Ship Talk #12 - Heavy Industry
Risen from the depths of the abyss Ship Talk returns for its 12th main installment! With the advent of the Anvil Crucible I can finally do a Talk I wanted to do since the very first one. This is Ship Talk #12 - Heavy Industry. If you've never read any of these, and it has been a while since I've done one(June 28th!), Ship Talk is where I take the current on paper stats for a group of ships similar in either role or hull, analyze them, and give my own thoughts on how they compare to each other. Usually I would take a group of similar ships in role or hull and compare/contrast them. This one will be a bit different and I'll just go over each of the Heavy Industry ships individually and what they will be good for along with any potential weaknesses. Below you will find links to the previous Ship Talks and Ship Talk Commentaries. Keep in mind these are very old and probably very outdated but if you like theory and analysis they may be fun to read.
Link to Ship Talk #11 - The Starter Ships with links to 1-10 and Ship Talk Commentary links 1-3
Link to Ship Talk Commentary #4 - The Genesis Starliner
What I call Heavy Industry Ships are a group of 3 ships that will most likely make up the core of Heavy Industry in Star Citizen. They are the Orion, Reclaimer and the new Crucible. The Orion is the biggest baddest Mining Ship you can get with onboard crushing and refining capability. The Reclaimer is the down and dirty Salvager with all the tools to get the job done including a massive multi-tool arm. Think of it like a Newell Shredder but in space. The Crucible is the flying toolbox you need to repair minor paint damage or bring a ship back from the brink and reclaim it for the glory of TEST Squadron. Each ship will have a distinct purpose in the game and in depth mechanics to go with them to give a gratifying play experience and viable career path.
These ships talked about here are intended to be end of the line career ships. They are the best at what they do but are large and unwieldy for small jobs. They require large crews to operate efficiently and are poorly armed if at all. But where there is a will there's a way. You can fly all of them solo with an NPC crew if you wish but don't count on them being nearly as effective as if it were crewed by your friends. CIG may in the future introduce more industry career ships that are smaller in size and can be used more effectively by a solo player but that is far off. We have at seen a hint of this though with the Aegis Terrapin which was part of a poll for a 3rd starter ship. Unfortunately it wasn't elected to be our 3rd Starter but we got the reliable Reliant instead.
It is my sincere hope that Industry in Star Citizen becomes a much sought after career field choice with a plethora of options available to specialize in. It may never be as glamorous as commanding a Javelin Destroyer or commanding a fleet to victory but there will be plenty of money to be made if you know where to look and where to sell your product.
My Thoughts on the Ships(The Orion, The Reclaimer, The Crucible)
General Thoughts on Stats
First let me acknowledge again that these stats and listed equipment are all subject to change. However, unless something drastic occurs in testing I would expect these stats to still give a good overall direction and capability for each ship. Below is a link to a composite picture I made with all the stats listed from the RSI site:
All Heavy Industry Ship Stats
The Concept Sale page for the Orion can be found here
The Concept Sale page for the Reclaimer can be found here
The Concept Sale page for the Crucible can be found here
Descriptions and Roles
As stated before each of these ships has a very different role in the Star Citizen Universe. The Orion again is the end all Mining ship. The Reclaimer is the same for Salvage and the Crucible is your go-to repair box for large and small ships in space. To start off lets look at the Orion's spec and concept sale page descriptions. It states that the Orion brings Mining down to an individual level from what was previously a profession ruled by mega corporations(Shubin?). It features several tractor beams, lasers, and plenty of storage by the way of saddlebags. The Orion is designed to support extended operations and features crew quarters suited to that, even if they are a bit spartan. There is also talk of drone interfaces and from the concepts they could possibly be used to pull asteroids toward you or push debris away for a clear shot.
Next up is the Reclaimer. At its core the Reclaimer is a utilitarian salvage ship. It has the tools to get the job done and make it profitable. Like the Orion it comes equipped with a very large cargo hold for all the salvage you'll make. In addition the Reclaimer carries an onboard processing unit capable of processing even a Constellation. I like to think of it like a Newell Shredder. The turrets are multi use and can be fitted with additional weapons or salvage equipment such as floodlights, scanners, or tractor beams. The Reclaimer also features some Surveyor-class drones which will let you look beyond your current area and see what else may be valuable as you go through that debris field. Finally it comes with a manned cutter that can carry tools and supplies for EVA activity. This may also play into the search-and-rescue game mechanics in that if people are trapped in a derelict without an exit, cutting into the ship would then free them. Overall the Reclaimer may be the most versatile ship of the three listed here.
