Keeping up with the Explorations

[Vashpede]

Hello Test,

So I am curious on everyone's thoughts regarding bringing a support ship along with your exploration ship. For example if you are exploring the verse in a Drake Corsair, and you want to bring an Apollo along for medical support in case you (or your crew) needs healing or to re-spawn after getting attacked by a giant sand worm, is this going to be an inconvenience? It seems that exploring is going to be tricky with bringing some kind of support or profession ship along. You would need to have a second pilot to keep a second ship following to every system you explore and some of those ships like the Apollo may not have nearly as much fuel as the Corsair has. So does it even make sense to bring a support ship for exploring or would that just hold you back?

Thanks!

-Vash

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Depends what kind of exploring I'm going to do.

If its exploring known space, like a moon around Crusader, I'm in civilized space and don't need to bring the kitchen sink with me but might benefit from a ground vehicle. There will be many secrets even in populated space - Jump Town had to be found by someone. MedPens will do my crew until we can get to a station for full healing.

If I'm going deep-space looking for unknown jump-points again that's not too risky, just dull. An upgraded scanner suite would benefit and a longer range fuel tank. And a load of toilet rolls, rookie mistake to forget those if you are away from port for weeks at a time.

If I'm going to a pirate sector or Vandu'ul space a big buncha guns will be more useful than an Apollo.

And if I'm going searching for new planets taking something like a Carrak will do me better than a Corsair and Apollo combined. Right tools for the right job.

But if I'm in an Org, having a group of smaller ships go walkabout might not be such an impracticality if we are all online at the same time.

 

[Vashpede]

Depends what kind of exploring I'm going to do.

If its exploring known space, like a moon around Crusader, I'm in civilized space and don't need to bring the kitchen sink with me but might benefit from a ground vehicle. There will be many secrets even in populated space - Jump Town had to be found by someone. MedPens will do my crew until we can get to a station for full healing.

If I'm going deep-space looking for unknown jump-points again that's not too risky, just dull. An upgraded scanner suite would benefit and a longer range fuel tank. And a load of toilet rolls, rookie mistake to forget those if you are away from port for weeks at a time.

If I'm going to a pirate sector or Vandu'ul space a big buncha guns will be more useful than an Apollo.

And if I'm going searching for new planets taking something like a Carrak will do me better than a Corsair and Apollo combined. Right tools for the right job.

But if I'm in an Org, having a group of smaller ships go walkabout might not be such an impracticality if we are all online at the same time.

Well I will probably have my Corsair, one support ship (Apollo or Vulture maybe?), and an in system short travels ship (probably a Pisces), so I will not have access to the Carrak or a lot of other options for a while. I will be mainly playing with my brother so almost always will be a 2 person crew with maybe an AI here and there, and we will primarily be doing exploration. Obviously I will be able to get more ships in game, which I plan on grinding for an Endeavor for my brother at launch but at first that will be all. So lets say with access to only the Corsair and the Apollo, it seems like it would be an inconvenience, or at least slow us down significantly, for the two of us to lug around a second ship that might not be able to keep up with the Corsair. I will have opportunities to use an Apollo during big battles and medical missions, but for bringing it along exploring for the purpose of personal medical attention and respawning, from what we know will that be worth it?

Also probably will be doing a ton of planetary exploration so most of the medical attention would be due to PVE.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Well I will probably have my Corsair, one support ship (Apollo or Vulture maybe?), and an in system short travels ship (probably a Pisces), so I will not have access to the Carrak or a lot of other options for a while. I will be mainly playing with my brother so almost always will be a 2 person crew with maybe an AI here and there, and we will primarily be doing exploration. Obviously I will be able to get more ships in game, which I plan on grinding for an Endeavor for my brother at launch but at first that will be all. So lets say with access to only the Corsair and the Apollo, it seems like it would be an inconvenience, or at least slow us down significantly, for the two of us to lug around a second ship that might not be able to keep up with the Corsair. I will have opportunities to use an Apollo during big battles and medical missions, but for bringing it along exploring for the purpose of personal medical attention and respawning, from what we know will that be worth it?

Also probably will be doing a ton of planetary exploration so most of the medical attention would be due to PVE.

Aha, I see where you are coming from, the Endeavor will be a fine exploration craft when set up for it.

