MISC Reliant - Mini Hauler & Variants

[GeraldEvans]

Straight line speed versus maneuverability.

In horizontal mode it's faster, in vertical mode it can maneuver quicker.

[FoxChard]

I disagree-the reason why is apparently because it'll be able to bring more of its maneuvering thrusters to bear for side to side movements.  

Either way, it'll be somewhat different to fly.  I also prefer original designs versus rehashed versions of space fighters that look different but feel the same.

[Mitsuragi]

Straight line speed versus maneuverability.

In horizontal mode it's faster

 

Because air resistance in space?  The main thrusters are not inhibited in vertical flight mode so this makes absolutely zero sense.

 

 

Straight line speed versus maneuverability.

 in vertical mode it can maneuver quicker.

 

 

For yaw movements, sure, but pitch?  If this is the reality of the ship then they're taking Chris Roberts promise of a physics based universe and shooting it out back.

[VoA]

Because air resistance in space?  The main thrusters are not inhibited in vertical flight mode so this makes absolutely zero sense.

 

For yaw movements, sure, but pitch?  If this is the reality of the ship then they're taking Chris Roberts promise of a physics based universe and shooting it out back.

Wings are not just for atmospheric flight..... they are also "fuel tanks", and contain other ship systems including proving mounts for weapons, tractor beams etc...  As for the thrusters see the video on how they gimble (Xi'an Thrusters gimble)

 

Ya maneuverability is far more valuable than pitch maneuverability because you black / red out more with pitch maneuverability.... so ideally you would "want" to yaw..... thus..... ideally you "want" a vertical oriented ship not horizontal

 

As for physics...... There was more to this ATV than you realized......... something very important was reviewed again -- >> Physics Programmer John Pritchett talks about Center of Mass on Ships <<-- and related directly to this recent post (linked below) 

1.  

[VoA]

Reliant Q&A Part 2

RELIANT Q&A - PART 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reliant Concept Blueprint

“We took the newly revealed Reliant Model 0 for a test flight, and what we found was a genuine surprise! Beneath the sleek lines and the high-tech moving cockpit, the Reliant is a sturdy, dependable ship capable of any number of flight operations. We’re so confident with what we’ve seen that we’re offering the ship our prestigious One to Watch award as one of the top new spacecraft of the upcoming model year… Now let’s cross our fingers and hope MISC starts making final deliveries of the production model so we can start converting one for racing!”

- “A Hauler You Can ‘Reli’ On,” Ship and Pilot, September 2945

“We had serious problems integrating some of the Xi’an tech. I’m not at liberty to tell you exactly what we purchased, but to get the point across we asked our contact on Rihlah for one of their surge suppressors… and what we got seemed more like a gooey silicone stomach. We couldn’t even figure out where it was supposed to plug in on the Khartu we were working from! In fact, the boys in R&D are still trying to figure it out. Suffice it to say, the Reliant ships with some pretty cool tech… but it has a traditional human capacitor.”

- Dar Hardwishe, MISC Ship Designer, Junior Level

 

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. A special thank you to designer Matt Sherman for answering your Reliant questions!

 

Question & Answer What about the speed?

Two TR1 as main trusters … The Aurora speed is 150 m/s with a TR3 and the Mustang Alpha flight at 200 m/s with two TR2.

It’s planned to fall between both of those ships, and keep in mind, the Aurora has a single thruster where the Reliant has 2.

 

Why are the two S1 guns listed as fixed mounts when it appears they’re on a gimbal at the end of a wing?

We really wanted to showcase just how big of a coverage angle the Wing-Tip turret would offer. Once it’s in your hangar, it’ll be a Tractor beam on the Turret with the S1 guns on the wings. Also, we’re already planning to make the Twin-mount Turret an available option through REC/VD when the Reliant is made flyable.

 

In particular, how does the “researcher” variant compare with / differ from the other science oriented ships? What is the prototypical mission that this variant is suited for?

In-system Scanner/Research work. Sadly, there’s not as much to detail out right now as these gameplay systems are also being built up, but we wanted to make sure at a starter-ship level, there was another layer of research/exploration that wasn’t just based on finding jumppoints.

 

I don’t get the concept of a “tier 2 starter”. A starter for when you’re not actually starting? Or is it a starter that people buying the game post launch will have to pay extra to start as?

