600i Explorer vs Constellation Aquila

[littlej0e]

I'm looking for some advice from the more informed and experienced members of the TS community. I'm trying to decide between a 600i Explorer and a Constellation Aquila. I realize the exploration mechanics haven't been fleshed out yet. I'm simply wondering which ship will theoretically be more functional as a solo explorer.

I work a ton, and will probably have a baby on the way soon, so a solo-friendly ship is an absolute must (this is why I ruled out the Carrack. /cry). I've read as much as I could comparing the two, but I'm no closer to an objective answer. Generally speaking, I only found outdated information, unverifiable conjecture, and flat out misinformation/nerd rage about both ships, particularly the 600i. Any knowledgeable information, insight, or opinions you could provide would be hugely helpful.

The reddit/CIG forum consensus seems to be the 600i will be a -slightly- better overall ship/explorer in the long run, but it doesn't warrant the premium price. Therefore, the Aquila is the better choice. Is this also the consensus here? A few more questions if someone has any answers:

1) What exactly is this "cutting-edge modularity" CIG speaks of in the 600i and what tangible benefit will this have?

2) What is the benefit of having two scanners on the 600i vs one on the Aquila?

3) Do you think CIG will eventually buff or balance the 600i to be somewhat commensurate with it's cost (minus the BS "luxury" tax).

4) Will the Aquila be just as "solo able" as the 600i?

5) Will the lack of a snub on the 600i preclude me from any exploration gameplay loops?

6) Will the 600i or Aquila be getting another design pass/major tweak/rework in the near future (probably a silly question for Alpha, but yeah...)

What say you TESTies?!?


EDIT: I took the plunge and bought a 600i. My wallet hurts and i'll likely be divorced in 20 minutes. But hey, virtual spaceships amirite?!

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

I'd say you aren't going to spend time in a ship you don't like, no matter how good/bad it performs.

Get in the 'Verse and ask in chat if anyone can give you a tour round each ship and have a fly of them.

Bear in mind nothing is set in stone so even if you do make a choice, it could change later.

EDIT - but to answer your questions:

1) What exactly is this "cutting-edge modularity" CIG speaks of in the 600i and what tangible benefit will this have?
You should be able to swap out the innards for other innards to taylor what you are using it for. Maybe. Nothing is set in stone yet.

2) What is the benefit of having two scanners on the 600i vs one on the Aquila?
No one knows, scanning mechanics have not been fully implemented yet.

3) Do you think CIG will eventually buff or balance the 600i to be somewhat commensurate with it's cost (minus the BS "luxury" tax).
No one knows, balancing will come in Beta which is miles off. The capability of ships can go down as well as up but it should have better performance than a Connie.

4) Will the Aquila be just as "solo able" as the 600i?
The Connie was originally tabled as the largest ship you could solo. Then the 600 came along. So: Maybe.

5) Will the lack of a snub on the 600i preclude me from any exploration gameplay loops?
The snub is a fighter, not an explorer. Should be purely self defense. Waste of space for solo play if you ask me, that's why I've gone for a Taurus.

6) Will the 600i or Aquila be getting another design pass/major tweak/rework in the near future (probably a silly question for Alpha, but yeah...)
No one knows. The beef the 600i crowd has thrown up suggests they'll demand one, the Connie is apparently in the works right now.

 

[DirectorGunner]

You can solo both however you should at the very least have one NPC (maybe two or three) with you on your travels.
You may be able to equip better AI blades and components on the 600i explorer.
But at the end of the day, you can make do with either of them, and you should pick whichever one makes you feel better flying. To say, whichever one gives you more enjoyment.

 

[littlej0e]

I'd say you aren't going to spend time in a ship you don't like, no matter how good/bad it performs.

Thanks for taking the time to answer and clear up my questions. With all the unknowns it seems like buying any ship is a gamble. Therefore, deciding which to one to gamble on is kind of irrelevant and slightly insane:-)

That being the case, I suppose I'll go with the higher risk bet with the highest potential reward and get a 600i.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Thanks for taking the time to answer and clear up my questions. With all the unknowns it seems like buying any ship is a gamble. Therefore, deciding which to one to gamble on is kind of irrelevant and slightly insane:-)

That being the case, I suppose I'll go with the higher risk bet with the highest potential reward and get a 600i.

From what I have read on the Origin forum on Spectrum it's fun to fly with decent performance considering its size. I was obsessed with the 600i before it was announced, then it was too expensive for me then it grew by almost a third haha!

