Ship Talk Commentary #4 - The Genesis Starliner
Welcome back to Ship Talk Commentary. This is where I take a newly released concept ship and focus on it. There will not be any direct stat for stat comparisons to other ships in these STCs. They need to fly or crash on their own with what they are given. I can't remember voting for it and if I did I wish I had voted for something else. Honestly it just doesn't interest me at this time but the Variants may in the future. For those of you that do like it that's cool and I hope the game rewards your purchase. Check out the Design post for Civilian Passenger Transports here. You can find the Genesis Starliner announcement page here.
The Complete Genesis Starliner Spec Picture
Something that annoys me now about the spec page now is they don't tell you if a ship gets multiple shields, power plants etc....Anyway on with the STC!
The Look and Design
From my understanding the concept artist that did the Starliner this works for Boeing. Admittedly this makes sense as they are a leading manufacturer of passenger aircraft so they would have a good idea of where we may be in the future. That said the ship looks very Banuish. From the top it looks almost like a Merchantman and shares many design points. You can see the wings of the ship and almost think it is a jumbo jet of today, especially the cockpit. The size of the ship simultaneously makes it look bigger than it is and smaller than it is depending on your view angle and what objects are by it. Overall I like the design but it seems too 'general spaceship' to me.
The ship reminds me of a few in Star Wars but I couldn't tell you what they are for the life of me at this time. I just know it reminds me of them. It is the proposed variants I'll talk about further down that excite me more though.
Description and Role
If you couldn't figure out the role of this ship then obviously you didn't drink enough beer. If you were passed out Friday night and missed the sale go up or don't remember it from the voting then this ship is all about passenger transport. What does that mean? It means it is the space version of the passenger jets today. They go from place to place, pick people up, drop them off etc.
One thing this does though is establish even more the living breathing universe CIG is trying to create. That is a fine goal and we'll see if the future lets that play out. I hope it does. To the actual description though it speaks of the Starliner being a high quality ship but one that won't break the bank. It will be interesting to see if the engines spoken of will be as efficient as it states. It would be something that sets it apart from the 890 Jump and the Phoenix.
Structural, Propulsion, Weapons and Equipment
First of all the Genesis is large but not overly so. If any of you saw GHG's recent video comparing the ship sizes you know how it looks compared to the Starfarer and 890 Jump. It is like a people version of the Starfarer. Starting out with cargo capacity it clocks in at a respectable 403 SCU. Obviously this is for all the Beer for TEST Squadron along with a large amount of snacks. The listed crew comes in at 8. This is necessary to take care of passengers' needs and actually makes sense while the passenger capacity has been stated to be 40 for this version. Not a bad number to be honest.
The listed max Power Plant is 7. Again this makes sense to take care of the entertainment the ship provides and to power the engines, thrusters, and shields. Speaking of engines, the Genesis boasts 4 TR7 engines and 16 TR2 thrusters. I feel the thrusters are a bit on the low end for a ship this size but you're not expected to be doing loops in it either so it may work well enough. Finally the Shield comes in at a solid 7. I feel this is a good number for a ship this large and considering its cargo it needs to be so high. It is worth noting though that there are 2 Shield Generators like there are 6 Power Plants according to the concept sale page stats.
For weaponry.....there isn't much. A single gimbaled Size 5 weapon is all you get unlike the 890 Jump which has many more or even the Phoenix which can also bring it to the table for passenger protection. No you get one weapon. That's like going outside the ship with a pistol against a swarm of fighters and thinking you're RussianJ or something. It won't work(Unless you are Montoya).
For additional equipment there is nothing listed but we can presume it will have a Jump Engine that comes standard. Apart from that who knows? Maybe you get a free Safety Manual?
Variants
Not a variant :(
If you are not happy with the 'stock' Starliner that has been presented to us you may still want one for the Variants that are written about. The Starliner is repudiated to be very modular. There are ones that have fewer seats but more entertainment and comfort. Some have more cargo but fewer people while there are others that carry racing ships and teams as means of transportation.
The UEE has a few of their own personal variants such as a troop transport. TEST though has no need for this kind of ship because we have the dauntless Aurora to handle all of our needs. It has been proven that TEST members can contort themselves into any shape, Therefore, using TEST Logic, we can fit 40 people per Aurora for 1st class seating while 40 more ride in coach outside the ship. Pilots are not needed because people will take turns.
