In his latest “Letter from the Chairman” segment, video game developer Chris Roberts launched a new community survey to determine which of four planned ships would become Star Citizen’s third “Starter Ship”. Coming from in-universe manufacturers Drake, Aegis, Anvil and MISC; each ship is designed not to be one you will want to scrap as soon as possible, but one that serves as a “Jack of All Trades”, allowing you to try out many different things before committing to a more expensive ship.
Information on all four ships being left to community vote can be found below:
- Drake Dragonfly: You don’t so much as climb into the Dragonfly as you do put it on around you. In short, it’s the closest thing to strapping an engine and a weapons mount to your spacesuit… or, as the advertising campaign claims, it’s the closest thing to riding the vacuum yourself. Occupying somewhere in the pantheon between a snub fighter and an Aurora, the Dragonfly is a speedy, maneuverable ultralight designed to be cheaply constructed in large numbers and to be readily customized by hobbyists. Dragonfly’s have become the favorite of a particular brand of enthusiast that frequently gather together to share their modifications, off-track race… and other less legitimate “hobbies.”
- Aegis Terrapin: A literal tough nut to crack, the Terrapin is the most heavily armored of the base-priced spacecraft on the market. Originally designed for long-range survey missions in dangerous star systems, the Terrapin’s design philosophy involves wrapping the ship in additional layers of armor and reserving a significant amount of engine power to host the largest shield generator in its class. Terrapins are popular among private miners, with an equipment mount and a small storage hold that can be converted for valuable minerals.
- Anvil Hurricane: Some ships avoid dangerous encounters with speed, some with stealth and others with maneuverability. The Anvil Hurricane’s philosophy is that it should be able to blast anything that gets in its way out of the sky. The Hurricane won’t win any races and its electronic signature won’t let you sneak behind enemy lines… but it features a wide array of fully customizable small bore weapons hardpoints plus the ability to customize weapons types in several ways. Hurricanes are often used by militia squadrons and private organizations seeking to add a “heavy” to their lineup.
- MISC Reliant: With the success of the Freelancer “Built for Life” campaign, MISC has moved to join RSI and Consolidated in the single-seat introductory starship arena. Their silver bullet? A starter ship with more than one seat… and their ace in the hole: Xi’An technology. Where the Aurora is a pure utilitarian platform and the Mustang is a delicate, maneuverable personal transport, the Reliant is MISC’s most Xi’An tech-heavy ship to date. Featuring impossibly sleek lines, two separate crew seats and a vertical fuselage design, the Reliant’s streamlined cockpits glow with some of the finest xenotechnology available!
Backers can lodge their vote HERE, with the winner to be announced in Roberts’ next letter. As it stands, the MISC Reliant is most popular with 50% of the vote.
