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Hammerhead - Corvette Anti-fighter


Devil Khan

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The images and AtV reveal conflict with the Stats Page. On the Stats Page they talk about S3 missiles while in the image below it clearly shows torpedoes launching in a similar shot as the Polaris concept art:

Hammerhead_Missile_Fire_2.jpg

In the AtV segment the narrator is also talking about how it feels to be a human torpedo while standing in what looks like a torpedo tube.

At any rate, I know what one of my Merchantmans is going to be CCUd into; just as soon as I can get through this dreadfully slow payment process. :P

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It is just a concept pic. They borrowed it directly from the Polaris pic, but they are 100% missiles. 4x 8 S3 Everything are meant to destroy fighters. 

AtV never mentions torpoes, It did  say S3 MISSILIES in 4x launchers each has 8, total of 32.

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I was finally able to purchase one! Goodness! Next major purchase will be the Polaris! So stoked!

4 minutes ago, Devil Khan said:

Eah... Good luck... Anti-fighter weapons vs Torpedoes.

Roll the ship, lock 5 turrets on the torps... I'm sure they will crack LoL

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THIS is the surprise I was hoping for from CIG for the Anniversary Special!

Aegis-Hammerhead-Piece-02-Full-Force-03-

A new capital ship that is armed to the teeth and looks ferocious!

The Hammerhead anti-fighter "gunboat" is the picket ship that Star Citizen desperately needed. It was apparent in the Alpha PU that ship turrets weren't as effective as they should be, which is why larger ships, like the Constellation and Starfarer, were basically target practice for starfighters and bombers. Sure, those ships were tough and it took fighters and even bombers a long time to breach their shields and hulls, but the ships were virtually defenseless because their gun turrets were woefully inadequate to destroy the attacking strikecraft. CIG promised to improve gun turrets to achieve a fair balance, but it still seems like large ships are too vulnerable and would need escort fighters for protection.

The problem is that starfighters, like the Hornet or Sabre, don't have the same range as long haulers, like the Freelancer, Starfarer, or Hull series. The starfighters would have to stop to refuel after long jumps, which would slow down a merchant convoy and make them more susceptible to attack. (A merchant convoy quantum jumping across a star system is harder to detect and interdict, whereas a convoy having to stop at a refueling depot so its escort fighters can refuel would be easy to spot and ambush.) The Vanguard Warden seemed ideal for the role of an escort fighter because it has the range to keep up with a merchant convoy. However, CIG has terribly nerfed the Vanguard since it was released, so it's viability as an escort fighter is questionable -- until CIG fixes it.

It's not just merchant convoys. Cap ships also seem too vulnerable to strikecraft. I've long questioned WHY cap ships have so few gun turrets. A Retaliator almost has as many gun turrets as a Polaris Corvette. And why are the turrets only dual mounts instead of quads? And why are the guns relatively small? Usually size 2.

All of these problems seem solved by the Hammerhead. It has 6 manned gun turrets with quad Size 4 laser repeaters. Quad gun turrets. FINALLY!!! (I know the Hurricane has a quad gun turret, but it's a glass cannon.) Now that CIG has created quad gun turrets, I hope they upgrade the existing cap ship turrets with quads. It's also great that the Hammerhead is armed with Size 3 missiles. I'm surprised that CIG didn't skimp out and go with Size 2s. Size 3s were definitely the right choice, because a Size 2 won't destroy a Hornet in one shot. A Size 3 will. And Size 3s are effective against medium size ships too.

The only criticism I have about the Hammerhead is I wish it had forward-firing weapons for the pilot to operate. For a ship so focused on combat and protection, it seems unfair not to allow the pilot to shoot anything. I'm not suggesting the pilot needs to be able to operate the quad turrets. But it would've been nice if the Hammerhead had a pair of fixed-forward heavy guns or a remote dual turret to shoot at whatever is in front of the Hammerhead. Without a gun for the pilot, I foresee that a Hammerhead crew will squabble over who gets to man the quad turrets, but no one will want to drive.

Also, (I guess I do have another criticism), while the gap in the hull kinda looks cool, it serves no practical purpose, so I don't like it. It seems like a wasted space where another gun turret could've been placed there. Another dorsal turret could've been place there, and the existing dorsal turret could've been elevated or extend from the hull, so they both fire forward. Or a ventral turret that extends downward so that it clears the bridge canopy. Or forget extra weapons. The internal space could've been used for numerous possible things: amenities for the crew, a cargo hold or reinforced magazine for munitions, additional shield gens, a secondary or reserve power plant, a mission module, or a hardened life boat. Instead, the gap seems purely aesthetic and that doesn't make sense for a combat ship.

