Banu Merchantman

[Talonsbane]

So I was looking on the site and it says the Merchantman holds 3584 in cargo. I had always assumed this was the old FU (Freight Units) they used to use, but evidently it used to hold 6000FU and was updated after the Hull series came out!

This thing will hold near 3600 SCU!! I'm definitely getting mine back now! If you mined in a Mole and filled the hold with Agricium that's almost 10 million UEC...

Just know that this is the old way of doing ship concepts and like the Carrack and others the cargo volume can and most likely will change. The other consideration is that the Merchantman could have shops and like the Kraken some of that space might be partitioned off for store merchandise use.

Sorry to burst the dream bubble @Grimbli , but as @Bambooza points out, this was the old metric. Based on my calculations that are based on how much cargo ships that have been released now carry vs what the original metrics were before CIG redefined them, the BMM should be coming with somewhere around 1500 SCU instead of the 3584 units from the last metric. Also, he may very well be correct in that some of this 1500 SCU might be taken up by the individual inventory spaces of the different internal stores, since that was how it's been described with the Privateer being similar to how it will be with the BMM. Believe me, I would personally LOVE to have my BMM carry that much cargo in SCU amounts, but then if it did it's size would make it too large to land on most places. I'm still hoping that it'll be scaled up from 160 m to being 200+ meters the way the 890J sent from 150m to 204m. Which reminds me, CIG still needs to fix the metric listings for the 890J on the website.

 

[Grimbli]

Damnit! Someone was listing the old FU units on Reddit and said it was originally at 6000. Even if it's 1500, that'll work for me, I was planning to use it to shuttle the ore containers into orbit to fit inside the Endeavor hangar. Might have to get a lot more people with more Moles or a TON of NPC crew...

 

[Bambooza]

Sorry to burst the dream bubble @Grimbli , but as @Bambooza points out, this was the old metric. Based on my calculations that are based on how much cargo ships that have been released now carry vs what the original metrics were before CIG redefined them, the BMM should be coming with somewhere around 1500 SCU instead of the 3584 units from the last metric. Also, he may very well be correct in that some of this 1500 SCU might be taken up by the individual inventory spaces of the different internal stores, since that was how it's been described with the Privateer being similar to how it will be with the BMM. Believe me, I would personally LOVE to have my BMM carry that much cargo in SCU amounts, but then if it did it's size would make it too large to land on most places. I'm still hoping that it'll be scaled up from 160 m to being 200+ meters the way the 890J sent from 150m to 204m. Which reminds me, CIG still needs to fix the metric listings for the 890J on the website.

I have a feeling the BMM will easily be over 200 meters as it allows docking and while most of the mid-size ships have docking collars the small ships will need some sort of landing pad. While I don't think it will be as large as the Kraken it's still going to be capital sized.

 

[Grimbli]

I have a feeling the BMM will easily be over 200 meters as it allows docking and while most of the mid-size ships have docking collars the small ships will need some sort of landing pad. While I don't think it will be as large as the Kraken it's still going to be capital sized.



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Now it is my turn to burst of the bubble!

Sadly, the BMM won't have any kind of landing pad at all possibly not even a docking collar, as it is supposed to be small enough to land on a station to do business. They've mentioned people will have to EVA onto it if in space, but the main use is to land at a station or on planet and turn on your beacon to open for business.

It's considered a positive feature over the Kraken as a station will have its own security forces and most people will be screened for weapons before they reach your ship. Whereas the Kraken with its own landing pads will have to have additional crew to check people walking in to make sure things are safe on board.

I feel like they won't increase its size at all considering it had not had work begun since it was concepted. All those ships that got much larger were in concept back then, but then work began and they let it run away from them. I think they're trying to make ships they design now actually stay the size they predicted. But there's always hope that they planned too much for the available space and need to make it bigger. I'm sure they had some idea of what was going to go inside it when in concept.

 

[Vashpede]

Now it is my turn to burst of the bubble!

