I'm playing the latest version (5.52).
Tractor beams are fun.
My new long range exploration vessel:
Explorer - Engine Section class Gravitational Survey Vessel 10,000 tons 344 Crew 1748 BP TCS 200 TH 3000 EM 0
15000 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 10-41 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/3 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 109 Max Repair 200 MSP
Tractor Beam
J10000(3-50) Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 10000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
InC Fusion Drive C600 (5) Power 600 Fuel Use 6% Signature 600 Armour 0 Exp 7%
Fuel Capacity 680,000 Litres Range 2040.0 billion km (1574 days at full power)
Advanced Geological Sensors (1) 3 Survey Points Per Hour
This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
Explorer - Sensor Section class Gravitational Survey Vessel 5,000 tons 495 Crew 3228.5 BP TCS 100 TH 0 EM 0
1 km/s Armour 10-26 Shields 0-0 Sensors 96/96/9/0 Damage Control Rating 10 PPV 10
Maint Life 9.25 Years MSP 3833 AFR 21% IFR 0.3% 1YR 81 5YR 1211 Max Repair 960 MSP
Fuel Capacity 255,000 Litres Range N/A
Single R21/C6 Meson Cannon Turret (2x1) Range 210,000km TS: 25000 km/s Power 6-6 RM 21 ROF 5 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Fire Control S12 240-24000 (1) Max Range: 480,000 km TS: 24000 km/s 98 96 94 92 90 88 85 83 81 79
InC Fusion Reactor (1) Total Power Output 12 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Active Search Sensor MR20-R1 (1) GPS 87 Range 20.7m km Resolution 1
Active Search Sensor MR2523-R120 (1) GPS 115200 Range 2,523.9m km Resolution 120
Thermal Sensor TH4-96 (1) Sensitivity 96 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 96m km
EM Detection Sensor EM4-96 (1) Sensitivity 96 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 96m km
Advanced Gravitational Sensors (3) 9 Survey Points Per Hour
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Together they move at a speed of 10,000 kms and have a range of 1870 billion km, although I have to transfer fuel from the sensor section when the engine section runs low. It's more fuel efficient and I save on maintenance compared to my old exploration ship, plus I had space to tack on a third grav sensor and a geo survey sensor in case I want to survey planets without calling in the geo survey fleet. And since the geo sensor is on the main ship it can drop off the sensor section at the jump point to go scan planets at 15,000 km/s then come back and pick it up. And once the maintenance clock gets really high on the sensor section I can build a new one and attach it while the first one overhauls, then swap them out in a few years when the new one is getting old.
Only downside is the ships take 2 officers, which would mean I need 2 survey officers if I want a survey bonus on both the geo and grav survey sensors. I debated putting the geo sensors on the sensor section, but the extra maintenance and loss of the ability to dump it off and move 50% faster while geo surveying made me decide against it.
Hmmm.... can you put mines on drones? Drive-by minefields in the enemy's home systems.
But the big thing is planets. Bust all his planets and who cares about his fleet?
Yea, you can put mines on drones. You just make a buoy with sensors with a second stage missile, then use that as the second stage for a drone. Drone would theoretically fly to your waypoint and deploy the mines. I've never tried it, but it should work. Without a range limit you could shoot them from a planet too, lol. Just put enough fuel to get up to speed, cruise over, and slow down. Fire mine fields at your enemy from the next system over