So, since guns now cut into cargo space, I notice a lot of my trade ships getting clipped
You would think that it would only be a small amount, but its enough of a chunk to disturb my minor ocd with symmetry and even numbers.
So, taking up someones advice ( I think it Vlad) in one of those long ago threads about Zoner QQ - I've decided to go Whale Philosophy on all my trade ships.
As in, no guns. CM's yes, armor maybe (I usually don't armor my transports) - but no guns.
Besides, a lot of ships look better without them anyway
*shrug* Powertraders will be powertraders I guess. Do as you feel. Me, I prefer a bit of armor and 12 guns on my transport... Giving the odd pirate a good roughing up before paying. More fun to do that then to just haul stuff lane after lane.
[/care]
Wide awake in a world that sleeps, enduring thoughts, enduring scenes. The knowledge of what is yet to come.
From a time when all seems lost, from a dead man to a world, without restraint, unafraid and free.
Mostly retired Discovery member. May still visit from time to time.
Getting the right looking number of cargo is definitely a bit more of a challenge now, but not so much. I have 4775 in my Ryuujin and I like it. My Akegata has like a 60 at the end though, which is less fun.
I've seen a few Storks and other 5Ks get around the issue of less-than-5k cargo space in an interesting way: No guns, no armor, and a class 6 freighter shield. They end up with a full 5,000 units of cargo space, and drastically reduced defenses against pirates.
I guess I can understand the idea of the tradeoff between a bit of defense and maximum profit, but it does make me a bit sad that there's virtually no such thing as a true 5K transport anymore. I know what you mean on the obsessive need for even numbers. Especially with the way bases call for, say, 50,000 of some material (or some other number divisible by 5,000), it's a bit annoying to know that instead of just 10 full trips, it'll be 10 full trips plus an 11th trip with only a few hundred units.