]

I really would like for larger, fatter ships to turn like whales, and for turrets to almost be mandated on these ships. The fact that an Anaconda can flip around in reverse to stop my Cobra (or anything smaller than it, for that matter) really grinds my gears.

 

[Xodz]

Size is relative.

 

[DoppelShifter]

I really would like for larger, fatter ships to turn like whales, and for turrets to almost be mandated on these ships. The fact that an Anaconda can flip around in reverse to stop my Cobra (or anything smaller than it, for that matter) really grinds my gears.

Considering that they have the most vulnerable powerplant of all ships and every single fighter (Eagle, Viper, Vulture, Fer de Lance and even Sidewinders) can just dance around them at will, they do turn like whales and do rely a lot on turrets.

Actually, if they don't have double turrets on each side, there's nothing to protect their powerplant from anything with a maneuverability of 6 and above.

 

[Iskariot]

I always thought IRL that space shuttle was small spacecraft, only 20 m long, but some years later I had opportunity to see real Buran and this thing was freaking huge.

The same happens with some ships like Clipper, they look smaller in space, you can destroy them under minute, but they are big as Airbus A320.

A design 'problem' concerning the clipper is that the cockpit looks like an apartment with excessively large windows.
The cockpit is easily twice as large as that of the largest passenger liner, the A 380. Nevertheless from the outside the Clipper feels much smaller than it actually is.
Just have a look at the cockpit via the external view. You will see two small dwarfish chairs inside.
This design very much distorts any sense of scale for that particular ship.
I feel this could and should have been done differently.

 

[Im_Lost]

The problem is all the big ships handle like the small ones. There is no sense of weight to them. They feel like fighters instead of actual ships.

 

[Iskariot]

The problem is all the big ships handle like the small ones.

No, that is not true. There is a huge difference between different sized ships.

 

[Flavio]

To help with scale, maybe they should give the opportunity of doing a cut scene of someone walking around a ship inspecting it from the outside when you are in the shipyard tab when deciding to buy a ship.

 

[dayrth]

Try using the debug camera when docked, and moving it as if you were standing on the ground, You get a good sense of scale that way.

I didn't realise you could do that! Can't wait to try it

- - - Updated - - -

The problem is all the big ships handle like the small ones. There is no sense of weight to them. They feel like fighters instead of actual ships.

Not really. I have little trouble staying on a conda's tail in my vulture.

 

[Seonid]

The problem is all the big ships handle like the small ones. There is no sense of weight to them. They feel like fighters instead of actual ships.

Really? I'm looking forward to your video of you pulling a 180 in a T9 and an Eagle and not being able to tell the difference.

 

[Mephane]

A design 'problem' concerning the clipper is that the cockpit looks like an apartment with excessively large windows.
The cockpit is easily twice as large as that of the largest passenger liner, the A 380. Nevertheless from the outside the Clipper feels much smaller than it actually is.
Just have a look at the cockpit via the external view. You will see two small dwarfish chairs inside.
This design very much distorts any sense of scale for that particular ship.
I feel this could and should have been done differently.

I would say the Clipper has a bridge, not a cockpit. I would expect all that extra space eventually be filled with extra seats, tech, consoles etc. I could imagine something like a giant tactical 3D holographic map in the middle, adding the functionality of a "war room". It sure seems weird to vast and empty.

Spoiler

Btw, are these the actual Gutamaya-style seats shown in the debug camera?

 

[777Driver]

I would say the Clipper has a bridge, not a cockpit. I would expect all that extra space eventually be filled with extra seats, tech, consoles etc. I could imagine something like a giant tactical 3D holographic map in the middle, adding the functionality of a "war room". It sure seems weird to vast and empty.
[/SPOILER]

Clipper is definitely more like the bridge of cruise liner, not sure why Iskariot is attempting to compare it to the flightdeck of an A380. You can see various consoles for crew members at the back of the bridge

Standing up on the bridge of the Clipper, when you look over the nose you realize the bridge is nearly 3 stories up, in the Type-9 you have a sense of vertigo in the DK2

Entrance to the bridge on the Anaconda, viewed from behind the Captains chair