MISC Reliant - Mini Hauler & Variants

[VoA]

Ben just announced on RTV that the MISC Reliant will be on sale next week   It will be $50 and designed by David Hobbins 

 

• MISC Reliant: With the success of the Freelancer “Built for Life” campaign, MISC has moved to join RSIand Consolidated in the single-seat introductory starship arena. Their silver bullet? A starter ship with more than one seat… and their ace in the hole: Xi’An technology. Where the Aurora is a pure utilitarian platform and the Mustang is a delicate, maneuverable personal transport, the Reliant is MISC’s most Xi’An tech-heavy ship to date. Featuring impossibly sleek lines, two separate crew seats and a vertical fuselage design, the Reliant’s streamlined cockpits glow with some of the finest xenotechnology available!

Old concepts

http://imgur.com/6JVmbmN

 

New Concept

http://imgur.com/a/gwByC

 

Released Concept Sale 

MISC Reliant Now Available!

Concept sale : A new kind of ship!

 

Greetings Citizens,

New for model year 2946, it’s the MISC Reliant! Following on the success of the Freelancer “Built for Life” campaign, MISC has begun development of a smaller, introductory-class spacecraft that can be operated by a single pilot. Although roughly designed to compete with the RSI Aurora and the Consolidated Outland Mustang, the Reliant is a very different animal. From the broad, sleek wings to the multiple flight modes and the second, fully-articulated crew seat, the Reliant is a small ship with a great deal of potential!

 

The MISC Reliant makes copious use of Xi’An technology, the most ever applied to a human ship design. From a moving cockpit that slots into place depending on the flight mode to omni-directional thrusters licensed under trade agreement with Aopoa, the Reliant is one of the most ‘high tech’ ships on the market today! Advanced Xi’An metal composites make up the armored wingspan, and every control surface has been meticulously updated from those developed for the Freelancer by MISC’s internal xenotech team.

 

A flying wing… or is it? The Reliant changes from horizontal to vertical flight modes at the touch of a button! With a larger cargo hold than the Aurora ES or the Mustang Alpha, the Reliant is a natural choice for anyone engaging in short-haul shipping. And that cargo space also means there’s plenty of internal room to expand, allowing the placement of medical systems, weapons racks and more. Ultimately, though, the Reliant is no transport: it’s a sleek and maneuverable utility ship more than capable of holding its own during combat!

 

 

The MISC Reliant

As the newest ship on the block, the Reliant has a lot to prove… but one glance should tell you it has the right stuff! Whether you’re interested in the distinctive ‘manta ray’ silhouette to the spacious, high tech open cockpit environment, the Reliant will likely be a common sight on the spacelanes when it launches.

 

 

 

The design process – A word from David Hobbins

Goals

The design notes were for a Japanese aesthetic, which I interpreted by studying forms from both classical and modern Japanese art. I wanted the Reliant to evoke aspects of its Japanese design sensibility, and I looked at objects like the curve of a fan, the Ginko leaf, the beveled edge of a samurai sword, and other sources.

The design became less fan-like during the course of the concept process, and that’s okay, but I was a necessary step for me to kick off the design process. Another goal for the ship was to incorporate some Xi’An technology which was to be mostly internal but still should inform the ship’s exterior.

 

Challenges

The biggest challenge was figuring out how to maximize the cargo payload without compromising the ship’s distinctive profile and without making the overall wing frame too large. The Reliant is a mini-hauler, after all, and I needed a way to fit a respectable cargo volume into a relatively narrow wing frame. Initially I thought I could integrate the cargo into the wing frame itself, but the increased rotational weight would slow spinning maneuvers and also would open the door to other problem such as, balancing issues. For example, what if one side of the craft is loaded and the opposite isn’t? Countering this potential weight disparity would be too much for the maneuvering thrusters. So my final solution was to place the cargo hold at very the center of mass, maintaining the visual integrity of the narrow wings as well as minimizing the rotational weight and mismatch cargo configurations.

 

Fun

The most fun was creating an animation of the Reliant – going from a landing configuration to space combat mode. It’s really satisfying to see a design fully come to life.

Highlights

The highlight for me was that not only does the ship semi-transform, but also the cockpit seats reorient themselves (rotating independent of the rest of the ship) to go from side-by-side when horizontal to a stacked when in vertical flight mode, giving both the pilot and gunner maximum visibility. Should make for a really fun and unique player experience.

 

A new starter ship

The Reliant is the first of what we’re calling ‘Tier II’ starter ships. In the future, theMISC Reliant will form the basis of an optional Star Citizen starter package, like the Mustang and the Aurora today. Ship pricing is always based on specifications, and as such the Reliant (and any future packages) will be slightly more expensive (or contain different extras) than base Mustang and Aurora packages.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcz0-woADvQ&feature=youtu.be

 

+++ Some additional images in spoiler below...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reliant Q&A - Part 1

[pyro nl]

[Trophias]

$50 for the Reliant.

