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Flying Fortress The Aegis Retaliator


Wu Jen

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  • 1 month later...

So, i'm a proud owner of a Retaliator. I will admit that my favorite was the concept art as far as the interior is laid out. I kind of hope that they revamp the inside, but that is another issue entirely. I just love the look and feel of this ship. I am looking forward to flying it around space sometime with a crew of people occupying my turrets and everything. :D

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  • 3 weeks later...

Official Retaliator Feedback Summary

Spoiler
Posted: May 12
 
Alright, wow! That was a lot to get through. And sorry for the delay in response, had a slight case of food poisoning this week, but I'm back and hoping to get this finished off.

Now I wasn't necessarily taking notes for the ammo caliber discussion, since as many have noted, that's an intrinsic issue that affects all ships/weapons, and not just the Retaliator, so it was omitted for these purposes (although still valid).

Of course not everybody's fully detailed examples are present (particularly in regards to weapon or turret loadouts) for brevity's sake. But I think I've got the major bullet points that there seems to be a moderate consensus on.

So this is what I've gathered so far. Please feel free to point out any misconceptions of mine, or glaring omissions.

And thanks again for taking the time to help with the feedback.

OVERALL
• Most people like the exterior aesthetics of the Retaliator, however they are less positive regarding the interior layout.

ART
• While most appreciate that the bomber should be cramped, and not exactly luxurious, most feel the current state is that its cramped due to a poor layout rather than being cramped due to having a lot of functional equipment and features. It currently seems inefficient and impractical for how players will want to use it.
• The front landing gear arrangement seems odd. Some feel four struts are not needed when two would suffice, and that would open up space for other components.
• While the sleeping quarters with the skylight is neat to some, others wonder why the sleeping quarters would not be in a more protected area of the ship, and if this instead would be a choice location for an electronic warfare station, or an ROI or even a weapons station for bombardier or gunners using remote turrets rather than manned ones.
• Currently the escape pods are not exactly in a very accessible location. Given the severe consequences of death in Star Citizen, the crew of a large ship like the Retaliator needs to be able to reach the escape pods quickly. Currently, with only one ladder to access them, the crew will be fighting over one another to get to the escape pod which does not seem like a solid design choice. It does not seem feasible that players in the rear turrets will be able to rush to the front of the ship, climb a ladder, and then try to get into a pod before the ship explodes as doing so takes ~30 seconds with various animations included. And the engineer only shaves about 5-7 seconds from that time.
o One suggestion was that each turret should also be its own escape pod.
o Perhaps there should be multiple pods in different locations, or the pods moved to A-deck where there is a lot of wasted space.
• Having two lifts to get into the Retaliator seems redundant and a waste of available space. One lift could easily be removed providing room for extra seats, more accessible escape pods, etc. Or both lifts could be eliminated in favor of a simple ladder extending from the belly docking collar.
• The bathroom seems unnecessarily large. It should be smaller and more functional.
• The Engineering station should have a seat and be able to strap in.
• The torpedo launching mechanism seems over-engineered and overly complicated. A simpler rack (static or rotating) would allow for a greater number of torpedoes to be carried, as currently the mechanism itself takes up more space than the torpedoes themselves. And having to expose all torpedoes to enemy fire in order to launch them seems like a poor engineering decision. Perhaps an anti-grav launcher would be more efficient than the current mechanical one, or at the very least a rotary system.
• Crew quarters and captain’s quarter are very poorly lit.
• Captain’s bunk and crew beds in particular seem like an odd choice for a dedicated bomber. Some feel that space would be better used for more crew stations like an ROI, or weapons station, bombardier station, etc. If the Retaliator is doing long-range missions where such a thing is necessary, shouldn’t the crew quarters be somewhat larger then too?
o Some request proper crew quarters rather than bunk/coffins for the crew.
• The pilot’s center display is too large and covers up too much screen space. Perhaps a transparent holo-display such as the Constellation has?
• The narrow hallways are difficult to maneuver if more than one person is using them. The fact that there are two of these hallways going to the rear seems redundant as well. One single, wider hallway would be preferable to most. Many feel a single corridor with small berths on either side (similar to a U-boat) would be a better use of available space, and a more efficient design.
• With only one engineering station, the Retaliator falls short of giving the player a true multi-crew experience. Many feel there should be other stations for science, tactics, navigation, or to monitor shields beyond just the single engineer on a ship. This would open up other gameplay options, and relieve the pilot’s workload during a fight because currently, even without forward facing ballistic or laser weapons, the pilot is a bit overtasked. As it is, during non-combat situations there is nothing for other players to do other than sit in turrets and spin. 
o Some wonder why the Retaliator is the only multi-crew ship that has a fighter-style cockpit instead of a bridge design. Its original concept art had multi-crew stations displayed, and many wonder what happened to that concept.
o Many recommend for there to be an ROI station or co-pilot/navigator behind and above the pilot. Perhaps on the B-deck since it almost looks like a secondary cockpit already.
o Many also recommend a bombardier station be put in place for the torpedoes to offload that duty off of the pilot as well.
o Regarding the engineering station, the engineer is largely going to be flying blind, and is beholden to the pilot and gunners for any effective communication as to what is going on. Perhaps some camera displays being available would help give them an idea of the state of the battle without relying upon crew communication.
• The cockpit should have a functioning door to lock to prevent boarders from just shooting them in the back of the head.
• There seems to be an overabundance of lockers aboard giving it an appearance of a high school hallway.
• The community put together a number of very detailed mock-ups of how they envision the Retaliator’s layout could be improved. See the thread listed above for examples.