 

[Talonsbane]

I'm looking for some advice from the more informed and experienced members of the TS community. I'm trying to decide between a 600i Explorer and a Constellation Aquila. I realize the exploration mechanics haven't been fleshed out yet. I'm simply wondering which ship will theoretically be more functional as a solo explorer.

I work a ton, and will probably have a baby on the way soon, so a solo-friendly ship is an absolute must (this is why I ruled out the Carrack. /cry). I've read as much as I could comparing the two, but I'm no closer to an objective answer. Generally speaking, I only found outdated information, unverifiable conjecture, and flat out misinformation/nerd rage about both ships, particularly the 600i. Any knowledgeable information, insight, or opinions you could provide would be hugely helpful.

The reddit/CIG forum consensus seems to be the 600i will be a -slightly- better overall ship/explorer in the long run, but it doesn't warrant the premium price. Therefore, the Aquila is the better choice. Is this also the consensus here? A few more questions if someone has any answers:

1) What exactly is this "cutting-edge modularity" CIG speaks of in the 600i and what tangible benefit will this have?

2) What is the benefit of having two scanners on the 600i vs one on the Aquila?

3) Do you think CIG will eventually buff or balance the 600i to be somewhat commensurate with it's cost (minus the BS "luxury" tax).

4) Will the Aquila be just as "solo able" as the 600i?

5) Will the lack of a snub on the 600i preclude me from any exploration gameplay loops?

6) Will the 600i or Aquila be getting another design pass/major tweak/rework in the near future (probably a silly question for Alpha, but yeah...)

What say you TESTies?!?

@NaffNaffBobFace & @DirectorGunner have both given rather great insight into this question from my perspective. This being said, here are my answers to your questions to the best of my knowledge.

The modular aspect of the 600i is supposed to be the potentially interchangeability of the explorer module with the touring module if you have both.

There is currently no definitive information on the difference between the 2 types of scanner setups while they are working on that game play mechanic.

I'm sure that there will be some sort of balance made between those 2 as well as the Corsair, but the "luxury tax" will most likely remain.

While both ships are potentially solo capable, they won't be working at peak performance without a crew (player or NPC). Personally, if you are looking forward to a truly solo exploration ship, then I would look more towards both the Origin 315P or the MISC Freelancer DUR. While they are definitely smaller, they are supposed to be able to travel through even the smallest jump points, which the ships you have mentioned can only travel through medium & above.

The snub is a defensive small fighter for a crew member to use to add extra firepower to a fight, but not much & those do not have jump capabilities.

They just finished a rework on the Aquilla back in 3.0 I believe, so if they will do another for it, that won't be for quite a while.

 

[littlej0e]

You can solo both however you should at the very least have one NPC (maybe two or three) with you on your travels.
You may be able to equip better AI blades and components on the 600i explorer.
But at the end of the day, you can make do with either of them, and you should pick whichever one makes you feel better flying. To say, whichever one gives you more enjoyment.

Thanks for extremely sound advice. In the end, that's really what matters. I went with the 600i

 

[littlej0e]

@NaffNaffBobFace & @DirectorGunner have both given rather great insight into this question from my perspective. This being said, here are my answers to your questions to the best of my knowledge.

The modular aspect of the 600i is supposed to be the potentially interchangeability of the explorer module with the touring module if you have both.

There is currently no definitive information on the difference between the 2 types of scanner setups while they are working on that game play mechanic.

I'm sure that there will be some sort of balance made between those 2 as well as the Corsair, but the "luxury tax" will most likely remain.

While both ships are potentially solo capable, they won't be working at peak performance without a crew (player or NPC). Personally, if you are looking forward to a truly solo exploration ship, then I would look more towards both the Origin 315P or the MISC Freelancer DUR. While they are definitely smaller, they are supposed to be able to travel through even the smallest jump points, which the ships you have mentioned can only travel through medium & above.

The snub is a defensive small fighter for a crew member to use to add extra firepower to a fight, but not much & those do not have jump capabilities.

They just finished a rework on the Aquilla back in 3.0 I believe, so if they will do another for it, that won't be for quite a while.

Thanks for info, advice, and clarification, especially on the modular bit. Makes sense the 600i could do both touring and exploration. I wonder if we will ever actually see it implemented...