There is also written a 'Hunter-Killer' version that in my option would be very neat to have as well as a SWAC/C&C version which could be used for smaller fleets. Whatever the final result may be the Genesis seems to be a very good ship to play around with to get what you want out of it. I can also see this becoming a good cargo hauler if the insides are stripped out and a few weapons are added.
Worth it and Next?
That is a hard question to answer and I don't have an answer. It isn't something I am personally looking to do but I can see other people using them for all sorts of things. I'm sure many TEST pilots will want to use them to transport their fellow comrades to glorious crashing.....maybe even while aboard the ship. This is one of those REALLY REALLY niche ships that will not have a function until the PU and even then only when it is implemented.
The variants sound more interesting than the actual base ship. I could see Shive getting one for his racing ship. I could see Richard getting one to trap people in while he crashes it. I could see NKato getting one for Command and Control for fleet ops. This seems to be CIG saying "Here is a shell, go nuts". Still though $400 is quite expensive and I personally can't justify it because even if you get one for a Variant then you still have that upgrade cost on top. :( If it had been 300 then I may have gotten one myself. I know Richard has one but he's the only one I know of in TEST. Richard if you read this please shed some light on why you got it!
In closing this is a ship I have mixed feelings for but I'll get in the PU for sure because I'm a ship collector. Unlike the Reliant we had last time which I can see people using immediately the Starliner will require a lot of manpower to operate and make sure of in its 'base' configuration that is being sold today. The reward and payoff may very well be worth it in the verse but time will tell.
Ok so if anyone was wondering about the 890 Jump Ship Talk I'll confess. First of all I got burned out and after I read what I had written I didn't like it. Secondly I've fallen into the trap of Harry Potter Fanfiction and liking it after years and years of Naruto fanfiction reading. I've always liked reading because it passes the time and many aspiring authors tell better stories than the original ever could. So thats where that is at. That isn't to say I won't complete the 890 Jump in the near future but I'm distracted by good stories.
For the foreseeable future Ship Talk will come out infrequently and without a set schedule. It will be whenever I feel I can write something worth posting here. I'll still post updates to my Blog thread if I start on something as I have in the past.
Welcome back to Ship Talk Commentary. This is where I take a newly released concept ship and focus on it. There will not be any direct stat for stat comparisons to other ships in these STCs. They need to fly or crash on their own with what they are given. I can't remember voting for it and if I did I wish I had voted for something else. Honestly it just doesn't interest me at this time but the Variants may in the future. For those of you that do like it that's cool and I hope the game rewards your purchase. Check out the Design post for Civilian Passenger Transports here. You can find the Genesis Starliner announcement page here.
The Complete Genesis Starliner Spec Picture
Something that annoys me now about the spec page now is they don't tell you if a ship gets multiple shields, power plants etc....Anyway on with the STC!
The Look and Design
From my understanding the concept artist that did the Starliner this works for Boeing. Admittedly this makes sense as they are a leading manufacturer of passenger aircraft so they would have a good idea of where we may be in the future. That said the ship looks very Banuish. From the top it looks almost like a Merchantman and shares many design points. You can see the wings of the ship and almost think it is a jumbo jet of today, especially the cockpit. The size of the ship simultaneously makes it look bigger than it is and smaller than it is depending on your view angle and what objects are by it. Overall I like the design but it seems too 'general spaceship' to me.
The ship reminds me of a few in Star Wars but I couldn't tell you what they are for the life of me at this time. I just know it reminds me of them. It is the proposed variants I'll talk about further down that excite me more though.
Description and Role
If you couldn't figure out the role of this ship then obviously you didn't drink enough beer. If you were passed out Friday night and missed the sale go up or don't remember it from the voting then this ship is all about passenger transport. What does that mean? It means it is the space version of the passenger jets today. They go from place to place, pick people up, drop them off etc.
One thing this does though is establish even more the living breathing universe CIG is trying to create. That is a fine goal and we'll see if the future lets that play out. I hope it does. To the actual description though it speaks of the Starliner being a high quality ship but one that won't break the bank. It will be interesting to see if the engines spoken of will be as efficient as it states. It would be something that sets it apart from the 890 Jump and the Phoenix.
