Starborn Phoenix vs ....

[LittleBlueDuneBuggy]

I played this game a lot, but it's been years. Now that I've picked it up again, I've got about 40 hrs in this save, and I've had this new ship since basically the beginning. My question is - is there any reason from a utility stand point to start hunting other ships, or is this one already good enough? Is it outclassed by anything off the top of your head? Is it good? Does it suck? Is it OP? Is it middle of the road?

Wondering what the opinion is of people that have recent experience in the game that can spot the differences. Thanks.

My other ships are the starting ship, and an A-class Venator. Right now, I haven't even bothered looking for anything else.

[Mitrovarr]

It's a great ship that could be your daily driver all the way to the endgame, but there are still reasons to have other ships.

Multiple ships can, in general, be good because no ship can be optimized for every purpose. An S-class ship only has four boosted slots, so you can't focus it around every conceivable use. It also gets really annoying to scroll through an endless list of weapons, so you don't really want to install every weapon system in the same ship.

If you jump in your spaceship and not in your Freighter, the Starborn Phoenix doesn't have the greatest hyperdrive boost of all ships. An S-class explorer is better for that specific purpose.

The Iron Vulture from the current expedition is arguably a better ship overall. Depends on what you want your best boosts to be in.

A lot of people like Sentinel ships better, or Solar ships. Solar ships have a unique pulse drive module so they're potentially faster and more agile than anything else, and Sentinel ships can hover in place which is a relatively rare ability (I'm not sure if the phoenix can do it or not).

And of course there's appeal to ships that you just like the looks of, or that you design yourself.

[Jaggid Edje]

Ships have bonuses to hyperdrive range, weapon damage, shields and maneuverability. It is a 'hidden' set of bonuses in that there's no way (in game) to see what the exact bonus values are,

Anyway, in regards to those bonuses, the Starborn Phoenix is a little OP, as it has an aggregate of bonus values higher than any standard procedurally generated ship can have. The only other ships which compete in that respect are some of the unique ships that are expedition rewards.

That said, the only bonus factor that I, personally, even notice in terms of gameplay is maneuverability. Ships handle kind of sluggishly if they have a low maneuverability bonus, imo. But even that is more personal "feeling" than anything.

At the end of the day those bonuses don't matter all that much, because you can do anything and everything in the game with any ship. Which means aesthetics....whether you like how the ship looks and like the cockpit view...are probably going to be the main deciding factor in what ships you want to keep.

I think the main feature of the Starborn Phoenix that does set it apart is that it can hover in atmosphere. Only 2 other unique ships and 1 procgen ship type can do that, so that is a pretty special feature.

[LittleBlueDuneBuggy]

Originally posted by Mitrovarr:

It's a great ship that could be your daily driver all the way to the endgame, but there are still reasons to have other ships.

Multiple ships can, in general, be good because no ship can be optimized for every purpose. An S-class ship only has four boosted slots, so you can't focus it around every conceivable use. It also gets really annoying to scroll through an endless list of weapons, so you don't really want to install every weapon system in the same ship.

If you jump in your spaceship and not in your Freighter, the Starborn Phoenix doesn't have the greatest hyperdrive boost of all ships. An S-class explorer is better for that specific purpose.

The Iron Vulture from the current expedition is arguably a better ship overall. Depends on what you want your best boosts to be in.

A lot of people like Sentinel ships better, or Solar ships. Solar ships have a unique pulse drive module so they're potentially faster and more agile than anything else, and Sentinel ships can hover in place which is a relatively rare ability (I'm not sure if the phoenix can do it or not).

And of course there's appeal to ships that you just like the looks of, or that you design yourself.

Thank you for the comprehensive answer. I'll look into those other ships. The Sentinel and solar ships weren't around last time I played. In fact, IIRC, the Anomaly was just a room with Nada and Polo standing in the middle of it. The Iron Vulture looks pretty cool.

[Ozwald]

Originally posted by Jaggid Edje:

I think the main feature of the Starborn Phoenix that does set it apart is that it can hover in atmosphere. Only 2 other unique ships and 1 procgen ship type can do that, so that is a pretty special feature.

My sentinel can hover. It's the only one I've ever had, I just assumed all sentinel ships could.

[LittleBlueDuneBuggy]

Originally posted by Jaggid Edje:

Ships have bonuses to hyperdrive range, weapon damage, shields and maneuverability. It is a 'hidden' set of bonuses in that there's no way (in game) to see what the exact bonus values are,

Anyway, in regards to those bonuses, the Starborn Phoenix is a little OP, as it has an aggregate of bonus values higher than any standard procedurally generated ship can have. The only other ships which compete in that respect are some of the unique ships that are expedition rewards.

That said, the only bonus factor that I, personally, even notice in terms of gameplay is maneuverability. Ships handle kind of sluggishly if they have a low maneuverability bonus, imo. But even that is more personal "feeling" than anything.

At the end of the day those bonuses don't matter all that much, because you can do anything and everything in the game with any ship. Which means aesthetics....whether you like how the ship looks and like the cockpit view...are probably going to be the main deciding factor in what ships you want to keep.

I think the main feature of the Starborn Phoenix that does set it apart is that it can hover in atmosphere. Only 2 other unique ships and 1 procgen ship type can do that, so that is a pretty special feature.

Ahh, so it's a good ship. Nice. And it's good most of them are fairly equal, because I'm not a huge fan of the way it looks. I think my old favorite ship was one with movable wings that had horizontal fans built into the wings. But I do remember running out of things to do in the game, and I had quite a few exotics just for the heck of it. I also remember an S-class fighter that had a fan in the nose maybe?