I think the value of the Apollo is not yet known as the medical game play has only just been introduced. The medical beds in the Cutlass Red at the moment let you spawn, but they will not always allow you to do this (unless the plan changes) as they are supposed to be level 3 beds that heal only, with level 2 beds allowing heal and reconstruction of lost bodymass and level 1 allowing heal, reconstruction and respawn.

Considering "Death Of A Spaceman" is going to be a thing I feel one should not depend on a respawn bed as depending on how the mechanic is finally implemented if you die in the wrong way it may be a one hit perma-deth (for example, if your remains cannot be recovered I would not expect you to be able to come back from that, e.g. you fly into the sun)

It may be a little too early to gauge if it's going to be worth it...?

 

[Vashpede]

Aha, I see where you are coming from, the Endeavor will be a fine exploration craft when set up for it.

I think the value of the Apollo is not yet known as the medical game play has only just been introduced. The medical beds in the Cutlass Red at the moment let you spawn, but they will not always allow you to do this (unless the plan changes) as they are supposed to be level 3 beds that heal only, with level 2 beds allowing heal and reconstruction of lost bodymass and level 1 allowing heal, reconstruction and respawn.

Considering "Death Of A Spaceman" is going to be a thing I feel one should not depend on a respawn bed as depending on how the mechanic is finally implemented if you die in the wrong way it may be a one hit perma-deth (for example, if your remains cannot be recovered I would not expect you to be able to come back from that, e.g. you fly into the sun)

It may be a little too early to gauge if it's going to be worth it...?

All good points about medical and hopefully the one-shot permas are something that do not happen on a regular basis. With that in mind I guess the core thing I am trying to figure out is if it's worth bringing any ship along with a 2 person exploration crew, whether that be the Apollo or something like a Vulture. I'm not sure how mechanics will be in the future for getting other ships you own to the system you are currently in, but it seems valuable to have a second ship that can salvage wrecks you find on the way, or a medical ship to help keep in your prime, but making sure that second ship is fueled, maintained, and can keep up with my Corsair while exploring is whats got me in a tangle to see if I even want to invest in that type of secondary ship to keep around.

I will probably end up with the Vulture or Apollo if it is something I can manage to keep in the area while I explore, but if it ends up being a big inconvenience, I may invest in something else. So that is where my decision can sway for my secondary depending on how that all works out. Maybe we just do not have enough information yet to make a decision like that.

Also thank you for your input and shared knowledge, this all is super helpful! =)

 

[Grimbli]

All good points about medical and hopefully the one-shot permas are something that do not happen on a regular basis. With that in mind I guess the core thing I am trying to figure out is if it's worth bringing any ship along with a 2 person exploration crew, whether that be the Apollo or something like a Vulture. I'm not sure how mechanics will be in the future for getting other ships you own to the system you are currently in, but it seems valuable to have a second ship that can salvage wrecks you find on the way, or a medical ship to help keep in your prime, but making sure that second ship is fueled, maintained, and can keep up with my Corsair while exploring is whats got me in a tangle to see if I even want to invest in that type of secondary ship to keep around.

I will probably end up with the Vulture or Apollo if it is something I can manage to keep in the area while I explore, but if it ends up being a big inconvenience, I may invest in something else. So that is where my decision can sway for my secondary depending on how that all works out. Maybe we just do not have enough information yet to make a decision like that.

Also thank you for your input and shared knowledge, this all is super helpful! =)

I think it won't be an easy task always flying with another ship in tow. Exploration should mostly be about finding new things, not really doing anything about it.

That wreck or old battlefield of ships you find won't really be salvageable by you without a decent operation or at least constantly returning to base after each salvaging.

An exploration ship is better off logging the waypoint in their computer and selling it off or giving it to their friend with a salvage operation. That's what their purpose is I believe.

As for medical, when things are finally out, I think only a tier 1 medbed will respawn people. I'm not familiar with the Apollo, but the Cutlass Red is supposed to be a Tier 3, which will only heal minor wounds and bleed outside. Even Tier 2 just heals bodily injuries.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

Power, in this game; will always be about your friends.

If you want to explore and have friends enough for a Corsair and an Apollo, get a Carrack or a Polaris.

IMHO.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

All good points about medical and hopefully the one-shot permas are something that do not happen on a regular basis. With that in mind I guess the core thing I am trying to figure out is if it's worth bringing any ship along with a 2 person exploration crew, whether that be the Apollo or something like a Vulture. I'm not sure how mechanics will be in the future for getting other ships you own to the system you are currently in, but it seems valuable to have a second ship that can salvage wrecks you find on the way, or a medical ship to help keep in your prime, but making sure that second ship is fueled, maintained, and can keep up with my Corsair while exploring is whats got me in a tangle to see if I even want to invest in that type of secondary ship to keep around.

