The Aegis Vanguard - Ship Talk Commentary #1
Welcome to the first Ship Talk Commentary(STC) #1! This is a new kind of Talk just focusing on a single, presumably newly released concept ship. We're starting with the Aegis Vanguard and oh my Glorious Leader do we have things to talk about. 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. This will be much less formal than the normal Talks with pictures to illustrate points and my own feelings on things.
Initial Description
First of all lets look at the description and how it relates to the ship:
"Strike hard from a distance! The Vanguard, a recent design from Aegis, has quickly become Earth’s premier deep space fighter. Deep space fighters are typically used to pursue engagements in outlying areas when support from a carrier is not available. Vanguards are usually flown by ground- and station-based naval forces, and are widely used by militia squadrons. Specifically designed to operate from planetary bases and engage targets up to a star system’s distance, the fighter trades some maneuverability for an extended supply of fuel and munitions as well as basic survival accommodations for a pilot and radar operator. The Vanguard’s RIO operates a turret, the ship’s missile loadout (optionally) and its highly advanced sensor suite. This distinct scanning array gives the Vanguard a particular advantage when fighting in and around an obstacle such as an asteroid field or nebula! Finally, the Vanguard is known to be an extraordinarily sturdy spacecraft, with multiple backup systems not commonly found in single-seat ships; stories of Vanguards limping back to base with a single engine and half their fuselage exposed to vacuum have become common as the battle against the Vanduul has heated up."
So from this it reads like a great all-rounder able to carry out a multitude of assignments and have room to sleep on that long trip. Fly from planet to another system a few over? Check. Sleeping beds? Check. Sturdy and takes a hit? Check! Great weaponry? Check! Looking good so far. The addition of a dedicated and advanced sensor suite is something we really haven't seen before which gives it an additional edge over other similar ships. Overall it reads good and has several qualities that would appeal to anyone despite the 250 dollar price tag. Fairly sure people were expecting a starship version of him after reading that initial description:
Badass incarnate and able to take anything and anyone on.
...But We Didn't Really Get That
Instead we got something that looks like the cross between a modern day stealth fighter and an old WW2 aircraft. Admittedly this is what they were going for but I personally think they took it too far keeping it to a modern aircraft in style. Personally I was expecting something similar to the Halo Longsword Fighter. The Vanguard actually looks a bit like a Pelican drop ship though on the front at certain angles.
Now I have seen edits that bring the cockpit in and fill in and shorten the tail section and also do things with the wings and personally I like that more. I think working in several of these to the design would produce a more formidable look to the craft and give it a more distinct personality. No one said that it needs to look like a space plane and it shouldn't. It should look like its built for space combat with the bare minimum of surfaces needed to get off the planet and back down on one. Hell the Freelancer doesn't look like it could land planetside but it does.
Detailed Description
The detailed RSI Vanguard page can be found here.
Full Ship Spec picture here.
The Ship Specs description, kind of a downer compared to the above link
This gives a much better description than the 'sale version' seen above. The page lists the following as possible roles for the Vanguard: long range jump scout, extended duration patrol/reconnaissance ship, fighter-bomber (when equipped with torpedoes), tactical command and control ship, bomber interceptor and, in the proper hands, even a fighter-killer. Again this sounds awesome and if we ignore the look of it then it seems like it can fulfill all of these if customized for those specific roles. I would also expect many people to go exploring in it due to its survivability and advanced sensor suite. The next parts of the description go more into the roles and nuts and bolts of the ship. Its bigger than a Hornet, has good weapons and a lot of armor of the tungsten variety.
The description says that it has a great top speed due to the engines. ok. Not buying that because the Aurora has so little mass and a TR3 engine but goes so slow. This will be a 'wait and see' Again it does talk about the great survivability of the craft and I'm interested to see this point of it come through. The talk about 'weather conditions' gives me hope that in space we can fight in nebulas, gas clouds, and EM storms and you'll need to take appropriate measures whereas the Vanguard may be armored somewhat against these effects.