[Fizzlefuse]

Now I got to put my wallet away again...

[VoA]

Dave Hobbins designed it

 

Stand Alone sale only but package later on .

 

·         CCU’s are only available when both ships are flyable (so we will have to wait until the Reliant can be CCU’d) and the original ship must be less expensive than the ship you want to CCU to.

[FoxChard]

Who is going to be playing wallet commander next week?

 

This Guy.

[Mitsuragi]

I would like some concept art >

[Nameless]

I would like some concept art >

As usual the concept art is revealed at the time the sale starts and not prior and you'll have about a week to decide whether you like the design or not. So no pressure

 

 

Who is going to be playing wallet commander next week?

 

This Guy.

Even harder to win than Dark Souls

[FoxChard]

I haven't beaten it yet.  Damn you Chris Roberts!

[Siberz4]

<3 MISC.

 

shame its not packaged.

 

still

 

cant wait.

[FoxChard]

It will happen...someday...

[Siberz4]

The only question that should be asked is...

 

 

'how many?'

[VoA]

Reliant Pricing

  same news as RTV just posted on RSI...

 

CIG Ben Lesnickwcloaf

 

Posted:  1:06PM

 

 

 

Hey everybody! As promised, letting you know the pricing the week before the next concept sale. Coming on Friday (if all goes as planned!) will be the Reliant, coming in at $50. We'll update you later next week with all the cool background, stats and imagery.

[Rancid]

Looks like I will have an angry wife next week!

[Siberz4]

Looks like I will have an angry wife next week!

Mine is already angry. Wont make one bit of difference.

Lol

Actually i shouldnt laugh...

[FoxChard]

Imagery!

[Irres]

Mine is already angry. Wont make one bit of difference.

Lol

Actually i shouldnt laugh...

 

 

Just don't let her see you laughing.  

[Major Dex]

If I'm going to buy an additional ship then this is the one. Really curious about the concept art.

[WarWulf]

A quick google search for the military variant of the reliant found me this interesting video

 

 

 

 

Looks like one pilot and one gunner. Not much protection but a reasonably rugged piece of kit with nice manoeuvrability.

 

 

Sorry, couldn't resist. Looking forward to seeing what CIG comes out with.

 

[Minted]

I'm very interested in this ship from the description of the technology and being designed by David Hobbins, should be good!

 

Doubt I will pick it up though. Only worth it if you think the LTI is worth it I guess. Being a starter ship I should be able to get one very easily in the PU, albeit without LTI.

[TRON]

So $60 for UK...yay...

 

No thanks.

[Reavern]

I was really PO'd after the Stretch Goal vote last November when the Third Starter Ship option beat the Stealth Ship -- and I still am, because I desperately want a dedicated stealth ship for running recon ops. At the time I thought a third starter ship was pointless, because it merely represented a different hull to choose from.

 

Then CIG had a vote for what type of ship the third starter would be, and the Reliant two-seater MISC Xian-hybrid ship was chosen. I liked a couple of the other choices, but I agreed that the two-seater MISC-Xi'an hybrid was the most worthwhile choice for the Third Starter ship, which is why I voted for it. I thought that at least a two-seater ship might be able to perform roles that the single-seat Aurora and Mustang couldn't, like mining, S&R, and repair. If the Reliant could perform those roles, then starting players could perform those roles on Day 1, which meant the Third Starter Ship was of benefit to the game -- and not a total waste.

 

Therefore, I am interested in seeing what the Reliant will be like when it's revealed in the upcoming Concept Sale. Its description of being the most Xi'an-like ship and having a vertical orientation is certainly intriguing. However, since I already own a Xi'an Khartu-al Scout Ship, which is also a two-seater, vertically oriented, and a genuine Xi'an ship, I don't know if buying the Reliant is worthwhile for me. If CIG reveals details about the Reliant's variant models and the roles they can perform, and ideally, explicitly states what the Reliant can do that the Khartu-al can't, then I might buy one.

 

Although, admittedly, I'm probably going to buy a Reliant anyway, and adopt a wait-and-see stance -- the same as I've done for all of the Concept Ships. If in a year or so, the Reliant is proven to be a worthwhile ship to own, I'll keep it. But if it's nothing special, I'll melt it. I expect I'll be especially hard on the Reliant, because I harbour a grudge against it for beating out the Stealth Ship that I wanted. Objectively, it's hard to imagine the Reliant being able to perform a unique role that any of my other ships can't do or can do better.