We’re still working out many of the plans for post-launch, but the current idea is that the Reliant (and similarly priced ‘tier 2’ ships) would be part of slightly more expensive packages. It’s 100% a ship intended to start the game, though! Like the Aurora and the Mustang, the Reliant was designed from the ground up to allow players to experience as many different opportunities in the Star Citizen world as possible.

 

Will the vertical flight mode mean that those main thrusters will be gimbaled to allow more maneuverability?

They don’t fully gimbal 360 like the Cutlass engines can, but they’ll have some range of motion. There’s also going to be some Xi’an tech at work that we’ll be talking more about as the ship gets closer to being flyable.

 

How did humans acquire the technology if they haven’t made contact with the Xi’an yet?

MISC got the tech from trade-deals with the Xi’an, so this ship is something well beyond a first-contact with a species. (As of the time Star Citizen launches, humanity has a history with the Xi’An. There are still mysteries about them, but contact has been ongoing for quite a while.)

 

The turret we see in the concepts is an optional piece of equipment (Reverse the Verse) is the plan to have it ready for when the Reliant itself is hangar/flight ready?

Yes, while it won’t be included with the stock Reliant, we’re planning to have both the standard S2 (with installed Tractor Beam) and twin-S1 versions of the Turret available when the ship is flyable.

 

What role do you foresee for the ‘News Van’ variant? Can it be used in a recon role for live updates?

Yes, recon and reporting. The goal is to let the filming teams get the best picture from the safest distance possible. It won’t be as potent as something like a Herald in terms of how many systems out it can directly broadcast, but it’ll definitely be able to spread the word.

 

Will the “base concept model” be capable of switching or loading various modules so that it can change mission variants?

It’s going to have some flexibility with loadouts, but even inside its own variants, there’s going to be limits to what you can setup. The base-model and combat variant will be more interchangeable with each other, and the research and news van comparable to each other. It won’t just be different parts on the same hull though.

 

Will any of the variants get rid of one seat, move the remaining seat to the center of the cockpit and use the cleared space for something useful?

There’s currently no plans for a single-seat version of the Reliant.

 

Given that the Reliant is a “mini-hauler”, can we expect to see main thrusters capable of moving it while fully laden?

It’s currently planned thrusters are fully capable when loaded. Keep in mind, the Reliant uses Xi’an tech, and we’ve still got a few surprises left for what that really means as the ship gets closer to being flyable.

 

For someone with a fleet of bigger ships (Cutlass, Connie, etc) how would a Reliant complement it?

This really depends on what kinds of roles you’re planning to play with your other ships. Exploration Carrack? The Research Reliant would pair well with the increased maneuverability and scanner packages. Doing some crazy ad-hoc storytelling in space with friends? Bring a News Van to capture the action.

 

Can you clarify the maximum size and number of attachments that the gimbal hardpoint can handle?

The Wing-Tip turret is the listed S3 hardpoint for the Reliant. This means you can:

• Run a single fixed S3
• Run the stock S2 turret – It comes with a Tractor Beam installed but fits any S2 weapons.
• Run the optional Twin-S1 turret – This is the turret shown in concept art and will also be available throughREC and VD when the Reliant is made flyable.

In one of the pictures there is a silhouette that suggests that the Reliant’s wings can fold upward while the ship is landed, perhaps to save space. Is this indeed part of the design, and, if so, will the Reliant be able to land in the same cross-sectional area as an Aurora or Mustang?

The folded wings are more when the ship is stored for distance-transport. It should sit in a similar amount of space to an Aurora or Mustang, but would take some extra time to become flight-ready compared to a Reliant with the wings unfolded.

[GeraldEvans]

Caught this in the second part of the q&a, and I'm really excited that the wings can be folded for more compact parking!

bottom right corner

[VoA]

MISC RELIANT CONCEPT SALE ANALYSIS Jun 2

MISC RELIANT CONCEPT SALE ANALYSIS

Categories: Article Blog Editorial Funding Tags: Concept Sale MISC Reliant Posted by: NehkaraComments:0

Greetings fellow Star Citizens!  Today I will be giving my thoughts and analysis on the recently completed MISC Reliant concept sale.

 

The MISC Reliant concept sale occurred recently from May 22nd to June 1st.  This concept sale was interesting for a variety of reasons.  Some people were excited about it because we finally would have a two seat starter ship.  Some were excited because it afforded them a method to cheaply get LTI, which they will be able to apply to other ships via cross-chassis upgrade in the future.  Furthermore, there were folks like us at INN who were amazed and thrilled to see a News Van variant announced of this little ship.  Even beyond that, you have the folks who love the Star Wars aesthetic brought to us by David Hobbins who was the concept artist for the Reliant and is also working on the new Star Wars movies.