 

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5 minutes ago, VoA said:

Official Retaliator Feedback Summary

  Reveal hidden contents
Posted: May 12
 
Alright, wow! That was a lot to get through. And sorry for the delay in response, had a slight case of food poisoning this week, but I'm back and hoping to get this finished off.

Now I wasn't necessarily taking notes for the ammo caliber discussion, since as many have noted, that's an intrinsic issue that affects all ships/weapons, and not just the Retaliator, so it was omitted for these purposes (although still valid).

Of course not everybody's fully detailed examples are present (particularly in regards to weapon or turret loadouts) for brevity's sake. But I think I've got the major bullet points that there seems to be a moderate consensus on.

So this is what I've gathered so far. Please feel free to point out any misconceptions of mine, or glaring omissions.

And thanks again for taking the time to help with the feedback.

OVERALL
• Most people like the exterior aesthetics of the Retaliator, however they are less positive regarding the interior layout.

ART
• While most appreciate that the bomber should be cramped, and not exactly luxurious, most feel the current state is that its cramped due to a poor layout rather than being cramped due to having a lot of functional equipment and features. It currently seems inefficient and impractical for how players will want to use it.
• The front landing gear arrangement seems odd. Some feel four struts are not needed when two would suffice, and that would open up space for other components.
• While the sleeping quarters with the skylight is neat to some, others wonder why the sleeping quarters would not be in a more protected area of the ship, and if this instead would be a choice location for an electronic warfare station, or an ROI or even a weapons station for bombardier or gunners using remote turrets rather than manned ones.
• Currently the escape pods are not exactly in a very accessible location. Given the severe consequences of death in Star Citizen, the crew of a large ship like the Retaliator needs to be able to reach the escape pods quickly. Currently, with only one ladder to access them, the crew will be fighting over one another to get to the escape pod which does not seem like a solid design choice. It does not seem feasible that players in the rear turrets will be able to rush to the front of the ship, climb a ladder, and then try to get into a pod before the ship explodes as doing so takes ~30 seconds with various animations included. And the engineer only shaves about 5-7 seconds from that time.
o One suggestion was that each turret should also be its own escape pod.
o Perhaps there should be multiple pods in different locations, or the pods moved to A-deck where there is a lot of wasted space.
• Having two lifts to get into the Retaliator seems redundant and a waste of available space. One lift could easily be removed providing room for extra seats, more accessible escape pods, etc. Or both lifts could be eliminated in favor of a simple ladder extending from the belly docking collar.
• The bathroom seems unnecessarily large. It should be smaller and more functional.
• The Engineering station should have a seat and be able to strap in.
• The torpedo launching mechanism seems over-engineered and overly complicated. A simpler rack (static or rotating) would allow for a greater number of torpedoes to be carried, as currently the mechanism itself takes up more space than the torpedoes themselves. And having to expose all torpedoes to enemy fire in order to launch them seems like a poor engineering decision. Perhaps an anti-grav launcher would be more efficient than the current mechanical one, or at the very least a rotary system.
• Crew quarters and captain’s quarter are very poorly lit.
• Captain’s bunk and crew beds in particular seem like an odd choice for a dedicated bomber. Some feel that space would be better used for more crew stations like an ROI, or weapons station, bombardier station, etc. If the Retaliator is doing long-range missions where such a thing is necessary, shouldn’t the crew quarters be somewhat larger then too?
o Some request proper crew quarters rather than bunk/coffins for the crew.
• The pilot’s center display is too large and covers up too much screen space. Perhaps a transparent holo-display such as the Constellation has?
• The narrow hallways are difficult to maneuver if more than one person is using them. The fact that there are two of these hallways going to the rear seems redundant as well. One single, wider hallway would be preferable to most. Many feel a single corridor with small berths on either side (similar to a U-boat) would be a better use of available space, and a more efficient design.
• With only one engineering station, the Retaliator falls short of giving the player a true multi-crew experience. Many feel there should be other stations for science, tactics, navigation, or to monitor shields beyond just the single engineer on a ship. This would open up other gameplay options, and relieve the pilot’s workload during a fight because currently, even without forward facing ballistic or laser weapons, the pilot is a bit overtasked. As it is, during non-combat situations there is nothing for other players to do other than sit in turrets and spin. 
o Some wonder why the Retaliator is the only multi-crew ship that has a fighter-style cockpit instead of a bridge design. Its original concept art had multi-crew stations displayed, and many wonder what happened to that concept.
o Many recommend for there to be an ROI station or co-pilot/navigator behind and above the pilot. Perhaps on the B-deck since it almost looks like a secondary cockpit already.
o Many also recommend a bombardier station be put in place for the torpedoes to offload that duty off of the pilot as well.
o Regarding the engineering station, the engineer is largely going to be flying blind, and is beholden to the pilot and gunners for any effective communication as to what is going on. Perhaps some camera displays being available would help give them an idea of the state of the battle without relying upon crew communication.
• The cockpit should have a functioning door to lock to prevent boarders from just shooting them in the back of the head.
• There seems to be an overabundance of lockers aboard giving it an appearance of a high school hallway.
• The community put together a number of very detailed mock-ups of how they envision the Retaliator’s layout could be improved. See the thread listed above for examples.

