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===Drone bay=== | ===Drone bay=== | ||
[[File:Tristan-get-info.png|thumb|left]] | |||
A ship must have a drone bay to use drones. You can find out if a ship has a drone bay, and how big it is, by looking at the Attributes tab in its Show Info window. If it has a drone bay, it will tell you the drone bay's capacity in cubic meters (m<sup>3</sup>). The size of a ship's drone bay determines how many drones you can carry with you, ready to be launched into space; larger and more powerful drones take up more space in your drone bay. | A ship must have a drone bay to use drones. You can find out if a ship has a drone bay, and how big it is, by looking at the Attributes tab in its Show Info window. If it has a drone bay, it will tell you the drone bay's capacity in cubic meters (m<sup>3</sup>). The size of a ship's drone bay determines how many drones you can carry with you, ready to be launched into space; larger and more powerful drones take up more space in your drone bay. | ||
{{example|The [[Tristan]] has a 40 m<sup>3</sup> drone bay, which means it can carry up to eight light drones (which take up 5 m<sup>3</sup> each), or four medium drones (10 m<sup>3</sup> each), or a combination of the two (e.g. two medium and four light drones).}} | {{example|The [[Tristan]] has a 40 m<sup>3</sup> drone bay, which means it can carry up to eight light drones (which take up 5 m<sup>3</sup> each), or four medium drones (10 m<sup>3</sup> each), or a combination of the two (e.g. two medium and four light drones).}} | ||
Only drones can be carried in a ship's drone bay; it cannot be used to carry other cargo. While you can, of course, carry drones in your cargo bay (just like any other kind of cargo), you cannot use them if they are not in the drone bay. You can only move drones in or out of your drone bay while docked at a station, or by using a ship/structure with fitting service (e.g. a [[Mobile Structure|mobile depot]] or a [[Capital Ship]]). The size of your ship's drone bay is fixed and cannot be enlarged using modules or skills. | Only drones can be carried in a ship's drone bay; it cannot be used to carry other cargo. While you can, of course, carry drones in your cargo bay (just like any other kind of cargo), you cannot use them if they are not in the drone bay. You can only move drones in or out of your drone bay while docked at a station, or by using a ship/structure with fitting service (e.g. a [[Mobile Structure|mobile depot]] or a [[Capital Ship]]). The size of your ship's drone bay is fixed and cannot be enlarged using modules or skills. | ||
===Bandwidth=== | ===Bandwidth=== | ||
The other important ship attribute is its "bandwidth" (which you can also check in the Attributes tab of your ship's Show Info window), which represents your ship's ability to control your drones, and is measured in Mbit/sec. Bigger and more powerful drones require more bandwidth, and you can only deploy (ie use in space) as many drones as you have available bandwidth on your ship. Many ships (particularly dedicated drone ships) can carry many more drones in their drone bay than they can deploy at once; this allows you to selectively deploy different types of drones to best match your enemies, or to replace drones which are destroyed in combat. | The other important ship attribute is its "bandwidth" (which you can also check in the Attributes tab of your ship's Show Info window), which represents your ship's ability to control your drones, and is measured in Mbit/sec. Bigger and more powerful drones require more bandwidth, and you can only deploy (ie use in space) as many drones as you have available bandwidth on your ship. Many ships (particularly dedicated drone ships) can carry many more drones in their drone bay than they can deploy at once; this allows you to selectively deploy different types of drones to best match your enemies, or to replace drones which are destroyed in combat. | ||