You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers! Last week, we kicked off a concept sale for two new variants of the Vanguard deep space fighter. This week, we’ll be answering questions collected on the forums on Wednesday and Friday. These questions have been reviewed by designer Calix Reneau and will hopefully clear up anything you’re wondering about the ship.
We will also be premiering a new piece of concept art with each Q&A post, available to the right below the blueprint. Enjoy!
Before we address the other questions, we’d like to (hopefully!) clarify some of the confusion around the Battlefield Upgrade Kits. These kits are collections of components that can be mounted on the base ship to give it the specifications of one of the other models. For example, the Sentinel upgrade kit includes a set of nose mount guns, the turret-mounted sensor suite, an alternate escape pod (with a tech terminal and computer core) and components for the AR cockpit. These components can be installed together as one unit or they can be broken down into their individual pieces and used in that way (so you might change the nose gun but not the turret, or the escape pod but not the cockpit.)
The Vanguard would be a good base for a scout and/or exploration ship, with the Warden being the best platform. We may make additional upgrade kits available in the future, although the goal is never to have ships pre-configured to do every role. We’d like ships to have strong identities, and we don’t want to stomp on that by making every ship a master of all trades. More likely, you’ll end up designing out your own Vanguard variants using individual components found in the ‘Verse, swapping them back and forth depending on their strengths and weaknesses.
This is still in the plans.
The AR cockpit is a more complex interface, more akin to the tactical stations found on Star Citizen’s capital ships. It’s intended to give the Sentinel a broader view of the battlefield, providing the pilot and crew with enhanced information courtesy of their superior sensor array!
Yes, speed (and potentially maneuverability) will be decreased when in bomber configuration.
All three models include a jump drive.
Yes, the BUKs are simply collections of parts that can be applied to the different ships. Please note that once the BUK has been ‘broken up’ then the parts will all need to be installed separately as individual components.
The BUKs are not a permanent item in the store, but they will be available in-universe once the game launches. (That’s the key difference between a BUK and a CCU; the CCU is a permanent conversion which exists outside of the Star Citizen world, the BUK is something you might buy in a store on ArcCorp for your ship.)
The Vanguard is designed for landing rather than on-orbit rendezvous. As such, it does not have a ring for ship-to-ship docking. (It can still be boarded, or manually exited… but both will involve EVA.)
Yes, the Harbinger has additional armor.
The cockpits are functionally different. The Sentinel features an AR cockpit, discussed above, and the Harbinger’s cockpit includes additional armored panels to protect the pilot. These upgrades are included in the BUK packages.
The Warden escape pod is the only one with long term life support and beds – escaping in this will give a greatly improved chance of being recovered without the cost of a ‘life’. The escape pod of the other variants will only give slightly improved chance over standard ejection.
The standard rockets are dumb fire. It’s possible that other options will be available in the ‘Verse.
Interdiction
The Vanguard Sentinel is a ship that’s designed to fight smart instead of taking enemies head on. The conversion features an AR cockpit, an external e-War pod, decoy missiles and a set of EMP charges. Vanguard Sentinels often provide necessary combat support for combined operations. A lone Sentinel assigned wild weasel tasks is frequently paired with Harbinger bombers and Warden escorts for large attack missions.
38.5m
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8.5m
Medium
2,386,160kg
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210 m/s
1,100 m/s
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