I will probably end up with the Vulture or Apollo if it is something I can manage to keep in the area while I explore, but if it ends up being a big inconvenience, I may invest in something else. So that is where my decision can sway for my secondary depending on how that all works out. Maybe we just do not have enough information yet to make a decision like that.

Also thank you for your input and shared knowledge, this all is super helpful! =)

Wreck salvaging is an interesting thought...

Although two guys and two ships won't be able to load up on thousands of SKU of scrap metal, you may be able to locate some valuable rare military grade components - The best guns in Chris Roberts game Freelancer were prototypes attached to military wrecks in the middle of nowhere you just stumbled upon. You find an untouched crashed ship you may be able to pull the coolers, power generator, shield generator, weapons etc off it and still make a living without having to strip the metal off the hull.

There is a ship called the Crucible which should be able to repair smaller ships too - and carry them. If you find a junked/crashed prototype ship somewhere and it is small enough to be carried by that craft you'd be on to a very unique find indeed.

It is not yet clear what equipment you will need for component pulling and hull salvaging (beyond the Vulture for hull metal salvage) so again a little early in the game being built to guess at what your support may be.

 

[Phil]

I think for Corsair owners you just have to realize the limitations of the craft, its not a Carrack or a 600i both of those I feel could venture further out and sustain themselves longer on their own. Exploration has never really been a fleet type activity imo but I could definitely see an exploration fleet built around an Endeavor, some fuel and repair ships, mining, salvage etc... but this to me is a fleet that goes out on a 5 year mission (excuse the reference lol) and stays out indefinitely most other exploration ships will have shorter trips and eventually come back for repairs, re-arm and refuel, I just don't see the benefit of a fleet built around a Carrack as it has its own med bay, decent cargo, snub and ground vehicle, its more beneficial to prolly sell the data than dragging multiple ships and crew around as the pay/reward may vary on what you find.

 

[Vashpede]

Power, in this game; will always be about your friends.

If you want to explore and have friends enough for a Corsair and an Apollo, get a Carrack or a Polaris.

IMHO.

Yeah like I said it will be just the two of us and then however AI works. I prefer small crew ships so Carrack is a bit big for my taste and probably more than I want to maintain. Corsair is perfect fit for me and then I just want a secondary ship for making money or for some interesting game play when I am not exploring, which will most likely be the Apollo. I'll just have to come to terms with the fact that with a small crew I won't be able to upkeep a second ship with us consistently for the few exploration cases I could use them.

Thanks for the input guys.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

Yeah like I said it will be just the two of us and then however AI works. I prefer small crew ships so Carrack is a bit big for my taste and probably more than I want to maintain. Corsair is perfect fit for me and then I just want a secondary ship for making money or for some interesting game play when I am not exploring, which will most likely be the Apollo. I'll just have to come to terms with the fact that with a small crew I won't be able to upkeep a second ship with us consistently for the few exploration cases I could use them.

You may find the Apollo can be better outfitted for exploration than the Corsair. I've been focused on it a lot lately and there are many questions to be answered, but in short--it has that big ass Large radar. The Aquilla does not even have Large radar. None of the Connies, Cutties; Lancers, Vanguard, 600i, Mercury or Corsair have Large radar. Given it is also VERY fast, you could scan a really large area with that ship in short order. In fact, it might be the fastest scanning ship in game. Have to wait and see. I would be surprised if further Apollo variants don't emerge.

 

[Vashpede]

You may find the Apollo can be better outfitted for exploration than the Corsair. I've been focused on it a lot lately and there are many questions to be answered, but in short--it has that big ass Large radar. The Aquilla does not even have Large radar. None of the Connies, Cutties; Lancers, Vanguard, 600i, Mercury or Corsair have Large radar. Given it is also VERY fast, you could scan a really large area with that ship in short order. In fact, it might be the fastest scanning ship in game. Have to wait and see. I would be surprised if further Apollo variants don't emerge.

View attachment 14866

From what I understand though, is these radars are dedicated for specific scans and some ships can not be outfitted with other professions scanners. So Apollo may only be able to scan lifeforms and signs for S&R. Prospector for ore or resources for mining. Corsair will be able to scan for jump points or locations of interest for other professions.

