What Professions in Star Citizen WILL Require a Specialty Ship - [POLL]

[VoA]

What Professions in Star Citizen WILL Require a Specialty Ship - [POLL]  <<--- Please vote on the RSI forums (too many Poll options and SCB limits the amount of questions)

 --->> My take on it is = It depends on how complicated / involved the Profession is.

As far as I know CIG has not indicated an answer to this question until now for mining - per this quote

MISC Prospector Q&A Part 1
Can only specialized ships (Orion/Prospector) mine or can you retrofit mining equipment on to other ships?

Mining equipment will only be able to be equipped on specific hardpoints, as they require other ship equipment to be present for them to operate (pipes, processing equipment and storage tanks), so they will only be on specialized ships.

This has prompted other discussions about various professions and here is an example of a discussion about Salvage:

The Cutlass and Gladiator have already been mentioned as suitable for small salvaging ships. I'd rather see modularity options for different professions developed for the existing backlog of "generalist"/"versatile" ships before the range of "specialist" ships is expanded greatly.

The Caterpillar has also been specifically mentioned as a fine Salvage ship.

Every market has both = Specialized and Generalist solutions. It just depends on the Profession (another example would be Farming) - you can't turn any old ship into a Farming ship by swapping out a Hardpoint. The Connie though is a multi-purpose ship with many options ..... and they had the Civilian market even convert Military Specialized ships like the Tali into Multi-Purpose ships (and we are expecting CIG to come out with even more Tali Modules).

People are wondering if Salvaging will require a specialized ship...... and I think it won't since it isn't a complicated profession that requires special equipment....

The specialized functions to the Reclaimer will likely only be needed and available on the Reclaimer but general salvage can be done by everyone (CR already went over this in general). Example --- the Refinery (compactor), Mining Drones, Large Ripping Claw and The Snub Cutter will be only available on the Reclaimer as penultimate Salvage Ship (second only to larger NPC only corporation ships - like Shubin has for Mining).

Just like everyone can EVA mine....... everyone can EVA salvage (CR explained this before). EVA mining will produce very low yield but that doesn't necessarily hold true to EVA Salvage (cutting off or detaching chunks of salvage produces more than extracting ore).

All you really need for Salvage is:

1) An EVA cutting (FPS) tool (which CIG has already developed)
2) A Cargo Hold

Things that Would be Nice to have and we know all ships can have (swapped onto a hardpoint)

A) Tractor Beam
B ) Flood Lamps
++++++++

CIG has already mentioned before that Ships like the Cutlass Black and Caterpillar will make fine Salvage ships (I think the Reliant Kore will make a fine salvage ship as well and even a 315p to a lesser extent since it has a very small cargo hold).

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Please VOTE in the Poll and post your opinion on specific professions. Star Citizen is a WIP and CIG loves to have the player base contribute to its development through discussions and threads like this one.

NOTE - The Poll does not indicate all the possible Professions in Star Citizen (SC is still a WIP) but this link is pretty extensive for possible professions -->> 220 desired 'professions' found so far 220 desired 'professions' found so far

NOTE - The Poll derived its list of professions based on the ships we do know about and their Focus as listed on the Ship Matrix (and does not include Combat Professions - which are obvious)

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Again please post your comments and ideas about What Professions in Star Citizen WILL Require a Specialty Ship?

[SkyLordOwen]

Thanks

[VoA]

On 4/29/2016 at 10:51 PM, SkyLordOwen said:

Thanks

Surprised that we didn't get more people to comment on this topic - 

Hopefully we can get more people to expand specifically on their overall take on this but also explain their take on individual professions......
 

+++ Hopefully you guys voted on link below...

What Professions in Star Citizen WILL Require a Specialty Ship - [POLL]  <<--- Please vote on the RSI forums (too many Poll options and SCB limits the amount of questions)

[Reavern]

I understand that it won't be possible for multi-role ships to be modded to perform every role, but I also don't think it should be necessary to have specialty ships for every role. That's why I was surprised by this from the Prospector's Q&A:

Quote

Can only specialized ships (Orion/Prospector) mine or can you retrofit mining equipment on to other ships?

