Yet Another Newbie Question

[Hughestrog]

Hi All! Question: I know that I need cargo in my fleet if I'm exploring a planet from orbit- but say I'm exploring my homeworld, do I still need cargo space in the fleet orbiting? Or in an installation on the planet?

 

Many thanks in advance,

 

Hughestrog.

[crossroads]

You need cargo space in your fleet.

[RTGPete]

It's also legal to issue EXPL orders with a fleet that has only a Surface Fortress in it - even that would need Cargo Bays to hold whatever it might find.

[Hughestrog]

Thanks Guys- so essentially I need cargo space.

[crossroads]

Yes, most of us have a minimum of 50000. Max cargo for found items is 25000. So with 2 actionpoints 50000 is save. If you explore an alien world setup an empty popsegment in order to dump your goods in it until you can collect them (so you also need a colony beacon).

[ShadowKitsune]

Thanks Guys- so essentially I need cargo space.

Only if you want to pick things up. :lol:

 

Otherwise it is lost forever and you'll be doing the unhappy dance [] when its a Fusion Transwarp Drive or two.

 

-SK

[hobknob]

As far as space goes I think my largest amount picked up in a single order was 90,000 tons. That is quite a bit more than the 25k generally assumed to be adequate. Fortuantely for me I am running with 150,000 cargo on that particular fleet.

[PhaseDragon]

I wondered about that supposed maximum as well. I am just switching over to MK III Nuclear Engines and Transwarp Drives now so my new designs will include much more cargo space. I have also included a Fighter Bay and Drone Rack for the occasional find of Fighters or Drones. I have actually found some really cool drones although not in mass quantities. In fact I suspect that most of the ships that are encountered are equipped with technology that the empire can't actually build.

[Eldred]

But is it really worth building all those additional cargo bays to ensure that on the rare occasions that you get over 25,000 tons of stuff that you can carry it all away? Likewise, are fighter bays and drone racks really worth all the resources in order to carry away that occasional find? (btw wasn't Pete supposed to be looking at "crating" drones and fighters?)

 

I think cargo space has always been a question of balance, depending on how much you hate occasionally missing out a decent find, personally I can live with it and have gone for just over 25,000 bays

[Sakarissa]

I have 25K cargo bays on all my explorers with XOC orders after every XEXPL. I have never lost any item for lack of space. The closest I got to filling my holds in one turn was when I found a Fusion Transwarp Drive. Now that was a sweet find.

 

Sakarissa

[Hughestrog]

But is it really worth building all those additional cargo bays to ensure that on the rare occasions that you get over 25,000 tons of stuff that you can carry it all away?

But wouldn't you be able to use the craft for other things like cargo haulage, etc, at a later date?

[Eldred]

Yes you could, alternatively you could build freighter ships for that purpose.

 

It takes a long time to exhaust the finds available on a particular world, and even then you just need to move your explorer to another unexplored world. I think most people use the XOC to deposit finds at a pop group and then use a cargo convoy route to collect them all in.

[Ixitixl]

I have 25K cargo bays on all my explorers with XOC orders after every XEXPL. I have never lost any item for lack of space. The closest I got to filling my holds in one turn was when I found a Fusion Transwarp Drive. Now that was a sweet find.

 

Sakarissa

Would you belive that my fleet who also made this find had 22,000 cargo bays...

 

And yes, I did perform the unhappy dance.