 

It's hard to complain about a ship when all the game systems are not in yet.  All of my complaints about the ship may be fixed with modularity, and swapping the front turrets with slaved to the pilot turrets.  Really the only thing that is fixed into place is the interior and exterior of the ship.  I agree that there should be a lifeboat for every man, and a ladder to get to them feels odd, but we have no idea how much warning we will get when we need to use them yet.  Will it be 15sec, 60sec?

But if we wait till all the mechanics are in-game and theirs plenty of bombing run missions, is it too late to complain?

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1 minute ago, GRIZZ said:

It's hard to complain about a ship when all the game systems are not in yet.  All of my complaints about the ship may be fixed with modularity, and swapping the front turrets with slaved to the pilot turrets.  Really the only thing that is fixed into place is the interior and exterior of the ship.  I agree that there should be a lifeboat for every man, and a ladder to get to them feels odd, but we have no idea how much warning we will get when we need to use them yet.  Will it be 15sec, 60sec?

But if we wait till all the mechanics are in-game and theirs plenty of bombing run missions, is it too late to complain?

That's the beauty of CR and SC - it is never to late to complain.   As an Aerospace Engineer / Architect .... I've always have had big problems with the Interior layout inefficiencies and am glad they have come to the forefront.   Love the exterior though and think the modularity is cool (I have one with a Drop ship module).

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have 3 x Talis (1 base though) and until the AI comes into play. The Talis are flying targets tbh. However, they are a mean looking ship, just hope her bark isn't worse than her bite (anti-capital torpedoes).

I have drop-pod, few cargo modules and living quarters to "test" out how they feel. :) 

 

 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...
On 13.5.2016 at 1:41 PM, VoA said:

Official Retaliator Feedback Summary

  Hide contents
Posted: May 12
 
Alright, wow! That was a lot to get through. And sorry for the delay in response, had a slight case of food poisoning this week, but I'm back and hoping to get this finished off.

Now I wasn't necessarily taking notes for the ammo caliber discussion, since as many have noted, that's an intrinsic issue that affects all ships/weapons, and not just the Retaliator, so it was omitted for these purposes (although still valid).

Of course not everybody's fully detailed examples are present (particularly in regards to weapon or turret loadouts) for brevity's sake. But I think I've got the major bullet points that there seems to be a moderate consensus on.

So this is what I've gathered so far. Please feel free to point out any misconceptions of mine, or glaring omissions.

And thanks again for taking the time to help with the feedback.

OVERALL
• Most people like the exterior aesthetics of the Retaliator, however they are less positive regarding the interior layout.

