Star Citizen: Chris Robert`s new space sim (the Wing Commander guy)

[Stringjam]

Right on man. It looks like a killer ship. Best of luck on the upgrade. Hope she flies clean and true.

10-4! I would expect nothing less from good ol' Aegis...here's hoping it has much better shields than the Gladius, and that it gets released before the servers shut down.

 

[Sabrewings]

You need to relax and think about it. How much is this gonna cost you?
Yeah I get it you don't care about cost you want to support the game but how much?

I guess my point is just think about it before you make the jump. I'm still waiting on my AMX-1. I think at this point it would be wise for all of us to be a little cynical about this project.

It's always important to step back and take another look at the project. Thanks for saying so in a reasonable way.

I take such a look at it weekly, but as Stringjam pointed out this is a pretty cheap bit of entertainment. I'm very interested in seeing what comes of the project and I have enough disposable income to contribute to that end. My wife is a big motivator as well as she is very interested as well. We'll be playing together so any ships I buy contribute to both. Though, she said once I break concierge, we'll pull in the reigns. At this rate, my next standalone ship will probably break the concierge limit.

10-4! I would expect nothing less from good ol' Aegis...here's hoping it has much better shields than the Gladius, and that it gets released before the servers shut down.

I'm getting quite the Aegis fleet. If I have my way, ultimately I'll have 3 Aegis (Retaliator, Sabre, Avenger), 1 RSI, 1 Drake (Caterpillar), and 1 Anvil (Carrack).

 

[Stringjam]

I'm getting quite the Aegis fleet. If I have my way, ultimately I'll have 3 Aegis (Retaliator, Sabre, Avenger), 1 RSI, 1 Drake (Caterpillar), and 1 Anvil (Carrack).

I'm a pretty big fan of Aegis, too.

Currently have a Gladius and a Sabre, but definitely plan to add a Vanguard Warden and possibly Sentinel to the list. Still on the fence with the Avenger, as I kind of have that base covered with the 315p.

I've been a fan of the Cat since the beginning concept. Looks like a very cool ship...as cool as a hauler can get.

Ultimate goal (includes owned* ships):

Origin
315p*
350R*
M50*
890 Jump (outfitted for exploration)

Aegis
Gladius*
Sabre*
Vanguard Warden / Sentinel

Drake
Caterpillar

Kruger
Merlin*

Anvil
Hornet Ghost* (to load in the Endeavor landing bay )

Misc
Endeavor

 

[Sabrewings]

No RSI love Stringjam?

I agree the Caterpillar is a pretty cool ship. The latest dev videos on it make it look even better. It's going to be a popular pirate ship, but I don't see myself using it for that.

On the subject of the Endeavor, I've had a hard time getting on the hype train there. It's cool, but I can't see myself in a ship that big and it doesn't do much my other planned ships can't. I really think the Carrack will be the biggest ship I own. I can see myself going out with it and my Avenger and Sabre NPC'd as escorts. I already have two game packages so that's one of my own NPC slots already.

 

[Stringjam]

No RSI love Stringjam?

I agree the Caterpillar is a pretty cool ship. The latest dev videos on it make it look even better. It's going to be a popular pirate ship, but I don't see myself using it for that.

On the subject of the Endeavor, I've had a hard time getting on the hype train there. It's cool, but I can't see myself in a ship that big and it doesn't do much my other planned ships can't. I really think the Carrack will be the biggest ship I own. I can see myself going out with it and my Avenger and Sabre NPC'd as escorts. I already have two game packages so that's one of my own NPC slots already.

I could see myself with a Connie Aquila, but if I can outfit an 890 Jump for exploration, I would rather go that route (and the 890 can also pack a snub like the Connie). Still though, I could see myself with an Aquila.

Being an explorer at heart, when I saw the Endeavor I was immediately impressed. Even just the helm ship without the modules....want. Spending days out in deep unexplored space - - sounds awesome.

 

[SLU Aequitas]

I thought the endeavor wasn't supposed to be as good as a dedicated explorer? Haven't paid it much mind as I prefer the smaller ships. Also, the jump point sizes will make exploring more interesting, 315P will have a roll.

 

[nsafreak]

So tempted to upgrade the 325A to a Constellation with all of the multi crew stuff that I've seen as of late. Only problem with that would be I would only have the Merlin for AC if I did the upgrade now. I like the 325A but it & the rest of the 300 series as stated do need a balance pass.

