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Will exploration require escorts?


MagicStick

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It depends on what ship you are flying and in which region you are. A well armend Connie can probably do many things alone, but there will probably be systems, like Vanduul systems, where one Connie isn't enough.

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Will it require ? Nope

 

You could, but I see most exploration will be done with solo ships, which will be set up more for low emissions and fuel efficiency than combat. Remember pirates will hang around trade routes in a target rich environment to pick off ships, not flying around for weeks in unknown space hoping to find an exploration ship, which may or may not carry some type of usable cargo.

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I guess other things come into the equation. Such as, how long would it take to reach a deep space explorer? 

 

I'm hoping travel times will be fairly reasonable for immersion purposes. If that is the case then exploration could be a lonely and dangerous occupation.

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One of the things the Carrak has is "reinforced fuel tanks for long-duration flight..."  Dragging along a Gladius is a problem as it is a single seater, no sleeping quarters (can't log out in space) and not a long enough fuel. There may be an Avenger variant that will be an exploration model (that may be cool, but have no idea if that is in the works or not)  The 315p is an exploration variant as well. 

 

I think a key component for exploration is being self supportive.  If you're deep in uncharted space there may be no where to refuel, repair, medical help, etc.  If you notice the Carrak has all of these.  I really feel if I had to buy one ship, that would be it, for those reasons.  It, like the 315p, has modules for scanning and charting, which I assume you'll be able to load into a central computer in friendly space and other players will be able to purchase your updated star charts.

 

Given you have very good scanning abilities, you're more than likely to spot other ships before they spot you.  Given an exploration ships strengths, your tactics for dealing with unknown ships is not likely to engage them, but to power down and hide until they pass.  Even running away could be unwise at first because your fuel is something you don't want to waste.

 

Of course this can change if you've got a fleet that includes a Starferrer and a place for single seaters to land. 

 

But honestly, you're likely to be so far beyond charted space, you're not likely to be bumping into hostile ships too often if ever.

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Depends on where we'd we going and the type of mission it was. IMO i imagine the protection for exploration will come from a combination of Combat Ops and the Exploration Squadrons themselves. Some exploration squadrons plan on being armed to the teeth considering the type of space we'd bee exploring so i do not think protection will be a terrible issue

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  • 4 weeks later...

If exploration required escorts, it would severely diminish long range exploration for sure.  I would imagine the Aquila and/or Carrack will have some kind of ewar to negate hostile fire (in addition to large shields).  

 

Short and medium range exploration could be doable with escorts, but that all depends on what you're exploring for, a fight with NPC/PVP or carpet bombing terrestrial aliens on a planet ;)

 

It'll be interesting to see if the Carrack gets variants, that would be a game changer.  

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If exploration required escorts, it would severely diminish long range exploration for sure.  I would imagine the Aquila and/or Carrack will have some kind of ewar to negate hostile fire (in addition to large shields).  

 

Short and medium range exploration could be doable with escorts, but that all depends on what you're exploring for, a fight with NPC/PVP or carpet bombing terrestrial aliens on a planet ;)

 

It'll be interesting to see if the Carrack gets variants, that would be a game changer.  

I seem to remember reading somewhere that they were looking into making ships like the carrack modular so you can switch out modules for others?

Does that count as being variant? 

Ill see if i can find where i read it?

 

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Yes the others have the right idea, shorter missions with one ship armed to the teeth or that is extremely fast is doable, though with different systems and distances, escorts from those such as Eclipsed Armed Solutions, are safer, and provide a better chance of getting good information, exploring more, and having longer missions

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I seem to remember reading somewhere that they were looking into making ships like the carrack modular so you can switch out modules for others?

Does that count as being variant? 

Ill see if i can find where i read it?

 

The Carrack has 6 modular bays stored below the ship that can be swapped out for other prefabricated units. So you are correct.

 

Many people have already said this, and me agreeing with it doesn't make it anymore true.  As much as I would love to escort you exploration guys in my Super Hornet the fact of the matter is until a Deep Space Fighter is constructed me and the other Combat Ops guys will not be able to keep up.  FlexBravo stated "Can't log out in space [without a bed]".  This actually has its own thread for discussion because we don't entirely know yet whether or not that is true.  I for one am all for balancing single seater ships with this handicap.

 

In the end it will come down to the Exploration division either convoying up to ensure mutual protection or risking it by themselves.

 

The thread about sleeping in space for those interested: 

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And that's what I was getting at in my previous post.  The long range expeditions would be severely diminished if they relied on escorts.  They'll have to be self-sufficient to some degree, whether it be the ability to escape tackle and run or heavy shielding. 

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The Carrack has 6 modular bays stored below the ship that can be swapped out for other prefabricated units. So you are correct.

 

Many people have already said this, and me agreeing with it doesn't make it anymore true.  As much as I would love to escort you exploration guys in my Super Hornet the fact of the matter is until a Deep Space Fighter is constructed me and the other Combat Ops guys will not be able to keep up.  FlexBravo stated "Can't log out in space [without a bed]".  This actually has its own thread for discussion because we don't entirely know yet whether or not that is true.  I for one am all for balancing single seater ships with this handicap.

 

In the end it will come down to the Exploration division either convoying up to ensure mutual protection or risking it by themselves.

 

The thread about sleeping in space for those interested: 

Yes, your spot on! That's exactly the information i remember reading, thankyou!

I absolutely agree with you about combat ops being escorts and the difficulties involved - without  some sort of supply line between systems in the direction that we are exploring out in space/deep-space, there is absolutely no way you would be able to keep up - i wouldn't expect you to either. You shouldn't have to risk your belongings or virtual life for the exploration division as its our job to use our initiative and knowledge to ensure we are able to perform exploration duties - including being able to be self sufficient in deep space, to make sure we can handle / survive / escape encounters with hostile enemies ourselves to a good degree or learn from that and bring it back to the team.

 

That's not to say we need to be completely self-sufficient, as there might be occasions where someone from the combat ops is close by and we could use a hand, or we think we've found something very valuable to the Imperium that might need your help in getting to again, but unless there's a way for you to be able to keep up or ressuply/log out in deep space - and perhaps there will be a dedicated escort ship sometime in the future? - I wouldn't want to put you in a bad position.

I'd say it was part of the exploration divisions duty to come up with solutions around or to solve this problem as more information is released ^^

 

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We may see the development of a deep-space fighter as many have brought up before.  If so Combat Ops could fly escort missions for the Exploration division.  As it currently is it seems it will be mostly T&I getting the fighter support.

 

As for risking belongings or time, all of us signed up for Combat Ops, and we all signed up for Imperium.  I certainly wouldn't mind being tasked to fly protection for other Imperium members or even allies of Imperium's fleet.  Thats the cool part of this community.  Because it is hardcore oriented most of us probably are not super impatient self centered guys.  You can expect a willingness to help out in this fleet.

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