Mining equipment will only be able to be equipped on specific hardpoints, as they require other ship equipment to be present for them to operate (pipes, processing equipment and storage tanks), so they will only be on specialized ships

This is a dramatic change, because mining was one of the original professions that was mentioned in Star Citizen, and the assumption has always been that multi-role ships could be modded with components that would enable to perform most roles.

I anticipated that mining asteroids in a multi-role ship would be a challenge, because how do you get the extracted resources into your ship's cargo hold? I assumed it would be done using a tractor beam, but I didn't think it would need a hose and processing equipment connected to the storage tank(s); I thought the multi-role mining ship would have a kind of hopper or ram-scoop (similar to ships' engine intakes) that the tractor beam would guide the extractor resources into, which would feed into the cargo container.

I think many multiple-role ships could be modded for mining, if CIG made the effort to make it work. Take the Aurora as an example: its ventral weapon struts could be used to mount a laser drill and tractor beam rig, similar to Prospector's -- it just wouldn't be able to retract into the hull during flight. The hose that the resources travel through would be slung under the Aurora's ventral side and connect to a modified cargo box used as a resource storage tank. The Aurora Miner might not have processing equipment that filtered out rocks and un-wanted materials; it would would suck up everything and you'd have to sort and filter it later. It also wouldn't have collapsible storage tanks, like the Prospector. Those would be the trade-offs with an Aurora Miner, because it's not a Mining specialty ship, like the Prospector; but it would enable a n00b player to mine with a starter ship, instead of having to choose another profession/role until they saved up enough to buy a Prospector.

I don't expect CIG to devote a lot of their resources to enabling multi-role ships to mine at this stage in the game's development. However, I think that it should be ready for Star Citizen's retail release -- even if it's only the Aurora that has the mining mod package. I just think there should be an entry-level mining ship -- just as their should be an entry-level salvage ship, entry-level info runner, entry-level racer, etc. Because currently the only professions/roles possible using entry-level (<$50) ships are exploration, hauling/trading, and combat. That's not many options for the start of the game.

I hope CIG re-considers making multi-role ships truly multi-role. I understand that it'll require more work, but I think it's better than them designing and building a specialty ship for every profession/role in the PU. I'm not saying that every multi-role ship should be able to perform every role. In my example, I explained that it wouldn't take much to modify an Aurora as a mining ship. However, it would would be more difficult to mod a 300i into a mining ship, because it has an internal cargo bay, necessitating the hose/piping go through the hull. Considering that the 300 series is a luxury brand, it's not a big deal if it can't be modded for mining. Whereas a Mustang Alpha could be modded for mining very similarly to the Aurora. The way I see it, if at least one multi-role ship could be modded for at least two roles (in addition to its variant models), all of the professions/roles would be covered. That would ensure that multi-role role ships, which were the original ships in Star Citizen, are still relevant to the game.

[Booster Terrik]

Nah multirole ships are bad for the marketing department at CIG. You gotta have many different ships for many different professions so all the Pokemon players "Gotta Catch em all" like @VoA will feel a need to buy them all in a concept sale  Why sell people 1 ship which can do 4 things when you can sell them 4 different ships and earn 4 times the money?

[Wu Jen]

1 hour ago, Booster Terrik said:

Nah multirole ships are bad for the marketing department at CIG. You gotta have many different ships for many different professions so all the Pokemon players "Gotta Catch em all" like @VoA will feel a need to buy them all in a concept sale  Why sell people 1 ship which can do 4 things when you can sell them 4 different ships and earn 4 times the money?

Exactly what I said in the Prospector Q&A thread. Long term, when they have people to spare, I can see them making new interior modules to 'plug' into ships that will have the piping and equipment and exterior drills/tractor beams for mining that could be used on multi-purpose vessels. A module will cost less in most cases than a CCU, so not as high a priority to keep funds rolling in during this stage of development.

Designing modules doesn't sell as well as a 'brand new ship!' and hence why they are lower priority. Longer term, it's a no brainer, it'll make extra money and can be balanced out. Once you have X number of players flying X ship it would only make sense to create modules for those particular ships and tailor sales around them.