 

[rivethead]

Also, the jump point sizes will make exploring more interesting, 315P will have a roll.

I've spent about an hour messing around with the Star Map. I'm amazed at the detail. But it is clear that jump point sizes are going to have major implications on playing in the Star Citizen sandbox.

In particular, for a Large ship it'll take twice as many jumps (and twice the distance = more fuel burn, risk of attack, etc.) to go from Crusader to Earth than it will a Small ship.

 

[rivethead]

Only problem with that would be I would only have the Merlin for AC if I did the upgrade now.

Don't forget about REC.

 

[Stringjam]

Only problem with that would be I would only have the Merlin for AC if I did the upgrade now. I like the 325A but it & the rest of the 300 series as stated do need a balance pass.

You can do some pretty good damage with a Merlin in AC. A good pilot with a Merlin is a real pain in the ass. Like rivethead mentioned, you can build up REC and use another ship, too.

 

[rivethead]

See the letter from CR regarding 1,000,000 citizens. They're dropping alpha access and module passes (yeah for me since I never bought an AC pass....just relied upon free fly weeks). And giving everyone who had alpha 10,000 UEC or 5,000 UEC if you bought an AC pass.

https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/15007-Letter-From-The-Chairman

 

[Stringjam]

I thought the endeavor wasn't supposed to be as good as a dedicated explorer? Haven't paid it much mind as I prefer the smaller ships. Also, the jump point sizes will make exploring more interesting, 315P will have a roll.

I think what will make it a great explorer is the modular design with the detachable "explorer" ship. You won't have to drag the entire station with you to venture into certain areas.

Science and exploration have always gone hand in hand, and so the challenge facing the Endeavor design team was a difficult one: how do you design a spacecraft that allows for both dangerous field research and to facilitate extremely delicate lab work? The solution: a multi-stage ship that allows an armored ‘Explorer’ cab to detach and operate under its own power in extreme conditions.


Designed with the armor and shielding needed to survive everything from micrometeorite strikes to survey missions dangerously close to a star’s corona, the Endeavor’s Explorer can completely detach from the scientific workshop and operate on its own. Featuring everything short of a jump drive, the Explorer cab is intended for risky operations where the Workshop could otherwise suffer costly damage or potential destruction.

But even the explorer cab is quite sizable. You can see from this model comparison pic, it may be a bit bigger than a constellation.

 

[Sabrewings]

See the letter from CR regarding 1,000,000 citizens. They're dropping alpha access and module passes (yeah for me since I never bought an AC pass....just relied upon free fly weeks). And giving everyone who had alpha 10,000 UEC or 5,000 UEC if you bought an AC pass.

https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/15007-Letter-From-The-Chairman

I melted my AC pass this morning. I'd rather put $5 towards my next ship than have 5000 UEC.

 

[rivethead]

I melted my AC pass this morning. I'd rather put $5 towards my next ship than have 5000 UEC.

I don't think it'll matter soon. Once shopping is live, you'll be able to walk into Astro Armada and purchase ships with UEC. At least that's my understanding.

 

[Sabrewings]

I don't think it'll matter soon. Once shopping is live, you'll be able to walk into Astro Armada and purchase ships with UEC. At least that's my understanding.

My understanding is that won't happen until shortly before the full PU is online. And I plan to pick up another ship before then, so account credit is more useful than UEC.

 

[Red Storm]

My understanding is that won't happen until shortly before the full PU is online. And I plan to pick up another ship before then, so account credit is more useful than UEC.

When the PU goes live cash buying of ships goes away right? And we'll get more realistic in game pricing too. So with that in mind, post-launch wouldn't UEC be more valuable than $5 in real money?

 

[Sabrewings]

When the PU goes live cash buying of ships goes away right? And we'll get more realistic in game pricing too. So with that in mind, post-launch wouldn't UEC be more valuable than $5 in real money?

You can still purchase UEC with real money once the PU goes live. And if I have second thoughts you can buy UEC right now, $1 per 1000. I didn't want that decision made for me, though.

 

[Sabrewings]

So, clarification from DiscoLando on RSI and Reddit indicates that separate AC module passes (like I had) will be melting instead of turning into UEC, so I just sped things up for myself. The UEC is for people who have the access built into their game packages.

