Long distance - Dos and Don'ts

[Myrm]

I've always managed to run from AI interdictors so don't bother with weapons. Besides because I carry no cargo I rarely get interdicted. I'm an explorer and make my money gathering data to sell.

[JohnLuke]

All great tips from our members, and many different configurations, depending on your play style. One thing to keep in mind for anyone following this thread that may be on a budget.

Fuel scoops don't have weight, and large ones are pricey. A 6B scoop will only add a few seconds to each fill up but costs $21mil less than a 6A. Something to consider.

For my exploration builds, I take a small shield generator, no boosters, no weapons, and a couple of heat sinks in case of screw ups. (they'll happen sooner or later). Advanced discovery scanner and surface scanner are definitely on board.

[TorTorden]

The big difference between the A rated scoops and the lower isn't the scoop rate but how well they handle the heat.
Same reason why you downgrade power plants but A rate them.

Besides, what else are you going to do with the money.
And even with module storage we still get 100% sell back on modules.

[Walter]

I also have my conda the following :
1. A-rated except for thrusters ( engineered D thrusters and will transfer the A ones once I get there).

Does this mean you are carrying A-rated thrusters with you?

Nothing A-rated is available in Colonia as yet. The best you can get is D-rated.

Pretty much the only ship that anyone buys in Colonia is a D-rated Viper for canyon racing.

[Roger Wilco Jr]

That's true about not being interdicted w/o cargo. I didn't think about that.

I was just going to mention that, with larger unused slots available, a 6E/D or 7E/D scoop would scoop a lot faster than a 4A. It's probably been 2 years since I used a downgraded scoop, so I'm not sure how badly they would heat up. I wonder if you could scoop a little farther away, at a lower rate, and still scoop as fast or faster than a 4A scoop, but for a lot less money? That's assuming money is an issue.

Different class scoops would make more sense if they had a mass.

Also, for the record, I'm seeing a lot more unexplored system between outposts 2 and 3, so it looks less explored farther out. But it could just be the routes I've been taking. I'm trying my hardest not to explore, trying to get those guides delivered, but it's hard.

[Walter]

Pretty much the only ship that anyone buys in Colonia is a D-rated Viper for canyon racing.

Except for those pilots of big ships who currently have only three stations where they can land (but that might well change in the new year).

[thebs]

This! Though I always take 2 SRVs with me, but no fighters or weapons. I'm a man!

No weapons?
Is there any use for weapons out there?

I take three (3) Class 3 Turreted Beam Lasers. I Engineer them Class 4 Lightweight mounts so, between the 3 of them, together, weigh only about 8-9t, really no different than a single one.

[thebs]

Pretty much the only ship that anyone buys in Colonia is a D-rated Viper for canyon racing.

Except for those pilots of big ships who currently have only three stations where they can land (but that might well change in the new year).

Whoa, wait?!

Just to confirm ... all of the Colonia surface ports can take Large ships, right? I'm headed to Eagle right now.

[Cometborne]

Just to confirm ... all of the Colonia surface ports can take Large ships, right? I'm headed to Eagle right now.

The six refuel outposts between the bubble and Colonia are all surface ports with large pads. The problem is the situation inside the Colonia nebula itself: Only Jauqes station (Orbis), Colonia Hub (planetary), and Colonia Dream (Coriolis) have large pads. All the other space outposts in the Colonia nebula only have small and medium pads.

[bailablestone12]

I also have my conda the following :
1. A-rated except for thrusters ( engineered D thrusters and will transfer the A ones once I get there).

Does this mean you are carrying A-rated thrusters with you?

Nothing A-rated is available in Colonia as yet. The best you can get is D-rated.

Pretty much the only ship that anyone buys in Colonia is a D-rated Viper for canyon racing.

I have D rated thrusters with grade 3 dirty drive upgrade.. But the A ones are stored and hopefully I can transfer them at some point but for now I am going to have to transfer my python for all those small and medium pads around Colonia.