Short term we won't see multi-role vessels come into their own, late game without a doubt.

[VoA]

1 hour ago, Wu Jen said:

Short term we won't see multi-role vessels come into their own, late game without a doubt.

Actually short term we are seeing multi-role vessels come into their own first...... CIG is working on the base models first for every ship (and generally those base models are Multi-Role vessels) -->> Andromeda, base Freelancer, Cutlass Black, etc.....

Also initial missions will be overly simplified in scope and complexity......... which will allow any ship to perform the mission just fine.  Example - early salvage missions you will not need a Reclaimer (any ship with a cargo hold will work just fine).

3 hours ago, Booster Terrik said:

Nah multirole ships are bad for the marketing department at CIG. 

No because they can't perform at the same level as a dedicated ship  (just like in real life you need both) - Mutlti Role ships suffer from the "Jack-of-All-Trades_____ Master of None".......... so some people will want them for their flexibly of use...... take for instance a modular Tali.......... but no one expects it to be as efficient as a dedicated ship.... ((no one expect a Modular Tali with Cargo Modules to compete with a dedicated Cargo Hauler like a Hull Series ship))..... but the Tali can perform multiple roles..... while the Hull series is mainly just for cargo hauling.

[Wu Jen]

20 minutes ago, VoA said:

Actually short term we are seeing multi-role vessels come into their own first...... CIG is working on the base models first for every ship (and generally those base models are Multi-Role vessels) -->> Andromeda, base Freelancer, Cutlass Black, etc.....

If you think multi-role ships during 2.4 - 2.7 are going to be fully fleshed out and 'come into their own' compared to after commercial launch, then I think you are hoping for too much.

Most multi-role systems won't even be fully implemented till way later.

[Doopsums]

I think this topic has a lot of disconnect when trying to talk about professions/roles and classifying ships to those mechanics. The terms of "Roles" and "Professions" can often be confused with generic game mechanics and functions. This leads to much debate on when a ship is considered "Multi-Role" and what roles that ship can fill.

52 minutes ago, VoA said:

CIG is working on the base models first for every ship (and generally those base models are Multi-Role vessels) -->> Andromeda, base Freelancer, Cutlass Black, etc.....

I personally don't consider the Cutlass Black as a multi-role ship(UNLESS CIG decides to change direction and consider the modules that are in the variants, Red & Blue, being hooked in to the cutlass Black...although that would make having variants completely redundant(yes I know the hulls are slightly different) as well as being able to attach/equip role specific equipment/tools to hardpoints. I consider the ships that are modular, example being the Tali and Endeavor with its separate modular entities that you can switch out, as being true Multi-Role Ships. While the Cutlass Black can do different things...Dogfight, haul cargo, multi-crew(gunning,co-pilot, engineering)... I consider those more generic game mechanics than necessarily role specific mechanics. Same can be said for the base Freelancer. The Connie is supposedly suppose to be modular, so if you can switch out your cargo hold with seating for drop ship capabilities for example, I would then personally consider it a Multi-Role Ship.

This brings back my thoughts on the Prospector.

3 hours ago, Wu Jen said:

Exactly what I said in the Prospector Q&A thread. Long term, when they have people to spare, I can see them making new interior modules to 'plug' into ships that will have the piping and equipment and exterior drills/tractor beams for mining that could be used on multi-purpose vessels. A module will cost less in most cases than a CCU, so not as high a priority to keep funds rolling in during this stage of development.

Designing modules doesn't sell as well as a 'brand new ship!' and hence why they are lower priority. Longer term, it's a no brainer, it'll make extra money and can be balanced out. Once you have X number of players flying X ship it would only make sense to create modules for those particular ships and tailor sales around them.

Short term we won't see multi-role vessels come into their own, late game without a doubt.

I cannot agree more with you @Wu Jen.

Since the Q & A was able to "enlighten" everyone by letting us know you can't attach a mining laser to an aurora(or any other non-specialized ship) due to the sub systems required(processing power, pipes and cooling, specific storage), I think people really need to start looking more critically as to what their ships will be able to do....and do well. These "jack-of-all-trade" ships(in their current state/gameplan) will not last very long in my mind considering most players will gravitate to what that ship does best(min maxing) and then eventually move into a specialized ship based off their desire role that fits their gameplay style.