Regardless, I have bought a Hammerhead with store credit. I made sure I had plenty of store credit available for the Anniversary Special for a surprise like this, and I'm pleased with my decision, because if I was forced to choose between buying a warbond and passing on the Hammerhead, I probably would've bought it. Because I think the Hammerhead will be the perfect ship to use against Pirates and Vanduul. Imagine using a Starfarer or Hull series as bait to lure in Pirates, then jump in a Hammerhead and tear them to pieces. The Hammerhead is going to make Pirates' lives miserable, and I love it!!! :P B)

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With the right weaponry, this ship can tear a planetside base apart with a few strafing runs

 

11 minutes ago, Reavern said:

The Hammerhead is going to make Pirates' lives miserable, and I love it!!!

But what if the pirates used the Hammerhead? It would be an escort pilot nightmare as it would give space for boarding ships to do their work

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39 minutes ago, Reavern said:

THIS is the surprise I was hoping for from CIG for the Anniversary Special!

Aegis-Hammerhead-Piece-02-Full-Force-03-

A new capital ship that is armed to the teeth and looks ferocious!

The Hammerhead anti-fighter "gunboat" is the picket ship that Star Citizen desperately needed. It was apparent in the Alpha PU that ship turrets weren't as effective as they should be, which is why larger ships, like the Constellation and Starfarer, were basically target practice for starfighters and bombers. Sure, those ships were tough and it took fighters and even bombers a long time to breach their shields and hulls, but the ships were virtually defenseless because their gun turrets were woefully inadequate to destroy the attacking strikecraft. CIG promised to improved gun turrets to achieve a fair balance, but it still seems like large ships are too vulnerable and would need escort fighters for protection.

The problem with escort fighters is their limited range. A Hornet or Sabre doesn't have the same range as a Freelancer, Starfarer, or Hull series. They have to stop to refuel after a long jump, which would slow down a merchant convoy and make them more susceptible to attack. (A merchant convoy quantum jumping across a star system is harder to detect and interdict, whereas a convoy having to stop at a refueling depot so its escort fighters can refuel would be easy to spot and ambush.) It seemed like the only solution was the Vanguard Warden, which had the range to keep up with a merchant convoy. But the Vanguard has been nerfed terribly by CIG since it was released, so it's viability as an escort fighter is questionable, until CIG fixes it.

It's also not just merchant convoys. Cap ships also seem too vulnerable to strikecraft. I've long questioned WHY cap ships have so few gun turrets. A Retaliator almost has as many gun turrets as a Polaris Corvette. And why are the turrets only dual mounts instead of quads? And why are the guns relatively small? Usually size 2.

All of these problems seem solved with the Hammerhead. It has 6 manned gun turrets with quad Size 4 laser repeaters. Quad gun turrets. FINALLY!!! (I know the Hurricane has a quad gun turret, but it's a glass cannon.) Now that CIG has created quad gun turrets, I hope they upgrade the existing cap ship turrets with quads. It's also great that the Hammerhead is armed with Size 3 missiles. I'm surprised that CIG didn't skimp out and go with Size 2s. Size 3s were definitely the right choice, because a Size 2 won't destroy a Hornet in one shot. A Size 3 will. And Size 3s are effective against medium size ships too.

The only criticism I have about the Hammerhead is I wish it had forward-firing weapons for the pilot to operate. For a ship so focused on combat and protection, it seems unfair not to allow the pilot to shoot anything. I'm not suggesting the pilot needs to be able to operate the quad turrets. But it would've been nice if the Hammerhead had a pair of fixed-forward heavy guns or a remote dual turret to shoot at whatever is in front of the Hammerhead. Without a gun for the pilot, I foresee that a Hammerhead crew will squabble over who gets to man the quad turrets, but no one will want to drive.

Also, (I guess I do have another criticism), while the gap in the hull kinda looks cool, it serves no practical purpose, so I don't like it. It seems like a wasted space where another gun turret could've been placed there. Another dorsal turret could've been place there, and the existing dorsal turret could've been elevated or extend from the hull, so they both fire forward. Or a ventral turret that extends downward so that it clears the bridge canopy. Or forget extra weapons. The internal space could've been used for numerous possible things: amenities for the crew, a cargo hold or reinforced magazine for munitions, additional shield gens, a secondary or reserve power plant, a mission module, or a hardened life boat. Instead, the gap seems purely aesthetic and that doesn't make sense for a combat ship.

Regardless, I have bought a Hammerhead with store credit. I made sure I had plenty of store credit available for the Anniversary Special for a surprise like this, and I'm pleased with my decision, because if I was forced to choose between buying a warbond and passing on the Hammerhead, I probably would've bought it. Because I think the Hammerhead will be the perfect ship to use against Pirates and Vanduul. Imagine using a Starfarer or Hull series as bait to lure in Pirates, then jump in a Hammerhead and tear them to pieces. The Hammerhead is going to make Pirates' lives miserable, and I love it!!! :P B)

Thumbs up to all that but one thing: at 100 m lenght and 1/10 mass of a Polaris this hardly qualify as a capship, more of a SuperRedeemer imho.

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