 

[Stringjam]

AC 1.3.0 is getting published today:
https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/290147


A few things I noticed:

Increased the power draw of the M50's engine. Decreased the strength of the M50's power plant. These two changes are to ensure that the choice of mounting a weapon with high power drain vs one with low power drain on the m50 will have a meaningful affect on performance and speed.

Great. Another M50 nerf to remove it even further from being any kind of decent interceptor (if they're going to keep doing this, they just need to remove it from both the name and lore and make it a race-only ship, which would be a real shame).

The Behring C-788 Ballistic Cannon has been added to the game. This gun uses a S4 mount and fires at 2.2 shots per second.

I'll be throwing a pair of these on the Ghost for sure.

Energy weapon velocities have been buffed across the board to be faster then ballistics. Our philosophy here is that as energy weapons do no damage until shields are down, it takes more hits by energy weapons to do real damage and accuracy is thus more important.

YES. It was ridiculous that energy weapons could have lower velocities than ballistics. Hopefully this will also reduce PIP spread and encourage more mixed loadouts.

- Increased the health of all ships.
- Increased overall shield strength of all ships to reduce alpha damage and bring up survival.

Looks like my 315p will survive a little longer in BR. Of course, so will everybody else.

 

[Sabrewings]

I was just looking at that list. I don't own one, so in an unbiased way I don't feel what they're doing to the M50 is a bad thing. It should have reasonable power limitations in terms of weaponry with such large engines on a small ship. I wouldn't be mad at the same limitations on a Merlin.

In other news, the higher ship health is nice to hear, of course right after I melted my 325a. Might make me regret it... or maybe not. It's a pretty exciting update overall. I saw lots of things resolved that were in the Issue Council, so it's nice to see that it is a working method of feedback.

 

[Stringjam]

I was just looking at that list. I don't own one, so in an unbiased way I don't feel what they're doing to the M50 is a bad thing. It should have reasonable power limitations in terms of weaponry with such large engines on a small ship. I wouldn't be mad at the same limitations on a Merlin.

There are a few parts of that I wouldn't have issue with. It makes sense that the M50 would have high power draw, but also reducing the strength of the M50 powerplant doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

The M50 can only mount a pair of S1 weapons, which means it is already extremely limited in firepower to begin with.

The Merlin, on the other hand has a killer high DPS baked-in S2 along with a pair of S1s. It's also relatively fast.

I wouldn't have any issue with it if the M50 wasn't labeled and storied to begin with as an interceptor, which should historically at minimum have enough firepower to significantly delay incoming threats. It started out this way with a pair of S2s, then that was nerfed, and then the handling was nerfed, and now the powerplant is getting nerfed.

If it ends up being nothing more than a mediocre racer (the 350R is faster and beats it most of the time anyway), I'll probably just melt it.

I don't want to, because it's a still a blast to fly (and look at). I just don't have any use for a race-only ship.

I think the real issue is that CIG needs to decide what an interceptor actually is, and consistently equip ships with that designation to be effective.

 

[Stringjam]

Also: the Greycat buggy can now receive damage and explode.

First thing I'm going to do when I get back into the hangar is drive that little buggy into a wall.

I expect magnificence.

 

[Sabrewings]

Also: the Greycat buggy can now receive damage and explode.

First thing I'm going to do when I get back into the hangar is drive that little buggy into a wall.

I expect magnificence.

Well, they do say in Area 18 they can explode. No mention of in the hangar. Just go up the elevator and take out an innocent pedestrian player while you do. Or just watch. In typical internet fashion this is the most celebrated change.

 

[Stringjam]

Ugh. In my excitement over the velocity increase on the energy weapons I missed the line that said they were reducing their damage.

If shield strength is increasing across the board, and energy weapon damage is getting nerfed, that's going to have exactly the opposite effect I was hoping for (ballistics commander).

 

[Fallen Kell]

Ugh. In my excitement over the velocity increase on the energy weapons I missed the line that said they were reducing their damage.

If shield strength is increasing across the board, and energy weapon damage is getting nerfed, that's going to have exactly the opposite effect I was hoping for (ballistics commander).

Well, it will mean needing a mix of weapons. The drawback of balistics is that they have limited ammo. The drawback of energy is the high efficiency of shields against that damage type. So, you need a couple balistics to break through the shields and you can then finish off with energy to conserve ammo.