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Esperia Prowler


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Update on new Concept Ships from RTV today - Ben just mentioned.... (INN notes)...

11:18

- Polaris and Dragonfly and small mining ship are new, Prowler hasn't been stopped though. It's 'blocked' right now cuase they're still working on the Tevarin race.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Today in Monthly Studio Report

CIG - LA

Calix Reneau has started working on the F7A Hornet, the Prowler, .....

.......On the ship side, Kirk has also been working on the Origin 85x .....

F42 - UK

We’ve done a large amount of work for future ships this month, these aren’t needed for Sq42 but are needed for the persistent universe and to keep on expanding the roles in the games, we have 4 unannounced ships/vehicles in concept right now and they are almost all complete, it’s hard to choose which will be my favourite, they are all really exciting in their own way!



++++++

Just added --->> Per above ---->>> Esperia Prowler - Concept Sale Price - [POLL]

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I do believe the tech specs come before the concept so the specs inform the concept ie: how large it is, how many engines, cargo or no cargo ect... However if he's doing the specs for the prowler just maybe that's because the Tevarin design is making good progress and they want to prep the Prowler ready for when the Tevarin are approved...?
 

I think the concepts for the Tevarin just got approved by CR..... since it has been since early March 2016 since Chris Olivia has been working on the Tevarin


Chris Olivia working on the Tevaran Race - 7.40m into vid..
0.jpg

Size and armament?

Over 100m and several turrrets - 350 Dollar!

See OP - Ben mentioned it being Smaller than the Connie (but no idea on armament - but my guess would be low armament in favor or stealth and low signature - to also set it apart from the Redeemer Gun-Ships = that's also a drop ship).;

 

==========

From   ---->>> Esperia Prowler - Concept Sale Price - [POLL]

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  • 4 months later...

Esperia Prowler Art Contest!
https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/352592

 

Quote

Greetings Citizens,

The Prowler boarding ship is coming! We will be unveiling the long-awaited ship at the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo on November 18th, 2016. Before we show you OUR Prowler, we want to see YOUR take on the design. The Prowler is a dedicated combat boarding ship with a new, unique alien appearance. It will be the first Tevarin-inspired design to appear in Star Citizen and will provide your first look at this alien race’s aesthetic.

Contest Details: Design your own Esperia Prowler! We want you to use basic art tools (MS Paint, crayon) to pitch your version of what a Tevarin boarding ship should look like. Winners will be selected based on creativity and imagination; entries should focus on designing a ship that makes sense inside the Star Citizen world. Entries are encouraged to include text descriptions and ship specifications to back up the drawings.

The following excerpt from the Prowler design brief is intended to help you come up with a ship that fits into our universe:

Named after the UPE military designation, the Prowler is a modernized version of the infamous Tevarin boarding craft from the First Tevarin War. With the recent discovery of the lost Tevarin planet in Kabal System, Esperia’s engineers were given unmitigated access to examine the preserved ships found in several of the caches, before meticulously recreating the design choices.

The Prowler’s effectiveness as a rapid personnel deployment vehicle was mainly due to its silence. The boarding was constructed using a variety of techniques to minimize its signatures and get close to unsuspecting vessels before quickly deploying their boarders via EVA.
With the Prowler, you will find the perfect fusion of two cultures: the elegance and effectiveness of the Tevarin war machine combined with the reliability of modern UEE technology.

How to Enter: Please post your entry to this thread on the forums. Please do not ‘reserve’ spaces, all entries will be considered regardless of the order they’re posted! The deadline to post your Prowler pitch is Friday, November 11, 2016. Winners will be selected by the CIG Community and Marketing teams. One entry per Citizen.

Prizes: The winning selection (and five runners up) will be featured on the Anniversary Livestream as part of the Prowler launch. The winning entry will receive a uniquely numbered RSI Polaris-class corvette and the first Esperia Prowler off the production lines! Five runners-up will also be awarded Prowlers.

Good luck, Citizens! We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

 

Esperia Prowler coming the November 18th :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have 0 intention of getting this. I hope its ridiculous in a bad way so my intentions stay true.

But $425.....I'm eager to see what it is and why it is so expensive. Current guess is its going to be fairly small but the fact it is from Esperia is the reason for the price tag.

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13 hours ago, Minted said:

I have 0 intention of getting this. I hope its ridiculous in a bad way so my intentions stay true.

But $425.....I'm eager to see what it is and why it is so expensive. Current guess is its going to be fairly small but the fact it is from Esperia is the reason for the price tag.