5 hours ago, Booster Terrik said:

Nah multirole ships are bad for the marketing department at CIG. 

Sorry but Voa is right about this one however....

1 hour ago, VoA said:

No because they can't perform at the same level as a dedicated ship  (just like in real life you need both) - Mutlti Role ships suffer from the "Jack-of-All-Trades_____ Master of None".......... so some people will want them for their flexibly of use...... take for instance a modular Tali.......... but no one expects it to be as efficient as a dedicated ship.... ((no one expect a Modular Tali with Cargo Modules to compete with a dedicated Cargo Hauler like a Hull Series ship))..... but the Tali can perform multiple roles..... while the Hull series is mainly just for cargo hauling.

There is no way you can definitely say one way or the other as we still do not have nearly enough game play details to form a solidified answer plus the fact that some of these "Trades" will not even be possible with other ships according to CIG's recent revelation. Even CIG has said something in the past, this does not constitute as in game FACT.

Spoiler

16 hours ago, Reavern said:

I understand that it won't be possible for multi-role ships to be modded to perform every role, but I also don't think it should be necessary to have specialty ships for every role. That's why I was surprised by this from the Prospector's Q&A:

This is a dramatic change, because mining was one of the original professions that was mentioned in Star Citizen, and the assumption has always been that multi-role ships could be modded with components that would enable to perform most roles.

I anticipated that mining asteroids in a multi-role ship would be a challenge, because how do you get the extracted resources into your ship's cargo hold? I assumed it would be done using a tractor beam, but I didn't think it would need a hose and processing equipment connected to the storage tank(s); I thought the multi-role mining ship would have a kind of hopper or ram-scoop (similar to ships' engine intakes) that the tractor beam would guide the extractor resources into, which would feed into the cargo container.

I think many multiple-role ships could be modded for mining, if CIG made the effort to make it work. Take the Aurora as an example: its ventral weapon struts could be used to mount a laser drill and tractor beam rig, similar to Prospector's -- it just wouldn't be able to retract into the hull during flight. The hose that the resources travel through would be slung under the Aurora's ventral side and connect to a modified cargo box used as a resource storage tank. The Aurora Miner might not have processing equipment that filtered out rocks and un-wanted materials; it would would suck up everything and you'd have to sort and filter it later. It also wouldn't have collapsible storage tanks, like the Prospector. Those would be the trade-offs with an Aurora Miner, because it's not a Mining specialty ship, like the Prospector; but it would enable a n00b player to mine with a starter ship, instead of having to choose another profession/role until they saved up enough to buy a Prospector.

I don't expect CIG to devote a lot of their resources to enabling multi-role ships to mine at this stage in the game's development. However, I think that it should be ready for Star Citizen's retail release -- even if it's only the Aurora that has the mining mod package. I just think there should be an entry-level mining ship -- just as their should be an entry-level salvage ship, entry-level info runner, entry-level racer, etc. Because currently the only professions/roles possible using entry-level (<$50) ships are exploration, hauling/trading, and combat. That's not many options for the start of the game.

I hope CIG re-considers making multi-role ships truly multi-role. I understand that it'll require more work, but I think it's better than them designing and building a specialty ship for every profession/role in the PU. I'm not saying that every multi-role ship should be able to perform every role. In my example, I explained that it wouldn't take much to modify an Aurora as a mining ship. However, it would would be more difficult to mod a 300i into a mining ship, because it has an internal cargo bay, necessitating the hose/piping go through the hull. Considering that the 300 series is a luxury brand, it's not a big deal if it can't be modded for mining. Whereas a Mustang Alpha could be modded for mining very similarly to the Aurora. The way I see it, if at least one multi-role ship could be modded for at least two roles (in addition to its variant models), all of the professions/roles would be covered. That would ensure that multi-role role ships, which were the original ships in Star Citizen, are still relevant to the game.

 

Said it best.