 

I think the Reliant is a ship that will appeal mostly to new backers and will hopefully draw in a lot of new players to Star Citizen and expand the community. And then there are the ship collectors and completionists who want to own all of the ships. However, for backers like me, another starter ship isn't very appealing.

[VoA]

I was really PO'd after the Stretch Goal vote last November when the Third Starter Ship option beat the Stealth Ship -- and I still am, because I desperately want a dedicated stealth ship for running recon ops. At the time I thought a third starter ship was pointless, because it merely represented a different hull to choose from.

 

My very first ship (and still one of my favorites) - is the Hornet Ghost.   I have since melted the Ghost since the ambush mechanic is something pirates would find more use for....... however........ with that being said....... I still want a dedicated stealth ship for infiltration / recon missions - but it doesn't have to be a ship with great firepower (like the Hornet Ghost could potentially be).

 

Per an older Jump Point (and per Ben's recent comments) ------ CIG will be producing many variants.  We pretty much know that there will be a Stealth Gladius (from JP)..... and I think it will be perfect with lower profile thrusters / shape than a Hornet.  This will be my stealth ship.  It is likely there will be a stealth version of Vanguard..... + we know the Prowler is a stealth ship.

 

Thus...... there is no need for a stealth starter ship (the Gladius fits the role). 

 

My second favorite ship (second to the Phoenix) is the Xi'An Khartu-Al......... so I am looking forward to the Xi'an Tech MISC Reliant 

 

 

 However, for backers like me, another starter ship isn't very appealing.

 

With the above being said........ I will probably only hold onto the MISC Reliant long enough to fly it.... then it will probably be CCU'd to something bigger or rarer.  I've catered my pledge away from smaller fragile ships (thinking that death of a space-man will be a big deal )

[Reavern]

My very first ship (and still one of my favorites) - is the Hornet Ghost.   I have since melted the Ghost since the ambush mechanic is something pirates would find more use for....... however........ with that being said....... I still want a dedicated stealth ship for infiltration / recon missions - but it doesn't have to be a ship with great firepower (like the Hornet Ghost could potentially be).

 

Per an older Jump Point (and per Ben's recent comments) ------ CIG will be producing many variants.  We pretty much know that there will be a Stealth Gladius (from JP)..... and I think it will be perfect with lower profile thrusters / shape than a Hornet.  This will be my stealth ship.  It is likely there will be a stealth version of Vanguard..... + we know the Prowler is a stealth ship.

 

Thus...... there is no need for a stealth starter ship (the Gladius fits the role).

 

I agree that there will be stealth variants for other ships in addition to the Hornet Ghost, and the Gladius and Vanguard are likely candidates. And I know that Prowler is supposed to be a stealthy boarding craft, which is why I'm definitely buying it when it becomes available.

 

However, the Stretch Goal Ships have all been dedicated to a specific role and taken it to the ultimate extreme. The Orion Mining Ship isn't a $50 entry-level single-person mining ship; it's the ultimate mining ship, with a crew of 6, costing $325. The Carrack, Reclaimer, Vanguard, Hull D/E, and 890 Jump share that uncompromising "ultimate" role status. That's why I'd prefer a dedicated Stealth Ship rather than a stealth variant of an existing ship, like the Gladius. Because I don't want a stealth-fighter, like the Hornet Ghost. (I've tried the Ghost and I'm not impressed by the stealth mechanics -- which presumably aren't fully functional yet. Regardless, I don't think it's possible to fire weapons and remain undetected, which is why I don't want a stealth-fighter.)

 

I want a Stealth Reconnaissance Ship, akin to a Blackbird. I want a long-range stealth ship with a "low-flash" stealth jump drive that can execute multiple jumps without refueling; that is virtually undetectable when running silent, but can be detected if the pilot (foolishly) fires weapons or engages the afterburners; that can infiltrate hostile territory to gather intel using passive sensors and/or optics; and then make a discreet exit. And if the player does everything right, the enemy -- regardless if they're human players or NPCs -- will never know that ship was there.

 

I doubt that will be possible with a stealth variant of a Gladius or any existing ship. I think that only a dedicated Stealth Ship could ever be that stealthy. That's why I'm still disappointed that the Reliant was chosen over the Stealth Ship.

 

Regardless, I acknowledge that the Reliant will benefit the Star Citizen community more than a Stealth Ship that only a small percentage of players would ever use.

[FoxChard]

Oddly enough, I think the Reliant was picked out of community altruism.  They (the collective amorphous blob that is the Star Citizen community) decided that another starter option would be the best way to assimilate more players into the fan base.  Who knows if they were right?  We'd have likely seen another starter at some point anyways.  I'm curious though, as to why it is jumping forward in the cue over other, older ships.