Sadly, the BMM won't have any kind of landing pad at all possibly not even a docking collar, as it is supposed to be small enough to land on a station to do business. They've mentioned people will have to EVA onto it if in space, but the main use is to land at a station or on planet and turn on your beacon to open for business.

It's considered a positive feature over the Kraken as a station will have its own security forces and most people will be screened for weapons before they reach your ship. Whereas the Kraken with its own landing pads will have to have additional crew to check people walking in to make sure things are safe on board.

I feel like they won't increase its size at all considering it had not had work begun since it was concepted. All those ships that got much larger were in concept back then, but then work began and they let it run away from them. I think they're trying to make ships they design now actually stay the size they predicted. But there's always hope that they planned too much for the available space and need to make it bigger. I'm sure they had some idea of what was going to go inside it when in concept.

I could have sworn that it specifically said somewhere that it will be able to dock to stations to sell.

 

[Grimbli]

I could have sworn that it specifically said somewhere that it will be able to dock to stations to sell.

Unless that is new info then it doesn't. The only major entrance is in the front with a giant ramp for the customers to enter. It may have a second entrance for the crew members as the ship is essentially cut in half so that customers entering cannot enter deeper into the ship.

 

[Vashpede]

Unless that is new info then it doesn't. The only major entrance is in the front with a giant ramp for the customers to enter. It may have a second entrance for the crew members as the ship is essentially cut in half so that customers entering cannot enter deeper into the ship.

I found this and the highlighted portion says docking. It is from 2014 so who knows if docking is still a plan. Source Merchantman.

 

[Grimbli]

I found this and the highlighted portion says docking. It is from 2014 so who knows if docking is still a plan. Source Merchantman.
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Interesting. Every video I've seen describing it never even mentions a docking collar.

I'm actually hoping it doesnt grow in size as then it'd ruin its main function which allows it to land on planets and blockage run. As a Cap ship it'd be too slow and too large of a target to get through. Plus you'd just need more people to man it.

Also, there was an old weird chart for the old cubic meters to SCU conversion with the Hull B Q&A. Which had the BMM at 9800cu m to 5000 SCU. Looks like it was lowered again to the 3580.

 

[Vashpede]

Interesting. Every video I've seen describing it never even mentions a docking collar.

I'm actually hoping it doesnt grow in size as then it'd ruin its main function which allows it to land on planets and blockage run. As a Cap ship it'd be too slow and too large of a target to get through. Plus you'd just need more people to man it.

Also, there was an old weird chart for the old cubic meters to SCU conversion with the Hull B Q&A. Which had the BMM at 9800cu m to 5000 SCU. Looks like it was lowered again to the 3580.

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I agree, I would prefer it be a manageable size for a small crew and landing capabilities as well. I would hate to see it turn into a larger ship as I want all my ships to be smaller crew ships, so I share the same hope.

 

[Deroth]

I hope it ends up being over 2k SCU and the bazaar is an external function while landed, if I'm forced to give up storage space for an internal bazaar that I'm not interested in (from every game I've played that had bazaar functionality it is an exceptionally slow grind on sales and requires a lot of sitting around twiddling your thumbs, not something I enjoy at all), and if it is invasive enough it could cause me to rework my fleet again.

 

[Talonsbane]

I hope it ends up being over 2k SCU and the bazaar is an external function while landed, if I'm forced to give up storage space for an internal bazaar that I'm not interested in (from every game I've played that had bazaar functionality it is an exceptionally slow grind on sales and requires a lot of sitting around twiddling your thumbs, not something I enjoy at all), and if it is invasive enough it could cause me to rework my fleet again.