Finally the new Crucible is the last of the Heavy Industry Ships. Whereas the Reclaimer slices and dices a wreck up into pieces the Crucible is meant to put a ship back together in functioning order. Like the Reclaimer it is a flying toolbox but of a different sort. It contains all the tools you need to patch a ship up and even replace entire destroyed sections if you have enough supplies on hand. It features a rotating bridge allowing you to look forward as you fly to your destination or look back at the repair work being done. Unique to the ship is a rear workshop dubbed 'The Scarab' that can function as a dry pressurized work area complete with robotic arms. It can also be detached to serve as a temporary repair platform. The Scarab can only fit single seat fighters. Larger ships will require the Scarab to be opened up for un-pressurized work or left behind altogether depending on the size of the ship. The repair arms can be used remotely by a person in the cab area. For large or small the Crucible can repair it all.
Structure and Propulsion
Now we get down to some of the technical details. The first thing to look at is Cargo capacity. Before we get to that keep in mind that as the ships go through their various stages of production, the cargo figures(and all Stats) are subject to change to fit the needs of the ship and we saw this several times when they changed over to the Standard Cargo Unit system. For the Orion and Reclaimer the listed Cargo stat is wrong because it shows their ore/scrap capacity. This is even more wrong because it clashes with newer figures we got in the Hull B Q&A. Regardless, for standard cargo, not ore or scrap the Orion has 216 SCU while for ore it can carry 13824 SCU worth. Not terrible and to be expected for such a large craft. The Reclaimer has both a normal cargo hold and a large reinforced hold for scrap. for standard cargo it can carry 288 SCU worth while for scrap it can carry 6266.88 SCU. The Reclaimer carries less not only because of its size(smaller than an Orion) but also because it is all internal storage whereas the Orion carries its cargo externally. The Crucible will carry 300 SCU worth of cargo. Most of this will probably be various materials and components for the repair process. I wonder at this time if the Scarab workshop can double as an additional cargo area. If it can then that could multiply the cargo capacity of the Crucible.
Continued Below.....
Risen from the depths of the abyss Ship Talk returns for its 12th main installment! With the advent of the Anvil Crucible I can finally do a Talk I wanted to do since the very first one. This is Ship Talk #12 - Heavy Industry. If you've never read any of these, and it has been a while since I've done one(June 28th!), Ship Talk is where I take the current on paper stats for a group of ships similar in either role or hull, analyze them, and give my own thoughts on how they compare to each other. Usually I would take a group of similar ships in role or hull and compare/contrast them. This one will be a bit different and I'll just go over each of the Heavy Industry ships individually and what they will be good for along with any potential weaknesses. Below you will find links to the previous Ship Talks and Ship Talk Commentaries. Keep in mind these are very old and probably very outdated but if you like theory and analysis they may be fun to read.
Link to Ship Talk #11 - The Starter Ships with links to 1-10 and Ship Talk Commentary links 1-3
Link to Ship Talk Commentary #4 - The Genesis Starliner
What I call Heavy Industry Ships are a group of 3 ships that will most likely make up the core of Heavy Industry in Star Citizen. They are the Orion, Reclaimer and the new Crucible. The Orion is the biggest baddest Mining Ship you can get with onboard crushing and refining capability. The Reclaimer is the down and dirty Salvager with all the tools to get the job done including a massive multi-tool arm. Think of it like a Newell Shredder but in space. The Crucible is the flying toolbox you need to repair minor paint damage or bring a ship back from the brink and reclaim it for the glory of TEST Squadron. Each ship will have a distinct purpose in the game and in depth mechanics to go with them to give a gratifying play experience and viable career path.
These ships talked about here are intended to be end of the line career ships. They are the best at what they do but are large and unwieldy for small jobs. They require large crews to operate efficiently and are poorly armed if at all. But where there is a will there's a way. You can fly all of them solo with an NPC crew if you wish but don't count on them being nearly as effective as if it were crewed by your friends. CIG may in the future introduce more industry career ships that are smaller in size and can be used more effectively by a solo player but that is far off. We have at seen a hint of this though with the Aegis Terrapin which was part of a poll for a 3rd starter ship. Unfortunately it wasn't elected to be our 3rd Starter but we got the reliable Reliant instead.
