Starfarer Q&A - Part 1

Concept Art - blueprint

“They like to say that the hardest maneuver to pull off is in-flight refueling. And depending on the ship, sure it can be tough. My brother flies an M50 and yeah, it’s pretty tough to line it up with the nozzle. But there’s no danger. The real deadliest maneuver in a Starfarer is fueling up in the first place. You ever dive into the ionosphere of a gas giant? You lose all visibility, your sensors flicker off… and if you aren’t lucky, you’ll suffer a cracked windshield or worse from ice particles. So that’s the rule on the Treat: fueling operations are in full spacesuit only, every single time.”

- Helena Malloy-Vasquez, First Mate, Starfarer Sunshine Treat

The 2945 MISC Starfarer is the refueling platform of choice for the United Empire of Earth and nine out of ten major corporations. Rated #1 transport by Ship and Pilot, the Starfarer is a masterpiece of dedicated transport design. Featuring a modular nose mount capable of loading any of a dozen variant utility packages, the Starfarer can be adapted for any mission from fuel gathering to ranged radar support. Onboard refinery equipment and built-in, reinforced hydrogen piping installed throughout the hull mean that the Starfarer isn’t another converted transport: it’s been designed from the ground up to make efficient fuel transfer possible. With the MISC Starfarer, you’ll never run on empty again.

- MISC Cavalcade of Transports! brochure, 2945

Greetings Citizens,

Last month, we ran a series of Hull series Q&A posts during the concept sale. The idea went over so well that we’ve decided to make it a tradition. All future concept sales will include at least one ‘post launch’ Q&A post. This week, for the Starfarer and Starfarer Gemini sale, we’re answering the questions backers have posted to this thread. We will have additional Q&A posts on Wednesday and Friday, so if your question didn’t show up today, keep watching!

Question & Answer

Can we get confirmation on whether or not the cargo specifications are related to the ship’s internal cargo bay, and whether or not the Starfarer Gemini’s cargo size is reduced due to the increased mass of armor?

The numbers provided for the Starfarer and Starfarer Gemini are the aggregate of their internal and external cargo capacities. Most of the cargo reduction on the Starfarer Gemini is because of changes to the internals, where it will mount more reinforced bulkheads and larger military-related equipment.

Will the Starfarer cargo area be able to hold pods for snub fighters and can a Rover fit inside the internal storage area?

At this time, we do not expect the exploratory rover to fit inside the Starfarer’s internal bay, although something like a Greycat should. Sizing for the vehicles is still in flux, though, and in the final game the limitation will be purely physical.

Does the base model Starfarer have any other advantages over the Gemini outside of increased maneuverability and increased cargo space?

Increased maneuverability and cargo space are the key benefits to the standard Starfarer. There will also be differences to the internals and the finished look of the two ships.

Will the inflight refueling be done while moving or stationary or both?

Inflight refueling can be conducted either way; while in motion (like an actual aircraft) will be most difficult!

Can both Starfarers land on a planet? Can they both land fully loaded?

Yes. Unlike the larger Hull series ships, the Starfarer can set down with a full load of cargo.

Would the Gemini be available to be obtained in the PU?

Yes, absolutely! Anything sold through the website to benefit funding will also be available on the final universe.

Are the older Starfarer owners going to get the VFG industrial hanger too?

Yes, all Starfarer owners will have access to the VFG industrial hangar (also known as the “asteroid hangar.”

Will the Starfarer be upgradeable to use long-range scanner, jump engine, etc, to use it as an exploration ship with a lot of cargo?

Yes! There are other, more dedicated explorer ships in the ‘Verse, but the Starfarer is still a customizable platform that can be adapted for roles beyond fuel and transport.

How viable is the Starfarer as a solo player ship? Max crew has grown quite a bit on it.

Perfectly viable! The Starfarer has had several seats added for its part in Squadron 42, but we don’t see the gameplay changing significantly. Remember that ‘max crew’ refers to the number of people who can have a role at any one time, not the number of people needed to fly the ship in the first place.

Will the Gemini variant be branded as MISC or AEGIS?

Good question! In our lore, MISC builds the basic chassis of all Starfarers. If this chassis is to become a standard Starfarer, it’s completed in the MISC factory. If it’s being adapted by the military, it’s shipped off to Aegis for completion. (This is based on real life civilian aircraft which are often completed by military contractors for use as sub hunters, AWACs planes, etc.) The formal badge on the Gemini will read Aegis Dynamics, although you can rest assured a great deal of MISC work went into the ship!

Can the Starfarer’s underslung fuel tanks be swapped out for holding straight cargo containers?

Yes! Standardized Stor-All containers can be used instead of fuel tanks (though if you’re only interested in cargo, a Hull series ship might be a better choice; less space wasted on fuel pipes!)

Can you tell us a little bit more about the state of the fuel mechanic? How important is fuel ingame? Will I have to refuel regularly on a long flight? How important is the size of my fuel tank? Is it useful to have a Starfarer on long exploration convoys?

The fuel mechanic is still being developed and is likely something that will shift significantly based on actual game balance. That said, the general plan is for fuel to be important but not something you are worried about at every turn. Think of the original Wing Commander or Privateer, where you could run out of afterburner or jump fuel and be forced to travel home very, very slowly… but it wasn’t ever the key danger (jump fuel being the more dangerous of the two, as poor planning could leave you ‘stuck’ in a system without a fueling station.)

We expect fuel to be a serious ‘support’ role in Star Citizen. There will be players and NPCs with Starfarers serving the masses… and the importance of fuel will go up depending on the nature of the mission. For instance, a military campaign against the Vanduul might be significantly benefited by supporting Starfarers, as the ships in battle will be taking damage and expending supplies quickly. A force of transports moving through safe space, however, might never need in-flight refueling as they will always be close to a planet.

Will we Be able to Race in Old Vanderval and other Tracks Big rig racing

Eventually! Right now, it’s likely the Starfarer would become stuck in the ‘gates’. (A racing Starfarer has already appeared in Star Citizen’s fiction.)

If the Starfarer G is a military variant , can it transport one Hornet with a docking Clamp or is it possible to buy in the later PU ?

The Starfarer Gemini is not intended to transport fighters. Current prototypes suggest that the midget fighter attachment for the Hull series would not really ‘fit’ on the Starfarer (as it would be blocked by the sides of the hull.)

What does the Starfarer have to offer over the similarly sized Hull C? Why would you want to buy a Starfarer specificaly over the other space trucks?

Fuel is the name of the game here. While the Hull C can store fuel pods (and the Starfarer can store cargo pods,) the Starfarer is further designed to do something with them. The hull superstructure has the ‘plumbing’ for actually using the fuel in those tanks, rather than just storing them.

Can Starfarer be retrofitted into a heavy (but vulnerable) gunship like AC-130?

We aren’t in a position to test this yet, but: quite possibly. The Starfarer (especially the Gemini version) has a number of weapons hardpoints and other modular areas. We’ve already developed a potential ‘missile pod’ that can be placed in the nose instead of the refueling equipment.

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