They've stated repeatedly that the bazaar will be internal on the BMM. I predict that most might hire NPC crews to operate the shops for them while the Captain departs the ship to trade goods & explore the location. Now that I think about it, that might make a great bounty hunting ship as there's plenty of room in the cargo hold to also store security pods without it costing too much SCU space & if the target is an NPC, they might board your ship for the bazaar looking for goods thinking that it's safer than being in the open since you're not from there & probably wouldn't know who they are. The things you think up while waking up. LoL

 

[Deroth]

They've stated repeatedly that the bazaar will be internal on the BMM. I predict that most might hire NPC crews to operate the shops for them while the Captain departs the ship to trade goods & explore the location. Now that I think about it, that might make a great bounty hunting ship as there's plenty of room in the cargo hold to also store security pods without it costing too much SCU space & if the target is an NPC, they might board your ship for the bazaar looking for goods thinking that it's safer than being in the open since you're not from there & probably wouldn't know who they are. The things you think up while waking up. LoL

If you read the BMM threads on this in Spectrum, that possible functionality is largely hated, so like many changes made to the Carrack due to community feedback, I'm hopeful they'll back off on forcing the BMM to be a mobile internal bazaar ship.

 

[Talonsbane]

If you read the BMM threads on this in Spectrum, that possible functionality is largely hated, so like many changes made to the Carrack due to community feedback, I'm hopeful they'll back off on forcing the BMM to be a mobile internal bazaar ship.

They've also stated that they're working on ways to force NPC's off the ship that don't belong on the ship when it's time to depart. Those players that choose to stay get listed as criminals / hostiles that can be killed without detriment. So I have no idea why having that internally will be a bad thing. If anything it increases the security of the items being sold.

 

[Deroth]

They've also stated that they're working on ways to force NPC's off the ship that don't belong on the ship when it's time to depart. Those players that choose to stay get listed as criminals / hostiles that can be killed without detriment. So I have no idea why having that internally will be a bad thing. If anything it increases the security of the items being sold.

Bazaars are an extremely inefficient way to sell goods, due to their nature they have a tendency to force selling goods with a low profit margin over an extended period, and also reduces overall usable storage space to transport more profitable and expedient goods.
In all the games I've played with the bazaar functionality, it was such an unpopular gimmick that the novelty wore off quickly forcing the developers to either end it or change some existing popular items and add new required items that could only be sold via a bazaar, the second option ultimately pissed off the user community to the point they lost a lot of players.

 

[BUTUZ]

Bazaars are an extremely inefficient way to sell goods, due to their nature they have a tendency to force selling goods with a low profit margin over an extended period, and also reduces overall usable storage space to transport more profitable and expedient goods.
In all the games I've played with the bazaar functionality, it was such an unpopular gimmick that the novelty wore off quickly forcing the developers to either end it or change some existing popular items and add new required items that could only be sold via a bazaar, the second option ultimately pissed off the user community to the point they lost a lot of players.

But it's one of the key features of this ship?

If you don't want the bizzarree then just buy a hull c???

 

[Grimbli]

Now that I think about it, that might make a great bounty hunting ship as there's plenty of room in the cargo hold to also store security pods without it costing too much SCU space

I hope not, because while it wouldn't take much floor space for bounty pods (maybe 4SCU) it would take up all vertical stacking. And from what I've seen most of the SCU on the BMM is because it can stack very high. So you'd probably lose hundreds per pod.

 

[Deroth]

But it's one of the key features of this ship?

If you don't want the bizzarree then just buy a hull c???

Not originally, the bazaar is one of the newer additions (I think it was first mentioned last year.) The first concept art that implied a bazaar showed the bazaar on the ground in front of the ramp.

If they do go forward with the forced internal bazaar, there's a large number of people on Spectrum stating they will melt/CCU their BMM to something else.

 

[Vashpede]

Not originally, the bazaar is one of the newer additions (I think it was first mentioned last year.) The first concept art that implied a bazaar showed the bazaar on the ground in front of the ramp.

If they do go forward with the forced internal bazaar, there's a large number of people on Spectrum stating they will melt/CCU their BMM to something else.

The shops were added in 2014 I think 2 years after the concepts release. I got it specifically for the bazaar because that sounds awesome to me but I really hope there is a significant benefit to use a bazaar instead of just selling my goods at a space station for a similar price, otherwise yeah it seems like a real waste. I am banking on the bazaar being some kind of benefit to sell what I find exploring, possibly even data discs with resource locations, or rare animals I may find, otherwise I may have to switch up my ships too. My goal is to sell what I find exploring and what I gather salvaging. So rare finds or salvaged modules etc.