[Jaggid Edje]

Originally posted by Ozwald:

My sentinel can hover. It's the only one I've ever had, I just assumed all sentinel ships could.

They can, that's the "one procgen ship type" that I mentioned.

[Ozwald]

Originally posted by Jaggid Edje:

Originally posted by Ozwald:

My sentinel can hover. It's the only one I've ever had, I just assumed all sentinel ships could.

They can, that's the "one procgen ship type" that I mentioned.

Copy that. I think I've got a solid 3 minutes in that cockpit, so I wasn't sure. I should fly it more - it's fun.

I pick ships 100% on aesthetics. I upgrade them, but I'll pass over better specs just because I don't like the looks or the color or whatever.

There's nothing in this game that really demands anything from your ship. My first daily driver after the Radiant Pillar on this save was a bulky shuttle. It was just fun to fly, it has a cool cockpit & did everything I needed it to do. It wasn't the fastest or most maneuverable ship. I'm sure the firepower was lacking, but I could hold my own against any attacks with ease.

Just find the prettiest or coolest or whatever you like. That is the best ship.

[Jaggid Edje]

Originally posted by Ozwald:

Just find the prettiest or coolest or whatever you like. That is the best ship.

Agreed, 100%.

I'm up to having 10 ships in my 'fleet' because I switch which one use pretty regularly, simply because I get bored with the look of what I'm flying and want a change of pace.

I even finally just added a Living Ship to the list this past week. I'm not a very big fan of Living Ships, but it's a ~10 month old save, so it was past time to do it. I ended up getting one that (kind of) like the look of, so I decided to keep it.

I have a shuttle in my fleet too, due to a thread here a few weeks ago that had a few shuttles I actually thought were cute. I fly it surprisingly often, considering I used to mock the poor shuttles. It's just fun.

[retsam1]

Originally posted by LittleBlueDuneBuggy:

I played this game a lot, but it's been years. Now that I've picked it up again, I've got about 40 hrs in this save, and I've had this new ship since basically the beginning. My question is - is there any reason from a utility stand point to start hunting other ships, or is this one already good enough? Is it outclassed by anything off the top of your head? Is it good? Does it suck? Is it OP? Is it middle of the road?

Wondering what the opinion is of people that have recent experience in the game that can spot the differences. Thanks.

My other ships are the starting ship, and an A-class Venator. Right now, I haven't even bothered looking for anything else.

Many(not all) prefer Sentinel ships because of the wide array of looks available, chances for finding ones with 500+ maneuverability (before you add upgrades), hover capability, cargo space storage size (As some ship types are much smaller), and more. Whether that matches you or not who knows.

Originally posted by Ozwald:

Originally posted by Jaggid Edje:

I think the main feature of the Starborn Phoenix that does set it apart is that it can hover in atmosphere. Only 2 other unique ships and 1 procgen ship type can do that, so that is a pretty special feature.

My sentinel can hover. It's the only one I've ever had, I just assumed all sentinel ships could.

All sentinel ships can hover.

[LittleBlueDuneBuggy]

Originally posted by retsam1:

Many(not all) prefer Sentinel ships because of the wide array of looks available, chances for finding ones with 500+ maneuverability (before you add upgrades), hover capability, cargo space storage size (As some ship types are much smaller), and more. Whether that matches you or not who knows.

Thanks. I've seen a few Sentinel ships in the Anomaly, and they're pretty sweet looking.

Appreciate everyone's help.

[Spocks Toupee]

I'm still using the B class Sentinel Ship (Now S class) that I found during Expedition 14. (I never keep the ship the expeditions start you out with, I HATE Haulers)

Having a tricked out Sentinel ship basically lets you warp from Rendezvous point to rendezvous point without having to stop at all the planets in between to get there.

The lowest stat is the shield on mine, but with High Maneuverability, and Infra-knives, the other ships don't last long enough to be a threat.

It's got really cool fold out wings, and kind of looks like a Cicada when it's parked.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3357279949

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3357280100

[LittleBlueDuneBuggy]

I just read on the wiki that Sentinel ships are procedurally generated? So there's no two alike? Sick!

[dreamrider]

Originally posted by LittleBlueDuneBuggy:

I just read on the wiki that Sentinel ships are procedurally generated? So there's no two alike? Sick!

Well, there ARE rules to that procedural generation. So you can and will see two alike...rarely...and in certain special circumstances.

Like:
All sentinel ships found on a given planet look exactly alike. The engine uses a single planet seed to generate them. Class and stats will vary, however. But a planet is big - even the Class and stats can theoretically be found identical.

All Sentinel Interceptors that are called to 'police' events in a system are identical.

[Shadow Strider]

Originally posted by dreamrider:

Originally posted by LittleBlueDuneBuggy:

I just read on the wiki that Sentinel ships are procedurally generated? So there's no two alike? Sick!

Well, there ARE rules to that procedural generation. So you can and will see two alike...rarely...and in certain special circumstances.

Like:
All sentinel ships found on a given planet look exactly alike. The engine uses a single planet seed to generate them. Class and stats will vary, however. But a planet is big - even the Class and stats can theoretically be found identical.

All Sentinel Interceptors that are called to 'police' events in a system are identical.

Afaik, if you upgrade the class of a given interceptor design, it will always result in the same stats too. The SC slot layout will vary from ship to ship though, so it can still be worth collecting a few to find the best one on a given planet. (Collected a few A, B and C class ships with my most recent addition to my fleet, and the C class had the best SC layout once upgraded)
"Wild" S class ships will have different stats to the upgraded ones though (can be better or worse depending on RNG)

[Lunatic]

The Vulture Hauler can hover, I don't know if you can use the Vulture wing to create another vessel, but it seems that Vulture wings can make hover.