$425 is more expensive than I was expecting for the Prowler, but not I'm going to dismiss it until I see it and read its description and specs.

If you compare the Prowler to other ships with troop transport and/or boarding roles, it might not be so outrageous.

  • Cutlass Black: $100 / Length: 29 metres / Crew: 3 / Passengers: 4-8 (estimated)
  • Redeemer: $250 / Length: 37.5 metres / Crew: 5 / Passengers: 6
  • Retaliator Base + Dropship Module: $150 + $75 / Length: 71 metres / Crew: 6 / Passengers: 12
  • Caterpillar + "Troop Transport Module": $300+ (est. price increase) + $50 (est.) / Length: 100 metres (est. size increase) / Crew: 5 / Passengers: 8-16 (est.)

As you can see, the prices of "boarding craft" range from $100 to $350*.

CIG has told us that the Caterpillar that was originally sold for $225 is only the base model that comes with cargo modules, and it's being re-designed and up-sized for its Hangar/Flight release, and its price will be increased. Considering that the Starfarer's price went from $175 to $300, it's entirely possible the Caterpillar Base will be $300-350. On top of that it will need "Troop Transport" modules to carry and deploy boarders, which could be $50+ each (based on the Tali's $75 Dropship module). That means a Caterpillar equipped with a single TT module will probably cost $350 minimum.

Contrary to what others believe, I don't think the Prowler is going to be "small", i.e. comparable in size to a Cutlass, Freelancer, or Redeemer. I believe it's going to be a medium-sized ship, comparable in a Constellation or Retaliator. CIG has told us that the Prowler is based on the Tevarin boarding craft and is very stealthy. Stealthy doesn't mean small. Also, the Prowler doesn't dock with a target ship to deploy boarders:

Quote

The Prowler’s effectiveness as a rapid personnel deployment vehicle was mainly due to its silence. The boarding was constructed using a variety of techniques to minimize its signatures and get close to unsuspecting vessels before quickly deploying their boarders via EVA. 

Therefore, the Prowler doesn't need to be as small or maneuverable as a Cutlass or Redeemer.

Since the Prowler is based on the Tevarin boarding craft, I (desperately) hope that it will diverge from the "Human Ship" mold, which is long and narrow (and kinda boring). It would be great if the Prowler was stylized and alien-looking, like most sci-fi alien ships. I imagine something akin to an aggressive "flying wing" design. I also hope the Prowler is a multi-deck ship with at least 2 decks. I imagine it as having a main deck that runs the full length of the ship, and an upper and lower deck from midships to aft. The upper deck will be for carrying and deploying boarders and the lower deck will be for cargo and deploying Dragonflies or parasite craft. The Prowler will have a moderate assortment of weapon turrets, which will be retractable and concealed inside the hull to minimize detection. I also expect its main engines will be shrouded and have exhaust baffles (similar to stealth aircraft).

I expect the Prowler will be designed and configured with everything it needs for stealthy boarding actions: it will carry 12-24 boarders and have barracks-style living quarters and an Armory. I predict it will have multiple airlocks, docking ports, and "launch tubes" for rapidly deploying boarders EVA. It's possible it can carry and deploy Dragonflies, or other parasite craft intended for boarding ships. I expect the Prowler will be far better equipped for boarding actions than any of the 4 troop transport/boarding ships listed above. Perhaps a "Boarding Caterpillar" could be configured with modules giving it capabilities similar to a Prowler, but it would probably cost equal to or more than $425, and it would not be stealthy.

In conclusion, the Prowler's $425 price tag might seem too high -- I was initially shocked by the price too -- however, it might be justified. We'll all have to wait until this Friday to see.

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Its going to look wicked cool but unless its a must have for your play style, i can't see this as being everyone's go to ship, especially at that price point.

Also keep in mind that a portion of this pricing is to reflect its "exclusivity" just like the  Glaive, Blade, 890 jump...additionally keep in mind that it's an alien boarding ship that haunted the UEE and as such CIG doesn't want everyone to have one... or it would unbalance the game!

 

AJ

 

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57 minutes ago, AstroJak said:

Its going to look wicked cool but unless its a must have for your play style, i can't see this as being everyone's go to ship, especially at that price point.

Also keep in mind that a portion of this pricing is to reflect its "exclusivity" just like the  Glaive, Blade, 890 jump...additionally keep in mind that it's an alien boarding ship that haunted the UEE and as such CIG doesn't want everyone to have one... or it would unbalance the game!

