Be able to do Xenon Burn Like this:

[teal coral]

If I can grab the Kitsune this well, I should be able to keep it. The OCP 209 and Eon Interstellar Model E can both grab and hold onto the Kitsune. The OCP 209 can hold onto a K37 TNTRL (and its variants) in the same way (see second picture). It should work the similarly to the Cothon being able to grab and hold onto the Singularity Core

[bleak island]

On one hand, doing that would violate every safety measure in the book. On the other hand, I don't care, so I vote yes. 😆

[teal coral]

I get it for the OCP since its "front" would be rotated, but for the Model E, it wouldn't be dangerous at all. it would be the same as having a singularity core in the excavator of a Cothon

[bleak island]

That'd be because you're thinking purely in videogame terms and/or aren't familiar with how things would go it you tried that in real life. To get too much into it I'll just point out there is a reason why SAR ships have hydraulic clamps. And to be very clear I'm not saying it couldn't be done in real life. What I'm saying is it'd be very dangerous for both ships and would violate a lot of well thought safety regulations and only a very desperate captain would do it.

[scenic talon]

not a good idea imo, salvage already brings a fuckton of money, making it more frequent wouldn't be good. I'd be for it if you needed to go out with an autopilot dummy plug, so it doesn't scream at you when trying to exit.

[subtle knoll]

what you got there is a nuclear reactor that went out for unknown reasons... u sure you want that in a intimate contact with your ship? 😄

[lost sigil]

I'm going to second this with another point, the two ships that were used as the examples and would benefit from this most are already busted as salvage vessels, giving them another ship that can be captured by them seems like it would make them even better at a job they already excel at.

i suppose to at least give the benefit of the doubt, at least the OCP would likely have the issue with larger vessels causing an obstruction for ships on the arms

[steel root]

maybe collecting a ship this way would cause its equipment to be almost fully damaged so you can basically only sell it for the hull

so it’s still useful as an advanced trick if you forgot to bring ARM, but still keeping normal salvage methods preferable

[lost sigil]

actually, that's a good point. i didn't think that damage could be used as a balance factor.

one critique on that method is that in most cases damage is repairable (all in the case of derelicts, i've never seen over damaged equipment), and again in most cases it can be repaired cheap, however the moment equipment becomes over damaged, you're no longer able to repair it and requires replacement

so, in other words, having equipment beyond repair could def be a balance factor for it, especially with ships with otherwise very pricey equipment

[astral bramble]

And that you’d have to do a LOT of project vehicles repairs to weld out all the bite marks for the captains that plan on keeping ships they salvage this way,

Or just outright replacing the parts, either way it’s some nasty maintenance to contend with, rattling around in cargo bays/hydraulic bite marks and all

[subtle knoll]

the mechanic working on that ship ´´uuu kinky´´

[lost sigil]

yeah i'm going to completely give my total support for an implementation of this idea, it would mean things like this would work:

[teal coral]

I should be able to drag home 3 ships ith the OCP. not 2

[teal coral]

or if you really really want that dang ship, but you don't have a manipulator arm, so you decide that bringing in the hull and fixing it when you can afford it is the best strategy

[scenic talon]

why though

2 is plenty already

[teal coral]

no. I need to bring 3

it's medically necessary

[steel root]

special ocp cargo bay equipment, little grabby arm so a kitsune / container / lifepod can dock

actually why doesn’t the ocp already have something like this? does it just carry construction parts and materials randomly bouncing in the bay and once it gets to the destination it’s like “sorry this pile of sand and iron filing is all i can give you”

[bleak island]

Ferrying cargo in OCP would be no different from todays cargo aircraft. The load would be manually secured by a loadmaster before departure and removed manually or with drones at the destination.

You can watch here what happens when cargo isn't properly secured before takeoff. WARNING: that video is discussing an actual aircraft accident so watch at your own discretion.