Engines, Weapons, Equipment
It has 2 TR4 engines which means some good speed(MAYBE!) and can still fly even if a single engine is destroyed. It features an amazing 11 TR2 thrusters. Thats cool. Power Plant size 2.....huh. Ok there is 2 of them but size 2 seems kinda low for the size of the ship. Moving on we come to shields Again size 2 but there are 2 of them which I still find to be rather low but most of the protection of this ship comes from its armor and not shield so it may be acceptable.
The weapons are amazing though. 4 fixed size 2 lasers along with a gimbal SIZE 5 Gatling cannon(A10 Warthog here). Jumping off these are 2 Size 2 missile racks and finally a turret carrying 2 Size 2 guns. Not bad for weapons. As far as equipment it isn't listed but we can draw some conclusions from the description. It obviously has a jump drive and expanded fuel tanks. More than that it has an advanced Electronic suite and may even be able to play an E-War role while in combat.
Worth it?
Is it worth it? Don't know really. I got one because I'm Ash Ketchum and have to catch myself some good ships to have options in the verse and rent them out to people for cash. Nice passive income there. If you want a long range ship you can't go wrong here. Beyond its primary role shown it has serious potential for many other things so even if you think its primary role is crap you can swap things out to make it how you want and still be happy and that is fine.
I know several people debated melting their Redeemers for this and that's fine too as long as you have a fleet you're personally happy with you can't go wrong. I would recommend getting this AND keeping the redeemer because they don't share any roles aside from the 'bring lots of guns to battle'. Hell just get it for the gatling death cannon. Its up to you to make up your own mind. When I started this I didn't like the ship but have warmed up to it some. Its price though as JBWill said gives me hope that they won't be super common, at least this mil-spec version.
And remember the choice is yours! And now because it came to me in a dream:
"Captain Montoya, he's our hero. Gonna take the Corporation down to zero. He's our drunk magnified and he's crashing on our starboard side."
"We're the TEST Squadron. You can be one too. Because drinking and crashing is the thing to do. Looting and drinking is fun they say. Here's what Montoya has to say:"
"'Burp'" Excuse me"
Welcome to the first Ship Talk Commentary(STC) #1! This is a new kind of Talk just focusing on a single, presumably newly released concept ship. We're starting with the Aegis Vanguard and oh my Glorious Leader do we have things to talk about. 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. This will be much less formal than the normal Talks with pictures to illustrate points and my own feelings on things.
Initial Description
First of all lets look at the description and how it relates to the ship:
"Strike hard from a distance! The Vanguard, a recent design from Aegis, has quickly become Earth’s premier deep space fighter. Deep space fighters are typically used to pursue engagements in outlying areas when support from a carrier is not available. Vanguards are usually flown by ground- and station-based naval forces, and are widely used by militia squadrons. Specifically designed to operate from planetary bases and engage targets up to a star system’s distance, the fighter trades some maneuverability for an extended supply of fuel and munitions as well as basic survival accommodations for a pilot and radar operator. The Vanguard’s RIO operates a turret, the ship’s missile loadout (optionally) and its highly advanced sensor suite. This distinct scanning array gives the Vanguard a particular advantage when fighting in and around an obstacle such as an asteroid field or nebula! Finally, the Vanguard is known to be an extraordinarily sturdy spacecraft, with multiple backup systems not commonly found in single-seat ships; stories of Vanguards limping back to base with a single engine and half their fuselage exposed to vacuum have become common as the battle against the Vanduul has heated up."
So from this it reads like a great all-rounder able to carry out a multitude of assignments and have room to sleep on that long trip. Fly from planet to another system a few over? Check. Sleeping beds? Check. Sturdy and takes a hit? Check! Great weaponry? Check! Looking good so far. The addition of a dedicated and advanced sensor suite is something we really haven't seen before which gives it an additional edge over other similar ships. Overall it reads good and has several qualities that would appeal to anyone despite the 250 dollar price tag. Fairly sure people were expecting a starship version of him after reading that initial description:
Badass incarnate and able to take anything and anyone on.