If anything commonly available would unbalance the game if there were more of them, then it shouldn't be added in the first place.

 

CIG marked it up because they've been marking just about everything up. I expect the cash discount price to be more reasonable. 

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10 minutes ago, Karmaslap said:

If anything commonly available would unbalance the game if there were more of them, then it shouldn't be added in the first place.

 

CIG marked it up because they've been marking just about everything up. I expect the cash discount price to be more reasonable. 

... i guess by this logic we should get rid of those Idris and javelins then?

;) AJ

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17 hours ago, Karmaslap said:

If anything commonly available would unbalance the game if there were more of them, then it shouldn't be added in the first place.

CIG marked it up because they've been marking just about everything up. I expect the cash discount price to be more reasonable. 

It's all relative. Anything could potentially unbalance the game. It seems like every time CIG updates Arena Commander and tweaks the ships and weapons, players quickly discover a particular ship or weapons loadout that is unfairly dominant, which players adopt and exploit, and it spoils the balance... usually until the next update fixes it. It's up to CIG to ensure everything is balanced, eventually.

As I explained in my post, the $425 price might be justified if the Prowler's capabilities are superior to the existing ships with boarding and dropship roles. I believe the primary reason for the price is the Prowler's stealth abilities. The combination of stealth and a boarding craft should enable the Prowler to capture high value ships, from Starfarers to Hull C/D/E to cap ships, with relative ease. A Prowler could approach an Idris completely undetected, deploy of platoon of 16-24 armed boarders onto a Idris Frigate, then hang back while the boarders take the crew by surprise and commandeer the ship completely intact. Whereas a direct assault would require at least a dozen starfighters, bombers, and conventional boarding craft, which would damage the ship and necessitate expensive repairs. It's understandable that CIG would place a premium on the Prowler to prevent every wannabe pirate from owning one. I expect a Prowler to buy will be a rare find in the PU for the same reason. That's another factor in the price.

 

As for the "cash discount" price, has CIG confirmed that's a recurring thing for all concept sales from now on? Because I thought the Polaris LTI Warbond Presale price was because it was a high price ship and the presale price was a subscriber's perk. If there is a cash discount for the Prowler I'll happily take advantage of it. :)

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18 minutes ago, Reavern said:

It's all relative. Anything could potentially unbalance the game. It seems like every time CIG updates Arena Commander and tweak the ships and weapons, players quickly discover a new exploit that makes a particular ship or weapons loadout unfairly dominant and spoils the balance. It's up to CIG to ensure everything is balanced, eventually.

As I explained in my post, the $425 price might be justified if its capabilities are superior to the existing ships with boarding and dropship roles. I believe the primary reason for the price is the Prowler's stealth abilities. The combination of stealth and a boarding craft should enable the Prowler to capture high value ships, from Starfarers to Hull C/D/E to cap ships, with relative ease. A Prowler could approach an Idris completely undetected, deploy of platoon of 16-24 armed boarders onto a Idris Frigate, then hang back while the boarders take the crew by surprise and commandeer the ship completely intact. Whereas a direct assault would require at least a dozen starfighters, bombers, and conventional boarding craft, which would damage the ship and necessitate expensive repairs. It's understandable that CIG would place a premium on the Prowler to prevent every wannabe pirate from owning one. I expect that finding a Prowler to buy in the PU will be a rare find for the same reason. That's another factor in the price.

 

As for the "cash discount" price, has CIG confirmed that's a recurring thing for all concept sales from now on? Because I thought the Polaris LTI Warbond Presale price was because it was a high price ship and the presale price was a subscriber's perk. If there is a cash discount for the Prowler I'll happily take advantage of it. :)

Some of the price hike is likely due to it being alien like the Scythe and Blade.

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15 minutes ago, faquarl25 said:

Some of the price hike is likely due to it being alien like the Scythe and Blade.

Yes, that's another possible factor for the higher than expected price. However, there does seem to be some justification for the Prowler's price, as I explained earlier; unlike the overpriced Redeemer and Vanguard, which don't have the weapons, components, and specs to justify their high prices.