 

Past even all of the above reasons for excitement, the ship we were shown is a intriguing little vessel with a heap of versatility and some interesting features such as a slightly asymmetrical design and alien technology (allowing it to switch from horizontal to vertical flight modes on the fly).

This article will focus on comparing the Reliant concept sale to previous concept sales, while also briefly touching on the Starfarer Gemini.

AEGIS DYNAMICS RECLAIMER

 

Funds raised from Reclaimer concept sale after:

2 hours:  $206,815
4 hours:  $308,545
8 hours:  $436,956
12 hours:  $524,973
24 hours:  $734,014
48 hours:  $937,421
72 hours:  $1,074,118
96 hours:  $1,211,152
120 hours:  $1,348,664
144 hours:  $1,483,283
168 hours:  $1,610,823
192 hours:  $1,758,553
216 hours:  $1,887,216
220 hours:  $1,928,276
Total raised in concept sale:  $1,988,585 (227 hours @ $8,760/hr)

The Aegis Dynamics Reclaimer had a fantastic concept sale.  The community loved the ship and it drove all our imaginations wild with thoughts of wading into fields of debris left over from intense battles and picking clean the bones of the dead… before grinding the bare hulls into scrap.  Despite its civilian purpose, the Reclaimer is a hulking brute and an imposing sight.  All of this led to nearly $2 million in sales for Star Citizen’s first dedicated salvage ship.

RSI ORION MINING PLATFORM

 

Funds raised from Orion concept sale after:

2 hours:  $150,809
4 hours:  $222,487
8 hours:  $317,615
12 hours:  $400,212
24 hours:  $581,792
48 hours:  $743,211
72 hours:  $857,592
96 hours:  $954,136
120 hours:  $1,066,744
144 hours:  $1,167,254
168 hours:  $1,326,253
192 hours:  $1,510,793
216 hours:  $1,696,170
220 hours:  $1,731,299
Total raised in concept sale:  $1,731,299 (220 hours @ $7,869/hr)

The RSI Orion Mining Platform also had a successful concept sale.  The innovative design by George Hull, the same artist who designed the Reclaimer, brought life to what has been a fairly mundane game mechanic in other games over the years.  This was highlighted and reinforced by the Star Citizen Careers: Mining design post by Tony Zurovec.

The Orion sale has some interesting wrinkles, because there was a Cutlass free fly week that happened partway through the sale.  This may have slightly elevated the numbers due to the availability of the Cutlass Blue, but it looks as though the effect was minimal.  About a week into the sale, the Orion’s cockpit/bridge was altered (with the pilot’s seat moved to the top of the ship) and this drove a significant increase in sales in the last few days which brought the final total to within $260k of the Reclaimer’s total.

AEGIS DYNAMICS VANGUARD

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Funds raised from Vanguard concept sale after:

2 hours:  $187,724
4 hours:  $285,256
8 hours:  $376,024
12 hours:  $442,484
24 hours:  $657,735
48 hours:  $876,897
72 hours:  $1,053,928
96 hours:  $1,221,595
120 hours:  $1,359,487
144 hours:  $1,492,437
168 hours:  $1,643,897
192 hours:  $1,.798,183
216 hours:  $1,997,690
220 hours:  $2,043,262
240 hours:  $2,202,675
Total raised in concept sale:  $2,250,189 (245 hours @ $9,184/hr)

The Aegis Dynamics Vanguard is now the “one to beat”.  The most successful concept sale to date.  The deep space fighter, designed by Gurmukh Bhasin, has set a high bar with a total of $2.25 million raised over the 245 hours it was on sale.

The Vanguard had some detractors who said it was too expensive at $250 USD, but it certainly had a bevy of features to support its price and in general the INN staff felt it to be worthwhile and several of the twin engine fighters now grace our fleet.