I ended up getting a 600i, but I did look at the 315 pretty hard. Ultimately, I wanted something that could carry a secondary land vehicle like an X1 or Ursa. I suspect even with the impending rework of the 315 that still won't be possible.

I am curious about the jump points though. What will the significance be between the two (besides size)?

 

[Talonsbane]

Thanks for info, advice, and clarification, especially on the modular bit. Makes sense the 600i could do both touring and exploration. I wonder if we will ever actually see it implemented...

I ended up getting a 600i, but I did look at the 315 pretty hard. Ultimately, I wanted something that could carry a secondary land vehicle like an X1 or Ursa. I suspect even with the impending rework of the 315 that still won't be possible.

I am curious about the jump points though. What will the significance be between the two (besides size)?

While the 315p won't have the capability to carry any ground vehicles, the Freelancer DUR can carry a space bike & still have some room left for cargo.

As for the significance of the Jump Points, the best way that I can help you understand that is to help you look at the ARK Starmap of the various systems that you can then look to see the various sizes of the jump points that connect each to others. With the ability to travel through smaller jump points, you can go to some systems more easily than others & some can only be accessed by small jump points. Most systems can be accessed by the medium & large jump points. That's pretty much what I've learned so far as to that.

https://robertsspaceindustries.com/starmap

 

[maynard]

pirates or ninjas?

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

pirates or ninjas?

Word has it that TEST Weapons Research Lab is working on Ninjafying Pirates or Pirateafying Ninjas. Imagine it... Ninja Pirates or Pirate Ninjas... that's the unstoppable force.

Of the two, I'd think Pirate Ninjas would be the more skilled and thus more deadly, as you can learn Pirating but really for peak Ninja you have to be born a Ninja, like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were.

 

[littlej0e]

Word has it that TEST Weapons Research Lab is working on Ninjafying Pirates or Pirateafying Ninjas. Imagine it... Ninja Pirates or Pirate Ninjas... that's the unstoppable force.

Of the two, I'd think Pirate Ninjas would be the more skilled and thus more deadly, as you can learn Pirating but really for peak Ninja you have to be born a Ninja, like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were.

This. The logic here is infallible. I'm suddenly afraid of the possibilities...

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

This. The logic here is infallible. I'm suddenly afraid of the possibilities...

With Pirate Ninjas at our command... TEST could become the destroyer of worlds.

 

[littlej0e]

pirates or ninjas?

If I had to pick one, I'd say ninjas based solely on thier sick silence and karate skills. However, the frightening combination NaffNaffBobFace mentioned admittedly scares the daylights out of me.

 

[maynard]

guise, it was a rhetorical question

more of a comment on the futility of theorycrafting at this stage of development

but if you want to treat it like a thread derail, fine!

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

guise, it was a rhetorical question

more of a comment on the futility of theorycrafting at this stage of development

but if you want to treat it like a thread derail, fine!

What is often said in jest can have immense power. I bet the concept of splitting the atom came from a couple of physicists laughing around going "I split this thing which was only a manometer wide I hope no one else finds anything smaller to split or i'll loose the record" and another physicist saying "well why don't you just split the atom then there is nothing smaller to split haha" and the first guy gets this look and starts scribbling on the back of a napkin.

Pirate Ninjas. for the GLORY of TEST!

 

[littlej0e]

guise, it was a rhetorical question

more of a comment on the futility of theorycrafting at this stage of development

but if you want to treat it like a thread derail, fine!

Sorry. I understand your point and it's a good one. Just having a bit of fun with it. I couldn't help myself :-)

 

[littlej0e]

What is often said in jest can have immense power. I bet the concept of splitting the atom came from a couple of physicists laughing around going "I split this thing which was only a manometer wide I hope no one else finds anything smaller to split or i'll loose the record" and another physicist saying "well why don't you just split the atom then there is nothing smaller to split haha" and the first guy gets this look and starts scribbling on the back of a napkin.

Pirate Ninjas. for the GLORY of TEST!

Your a fantastically enlightened man, NaffNaffBobFace. I fully support the development of our future Pirate Ninja overlords. FOR THE GLORY OF TEST!!!

 

[maynard]

Sorry. I understand your point and it's a good one. Just having a bit of fun with it. I couldn't help myself :-)

going off on a tangent is a hallowed TEST tradition, you're doing it right

 

[Tealwraith]

I believe the correct answer is that you can stack more kegs of beer in a 600i. I mean, look at all the wasted space in the crew quarters, that's almost as big the the Aquila's whole cargo area!