All good mate, these are crewed by two pilots, plenty of room for all .....

Some more ships looking very interesting indeedy ! And the new Star map is looking very impressive, its interactive and has a few levels of detail its coming along well:  https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/spectrum-dispatch/15000-The-ARK-Starmap :

Thanks Strut.
Looks like they've worked out carrier ops with the Tomcat.......

So how many Tomcats, I mean, Sabres are we going to have?

Anyway, some really nice stuff coming out of CIG. The waiting will be worth it.

Squadron 42

https://robertsspaceindustries.com/squadron42

Watched part of the first mission for squadron 42 the other day. How lucky are the guys who bought the Idrs when it came out? That ship price does not seem that high now that they have doubled the size of the ship.

(HHC/229) GunfighterSIX wrote:Watched part of the first mission for squadron 42 the other day.  How lucky are the guys who bought the Idrs when it came out?  That ship price does not seem that high now that they have doubled the size of the ship.

And, Six, it has a fighter bay which presumably can hold at least one squadron of fighters. Hence it could be the 'poor man's carrier' so to speak (not that $1000.00 or the UEC equivalent is cheap). Perfect for small organisations. Maybe one day there will be one in the PU flying IVC's colours.

I am thinking about upgrading my M50 “Interceptor” [the quotation marks are intentional] to this proper combat ship. I would not mind hearing everyone’s thoughts on this.

Below are my thought at the moment.

Problems with the M50

I have been flying the M50 for some time in Arena Commander and slowly but surely it has been nerfed into oblivion. It is now less manoeuvrable, has less acceleration, is made of glass, is easily detectable with its high IR signature (hence it will be a poor scout). Further, though it can have a jump drive, with its fuel inefficient engines and presumably small fuel capacity, it will likely be unsuitable for the operations the IVC will do.  

The M50’s advantages are its small size, the level of manoeuvrability still remaining and its Size 2 weapons. Currently, I can still beat the hormonal Hornet-using teenagers with the M50 and top the leader board every now and then in AC.

However, especially in a huge furballs, I tend to get shot down… a lot. And when I get shot down, the spacecraft is being destroyed in a matter of seconds, leaving me no time to eject. Further, the ship is incredibly vulnerable to missiles, and this is how most sorties end for me.

Yet another issue on the horizon is that CIG has stated in the next version of AC (1.3) the M50s powerplants are going to be downgraded. This will mean using Size 2 guns may not be viable because the energy for them will possibly drain before I can shoot down a heavily armoured and shielded target like a Hornet or Gladiator.  

In short, I am having my doubts the M50 will able to fulfil the interception role, for which I purchased it, or that I will be able to make a proper contribution to our organisation with it.

It has become primarily a racer, true and true (even Sandi Gardner in her interview with Gary Oldman, described the M50 as “a racing ship”). And I am not in Star Citizen for the racing.

The Sabre – F-22/F-35 analog

The Q&A for the Sabre has explained that it is essentially a stealthy space superiority/multirole fighter, ala F-22 or F-35. (Lets hope its not a lemon like the latter aircraft)

The Sabre will be a dedicated stealth ship: low emissions, weapons that fold into the hull, an internal bomb bay. It will be stealthier than the Hornet Ghost. It will also be a medium range fighter with a jump drive as standard. Hence, it will be a good scout.

Further, it is fast and will have equivalent manoeuvrability to the Gladius. It is also going to be well armed with a variety of store (hence the multi-role tag) and will have the heavy shields and avionics which are suitable for combat (hence the space superiority tag).

In conclusion, the Sabre looks like it will tick many boxes for me and with it I can make a meaningful contribution to the IVC.



Anyway, that’s my thoughts at present. Any comments or advice will be appreciated.

Honestly, right now I'd say sit on your hands and keep your wallet in your pocket.

When we get to fly in the PU, you'll be able to sell your M50 for in game credits and put that toward something else, as who knows... between now and then there my well be another 20 ships and their sub-variants released.

(C/229) Highwayman wrote:Honestly, right now I'd say sit on your hands and keep your wallet in your pocket.

When we get to fly in the PU, you'll be able to sell your M50 for in game credits and put that toward something else, as who knows... between now and then there my well be another 20 ships and their sub-variants released.

Good advice, Highwayman. I would do well to follow it.

I think I best let the Sabre go for now. Buying a ship in a concept sale seem to me to be a stab in the dark.

A stab in the dark that will get you life time insurance. If you hate it later, sell it or trade it.

Hmm, still too much money for something I am not sure about.

Plus who knows CIG may actually fix the M50 one of these days...

And, I still have my Herald, which will be my primary ship anyway.

Looks like an interesting ship. I'll hang onto my 300i and Gladius right now. I really want to get myself the Redeemer, but for me it won't be worth doing until I can earn it in game.

Have any of you guys had a look at Operaton Pitchfork? Could be a blast when the PU comes online:
https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/60679/invading-vanduul-space-at-the-end-of-the-beta-operation-pitchfork/p1
https://operationpitchfork.com/wiki/Main_Page
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/orgs/OPPF

For those who enjoy the experience of money leaving his wallet, Star Citizen has begun its anniversary sales:
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/transmission/15067-AnniVERSEary-Sale-Kickoff

Its getting better everytime i see it

When the baby PU (Star Citizen 2.0) comes out IVC so needs to do some combined ops.

Just an FYI to all you Star Citizens, Star Citizen 2.0 Alpha (the baby PU) has been released.

Nothing special with installing this one. Just load your SC launcher, login and you'll get an update prompt.

hmmm... TrackIR does not work with Alpha 2.0 any more and I'm seeing this far more than I'd like...

(C/229) Highwayman wrote:hmmm... TrackIR does not work with Alpha 2.0 any more and I'm seeing this far more than I'd like...

Well, I deleted my USER file and that seems to have smoothed the frames a bit and stopped most of the crashes.

I had short session yesterday, in which I completed the ‘re-activate the com relays’ mission and visited the FPS station (where I was gunned down by some player with an SMG, need to visit with some friends next time). To experience the integrations of all the elements (FPS, EVA and flight) was nice.

That said not having Trackir is damn disappointing and such an immersion killer. The SC forums are full of posts complaining about the loss of Trackir in 2.0, so we can only hope that CIG responds and implements some TrackIR support (even a placeholder will do) in the near future.

I am disinclined to do anything else with SC until Trackir comes back online. Further, co-op is handicapped at present because there is no matchmaking system so friends can arrange to be on the same server.

Anyone have $1250 or $2500 US handy?

CIG is doing a limited releases of the Javelin-class Destroyer and Idris-P-class Frigate this holiday session.

https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/305606/holiday-sale-details

Must Watch

It's a great demo, I especially like the 'twist' in the tale.

Let's hope that it hasn't taken them this past 3 years just to make this 1 demo systems worth of content as there are another 150 planets to populate to meet the original PU goal.

Otherwise, we might just be flying DCS Starships first!

I can see myself getting lost at every station/port.......
It does look very good. Thanks for posting Six

I traded in all but one of my ships and added a coupon to pick up my final ship before the game comes out.  I was trying to use my Retaliatory as a covert more than a bomber.  I think this will work better and help our fleet out.  Its a little ugly, but I think it will do.