It is my sincere hope that Industry in Star Citizen becomes a much sought after career field choice with a plethora of options available to specialize in. It may never be as glamorous as commanding a Javelin Destroyer or commanding a fleet to victory but there will be plenty of money to be made if you know where to look and where to sell your product.
My Thoughts on the Ships(The Orion, The Reclaimer, The Crucible)
General Thoughts on Stats
First let me acknowledge again that these stats and listed equipment are all subject to change. However, unless something drastic occurs in testing I would expect these stats to still give a good overall direction and capability for each ship. Below is a link to a composite picture I made with all the stats listed from the RSI site:
All Heavy Industry Ship Stats
The Concept Sale page for the Orion can be found here
The Concept Sale page for the Reclaimer can be found here
The Concept Sale page for the Crucible can be found here
Descriptions and Roles
As stated before each of these ships has a very different role in the Star Citizen Universe. The Orion again is the end all Mining ship. The Reclaimer is the same for Salvage and the Crucible is your go-to repair box for large and small ships in space. To start off lets look at the Orion's spec and concept sale page descriptions. It states that the Orion brings Mining down to an individual level from what was previously a profession ruled by mega corporations(Shubin?). It features several tractor beams, lasers, and plenty of storage by the way of saddlebags. The Orion is designed to support extended operations and features crew quarters suited to that, even if they are a bit spartan. There is also talk of drone interfaces and from the concepts they could possibly be used to pull asteroids toward you or push debris away for a clear shot.
Next up is the Reclaimer. At its core the Reclaimer is a utilitarian salvage ship. It has the tools to get the job done and make it profitable. Like the Orion it comes equipped with a very large cargo hold for all the salvage you'll make. In addition the Reclaimer carries an onboard processing unit capable of processing even a Constellation. I like to think of it like a Newell Shredder. The turrets are multi use and can be fitted with additional weapons or salvage equipment such as floodlights, scanners, or tractor beams. The Reclaimer also features some Surveyor-class drones which will let you look beyond your current area and see what else may be valuable as you go through that debris field. Finally it comes with a manned cutter that can carry tools and supplies for EVA activity. This may also play into the search-and-rescue game mechanics in that if people are trapped in a derelict without an exit, cutting into the ship would then free them. Overall the Reclaimer may be the most versatile ship of the three listed here.
Finally the new Crucible is the last of the Heavy Industry Ships. Whereas the Reclaimer slices and dices a wreck up into pieces the Crucible is meant to put a ship back together in functioning order. Like the Reclaimer it is a flying toolbox but of a different sort. It contains all the tools you need to patch a ship up and even replace entire destroyed sections if you have enough supplies on hand. It features a rotating bridge allowing you to look forward as you fly to your destination or look back at the repair work being done. Unique to the ship is a rear workshop dubbed 'The Scarab' that can function as a dry pressurized work area complete with robotic arms. It can also be detached to serve as a temporary repair platform. The Scarab can only fit single seat fighters. Larger ships will require the Scarab to be opened up for un-pressurized work or left behind altogether depending on the size of the ship. The repair arms can be used remotely by a person in the cab area. For large or small the Crucible can repair it all.
Structure and Propulsion
Now we get down to some of the technical details. The first thing to look at is Cargo capacity. Before we get to that keep in mind that as the ships go through their various stages of production, the cargo figures(and all Stats) are subject to change to fit the needs of the ship and we saw this several times when they changed over to the Standard Cargo Unit system. For the Orion and Reclaimer the listed Cargo stat is wrong because it shows their ore/scrap capacity. This is even more wrong because it clashes with newer figures we got in the Hull B Q&A. Regardless, for standard cargo, not ore or scrap the Orion has 216 SCU while for ore it can carry 13824 SCU worth. Not terrible and to be expected for such a large craft. The Reclaimer has both a normal cargo hold and a large reinforced hold for scrap. for standard cargo it can carry 288 SCU worth while for scrap it can carry 6266.88 SCU. The Reclaimer carries less not only because of its size(smaller than an Orion) but also because it is all internal storage whereas the Orion carries its cargo externally. The Crucible will carry 300 SCU worth of cargo. Most of this will probably be various materials and components for the repair process. I wonder at this time if the Scarab workshop can double as an additional cargo area. If it can then that could multiply the cargo capacity of the Crucible.
Continued Below.....
Last edited:
