I put out a request for a 'research liner' a few weeks back, but even if it gets finished it won't be in the next version of Discovery.
The Kusari Cruise Liner is a decent possibility... The other liners are much too large and a real pain to maneuver. But it can't take out nomads... Or pretty much anything unless you get them to chase you and shoot behind you as you fly away.
' Wrote:The Spatial is exactly that; available for 4mil at the Battleship Hood in Dublin. Pretty agile for its size, well-armed and armored, and a good-sized cargo hold for what is essentially a big fighter.
Our own Tannik Seldon uses one for exploration; if they didn't cost so dang much, I'd fly one too. =P
You rang?:D
Yeah, I use my Spatial for exploration AND trading. With 180 cargo, it doesn't make a bad small freighter: profits aren't huge, but they're enough for my character's needs. I agree that it makes a good exploration ship: you can take it anywhere in Sirius and fight any NPC gunboat-sized or smaller. It's pretty terrible for PvP though: it's a huge target, and as nimble as it is for its size any (player) fighter can outturn it easily.
X shuttle is horrible. Though it has good firepower, it can only mount mid level guns. It's a huge target and has the capabilities for only weak shields. Its maneuverability is horrible too. Just don't get it.
My TAZ boy, Eddie P., flies a Spatial. I gotta say it fits the character. It looks like he doesn't do much work keeping it in shape, and he doesn't. Too much time partying, chasing after madames, using his brilliant prose skills to talk the bartender into one more drink. The number of times he's had to run away from angry bookies wanting to break his legs and he's almost been cause cause his pre-flight routine involves slamming the dash with a hammer til it sputters life... well I think that sentence lost its handle.
Point is there aren't many ships that look more individual and not many people seem to fly it. In fact you'll probably never see another one in the same system.
Hehe, I may have to revisit the Spatial. My time with one was horrid. Perhaps I knew less about Sirius at that time... now I may have a completely different weapon and armament layout. Perhaps it isn't just "a Giant Target moving Slowly through space." as I had previously stated.