I think the Corsair will be able to hold a lot more fuel as well as an URSA Rover, plus it has big guns and smuggling vents eventually. The Corsair just speaks to me in general as what I want my main ship to be haha, I would say it is my favorite ship so far from looks to interior to just badass.

I plan to get the Apollo as I have had my eye on it for a while and I love support rolls on the side. I guess it will be something I will use when I have opportunities but I won't be able to just have it follow my Corsair around.

 

[Phil]

I think the Corsair is a great exploration ship I just think people need to accept its limitations on range and scope, it sounds like you want it to perform outside of its scope and that's why you want to bring a medical ship or fuel/repair ship with it, which I wont say isn't possible it is for sure but economically its just not sound to drag other ships/personnel along due to the reward/payout it doesn't seem cost effective to me, I think the purpose of the Corsair, Aquila etc... are to explore and pass the information along and do some small/minor salvage. I also think the crew options when comparing a Corsair or Aquila to a Carrack is only 1 or 2 crew difference, yes I think you could solo fly a Aquila or Corsair easier than a Carrack but in the end you will want 3-5 people or npc's on those ships anyways to optimize the performance and production so imo if you can afford a Carrack and want long term, long range independency grab the Carrack or just accept that a Corsair or Aquila will be subpar or limited in comparison.

 

[Vashpede]

I think the Corsair is a great exploration ship I just think people need to accept its limitations on range and scope, it sounds like you want it to perform outside of its scope and that's why you want to bring a medical ship or fuel/repair ship with it, which I wont say isn't possible it is for sure but economically its just not sound to drag other ships/personnel along due to the reward/payout it doesn't seem cost effective to me, I think the purpose of the Corsair, Aquila etc... are to explore and pass the information along and do some small/minor salvage. I also think the crew options when comparing a Corsair or Aquila to a Carrack is only 1 or 2 crew difference, yes I think you could solo fly a Aquila or Corsair easier than a Carrack but in the end you will want 3-5 people or npc's on those ships anyways to optimize the performance and production so imo if you can afford a Carrack and want long term, long range independency grab the Carrack or just accept that a Corsair or Aquila will be subpar or limited in comparison.

Oh no, sorry if that's what you gathered from my post but that is not the case, I am fully aware of the Corsairs capabilities, limits, and scope and I am perfectly cool with it and have no need for it to "perform outside its scope". I simply made this post to see what peoples thoughts as far as bringing a second ship along and if it would be an inconvenience, which as i suspected, it sounds like it will be. In no way shape or form do I feel like I want the Corsair, or similar sized exploration ships, to have those other capabilities. I love the dedicated profession ships and the fact that there is not a ship that can do everything to its peak. The Corsair will be able to explore quite a bit and have huge range, but I do not expect it to have as much range as the Carrack, which is 3 times as big and double the pledge, and I did not think that's what I implied at all. Again I was looking for information on how well you could possibly bring a support ship along side an exploration ship such as the Corsair. I am 100% set on the Corsair as reasons are stated above, and even though I can afford the Carrack, I would choose a Corsair over it every time.

 

[LoicFarris]

It's been a while since I looked at the Corsair specs but doesn't that ship have a small med-bay as well? I could be mistaken, but I thought it did.

With respect to taking a 2nd ship w/ your Corsair... honestly it depends on who you're playing with. If you're talking about 2 NPC crews with you and your brother at the helm of each ship, that could get expensive depending on the cost of those crews. Now if you and your brother have friends who are interested in a long-range trip in 2 or more ships and you want to see how long you can last out there w/o landing at a station, I'd say why not. It just depends on what people want to do. One of the problems is we don't really know what exploration will be like, how controlled will it be or will it feel truly un-limited. With the development tools that CIG is using today, I can picture exploration being something amazing at some point, with discoveries waiting to be found in many random places.

Now one thought that may not have crossed your mind. What if you and your Corsair aren't necessarily the primary ship in that fleet? What I'm getting at is, what if you're a dedicated exploration ship in a fleet of mining ships or mining and salvage ships? In a case like that, I could see there possibly being enough resources to keep you off the grid for a long time. Just a thought.

 

[BUTUZ]

Got Carrack.

Don't need no support ship.

:D

 

[Vashpede]

It's been a while since I looked at the Corsair specs but doesn't that ship have a small med-bay as well? I could be mistaken, but I thought it did.

