Reliant Q&A - Part 1

Reliant Concept Blueprint

“One thing people don’t appreciate about the Reliant is how dead on the name is. This is a ship that can take serious punishment and keep on flying. During one of the CTX-3 [first manned Reliant prototype] flights, I managed to snap half a wing off in a collision. Klaxons sounded, red lights flashing… my nav readouts went dead for half a second, until the redundancies switched on. Fly by wire was pretty much a lost cause, but with some careful manual thruster taps I managed to make it back home in one piece (minus a wing.) This is a ship that’ll keep your butt safe.”

- Yark “Badger” Malloy, MISC In-House Test Pilot II

“NEW for 2946: the MISC Reliant is the galaxy’s latest, greatest jump-capable spaceship. Featuring an industry-leading silhouette and the latest in adapted xenotechnology, the Reliant doesn’t just look better than anything on the flight line… it flies better, too. The base Reliant, shipping Q4 2945, is a dedicated short-range space transporter solution with the broad ability to adapt to a dozen or more different roles. Whether you’re moving your grandmother’s Hartwell or your company’s refined titanium, the Reliant will get you there. The Reliant, only from MISC.”

- MISC Cavalcade of Transports! brochure, 2945

Greetings Citizens,

Last month, we ran a collection 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 MISC Reliant concept sale, we’re answering questions backers have posted to this thread. An additional Q&A will be posted on Friday. A special thank you to designer Matt Sherman for answering your Reliant questions!

Question & Answer

Could you describe the Reliant’s basic role, compared to the other starters in just a few words?

Utility Vehicle – While it can’t run multiple roles at once, the Reliant is a starter that was built specifically to best accommodate some of the more PU-focused play-styles like Research and Reporting.

What will the second players duties be other than manning weapons? Why will it better to run this ship with two players rather than solo?

Turret-controls – If all the weapons are slaved to the pilot, you really lose out on the massive coverage arcs the wing-tip Omni-Orb turret offers the ship. So whether in combat, working scanners, or working as a news-reporter, every variant was planned from the ground up to have dedicated second-seat gameplay available.

Is there any practical benefit envisioned / planned for the transformation from horizontal to vertical orientation? What would be the advantage over simply staying in one orientation at all times?

Yes, the plan right now is that the Vertical-configuration will be the ideal combat and maneuverability mode of flight because of a better spread of the thrusters. The Horizontal configuration won’t handle as well, but will have an improved top-speed over the Vertical mode.

How much walking around room can we expect to see in the Reliant? The cargo area looks wide and deep enough to walk around quite a bit (almost Cutlass sized?), but it also looks like the cargo area might compress vertically when it closes leaving not enough space to walk upright in.

It’s not a fully stand-up walking space in the storage compartment while the ship is in flight. When you’re landed, you’ll have enough clearance, but you’ll be crouching to walk back there in space.

Does the stock reliant have bed(s)/a jumpdrive?

a. Bed – Nothing set for sure right now, but we’re looking into a small fold-out bed from the floor for some of the variants; think more along the lines of a barebones cot.

b. Jumpdrive – Unsure for all the variants, but like most of our ships, even if it doesn’t come with one stock, all models of the Reliant will be able to install one.

Will we see more ships result of Alien/Human collaboration, or is the Reliant a unique, one of a kind design?

That depends on what other Human manufactures strike out and make trade deals with other races. MISC made enough deals with the Xi’an to make the Reliant, so only time will tell if anyone else makes similar deals.

How fast is the transformation from horizontal to vertical? Is it quick and easy to briskly bounce between the two flights modes?

The exact time is in the works, but most likely a few seconds of transition time. It should be fast enough to change modes for most any non-combat gameplay, but it probably won’t be the safest to bounce between the 2 in a firefight.

Can players exit / change seats while the Reliant is in vertical flight mode?

No, right now it’s only planned to have you getting in/out of the seats while the ship is in Horizontal mode. The upper-seat will be the pilots chair, with the lower seat the gunner/turret operator.

There is a ramp, can we park a rover inside?

No, the Greycat’s support struts would get crushed when the hold compacts for flight.

Is the gimble ‘Tractor Beam’ Hardpoint, a hardpoint that can switch out weapons for tractors beams, or a gimble mount with a built in tractor beam that also mounts weapons?

The Tractor Beam mount is the Wing-Tip turret. When the Reliant becomes flight-ready for Arena Commander, that turret will come stock with a Tractor Beam installed, but the tractor beam can be removed and swapped with a size 2 weapon. Whether there will be more than one turret option (e.g. two size 1 weapons, or one size 2 weapon), or other some configuration will depend on iterations to the hardpoint system and asset creation between now and then.

Is possible to just rotate the seats and fly like that?

Currently not planned, but may be something we explore as the ship gets flight ready.

Visibility issue: can you make the floor retractable? Otherwise there is no visibility on the right side when vertical.

Yes, we’re already looking at that floor panel. When the detailed specs for the Reliant started shaping up, and a MASSIVE, best-in-class viewing angle for both seats was a major part of that planning. Xi’an-inspired glasswork at its finest.

Do the Xi’An materials and technologies used in the construction of the Reliant enable the ship to better handle the effects of heat, radiation and gravimetric effects, when compared to its competitors?

Yes, though to what extent this will play out is more something that will be sorted as those kinds of environmental hazards come online. It won’t be so substantial that it lets you fly recklessly through them, but you shouldn’t have to tip-toe through either.

Would this be any good for exploring? Jump points? How does it compare with the 315p, the only explorer in the price range?

Overall, expect a 315p to be better at finding jumppoints. The Reliant is more going to be doing in-system/region sensor scanning, research, and exploration. It could still definitely map a new jump if you find one, but the bigger profile compared to a 315p may lead you to flying into a smaller point than you could fit.

A question about the weapon fittings, the spec listed two fixed mount on wing and one gimbal mount on nose, but I see from the released arts that the two M3As are mounted on a ball shape unmanned turret, which will be the case?

The 2 M3A’s mounted in the concept art are installed in place of the Tractor Beam (guns are sexier anyways). When the Reliant lands in your hangar, you’ll have 2 Size 1 guns on the wings, and the S3 hardpoint on the wing-tip where the Turret is now.

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