 

[Deroth]

An aspect of bazaars in-game that goes towards making them detested is the need to chat spam.

Think about what you'll be selling and where, as well as how many others will be doing the same.

If selling things such as salvage equipment, the target market will mainly be starting and 'mid-game' areas. For starting areas many new players won't even know what it is so the chat spam will need to include a brief explanation of what a bazaar is, where to find you, and what goods make it worth their time to check yours out. For 'mid-game', players will at least understand what it is, but you'll still need to include why they should check out yours over all the other people doing the same thing as well as where you're located.

I don't know about everybody else, but I've always detested having to do chat spam even more than having to endure it from others; it also detracts from the 'intended' purpose of the chat channel, leading to many complaint reports the developer has to review.

If selling rare special items, the target market will likely be experienced players with a lot of UEC in higher risk areas. Which also means how many people will just block you out of annoyance with your chat spam, so they never see your chat spam when it comes time for them to be interested in one of your wares?

 

[Bambooza]

Now it is my turn to burst of the bubble!

Sadly, the BMM won't have any kind of landing pad at all possibly not even a docking collar, as it is supposed to be small enough to land on a station to do business. They've mentioned people will have to EVA onto it if in space, but the main use is to land at a station or on planet and turn on your beacon to open for business.

It's considered a positive feature over the Kraken as a station will have its own security forces and most people will be screened for weapons before they reach your ship. Whereas the Kraken with its own landing pads will have to have additional crew to check people walking in to make sure things are safe on board.

I feel like they won't increase its size at all considering it had not had work begun since it was concepted. All those ships that got much larger were in concept back then, but then work began and they let it run away from them. I think they're trying to make ships they design now actually stay the size they predicted. But there's always hope that they planned too much for the available space and need to make it bigger. I'm sure they had some idea of what was going to go inside it when in concept.

As others have pointed out the concept mentions docking. I would also say at this point because it was concept prior to the new ship pipeline and metrics its size is truly not fixed and more than anything else what I would go by is what functionality the ship was slated for and in this case its the pinnacle Banu trade ship. As you said all of the ships that were concept back then have grown and only the Carrack so far has grown then shrunk to only slightly longer than its original concept with the reason given it needed to fit within the large ship metric. The Merchantman does not have the same constraints so far stated and so I fully expect it to grow in size to be slightly smaller than the Kraken as I stated earlier.

Interesting. Every video I've seen describing it never even mentions a docking collar.

I'm actually hoping it doesnt grow in size as then it'd ruin its main function which allows it to land on planets and blockage run. As a Cap ship it'd be too slow and too large of a target to get through. Plus you'd just need more people to man it.

Also, there was an old weird chart for the old cubic meters to SCU conversion with the Hull B Q&A. Which had the BMM at 9800cu m to 5000 SCU. Looks like it was lowered again to the 3580.

Not sure how growing in size will ruin its function of allowing it to land on planets. The Kraken and Idris are still larger and they clearly are capable of landing on planets. I would also be very careful of that old chart that showed the conversions as they have pretty much thrown it out the window and now base the cargo metrics off the physical space after white boxing the ship. While they have at times grown a ship to accommodate more cargo to bring the ship closer to the concept cargo space it's still been mostly based on the concept role not on the concept metrics.

If you read the BMM threads on this in Spectrum, that possible functionality is largely hated, so like many changes made to the Carrack due to community feedback, I'm hopeful they'll back off on forcing the BMM to be a mobile internal bazaar ship.

It has been a curiosity why there is such a vocal part of the Merchantman thread that dislikes the internal bazaar when it was at lease to me clear from the original concept this is what they were going for. While I wasn't sure how they were planning on achieving it until the Kraken it all fits together as being their modular stores used with in the stations.
Lore tells about how these ships are passed down and truly treasured as part of the Banu culture of nomadic trade routes. Much of the lore reminds me a lot of the silk road and camel caravans and the concept pictures continue to showcase it as a large ship.