Do we have a general philosophy for the PU ?

[Galatoni]

Judging by the ship list  I don't think we're short of fighters.

[Gorion]

it currently has a super hornet, hornet and a hornet ghost - but they're in the potential melt queue for a Carrack.

That would be a bad idea.  Judging from the exclusivity of the Idris, I'd say that it will be a target, and hornet maneuverability & firepower will be in demand to protect it.

That's just me thinking though.

[Justin Tolerable]

Judging by the ship list  I don't think we're short of fighters.

True, but it's whether anyone can land on the ship.  CR has said in the past that the Idris will have an 'inventory', which includes the fighters it carries.  So can it carry fighters that I down personally own?

I'd expect it to, but you never know.

EDIT:  

That would be a bad idea.  Judging from the exclusivity of the Idris, I'd say that it will be a target, and hornet maneuverability & firepower will be in demand to protect it.

That's just me thinking though.

The super hornet is staying.  As for the others, they would be melted on the assumption that I'd either buy them back later or I'll have enough hornets belonging to the crew to protect it.

I like the setup as it is though.  Super hornet is the heavy hitter.  Base hornet is for upgrading according to need.  Ghost hornet is for scouting ahead (and would be the one in storage if that's required).

[TeaLeaf]

I like the setup as it is though.  Super hornet is the heavy hitter.  Base hornet is for upgrading according to need.  Ghost hornet is for scouting ahead (and would be the one in storage if that's required).

Hmm, I'd be tempted to re-think the Ghost tbh.   I'll try to explain my logic.

The Ghost is a stealth type ship, with small shields, minimal sensors, minimal weapons, all to keep electromagnetic emissions to a minimum and avoid detection, so you're basically going to have to run into things before you notice them on your sensor suite and before they notice you - but then they'll kill you as you are out gunned, out-shielded and out-sensored.     If a Ghost is based on an Idris then the Idris itself will have been picked up by red team's long range sensors, so they will know a target is there, although perhaps not necessarily that a Ghost is there.  I reckon a ghost will be useful for slipping past a blockade for example, but not necessarily for scouting.  So by my logic, you might as well trade the ghost for something with more fire power.

A F7C Tracker might work better as it will spot things better at long range.   But you still have the problem of being not that far away from a massive Idris which will be lighting up most  of red team's sensor panels like a christmas tree.

TLDR: the Idris removes the stealth aspect of a Ghost imo, so you might as well get something with some bigger bang or better sensors.   The Tracker gives you that mobile CnC potential to scout things and report back to the fleet, without being close enough to get engaged in combat.

I could be wrong, this is after all simply me theory-crafting a non-existent ship in a non-existent PU and coming up with a non-existent answer.   But that in itself is kinda fun too!

[Justin Tolerable]

Yeah, I've been back and forth on this in my head.

My logic is this -

From time to time, we'll be jumping into potentially dangerous areas.  In those circumstances, I'd like to send someone through to see if anyone is waiting for us.

There will be times when we jump into a system full of stuff - asteroids, nebulas, etc.  It's supposed to take about 30 minutes to fly normally from one side to the other.  If we're planning on checking out an asteroid belt 15 minutes away, it makes sense to send someone out there first who can see without being seen.  In a close environment like that, the scan range won't make much of a difference.

Lastly, if they see an Idris, I'd rather they not know when one of my fighters have launched.  It gives us the possibility of a small reserve that we can keep to ourselves.

The tracker makes some sense, but have you seen the sensor array on the Idris?  It's huge.  The only thing I can imagine the tracker being used for is long range recce missions and covering 'blind spots' behind planets etc.

I'll probably change my mind about all this about 50 times before launch...

[Gorion]

Any idea on the thermal footprint of those racer models/jellyfish ship?

IF we can stealth them up, and they are faster than other ships, then there's our scout/s.  I have also been voting for that shield with a lower thermal footprint for these stealth situations.  Plus, I'd like to lower the footprint of my connie to say a large fighter.

[Justin Tolerable]

IF we can stealth them up, and they are faster than other ships, then there's our scout/s.

That's a really good point, actually.  Although I have those for racing.  So to be honest, I wouldn't be stealthing them.  However, they probably wouldn't need it if they can outrun missiles...