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Considering that CIG previously charged $195 for a small empty box that can't really do anything, I'm not surprised they now charge $425 for a bigger empty box that can't really do anything either. Nor would I be surprised by yet another cash-only 'discount' sale for $350 and the $425 is just $350 +$75 Store Credit Tax. :P

But for a boarding ship where the boarders still have to EVA over to the other ship you'd probably be better off with ... every other ship with a cargohold and a door. Starfarer would probably make for an even better boarding ship as nobody suspects anything until 100 angry marines start pouring out the cargohold!! ;)

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15 hours ago, Danakar Endeel said:

Considering that CIG previously charged $195 for a small empty box that can't really do anything, I'm not surprised they now charge $425 for a bigger empty box that can't really do anything either. Nor would I be surprised by yet another cash-only 'discount' sale for $350 and the $425 is just $350 +$75 Store Credit Tax. :P

But for a boarding ship where the boarders still have to EVA over to the other ship you'd probably be better off with ... every other ship with a cargohold and a door. Starfarer would probably make for an even better boarding ship as nobody suspects anything until 100 angry marines start pouring out the cargohold!! ;)

I think you're missing the point of the Prowler: it's a stealth boarding craft.

It's inconceivable that a ship the size of a Cutlass or Redeemer could physically dock with a larger ship without tripping all sorts of sensors and alarms. And if that boarding craft used a cutting rig to slice through the hull it would presumably be noisy and bright, so even if ship's sensors didn't detect the docked ship if there were any crew members in the vicinity they could see or hear it. It wouldn't matter how many marines there were to storm the ship because the docking port or cut hole in the hull would be a bottleneck. If the defending crew knew where the boarders were going to enter the ship, a handful of crew armed with automatic weapons and grenades could repel the boarders. (Realistically, the entry port or hole could become so clogged with dead bodies that boarders couldn't get through.) CIG has also mentioned the possibility of internal ship defenses, like booby traps, automated weapons, and deployable weapons, which could all be used to repel boarders if the crew was aware that an enemy ship had docked and was attempted to board their ship.

That is why a stealth boarding craft that deploys boarders via EVA is superior.

The Prowler boarding scenario I imagine involves the Prowler stealthily approaching the target ship, a Starfarer, from the dorsal side, so even if the aft gun turrets were manned the gunners would have difficulty visually spotting the incoming ship. No matter how stealthy a ship is it's still best to approach the target from an inherent blindspot. The Prowler would probably close within 20 metres and deploy a dozen marines in EVA suits. (12 marines is a conservative estimate for the Prowler's troop transport capacity.) The marines would thrust over to the Starfarer and pass through its shields without being detected by the ship's sensors. (Players can presently do this in the Crusader PU.) The marines would access the Starfarer's dorsal docking port located on the underside of the nose section and either hack the docking port's keypad or cut through the hatch with a handheld cutting torch/laser. The docking port on the Starfarer's nose section is an ideal entry point because it's unlikely any of the crew would be there and there are multiple internal doors to prevent decompression and noise when the hatch is opened. Alternatively, the marines could gain entry via the external door or lifts on the refueling boom platform, which they could easily reach in EVA.

Assuming that the marines succeeded in entering the Starfarer without setting off any alarms, the ship's crew would be unaware of their presence and unprepared to defend themselves. CR mentioned in the CitizenCon demo that the crew of the ship wouldn't normally be wearing their armour suits inside the ship; they'd be in their normal clothes or uniforms and they wouldn't be armed, except maybe a sidearm. Whereas the marines would be wearing armoured EVA suits and heavily armed. And they'd probably outnumber the crew, since the Starfarer has a crew of 7. Even if a crew member happened to spot the enemy intruders enter the cargo bay, they would have virtually no chance against them. The crew-players could set off an internal alarm and/or voice-comm to alert their teammates, and the crew might scramble to equip their armour and weapons. The crew might try to defend the bridge; since there's only one door it might be challenging to breach. However, the marines could probably disable the ship's engines and/or power plant from the engineering room, rendering control of the bridge irrelevant. The marines might be able to vent the ship's atmosphere and kill any crew not wearing a space suit.

Regardless, the point is that boarding a ship via EVA and remaining undetected is probably far more effective than using the boarding craft to dock with the target ship, storming the ship, and trying to defeat the crew that is aware the marines are coming. A single grenade could kill the boarding party the instant they entered the ship.

That is why I believe the Prowler stealth boarding craft will be superior to the other boarding craft in the game. B)

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1 hour ago, Nova-Prime said:

The Esperia Prowler will go on Concept Sale on Friday, November 18th during the Anniversary Livestream for the introductory price of $425. It will have LTI.

https://forums.robertsspaceindustries.com/discussion/comment/7230246/#Comment_7230246

Too slow, that's why we're all posting. :-)

https://forums.starcitizenbase.com/topic/12902-esperia-prowler/?do=findComment&comment=343103

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