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Post by resistor on Jul 25, 2018 19:29:04 GMT -5
I recently got the First Blood award which unlocks the Stellar Falcon as a starting ship, but it doesn't seem worth using.
Ship priority must be set at A to use it, but Cautela Heavylift and Dragoon Cruiser seem like a more powerful A ships anyway. Is there any reason to choose the Stellar Falcon besides getting a few thousand extra credits from the ship starting budget?
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Post by drspendlove on Jul 25, 2018 19:32:38 GMT -5
Hmm, I'll have to do a direct comparison to see...
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Post by Cory Trese on Jul 25, 2018 20:00:58 GMT -5
Unique POV. By what criteria are you deciding that the Cautela Heavylift and Dragoon Cruiser are more powerful ships?
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Post by drspendlove on Jul 25, 2018 20:01:15 GMT -5
Alright, the Cautala Heavylift and the Dragoon Cruiser are pretty similar. The same pros/cons apply versus the Stellar Falcon.
Pros for Stellar Falcon:
- 75~80k cheaper
- More fuel efficient (3 per AU versus 4 per AU), also costs 5 less fuel per combat
- Tighter Crew for higher XP yield per character in early game and lower salary.
- Far superior base shielding (9 versus 4)
- Faster engine: both speed and agility are 3 higher than the 7k engine
- Better dice pools for defensive combat: Ties on Pilot, Has superior Navigation, Better Electronics
- Compensates for a weaker gunnery pool with a Sensor Array bonus.
Cons for Stellar Falcon:
- Slightly less starting cargo space (25 versus 35)
- One fewer officer capacity.
- Smaller crew means less diversity and potential dice.
- Has one fewer medium slot (but one more small slot) than the alternatives
- Hull is considerably weaker (2050 versus 2500 or 2350)
- Slightly worse Ops dice
- Worse Gunnery dice leading to lower accuracy and weaker on-hit crippling effects
- No medical facilities
- No weapon options for range 1 ship combat.
Conclusion: The Stellar Falcon is a better starting ship for surviving rough encounters early on as the costs of travel and higher salary will hurt more in the larger ships. Starting with an extra credit buffer furthers this thought. It will perform better in most ship combat experiences early game because it is better at escaping and has better dice from its engine component. Its naturally high shielding is icing on the protective cake. It is, thus, the more conservative option for early to mid game play.
Going for either heavier ship is going to be tough to get going but either of them have more long-term potential than the Stellar Falcon due to their crew size and potential officer complement.
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Post by drspendlove on Jul 25, 2018 20:06:25 GMT -5
The Heavylift versus Dragoon: Heavylift Pros: - 5k Cheaper - Slightly sturdier with 150 more hull points - Better Electronics dice pool - Better long-range combat capacity with an extra torpedo component Heavylift Cons: - Slightly worse jump efficiency (34 versus 31) - Slightly worse Ops - Worse Gunnery - Is weaker in short-range combat capacity by lacking any autocannons Conclusion: I'd greatly prefer the Heavylift over the Dragoon. Autocannons and some Ops aren't going to make up for Torping to death.  |
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Post by resistor on Jul 25, 2018 20:20:07 GMT -5
...Conclusion: The Stellar Falcon is a better starting ship for surviving rough encounters early on as the costs of travel and higher salary will hurt more in the larger ships. Starting with an extra credit buffer furthers this thought. It will perform better in most ship combat experiences early game because it is better at escaping and has better dice from its engine component. Its naturally high shielding is icing on the protective cake. It is, thus, the more conservative option for early to mid game play. Going for either heavier ship is going to be tough to get going but either of them have more long-term potential than the Stellar Falcon due to their crew size and potential officer complement. Interesting analysis. I don't agree that Stellar Falcon is necessarily better for early game ship encounters, because the small amount of extra dice from its engine is probably not as potent as dice from 6 extra crew members (at least, after you buy a cheap skill boosting module). I'd like to note that I unlocked First Blood by using the Cautela Heavylift on Impossible. It is clear I don't need a "good-for-early-game" ship, which is probably why I was so dismissive of it  |
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Post by drspendlove on Jul 25, 2018 20:23:35 GMT -5
The formula for ship rolls use the engine dice twice. Once as strong dice and once as a multiplier versus the opponent's ship. Don't be quite so quick to dismiss it! But yes, I doubt you "need" the ship, by any means.
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Post by drspendlove on Jul 25, 2018 20:26:59 GMT -5
So a difference of 3 Strong dice is in addition to an effective +25% bonus to the entire dice pool if it were a 15 speed/agility ship versus a 12 speed/agility ship. Not tiny.
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Post by fallen on Jul 25, 2018 21:08:09 GMT -5
But yes, I doubt you "need" the ship, by any means. Which is kind of the idea of unlockable content. |
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Post by Cory Trese on Jul 25, 2018 23:56:17 GMT -5
Should I try to reconstitute these posts into the Wiki? Or are these comparisons part of something you're already planning to import.
They're really great.
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Post by daveal on Jul 26, 2018 0:10:15 GMT -5
Conclusion: The Stellar Falcon is a better starting ship for surviving rough encounters early on as the costs of travel and higher salary will hurt more in the larger ships. Starting with an extra credit buffer furthers this thought. It will perform better in most ship combat experiences early game because it is better at escaping and has better dice from its engine component. Its naturally high shielding is icing on the protective cake. It is, thus, the more conservative option for early to mid game play. Going for either heavier ship is going to be tough to get going but either of them have more long-term potential than the Stellar Falcon due to their crew size and potential officer complement. This exact type of recommendation text is what "should" go into all the wiki ship pages. Example: startraders.gamepedia.com/Stellar_FalconIf you "edit source" on this page, it's nothing but an embedded reference to: startraders.gamepedia.com/Ship_Reference_Stellar_FalconThe Stellar_Falcon page is the perfect spot for this one paragraph summary of how this ship compares to other nearby ships. By placing this text in the Stellar_Falcon page, it won't get overwritten by new reference page uploads. |
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Post by drspendlove on Jul 26, 2018 7:33:45 GMT -5
Conclusion: The Stellar Falcon is a better starting ship for surviving rough encounters early on as the costs of travel and higher salary will hurt more in the larger ships. Starting with an extra credit buffer furthers this thought. It will perform better in most ship combat experiences early game because it is better at escaping and has better dice from its engine component. Its naturally high shielding is icing on the protective cake. It is, thus, the more conservative option for early to mid game play. Going for either heavier ship is going to be tough to get going but either of them have more long-term potential than the Stellar Falcon due to their crew size and potential officer complement. This exact type of recommendation text is what "should" go into all the wiki ship pages. Example: startraders.gamepedia.com/Stellar_FalconIf you "edit source" on this page, it's nothing but an embedded reference to: startraders.gamepedia.com/Ship_Reference_Stellar_FalconThe Stellar_Falcon page is the perfect spot for this one paragraph summary of how this ship compares to other nearby ships. By placing this text in the Stellar_Falcon page, it won't get overwritten by new reference page uploads. Indeed. I'm planning on putting these kinds of things there. Asking similar questions will prompt me to do more! |
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Post by drspendlove on Jul 26, 2018 7:56:13 GMT -5
Done. I'm not writing up a mirror of these comparisons on the other pages though.
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Post by Cory Trese on Jul 26, 2018 10:59:41 GMT -5
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Post by fallen on Jul 26, 2018 11:13:16 GMT -5
Done. I'm not writing up a mirror of these comparisons on the other pages though. Very amazing, great work. I tweaked the ordering so that the reference is first in the source, which gets it to float alongside your narrative content. A million +1's. |
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