Was there any profit off that run? Because profit margins have been nearly nullified for a while it's seemed.
To RAFT or not RAFT?...
- Thread starter SoloPlayerZA
- Start date
Radegast74
Space Marshal
As was mentioned before, this ship is all about loading and unloading standard cargo boxes quickly. I don't think this will mean anything until we (supposedly, it's on the roadmap) get the cargo refactor in 3.18. When that hits, I expect we will start seeing loading times and other logistical aspects of supply start to hit.
The cargo refactor being the one thing I wouldn't mind see having the salvage treatment.
Radegast74
Space Marshal
What does that mean, exactly? Pushed back perpetually? lol
Shadow Reaper
Space Marshal
Has anyone tried putting Eclipse and Nightfall in this and leaving the guns and shields off? It has an extremely low IR and if the EM goes below 9k we may have a new stealth champion hauler. Certainly its no use trying to fight in this thing, but I love the interior layout enough I can imagine putting one in an all medium fleet. Could be the best smuggler ride in game.
Actually made about 11k on the deal, after fuel and repairs. I think I'm going to have to be picky about what cargo I take. I want to do the same run with a Taurus tomorrow and compare operating costs. I wonder if this is going to be characteristic of ARGO ships. The Mole is a real gas hog too, especially if you're fighting winds while mining planetside.
In that case, I'd also suggest comparing that same run against a Max since the Taurus, Max & Raft are currently in the similar area of use. Either way, I'll love to hear your results. Profit love is the commercial way, last I checked.
The 1 reason why I'm highly considering picking 1 of the RAFT's up to keep is that the 32SCU cargo boxes are the same that will be on the Hulls that will be having to dock at stations instead of traveling down to planets / moons from orbit. The RAFT can carry 3 of these large containers, so they should be a more convenient means of transporting goods in these containers from the Hulls in space down to the ground and back than many other options like the ARGO Cargo.
have you had a chance to test out against other ships? Would love to know some conparrison
I want to like it,.... I shall buck up and give one a spin around the block and kick the landing struts 
Thanks I'll stick with me Hull A then :-)
Well, the nice thing about it is, that it's just extremely snappy for a medium hauler though. Hulls will probably be moving at the speed of stop. I really think RAFT will be the king of ground-to-orbit or other extremely short range transport, like loading up a Hull C/D/E.
Yes, exactly. Lmao
Yeah, these will be just perfect companions to Hull ships. Well, C and up. B isn't big enough to stand still like that. Especially if the "high modularity" of the hull series means that D/E get some sort of landing platforms as an option for sacrificing some cargo space. Well, I'm pretty sure that's basically confirmed for E, but I'm really hoping D would get it too. Tbh all capitals should have at least one small landing platform to do some light routine maintenance for their escorts so you don't need to bring with the big guns like Starfarer and crucible on every regular secure space trade trip.
ThunderKraken
Space Marshal
It's cargo but something tells me I feel RAFT will be for a very specific job. Maybe not long space haul travel but perhaps it will have a role in lining up your crates for your Hull series ships.
ARGO MPUV looks like a dedicated forklift. This is all conjecture so i dunno im just trying to put an analogy of cargo with IRL vehicles.
Cargo boat -> container crane -> forklift -> 18 wheeler -> f-350 -> f-150 -> toyota prius -> shopping cart
Made the same run today with a Taurus. No contest. I think the Taurus carried 140 SCUs of cargo vs 96 for the RAFT. But the fuel consumption is where it really shined. 190 vs. 1700 aUEC for H2! But I think I'm getting a sense of where this thing fits, and that's at cargo centers like Tressler and Everus. If those hull C, D and E's can't land fully loaded, then a small fleet of RAFTs would be the only way to get those 32 SCU containers to the surface. Tomorrow I'm going to try free-falling from Tressler to NB(flying un-coupled all the way down, then couple at the last second. You burn very little H2 uncoupled). I'll do this a few times to check fuel consumption scenarios, I also want to try quantuming back and forth, which seems promising.
Good VTOL and stability in atmo supposedly, good for stability in hostile weather condition. Rapid load / unload of external modules. Seems like a good companion to the hull C and up. If I was new, this would be my first choice as a starter ship if all I cared about was cargo.
My friend, just please remember that if you are falling fast enough, you might want to engage your stabilizing thrusters to pull out of the free fall a bit earlier to avoid the splat & boom of kissing the surface in a most TESTified manner.
Got a bad first impression when the elevator KO'd me on my first run with it, but the industrial aesthetic Argo's known for is a 10/10 in my book.
If container hauling becomes a thing I'll definitely consider pledging one, but for now, I'm going to enjoy my loaner while I have it.
If container hauling becomes a thing I'll definitely consider pledging one, but for now, I'm going to enjoy my loaner while I have it.
No stabilizing thrusters! Hell! I'm not even wearing an undersuit! Full commando for the glory of TEST!! I want people wondering why that idiot in the RAFT keeps crashing it into the spaceport!
Well, here's my report (with pictures!):
RAFT TEST pilot reporting for duty
Your humble TEST pilot with his RAFT painted in TEST colors (why CIG calls this "hazard" paint, I'll never know)
Better shot of TEST colors after launch
The rest is somewhat anticlimactic. I did this twice, re-coupling once at 30k feet and once at about 10k. Both times were not very exciting at all. The ship is very docile. As much quantum as you can squeeze in is the way to go with this pig. Another thought is to make only trips to the surface in it, take your trusty Aurora back up to the cargo center and claim the RAFT, which is cheating, which is why I like the idea. I did not refuel after yesterday's festivities, so the total cost of refueling would have been 3111 aUEC, meaning that climbing out of the atmosphere from NB to quantum altitude twice, and the freefall from Tressler and docking back at NB, cost 1411 aUEC! Q fuel only cost 1 buck.
CIG could create missions for these ships too. Paying per SCU handled plus a fuel surcharge. This could work between players too. Stay tuned for the other test I did because I was already in my unmentionables!