With respect to taking a 2nd ship w/ your Corsair... honestly it depends on who you're playing with. If you're talking about 2 NPC crews with you and your brother at the helm of each ship, that could get expensive depending on the cost of those crews. Now if you and your brother have friends who are interested in a long-range trip in 2 or more ships and you want to see how long you can last out there w/o landing at a station, I'd say why not. It just depends on what people want to do. One of the problems is we don't really know what exploration will be like, how controlled will it be or will it feel truly un-limited. With the development tools that CIG is using today, I can picture exploration being something amazing at some point, with discoveries waiting to be found in many random places.

Now one thought that may not have crossed your mind. What if you and your Corsair aren't necessarily the primary ship in that fleet? What I'm getting at is, what if you're a dedicated exploration ship in a fleet of mining ships or mining and salvage ships? In a case like that, I could see there possibly being enough resources to keep you off the grid for a long time. Just a thought.

Unfortunately the Corsair does not have a med-bay unless there has been an update since the last time I checked it out. It will most of the time be just my brother and I with an NPC or two, we do have some friends that play that are more interested in other aspects of the game but they will join us occasionally and I am sure we will meet some different people on our journey. True, we really do not have a ton of information on how exploration will pan so it is not really useful to pre-plan how I will play, but I like to get ideas of where I want to invest my gameplay.

That is a good point made and it did not cross my mind. Exploration sounds like it is right up my alley as well as finding broken down ships that I can salvage, so that could allow me to find a nice balance for both. Medical game-play is something I wanted to do on the side and especially for big Org battles, I just like support rolls so finding out I could re-spawn made me think about bringing that to systems with minimal civilization that may not have medical facilities while exploring.

I like the different perspective! Thank you!

 

[Bambooza]

Oh no, sorry if that's what you gathered from my post but that is not the case, I am fully aware of the Corsairs capabilities, limits, and scope and I am perfectly cool with it and have no need for it to "perform outside its scope". I simply made this post to see what peoples thoughts as far as bringing a second ship along and if it would be an inconvenience, which as i suspected, it sounds like it will be. In no way shape or form do I feel like I want the Corsair, or similar sized exploration ships, to have those other capabilities. I love the dedicated profession ships and the fact that there is not a ship that can do everything to its peak. The Corsair will be able to explore quite a bit and have huge range, but I do not expect it to have as much range as the Carrack, which is 3 times as big and double the pledge, and I did not think that's what I implied at all. Again I was looking for information on how well you could possibly bring a support ship along side an exploration ship such as the Corsair. I am 100% set on the Corsair as reasons are stated above, and even though I can afford the Carrack, I would choose a Corsair over it every time.

Having read through this thread it seems people are confused by your attempting to augment the capabilities of your Corsair with another support ship. While it is possible to have an Apollo tag along and even possible to have it help scan areas the question is if the benefits of its medical beds going to outweigh its limitations in range and operating costs. So yes the Apollo can be fitted with tier 1 beds that will be able to fix/respawn you if you are in range and that might be beneficial if you plan on doing a lot of on-foot exploration of areas the Apollo can get to with its limited (relative to the Corsair) fuel capacity.

From what I understand though, is these radars are dedicated for specific scans and some ships can not be outfitted with other professions scanners. So Apollo may only be able to scan lifeforms and signs for S&R. Prospector for ore or resources for mining. Corsair will be able to scan for jump points or locations of interest for other professions.

You are correct that it has been discussed that scanners might be limited to a specific scan type. So it could easily be that the Apollo with its large scanner comes with a large scanner used for S&R and its not good for picking up on anomalies/gravity wells/... but its also unknown if you can just switch out the scanner for something that would be.

Wreck salvaging is an interesting thought...

Although two guys and two ships won't be able to load up on thousands of SKU of scrap metal, you may be able to locate some valuable rare military grade components - The best guns in Chris Roberts game Freelancer were prototypes attached to military wrecks in the middle of nowhere you just stumbled upon. You find an untouched crashed ship you may be able to pull the coolers, power generator, shield generator, weapons etc off it and still make a living without having to strip the metal off the hull.

It is not yet clear what equipment you will need for component pulling and hull salvaging (beyond the Vulture for hull metal salvage) so again a little early in the game being built to guess at what your support may be.

