Tonight’s The Next Great Starship revealed the current specifications for the gunship that the competing teams will be building. The gunship does not have a manufacturer yet; each team will be able to choose an existing company from which to style their candidate! These are the exact specifications given to each team… we can’t wait to see what they come up with!

REQUEST FOR BID: AX Type Gunship

The United Empire of Earth is seeking design bids for the next generation AX gunship project. Gunships will be deployed to front line UEE units engaged in piracy interdiction and the ongoing police action against the Vanduul. Designs should be suitable for both space combat and ground support mission roles. The hull design will not be considered military confidential and may be modified for resale on the civilian market. Manufactures may submit their own suggested name and classification. Please review the attached specifications for further requirements and details.

Structural-
Crew: 1 pilot, 2 gunners, 4-6 marines
Cargo – 15 tonnes
Thrusters – 4 xTR2 (jointed)
Cargo Capacity – 15 tonnes (to be used for cargo or troops)
Upgrade Space – 10 slots
Max Power Plant Size – 5
Max Shield – 5

Hardpoints-
1 Class 4 (pilot’s controlled turret – two class 1 mounts, size 3)
2 Class 3 (2 missile racks)
2 Class 5 (two manned turrets)

Notes from the Chairman-

• Thrusters are jointed – top front left, top front right, bottom front left, bottom front right, combines with the back thrusters to create a 8x thruster array, so back 4 engines double as top back left, top back right, bottom back left and bottom back right – obviously when they are firing at a level to balance against the front thrusters. It will also be important that the front and back set of thrusters balance each other in terms of distance from center of mass – or another way to think of it would be if the front thrusters which have a smaller thrust could be further away from the center of the mass than the rear engines so that the resulting torque created (for angular rotation) by thrusting on the front thrusters would balance with the main engines / rear thrusters for when they fire in unison to impart angular acceleration.

• Gunship won’t be too maneuverable as the thruster array rotation speed won’t be super-fast, so it’s ability to maneuver quickly will be curtailed as the thrusters will take a few beats to deploy to the correct firing position.
  

We’re also excited to reveal the initial specifications for the Consolidated Outland Mustang, Star Citizen’s second starter ship. Once modeled in the CryEngine, backers will be able to choose between the Aurora or the Mustang as their base level pledge ship.

Model: Mustang Alpha Manufacturer: Consolidated Outland Role: Pursuit

Description: The new Mustang spacecraft line is preparing to go into mass production is priced to compete with Roberts Space Industries’ Aurora. Using newly-developed construction techniques and ultralight material alloys sometimes considered unsafe, the Mustang pushes power ratios to the limit. The result is a sleek, stylish spacecraft that weighs less than the Aurora and has more options for engines and thrusters… at the expense of some stability, weapons hardpoints and cargo capacity.

Structural
Cargo Capacity: 5 tonnes (optional)
Max Crew: 1 person
Upgrade Space: 3 slots
Max Power Plant Size: 3
Max Engine (Primary Thruster): 2xTR2
Maneuvering Thrusters: 6xTR1
Max Shield: 2

Hardpoints Class-1: 2x Size 2 (wing mount) Class-4: 1x Size 1 (nose turret)

Remember that all of Star Citizen’s ship specifications are subject to change for game balancing as the project continues! These specifications represent our current thinking for these ships.