...But We Didn't Really Get That
Instead we got something that looks like the cross between a modern day stealth fighter and an old WW2 aircraft. Admittedly this is what they were going for but I personally think they took it too far keeping it to a modern aircraft in style. Personally I was expecting something similar to the Halo Longsword Fighter. The Vanguard actually looks a bit like a Pelican drop ship though on the front at certain angles.
Now I have seen edits that bring the cockpit in and fill in and shorten the tail section and also do things with the wings and personally I like that more. I think working in several of these to the design would produce a more formidable look to the craft and give it a more distinct personality. No one said that it needs to look like a space plane and it shouldn't. It should look like its built for space combat with the bare minimum of surfaces needed to get off the planet and back down on one. Hell the Freelancer doesn't look like it could land planetside but it does.
Detailed Description
The detailed RSI Vanguard page can be found here.
Full Ship Spec picture here.
The Ship Specs description, kind of a downer compared to the above link
This gives a much better description than the 'sale version' seen above. The page lists the following as possible roles for the Vanguard: long range jump scout, extended duration patrol/reconnaissance ship, fighter-bomber (when equipped with torpedoes), tactical command and control ship, bomber interceptor and, in the proper hands, even a fighter-killer. Again this sounds awesome and if we ignore the look of it then it seems like it can fulfill all of these if customized for those specific roles. I would also expect many people to go exploring in it due to its survivability and advanced sensor suite. The next parts of the description go more into the roles and nuts and bolts of the ship. Its bigger than a Hornet, has good weapons and a lot of armor of the tungsten variety.
The description says that it has a great top speed due to the engines. ok. Not buying that because the Aurora has so little mass and a TR3 engine but goes so slow. This will be a 'wait and see' Again it does talk about the great survivability of the craft and I'm interested to see this point of it come through. The talk about 'weather conditions' gives me hope that in space we can fight in nebulas, gas clouds, and EM storms and you'll need to take appropriate measures whereas the Vanguard may be armored somewhat against these effects.
Engines, Weapons, Equipment
It has 2 TR4 engines which means some good speed(MAYBE!) and can still fly even if a single engine is destroyed. It features an amazing 11 TR2 thrusters. Thats cool. Power Plant size 2.....huh. Ok there is 2 of them but size 2 seems kinda low for the size of the ship. Moving on we come to shields Again size 2 but there are 2 of them which I still find to be rather low but most of the protection of this ship comes from its armor and not shield so it may be acceptable.
The weapons are amazing though. 4 fixed size 2 lasers along with a gimbal SIZE 5 Gatling cannon(A10 Warthog here). Jumping off these are 2 Size 2 missile racks and finally a turret carrying 2 Size 2 guns. Not bad for weapons. As far as equipment it isn't listed but we can draw some conclusions from the description. It obviously has a jump drive and expanded fuel tanks. More than that it has an advanced Electronic suite and may even be able to play an E-War role while in combat.
Worth it?
Is it worth it? Don't know really. I got one because I'm Ash Ketchum and have to catch myself some good ships to have options in the verse and rent them out to people for cash. Nice passive income there. If you want a long range ship you can't go wrong here. Beyond its primary role shown it has serious potential for many other things so even if you think its primary role is crap you can swap things out to make it how you want and still be happy and that is fine.
I know several people debated melting their Redeemers for this and that's fine too as long as you have a fleet you're personally happy with you can't go wrong. I would recommend getting this AND keeping the redeemer because they don't share any roles aside from the 'bring lots of guns to battle'. Hell just get it for the gatling death cannon. Its up to you to make up your own mind. When I started this I didn't like the ship but have warmed up to it some. Its price though as JBWill said gives me hope that they won't be super common, at least this mil-spec version.
And remember the choice is yours! And now because it came to me in a dream:
"Captain Montoya, he's our hero. Gonna take the Corporation down to zero. He's our drunk magnified and he's crashing on our starboard side."
"We're the TEST Squadron. You can be one too. Because drinking and crashing is the thing to do. Looting and drinking is fun they say. Here's what Montoya has to say:"
"'Burp'" Excuse me"
