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Xi'an Scout - Khartu-al (export model)


WinterDragon

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17 minutes ago, NewzyOne said:

I know right!!

People have said that it's a scout so therefore it should only have 2 guns.

What people say - how should that matter? 

- CIG sold it with 2x size 2 guns and 2x size 3 guns but lacking missiles.

- CIG said it would be on equal footing with a Hornet or Sabre  (vs the Glaive being slightly stronger than a Super Hornet)

- CIG said it would have two seats and importantly, the second person could shoot the gimbaled guns.

 

So lets not be oblivious to the fact that this just isn't the ship that was sold to us anymore.  Its not a matter of "balancing", its simply been kicked down the stairs...

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3 minutes ago, JamesFV said:

And also their are saying that all are subject to change. So any point regarding specs if it is the best or not is mute. Only CIG's intention matters.

That's an overused excuse, when it comes to changes so drastic that they amount to a role change.

remember, CIG said we can trust the assigned roles and the spot where they slot the ship into (i.e. equal to ship x in combat ability).

 

Having 2 seats is certainly not something you just "balance" out of existence.

CIG themselves have admitted, that once you sell a ship a certain way, they agree that it shouldn't just become something else.

Now there's 3 Variants coming.  Of course, I don't want to have to pay more for a variant upgrade just to get what was sold to me in the first place:  A ship I can fly with my girlfriend, where each of us can shoot one pair of guns.

 

You see, making the guns bigger or smaller, that's balancing.

Removing two-player functionality is a role change - and a really big one at that.

 

 

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Check out the surface textures.  I know it's getting flak for appearing all slab like, but up close the detail is incredible.  Even on the black tail there's a surface pattern you can see up close.  Look like alien carbon fiber. Not shown here, but the rest is.

 

 

BTW, that pattern on the back side of the wings is a lattice, not a surface layer.  It has depth.  Very sweet.

Gold with uneven surface :)
ScreenShot0072.thumb.jpg.4b5f4d9228b0178

Look in the dark on the right.  All the black parts have this :)  Also, the canopy is reflecting the stripes on the floor.
ScreenShot0076.thumb.jpg.314482397d34cfa

Glorious, subtle, wonderful.
ScreenShot0079.thumb.jpg.43afef86f8dc287

 

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The Xian Scout will (perhaps) be a two seater (+reply from Ben)

LINK

 
 
 
Posted: 3:27PM
 
 
 
Hello!

As I mentioned on Batgirl's show, I'm still looking into exactly what happened with the second seat. I want to stress that that's not a promise that we will add it back (or if it's even possible to do with the current model.) We would need to look at what work would be required (which we will do) but I know right now that it would need to fit it into a very tight schedule. It's something to consider but not something that can happen immediately.

As for *why* it was removed, I believe you can go back just a few RtVs and find Matt and I talking about it being a two-seater... which makes me think that it's a simple miscommunication rather than anything the design team went out of their way to ask for (which I know has been thrown around in these threads.) To that end, the one thing I can tell you with certainty today is that it is NOT related to or suggestive of any plan to de-emphasize exploration, or some broad plan to make all of our ships dogfighters since that's what you can do in the game today. Exploration remains the #1 career role in the 'Verse, and it's something that continues to get a lot of love on the PU design side. 

As mentioned above - I actually prefer the single seat option for this ship (thinking a co-pilot reactions will be too slow for this ship) :)

 

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The loss of the Xi'An Scout's second seat is a surprise... although it doesn't reduce the ship's appeal IMO. When the Xi'An Scout was first announced, it was a written description only, in which it said it was a 2-seater ship, and the export model of the Xi'An Empire's most common starfighter. I expected it was comparable to the F7A Military Hornet, except the Xi'An military favoured speed and maneuverability over firepower and durability. And being a 2-seater, the second person might serve as a gunner, similar to the Super Hornet.

However, when the concept art of the Xi'An Scout was revealed, the ship lacked a gun turret and missiles, so the role the Scout's second crew member was questionable. And based on the experiences of gunners operating the Super Hornet's turret, having a manned gun turret isn't as useful as expected, so it's probably better that the Xi'An Scout is a single-person starfighter.

That said, I suppose it's possible that CIG could design a 2-seater variant. I'm just not sure what purpose the second seat would serve in either a combat or scout role.

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Yep.  Another pair of S2s like the early images would be great.  But where the second seat comes into it's own is when the target is behind you.  If you're coming across a ship from one side to another, your second seat can keep fire on it the whole time.

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2 hours ago, Reavern said:

The loss of the Xi'An Scout's second seat is a surprise... although it doesn't reduce the ship's appeal IMO.

It sure does if you have a girlfriend who was really into flying it with you.

Aside from that, its the simple matter of what was sold and you plunked down $150 for, which you cannot get back from CIG.

 

(and please don't tell me I should just get an SH, Gladiator or Miscreant - the first two I play dislike the designs for a sci-fi game and the third is is a starter ship that doesn't know if its a hauler or a fighter.

Combat wise, according to CIG, the Khartu was positioned as an equal to the Hornet (while the Glaive was positioned to be slightly better than a Super Hornet, for example)

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1 hour ago, GeraldEvans said:

I really want to know what you meant when autocorrect inserted Miscreant. Either way I think they should name a Drake ship that.

Sorry about the planned gf flying. I know all too well the importance of a high WAF. Plus it's nice to share passions.

Miscreant is my shortened name for the Misc Reliant  :D

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Ben just explained in RTV about 22m into it.... that the Xi'An Scout second seat got removed by a Technical Producer who didn't see the 2nd seat as having a function and didn't have a means to access it.   Apparently this never got to marketing or community so thus many in CIG were surprised as well.   He mentioned that it will stay a single seat ship but that they will look at adding the 2nd seat to it if they can find the Devs available down the road.  My guess it would be a variant down the road.

Also the Khartu-al will still have a role for being a Scout = Exploration.  My guess is that it will have great sensors...

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I understand them taking the variant route since the ship is a beautiful work of art and deserves a healthy userbase in the verse, I just wish they relayed the removal of second seat a bit earlier before it was hangar ready.

Other than that, this thing needs more firepower, better visibility and big shields. No matter how agile it is, it's big and will get hit easily when engaged in PvP combat.

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