Greed vs. Style: Solo explorer ship choice

A couple of years ago there was a thread asking about people's aesthetic preferences in ships. Predictably, the aesthetics part soon got side-lined, but it was/is a very interesting and educational thread. I was reminded of it when I recently considered the relative merits of greed/acquisitiveness and style/deadliness.

Having finished the Crossfire campaign and a run through Renaissance space, I've been doing some solo itinerant trading while carrying out a more thorough and leisurely exploration of the systems in the Crossfire universe. I've been flying a fully equipped Haidar, which is--IMHO--pretty much ideal for that purpose. It's called a freighter, and it certainly has a freighter-worthy cargo hold, but it is designed to carry VHF equipment. In fact, ship dealers whom I visit seem to think that it's a VHF when they eye it as a potential trade-in. It's not the most agile ship, but it's formidable and to me it seems the perfect design for a pilot with both trading and exploration in mind, but who doesn't suffer a few misguided pirates gladly. It's not exactly the most elegant ship, either, but to me it looks exactly like what it is: a tough, large capacity freighter that can fight its way free of most problems, and make a profit while exploring. I imagine it's the kind of ship that, in a different universe, Nicholas van Rijn (one of my early role models) might have flown as a very young man. Until the Coalition-origin Haidar is more familiar in other areas, it may even be somewhat like the "Q-ships" from WW1 & WW2: it looks like a nice merchant target until pirates get close enough to see the bristling weapons...and maybe their pods end up in that capacious cargo hold.

On the other hand...the dynamic market happened to provide me with a very profitable trade run in Helios recently. Inexpensive engine components were available on Planet Eton but fetching high prices at nearby Empire Station. What's more, at the time I wasn't particularly disliked by the local criminals; possibly because I had shot down quite a few Xenos not long before. With plenty of money, and pretty much all of the gear I could want, I began considering a change of ship. With many systems still remaining to be explored in depth, and with the expectation that risks will abound, I remembered that I was quite nearby a very different sort of vessel, but one which could also be an ideal long-range exploration ship even in the more dangerous corners of the universe. The Chimera is sleek and can be very well-armed, indeed; it would be a pretty good choice for exploring even the areas where the more powerful aliens lurk. Its cargo hold is respectable for a VHF, although not the biggest among them. It's agile, good-looking, and can be quite deadly. There are similar choices available (the Coalition Saracen, for example), but to me it's hard to find a ship that looks as good as the Chimera while being as deadly and still broadly functional in a variety of roles.

So, I'm trying to decide: explore with greed or in style? Decisions, decisions...

Ajay, if you prefer lots of batteries and bots (and, I assume, a strong defense generally) I can see why you might choose the Coalition Saber over the Saracen, despite a smaller hold. I hadn't noticed it until you mentioned it, but the Saber is somewhat reminiscent of the Mi-28.

Your beloved Basilisk somehow reminds me of the Orion from Privateer. From your description in the lexicon, I suspect they my have similar handling characteristics.

Iliyan, I think it's entirely reasonable to choose a ship for essentially aesthetic reasons or in any case not only objective ones. I guess the Geko does somewhat resemble an F-18, and if it has sufficient features for the uses to which you intend to put it, what's not to love?

I'm aware, for example, that the Saracen can be said to be objectively better than the Chimera, feature-wise (although I've flown both I don't recall which is more agile, though), and it's a good-looking ship, but I find the Chimera more visually appealing, It comes down to personal taste I guess, and "de gustibus non est disputandum".

I do suspect that my chances of survival in exploring Inner Core systems would be better in a Chimera or Saracen than in my trusty Haidar, though.

Iliyan, I believe that's good advice about IC exploration ships.

I haven't tried the Cayman, although I gather that it's liked for its speed and agility, so when I finally attempt MP (and thus PvP), maybe I'll give it a try.

I'm curious about what leads you--or anybody who's reading and would like to jump in with an opinion--to prefer the Saracen to the Chimera. The Saracen has more cargo space, armor, and bats/bots; the Chimera has a sleeker, less utilitarian look, but they handle very similarly IIRC. Is there anything other than aesthetics that would sell the Chimera over the Saracen? Presumably a preference for the Saracen is a ;logical/analytical choice? I'm probably not a good enough pilot to recognize a subtle difference in handling, although a significant one is a different story.

That Shroud is a good-looking ship, and I'll give it a try one of these days. It reminds me somewhat of the Dralthi, the Kilrathi medium fighter from

wing Commander and Privateer. The Shroud is designed more sensibly, though, IMO: the Dralthi looked cool but those distinctive wings were flat rather than down-curved like the Shroud's, giving the Dralthi an unusual near-saucer shape...but obscuring the pilot's side vision pretty severely.

Thanks for the advice about the missiles and torpedoes, too. I own at least two each of the Nemesis, Cataclysm, and Sunslayer launchers, but have been using one each of the missile types for no special reason, since their damage is similar. The numbers for refilling missiles and torpedoes do seem a bit odd when you have two of the same launcher equipped, so I'll have to experiment a bit to see whether I should replace one of the Sunslayers with a Starkiller, despite a rather large damage difference (quite a difference in ammo price, too, IIRC).

As for replenishing ammo in the core, I don't recall because I haven't hung around in there for very long so far. I do know that, for whatever reason, you need to go to Sirius (and maybe Sol?) to buy Nemesis or Cataclysm missile reloads, at least if you're in Coalition space where neither are sold.

I'll have to check for missile reload availability the next time I'm in Renaissance space, too.

Thanks for the advice, Martind; I'll check it out. Certainly the name isn't intimidating, but the ship does look pretty sharp.

Thanks for the information and advice, Iliyan!

Even though I was indeed originally interested in opinions about SP (and thus PvE) exploration vessel choices, I am also very interested in PvP, in which I hope to become involved at some not-so-distant future date. So your take on it is in fact very valuable to me, as are the opinions of the others.

I find that neither my reaction time nor my own agility are what they used to be back in the days that I used to play, say, the Wing Commander series, or even when Freelancer first came out. Currently I'm also temporarily unable to use my desktop PC--or my desk, for that matter--so I have to use a laptop that's starting to show its age. What I'm attempting to do now is to improve my piloting skills in SP to make it at least possible to attempt a debut on the server without making a fool of myself.

Thus the PvP oriented advice/opinions are also valuable to me.

BTW...I wonder if anyone else misses the days when space flight simulators were played with joysticks rather than mice.