OK! Time for everybody's favorite game:
What ships does Owl want?
Today's decision:
Turn Aquila into Harbinger (and buy BUKs) and keep my Carrack as primary exploration vessel?
-or-
Turn Carrack into Reclaimer and keep Aquila as primary exploration vessel?
Discord is welcome!
I love you all.
My dearest owl,
I don't know how often we talked about this topic. But however, I'm loving it to be your strong, light side of TEST, being most of the time sober :D
Now, looking to your question and facing the facts: The Aquila (Exploration of whatever kind, incl. Rover) can be played as a SP, as well problably could be the Harbinger (Earth's standard fighter-bomber, converting the standard Warden model's escape pod into a potent bomb bay). BUT: we don't now yet how efficient the NPC will operate, and perhaps the Harbinger is efficiently usable only at least with two RL persons.
In the years of my gaming history, every bombing mission always bored the hell out of me.
Furtheron:
The Carrack (deep space exploration, jump hole scientific analysis) as well as the Reclaimer (wreckage collector and recycler) are both 100% pure multiplayer vessels. No chance to operate them as SP in my opinion.
You now want to choose between vessels with a total different focus, but want to melt your only ship which is - status quo today - the only of them which is 100% playable as a single player? Really? In my opinion, there isn't even the question of what to choose, if you HAVE to choose finally ;) Ergo: keep the Aquila. If you are forced by dark inner voices to melt and buy something, then melt the Carrack and buy the Reclaimer. Thats MP against MP, and you probably owning then a vessel which can earn you some bucks. Biggest garbage truck in the known verse :D
Hopefully, that my thoughts (and words) are helpfull for you :)
Cheers!
Sam