Maybe it's geography?
...today I had a mission to the NW region of the map I hadn't been before, and, there was a passage of smooth hyperspace the whole way, used roughly half the supplies and fuel I brought. I am not used to that.
(To understand travel the map seed I've got, to reach 3 of the 4 corners, there is not a "pocket" of deep hyperspace, but an "expanse". As in, the whole screen is deep hyperspace. I'm starting to wonder how normal/not normal this is. The NE corner is really thick, to the point I think it's affecting the part of the game simulating NPC fleets and factions - to the extent this game is simulating such things? Nobody, and I mean nobody, not Pirates, Luddites, or other Salvage fleets, not missions for bounties or suspected base locations, ever go out there. You are alone.)
Fuel might be mathematical, but supply isn't. "100 days" worth of supplies are often gone in 20 days of deep hyperspace travel.
@SapphireSage - Increased Maintenence and Erratic Fuel Injector are deal-breaker D-mods for me. I've given every ship Efficiency Overhaul.
I read that thread. I've taken navigation 2 and putting points in logistics now.
@Lucky33 - Everything you're saying is spot on. No, I wasn't thinking hard numbers about fuel or supply until it became a problem.
I was obsessed with burn speed when I started. Then I figured 9 was almost as good as 10, and 8 was almost as good as 9, right? I have a known logical fallacy from other games I've played, of sacrificing every other consideration for high speed, and running into trouble later for it. People are talking about high speeds here, so I'm not the only one going for max speed.
@ Plantissue - What's actually going on is I wait until there's, 3, 4, or more exploration missions clustered in one region of the map and then take them all. Some of them are survey, and since I'm already geared for it, on the return trip, I poke into systems and look for planets that might generate Grade IV or V data. These are also the ones that tend to have ruins or derelict stations.
I've been thinking about this. Even Grade-I data is 10,000c. Say it costs 50 supplies to survey it, kind of an average number. Supplies average 100c. Turning 5,000c supplies into 10,000c data is double your investment. Of course, fuel and travel time must be factored in, but still, it's worth it if the star's already along your route and the planet's next to the jump point.
I'm not sure if - at what point - a survey fleet could make a profit doing this. It seems like everything is - theoretically - profitable, but in-practice, expenses, "black swans" like pirate attacks, and those tariffs - make nothing profitable... not without a mission.
Yes, I've been wondering at what point I go for combat. It's hit or miss. Some pirate fleets run from me now. I've tried attacking them, but one was really good at using E-burns to dodge, another just ran straight to pirate base with an armada of 12 capital ships for protection.
Yes, upgrading to larger, destroyers and cruisers was the plan. Maybe a carrier-based fleet, using the small ships I already have as escorts.