Entry 60 - 08.02.3303
02 Aug 2017MBaldelli
Current System: Duamta, Davis TerminalWell, the first thing I noticed as I was getting used to the idiosyncrasies of the Zheng He is that the shimmy the ASPX used to have coming in and out of Witchspace is gone. In fact, some of the improvements is that while it's definitely feeling "bulkier" than a DBX, at least it seems to have a better grace to it than the one I test drove at the end of last year. While the Wear & Tear's more than a little higher than normal, it's to be expected given that I'm flying a bigger ship than the Leif Eiriksson. And with the Pilot's Guild, bigger means more maintenance.
Another thing I noticed -- almost immediately -- is the inertia. Oh my god, the inertia! While I know it's not like getting onboard a Federation Corvette (one of the ships I did my midshipman's tour on) or an Anaconda (I did a tour on one, once) the Zheng He does not have the stop on a dime/fast turning/quick acceleration I had come to expect. No, the Zheng He is a lumbering hulk compared to that. I admit it'll take a little getting used to,
I do like the fact that when I'm coming out of Supercruise near to a station, I'm not speeding into the No Fire Zone like an incoming meteorite. It seems that with an ASPX, it's at a more leisurely pace and -- so far-- always under the speed limit.
Oh, and before I forget... The modifications on the ship components... FSD range was definitely increased. While it might not be like he Leif Eiriksson's it definitely comes closer than I thought. It seems to be about 2 LY less according to the calculations.
Long-Range Scanners were definitely improved. I'm looking at, at least 5K LS from a star before it starts scanning and planetary information collection starting being 50 - 100 LS from the target.
And the Power Plant is definitely overcharged. As I'm currently running cargo for a little change and the usual amounts of credits, I can tell you I am fully armed and defended to the teeth and still have power to burn. And based on the balancing I was looking into, running Asteroid Mining with a Refinery and Mining Limits while also being fully armed shouldn't be a problem either. This will also allow me to be fully armed while doing Deep Space Exploring, in case the alien threat is going to expand beyond the known areas within the Bubble. So frell you Qwent for your outrageously annoying requirements for access to your services; Farseer was more than adequate for the job at hand.
I definitely like this ship and think I'm going to be getting used to the Zheng He for a long while. While the rebuy is significantly higher than the Leif Eiriksson, at least I have about 10 rebuys worst case. I think I'm going to be looking into an Eagle or a Vulture for a fighter ship, that way I can improve my skills as a combat pilot.