And here @NaffNaffBobFace gives a great recommendation. Perhaps the focus shouldn't be on attempting to utilize both of your ships at the same time and limiting their effectiveness perhaps look at using the ships for their intended role and focus on one gameplay loop at a time. Go out with your brother in the Corsair to explore ghost ships and EVA over to see if you can salvage some prototype gear or high-grade items and leave the Apollo in the hangar. Or take out the Corsair and Apollo to join up with fell Testies on a combat sortie against the Vanduul. Or just the Apollo to provide regional medical treatment for all the Test Pilots doing what Test does best.

As for trying to utilize an Apollo to provide medical treatment for a Corsair would simply hamper both abilities to do what they do and with the information, we currently know it doesn't seem like it would be a practical use of the ships. Like all things, this does come with the caveat that if you and your brother just enjoy flying the ships and don't mind the limitations imposed then, by all means, do it.

 

[LoicFarris]

Unfortunately the Corsair does not have a med-bay unless there has been an update since the last time I checked it out. It will most of the time be just my brother and I with an NPC or two, we do have some friends that play that are more interested in other aspects of the game but they will join us occasionally and I am sure we will meet some different people on our journey. True, we really do not have a ton of information on how exploration will pan so it is not really useful to pre-plan how I will play, but I like to get ideas of where I want to invest my gameplay.

That is a good point made and it did not cross my mind. Exploration sounds like it is right up my alley as well as finding broken down ships that I can salvage, so that could allow me to find a nice balance for both. Medical game-play is something I wanted to do on the side and especially for big Org battles, I just like support rolls so finding out I could re-spawn made me think about bringing that to systems with minimal civilization that may not have medical facilities while exploring.

I like the different perspective! Thank you!

Well one other thought, jump on discord and play with us. There's no reason why it just has to be you and your brother.

 

[Vashpede]

Having read through this thread it seems people are confused by your attempting to augment the capabilities of your Corsair with another support ship. While it is possible to have an Apollo tag along and even possible to have it help scan areas the question is if the benefits of its medical beds going to outweigh its limitations in range and operating costs. So yes the Apollo can be fitted with tier 1 beds that will be able to fix/respawn you if you are in range and that might be beneficial if you plan on doing a lot of on-foot exploration of areas the Apollo can get to with its limited (relative to the Corsair) fuel capacity.



You are correct that it has been discussed that scanners might be limited to a specific scan type. So it could easily be that the Apollo with its large scanner comes with a large scanner used for S&R and its not good for picking up on anomalies/gravity wells/... but its also unknown if you can just switch out the scanner for something that would be.



And here @NaffNaffBobFace gives a great recommendation. Perhaps the focus shouldn't be on attempting to utilize both of your ships at the same time and limiting their effectiveness perhaps look at using the ships for their intended role and focus on one gameplay loop at a time. Go out with your brother in the Corsair to explore ghost ships and EVA over to see if you can salvage some prototype gear or high-grade items and leave the Apollo in the hangar. Or take out the Corsair and Apollo to join up with fell Testies on a combat sortie against the Vanduul. Or just the Apollo to provide regional medical treatment for all the Test Pilots doing what Test does best.

As for trying to utilize an Apollo to provide medical treatment for a Corsair would simply hamper both abilities to do what they do and with the information, we currently know it doesn't seem like it would be a practical use of the ships. Like all things, this does come with the caveat that if you and your brother just enjoy flying the ships and don't mind the limitations imposed then, by all means, do it.

Planetary exploration on foot or by URSA is probably what I will be doing the most (obviously subject to change once we have more information on the PU) if we come across some things from scanning I would like to investigate. So that is where my thought for the Apollo came in, especially if in a system that is not civilized with stations that would have med-bays, but it was just a thought that I wanted to expand my knowledge on as well as gather some other perspectives and opinions.

You also hit the nail on the head as far as what I had in mind for salvaging while exploring, finding some ghost ships to EVA into or even a crashed ship on foot to explore with guns up flashlight out and salvage some parts. I really just want to see what the universe has to offer and have some adventures while not staying in one spot for too long, as well as having a useful alternative (medic) when the Org calls for some backup or a big war is about to break out with another Org. So I had the thought of bringing the Apollo on our exploration journey so i didn't end up 2 systems back because of a hostile alien while checking out an abandoned outpost or something. I figured it would probably be a lot of upkeep for 2 people but I figured I would see what others thought as I have done some pretty deep research into SC but I am by no means an expert and I have gotten a lot of useful information from you guys, so the alternative perspectives and information confirmations are very much appreciated! Thank you!