Structural, Propulsion, Weapons and Equipment
First of all the Genesis is large but not overly so. If any of you saw GHG's recent video comparing the ship sizes you know how it looks compared to the Starfarer and 890 Jump. It is like a people version of the Starfarer. Starting out with cargo capacity it clocks in at a respectable 403 SCU. Obviously this is for all the Beer for TEST Squadron along with a large amount of snacks. The listed crew comes in at 8. This is necessary to take care of passengers' needs and actually makes sense while the passenger capacity has been stated to be 40 for this version. Not a bad number to be honest.
The listed max Power Plant is 7. Again this makes sense to take care of the entertainment the ship provides and to power the engines, thrusters, and shields. Speaking of engines, the Genesis boasts 4 TR7 engines and 16 TR2 thrusters. I feel the thrusters are a bit on the low end for a ship this size but you're not expected to be doing loops in it either so it may work well enough. Finally the Shield comes in at a solid 7. I feel this is a good number for a ship this large and considering its cargo it needs to be so high. It is worth noting though that there are 2 Shield Generators like there are 6 Power Plants according to the concept sale page stats.
For weaponry.....there isn't much. A single gimbaled Size 5 weapon is all you get unlike the 890 Jump which has many more or even the Phoenix which can also bring it to the table for passenger protection. No you get one weapon. That's like going outside the ship with a pistol against a swarm of fighters and thinking you're RussianJ or something. It won't work(Unless you are Montoya).
For additional equipment there is nothing listed but we can presume it will have a Jump Engine that comes standard. Apart from that who knows? Maybe you get a free Safety Manual?
Variants
Not a variant :(
If you are not happy with the 'stock' Starliner that has been presented to us you may still want one for the Variants that are written about. The Starliner is repudiated to be very modular. There are ones that have fewer seats but more entertainment and comfort. Some have more cargo but fewer people while there are others that carry racing ships and teams as means of transportation.
The UEE has a few of their own personal variants such as a troop transport. TEST though has no need for this kind of ship because we have the dauntless Aurora to handle all of our needs. It has been proven that TEST members can contort themselves into any shape, Therefore, using TEST Logic, we can fit 40 people per Aurora for 1st class seating while 40 more ride in coach outside the ship. Pilots are not needed because people will take turns.
There is also written a 'Hunter-Killer' version that in my option would be very neat to have as well as a SWAC/C&C version which could be used for smaller fleets. Whatever the final result may be the Genesis seems to be a very good ship to play around with to get what you want out of it. I can also see this becoming a good cargo hauler if the insides are stripped out and a few weapons are added.
Worth it and Next?
That is a hard question to answer and I don't have an answer. It isn't something I am personally looking to do but I can see other people using them for all sorts of things. I'm sure many TEST pilots will want to use them to transport their fellow comrades to glorious crashing.....maybe even while aboard the ship. This is one of those REALLY REALLY niche ships that will not have a function until the PU and even then only when it is implemented.
The variants sound more interesting than the actual base ship. I could see Shive getting one for his racing ship. I could see Richard getting one to trap people in while he crashes it. I could see NKato getting one for Command and Control for fleet ops. This seems to be CIG saying "Here is a shell, go nuts". Still though $400 is quite expensive and I personally can't justify it because even if you get one for a Variant then you still have that upgrade cost on top. :( If it had been 300 then I may have gotten one myself. I know Richard has one but he's the only one I know of in TEST. Richard if you read this please shed some light on why you got it!
In closing this is a ship I have mixed feelings for but I'll get in the PU for sure because I'm a ship collector. Unlike the Reliant we had last time which I can see people using immediately the Starliner will require a lot of manpower to operate and make sure of in its 'base' configuration that is being sold today. The reward and payoff may very well be worth it in the verse but time will tell.
Ok so if anyone was wondering about the 890 Jump Ship Talk I'll confess. First of all I got burned out and after I read what I had written I didn't like it. Secondly I've fallen into the trap of Harry Potter Fanfiction and liking it after years and years of Naruto fanfiction reading. I've always liked reading because it passes the time and many aspiring authors tell better stories than the original ever could. So thats where that is at. That isn't to say I won't complete the 890 Jump in the near future but I'm distracted by good stories.
For the foreseeable future Ship Talk will come out infrequently and without a set schedule. It will be whenever I feel I can write something worth posting here. I'll still post updates to my Blog thread if I start on something as I have in the past.