MISC HULL SERIES

 

 

 

Funds raised from Hull Series concept sale after:

2 hours:  $93,265
4 hours:  $159,997
8 hours:  $261,106
12 hours:  $363,245
24 hours:  $589,370
48 hours:  $812,894
72 hours:  $964,540
96 hours:  $1,079,724
120 hours:  $1,203,750
144 hours:  $1,359,517
168 hours:  $1,538,711
192 hours:  $1,724,437
216 hours:  $1,968,998
220 hours:  $2,010,539
240 hours:  $2,156,463
Total raised in concept sale:  $2,156,463 (240 hours @ $8,895/hr)

The Hull Series sale started slow.  I believe this is largely due to the fact that it started in the middle of the night in North America.  However, after its slow start it picked up steam and surpassed first the Orion and then, near the end, the Reclaimer.  While it looked like this sale would even catch up to the incredibly successful Vanguard, it faltered slightly right near the end and did not quite reach those lofty heights.  Still, the sale earned a whopping $2.15 million for Star Citizen’s development.

More importantly, the MISC Hull Series brought with it a greater understanding of the cargo mechanics in Star Citizen.  You can find those articles below:

MISC HULL SERIES Q&A

Hull A Q&A
Hull B Q&A
Hull C Q&A
Hull D Q&A
Hull E Q&A

CARGO INTERACTION DESIGN POST

It was great to finally get a better grasp on how cargo will be handled in Star Citizen, since it is such an integral part of how the universe will function.

STARFARER GEMINI

 

Funds raised from Starfarer Gemini concept sale after:

2 hours:  $51,094
4 hours:  $91,511
8 hours:  $119,367
12 hours:  $136,673
24 hours:  $251,634
48 hours:  $356,292
72 hours:  $429,923
96 hours:  $494,872
120 hours:  $549,268
144 hours:  $612,922
168 hours:  $683,504
192 hours:  $762,904
216 hours:  $834,996
220 hours:  $848,736
240 hours:  $899,358
Total raised in concept sale:  $910,523 (245 hours @ $3,716/hr)

The Starfarer Gemini is a neat ship that sort of highlights again the great part of the community’s feedback and interaction with the CIG development team.  The Gemini was originally just flavour text in lore and wasn’t really being considered to be a ship you could pledge for.  However, the community seemed intrigued by the idea of an armed and armoured fuel tanker and that led to CIG deciding to go ahead and create the variant for us to add to our collections.

Some of you may be asking why the Starfarer Gemini didn’t get its own concept sale analysis.   Well, the fact is that I wasn’t sure it should qualify.  The still-limited base Starfarer went back on sale at the same time and will have skewed the numbers for the Star-G to some extent.  Therefore I felt it was perhaps not necessarily in the same league as some of the other concept sales noted in this article.  However, the base Starfarer has been available numerous times and you would imagine that most people who wanted it had previously picked it up.  Therefore, I came to the interesting conclusion of including it in THIS analysis but not giving it one of its own.

During the Starfarer Gemini concept sale, CIG released a three part Q&A about the base Starfarer and the Star-G.  You can find those here:

STARFARER Q&A

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Frankly, for a variant of a fuel tanker, I think the Star-G’s concept sale went quite well. That said, it doesn’t come close to reaching the heights of the Orion, Reclaimer, Vanguard, or Hull series. Interestingly… the Star-G’s sale in terms of actual funds came remarkably close to that of our feature concept sale ship… the Reliant!

MISC RELIANT

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Funds raised from Reliant concept sale after:

2 hours:  $57,310
4 hours:  $101,282
8 hours:  $176,262
12 hours:  $217,474
24 hours:  $287,835
48 hours:  $370,253
72 hours:  $437,094
96 hours:  $495,189
120 hours:  $559,735
144 hours:  $619,893
168 hours:  $682,659
192 hours:  $761,962
216 hours:  $823,006
220 hours:  $838,723
240 hours:  $904,123
Total raised in concept sale:  $963,498 (254 hours @ $3,793/hr)

The MISC Reliant is a versatile starter ship featuring an array of xenotechnology courtesy of MISC’s business relationship with the Xi’An.  This is the first of a new classification of Tier II starter ships and is currently the only two seat starter.  The base Reliant is described as a mini-hauler but it can be outfitted for any number of roles.  In addition, CIG have already outlined what the Reliant variants will be:

• “Researcher” – A science-oriented model that carries internal signal dampeners and an advanced scanner suite for discovery missions.
• “News Van” – Designed for deep space broadcasting, the ‘News Van’ Reliant adds an Image Enhancement Suite that helps capture every moment of life in the stars.
• “Skirmisher” – The frontier combat version of the Reliant trades cargo for a high-yield powerplant, stronger shields and additional weapons mounts.