ART
• While most appreciate that the bomber should be cramped, and not exactly luxurious, most feel the current state is that its cramped due to a poor layout rather than being cramped due to having a lot of functional equipment and features. It currently seems inefficient and impractical for how players will want to use it.
• The front landing gear arrangement seems odd. Some feel four struts are not needed when two would suffice, and that would open up space for other components.
• While the sleeping quarters with the skylight is neat to some, others wonder why the sleeping quarters would not be in a more protected area of the ship, and if this instead would be a choice location for an electronic warfare station, or an ROI or even a weapons station for bombardier or gunners using remote turrets rather than manned ones.
• Currently the escape pods are not exactly in a very accessible location. Given the severe consequences of death in Star Citizen, the crew of a large ship like the Retaliator needs to be able to reach the escape pods quickly. Currently, with only one ladder to access them, the crew will be fighting over one another to get to the escape pod which does not seem like a solid design choice. It does not seem feasible that players in the rear turrets will be able to rush to the front of the ship, climb a ladder, and then try to get into a pod before the ship explodes as doing so takes ~30 seconds with various animations included. And the engineer only shaves about 5-7 seconds from that time.
o One suggestion was that each turret should also be its own escape pod.
o Perhaps there should be multiple pods in different locations, or the pods moved to A-deck where there is a lot of wasted space.
• Having two lifts to get into the Retaliator seems redundant and a waste of available space. One lift could easily be removed providing room for extra seats, more accessible escape pods, etc. Or both lifts could be eliminated in favor of a simple ladder extending from the belly docking collar.
• The bathroom seems unnecessarily large. It should be smaller and more functional.
• The Engineering station should have a seat and be able to strap in.
• The torpedo launching mechanism seems over-engineered and overly complicated. A simpler rack (static or rotating) would allow for a greater number of torpedoes to be carried, as currently the mechanism itself takes up more space than the torpedoes themselves. And having to expose all torpedoes to enemy fire in order to launch them seems like a poor engineering decision. Perhaps an anti-grav launcher would be more efficient than the current mechanical one, or at the very least a rotary system.
• Crew quarters and captain’s quarter are very poorly lit.
• Captain’s bunk and crew beds in particular seem like an odd choice for a dedicated bomber. Some feel that space would be better used for more crew stations like an ROI, or weapons station, bombardier station, etc. If the Retaliator is doing long-range missions where such a thing is necessary, shouldn’t the crew quarters be somewhat larger then too?
o Some request proper crew quarters rather than bunk/coffins for the crew.
• The pilot’s center display is too large and covers up too much screen space. Perhaps a transparent holo-display such as the Constellation has?
• The narrow hallways are difficult to maneuver if more than one person is using them. The fact that there are two of these hallways going to the rear seems redundant as well. One single, wider hallway would be preferable to most. Many feel a single corridor with small berths on either side (similar to a U-boat) would be a better use of available space, and a more efficient design.
• With only one engineering station, the Retaliator falls short of giving the player a true multi-crew experience. Many feel there should be other stations for science, tactics, navigation, or to monitor shields beyond just the single engineer on a ship. This would open up other gameplay options, and relieve the pilot’s workload during a fight because currently, even without forward facing ballistic or laser weapons, the pilot is a bit overtasked. As it is, during non-combat situations there is nothing for other players to do other than sit in turrets and spin. 
o Some wonder why the Retaliator is the only multi-crew ship that has a fighter-style cockpit instead of a bridge design. Its original concept art had multi-crew stations displayed, and many wonder what happened to that concept.
o Many recommend for there to be an ROI station or co-pilot/navigator behind and above the pilot. Perhaps on the B-deck since it almost looks like a secondary cockpit already.
o Many also recommend a bombardier station be put in place for the torpedoes to offload that duty off of the pilot as well.
o Regarding the engineering station, the engineer is largely going to be flying blind, and is beholden to the pilot and gunners for any effective communication as to what is going on. Perhaps some camera displays being available would help give them an idea of the state of the battle without relying upon crew communication.
• The cockpit should have a functioning door to lock to prevent boarders from just shooting them in the back of the head.
• There seems to be an overabundance of lockers aboard giving it an appearance of a high school hallway.
• The community put together a number of very detailed mock-ups of how they envision the Retaliator’s layout could be improved. See the thread listed above for examples.

 

Does anyone know what they are going to do with the Retaliator ? Im thinking about melting/selling my Bomber and using the money to buy a Corvette...

 

I like how the Retaliator looks, but as it is now i dont think its a great ship to have fun with in the PU.

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  • 2 months later...

I am having a hard time deciding if I should keep my Retalitor Bomber or CCU it to a Vanguard Harbinger. My biggest concern is that I am more of a lone wolf and you cannot operate the Retaliator's turrets without a crew. Does anyone have any advice on what might be more useful?

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