Obviously the folks here at INN have a particular fascination with the News Van variant of the Reliant and plans are already in the works to add those to our planned fleet of news ships (mostly Drake Heralds up until now).

During the Reliant concept sale, CIG released a two part Q&A about the ship.  You can find those here:

RELIANT Q&A

Part 1
Part 2

The Reliant’s sale went well.  It did not bring in the same kind of funding as the Vanguard or Reclaimer but that seems to be is mostly due to its much cheaper price.  As you will see noted below, in terms of actual ships sold the Reliant is the winner of all of these concept sales by a landslide.

COMPARISON:

Illustrated above:  The Reliant starts off somewhat better than the Starfarer Gemini but after that the sales mirror each other very closely with the Reliant finishing just ahead of the Star-G.

Illustrated above:  The ROUGH comparison of the number of ships sold in various concept sales.  As you can see, in terms of ships sold the MISC Reliant is the clear winner, unsurprisingly.  The MISC Hull Series was omitted because it was impossible to get even an approximate figure because 5 ships were solid simultaneously.  The numbers above are inexact because it is impossible to account for other sales activity and the use of RSI store credit by some to purchase ships, so the chart is best used for comparison purposes.

An illustration of the number of Citizens and members of the UEE Fleet at the beginning of each concept sale.

SUMMARY:

Overall the MISC Reliant concept sale saw more than double the ships sold in comparison to the Vanguard – the reigning champ for funding.  Meanwhile, it brought in less than half of the funds of the Vanguard sale.

I think  the success of a sale should be judged primarily on the popularity of the ship.  Almost everyone I discussed the Reliant with in the Star Citizen community loves this little Star Wars-inspired vessel.  In addition, there are at least 19,000 of them now populating the account pages of Star Citizen backers.

I am excited for the future of this starship.  She seems like a worthy addition to the fleet and hopefully some day you will see INN Reliants flitting from system to system, capturing all of the latest news from the ‘verse.

[vindslav]

I recall on RTV that they had sold over 11,000 reliants, so there must be alot of people who melted for the cheap LTI.

I personally melted my Star-G for a hand full of them.

[FoxChard]

@vindslav,  lol that was quick.  

[vindslav]

@vindslav,  lol that was quick.  

 

It shall be reborn!!!

 

[VoA]

[VoA]

MISC Reliant WIP Images in Spoiler

 

[VoA]

Awesome image from Teller

++ a new GHG vid on the Reliant

 

Edited July 3, 2015 by VoA

[pilot-john]

As I missed the sale  do you guys know when it will next be available and at what price will it be sold.

 

[GeraldEvans]

Well, probably November for the anniversary sale, and I would guess $55/60 and an additional $15 for one with a package.

[Reavern]

As I missed the sale  do you guys know when it will next be available and at what price will it be sold.

 

 

Well, probably November for the anniversary sale, and I would guess $55/60 and an additional $15 for one with a package.

It will definitely be available again during the Anniversary Sale, although it won't have LTI next time -- it'll probably have 2 years insurance instead.

Other possibilities are when the ship brochure and variant models are released, and when the Reliant is flyable in AC. Whether that will happen before or after the anniversary sale is anyone's guess.

[Thrmos]

Will the vertical flight mode mean that those main thrusters will be gimbaled to allow more maneuverability?

They don’t fully gimbal 360 like the Cutlass engines can, but they’ll have some range of motion. There’s also going to be some Xi’an tech at work that we’ll be talking more about as the ship gets closer to being flyable.

 

Wow didn't even know that my question got into the Q&A for this, and I am so happy that they are really going to think about the Xi'an tech as well

[LeroyJenkins]

What @Reavern said. It'll be in the store soon enough (they'll definitely announce it) and the only difference will be the lack of LTI and another buying option - a package for each variant. 

[Basard]

As I missed the sale  do you guys know when it will next be available and at what price will it be sold.

 

You might beable to buy one on the gray market for around 60-70 dollars, so that way you get LTI.

[VoA]

Some decent fan art ...

 

[AstroJak]

Anybody have an idea when this ship will become hanger ready? AstroJak

[VoA]

[VoA]

 

[FoxChard]

Somebody, namely me, screamed like a little girl during Ship Shape.  By far their best episode yet.  

[VoA]

See link for few images images --->> This one's for Elwin - LEGO Reliant