If you get a gold ticket to a station you can buy a F8C. Platinum give you a LTI but also announces your location to the server until you deposit it.

The game has come a long way since I last played in 2018, but it seems like still so far to go.

Still no SQ42 is pretty funny.

I wish I could get the current sell-price for some of the ships I bought. It would have been an amazing investment. Just to pick a few:
Vulture: paid $120 currently $175
Caterpillar: paid $225 currently $330
Hull C: paid $125 last sale: $500
Carrack: paid $495 for "UEE Exploration pack" which included Carrack, Terrapin, and a Dragonfly combined value of each at last sale: $860
Merchantman: paid $230 value at last sale: $650

I have 4 Redeemer -> Merchantman CCU with $0 value because I grabbed them when they were both $250.

I paid $60 and got the 300i. That's it.

Watching "CitizenCon" to see what they're working on and if there's any chance SQ42 comes out in the next decade.

Squadron 42 is "feature complete" and they're in the polishing phase. They aren't committing to a release date yet, but it doesn't sound like 2024 from the way they talked about other features coming to Star Citizen. If this was a normal game, I'd say Holiday 2024 or Q1 2025, but who knows?

I might be misremembering, but I'd swear SQ42 was "feature complete" in 2018 or 2020...

Anyway, they closed out CitizenCon with an impressive video of gameplay of SQ42.

Smart.

I've played their pledge minigame over many years, it adds up.

I have a $150 Polaris though.

They're finally really getting there. The big tech hurdles for SC are solved and Sq42 is moving into Beta.

Another year or two and Sq42 will be released and I bet SC will be in beta shortly after that.

I have friends playing pyro right now on the special PTU. So far so good and are having a blast.

I’ve gone ahead and pledged a Cutter Scout, it’s a fun little ship with good HP

I spent most of the available time in Pyro yesterday.

Other than the solar flare mechanic - which looks very cool, but is really only a pain in the ass - and some cosmetic difference, it's just a lawless Stanton.

Ganking sucks (unless you're the one doing it, I guess?), and Pyro is just a huge gankfest.
- Habs aren't safe, so just trying to get to your ship is a battle.
- People sit literally right outside hangers as soon as you spawn your ship. Getting away from this wasn't too bad: wait until your shields are 100% and pre-spool your quantum drive before opening the hanger door, then full engine/afterburner until you clear the station and can jump somewhere. Landing is a bit trickier...I wish they had those nets in the hangers like on aircraft carriers.
- POIs on planets. This is somewhat a function of less than half the system being accessible, but I was killed in the middle of nowhere while zipping around in a buggy I found.

"Piracy" is fine, and even realistic, but ganking/random killing sucks. I wish they restricted fighters, at least for the test, because they don't have the range to get to Pyro from Stanton; instead, they gave every ship 10x more quantum fuel.

I did get to help kill an Idris, but I used a stealth bomber (Eclipse) and stayed 10+km away from the fray.

My guess is that Pyro will not be fun for the average player until beta, or a few more star systems are added (to dilute where "pirates" congregate), because you're just not going to be able to do anything there, and there's no risk to ganker/griefer under the current system (free insurance, etc.).

I think SC is still at least 5 years from Beta. Way too many game systems have not even begun development, let alone the existing ones that are only partially implemented or need to be completely reworked.

The "big tech hurdles" are not solved. We saw limited demos of separate closed and/or single-player environments, which is a whole other ballgame compared to a live MMO.

There's a real chance SC will still be in Alpha a decade from now. If they actually deliver even 50% of the big stuff they said was coming in the next 12 months, that might be a sign for hope.

SQ42, being of limited scope and single player, does seem to be 1-2 years away. However, I was there when it was "Answer the call 2016", and also when the roadmap released in 2018 (I think) said the game would be in beta by 2020.

Also, the longer the project goes on, the more likely they have critical devs leave (like apparently happened last year), setting back production even more.

I’m apart of a pirate org, I will say that the general random killing at Pyro and shooting at ships leaving isn’t super cool. There needs to be safe zones at stations no matter the system.

I enjoy the pirate life, I’ve been playing since May and already poured a grand in the game

I logged in for the expo (IAE 2953) and somebody was offering golden tickets for the F8 Lightning, so I grabbed one from him and turned it in and used some store credit to get it. Now I need to figure out what I'm going to do with the Scorpius that I have since that's my game package ship. I have an extra golden ticket that he gave me if somebody wants it and you will buy the ship ($260 warbond w/ LTI or $300 credit w/ 10 years of insurance).

Attached File

Lots of inexpensive options for the Scorpius:
1) Keep it. Its forward firepower it the best of any fighter in the game (even better than the F8, though the F8 is still a better fighter overall)
2) Upgrade to one of the following [cost]:
- Corsair [$10]. The Corsair is a large "exploration" ship, but it has more forward firepower at the pilot's control than any other ship in the game currently. It is a multi-crew ship though, with 3 turrets. Great for PvE; not so much for PvP without a crew/team.
- Ares (Ion or Inferno) [$10]. The Ares is an anti-capital ship heavy fighter, so very different purpose than the F8. The Ion uses an energy weapon, the Inferno is a space A-10 with a huge ballistic gatling cannon. Amazing in PvE; okay PvP (depends on what you're facing - other fighters will eat it alive). I prefer the Ion (energy = infinite ammo), but both are really good.
- 400i [$10]. This is a "luxury" exploration ship, which means overpriced and under gunned (but very fast). I would skip this one. Brave Sir Robin would fly one of these.
- Vanguard Warden [$20]. Another heavy fighter. I'd skip this as it doesn't do anything better than the above less expensive heavy fighters. It's eventually supposed to have better range. Solid PvE; decent PvP if you have a gunner for the turret.
- Mercury Star Runner [$20]. A Millenium Falcon knockoff. It's the fastest cargo ship in the game, and currently ~7th fastest ship overall. It is supposed to eventually be able to be a "data runner" but that gameplay doesn't exist yet. This ship is kind of under gunned, and there are better options for running cargo. Maybe it will be relevant when data running is added to the game, or if they add timed cargo missions.

Depending on what you want to do and how much you want to spend, I would start by looking at these ships. One slightly more expensive option I will suggest you also consider is the Eclipse [$60]. The Eclipse is a stealth bomber, and one of my favorite ships in the game. It carries three size 9 torpedoes that one-shot anything currently in the game except for an Idris.
Stealth mechanics are being revamped, but you can currently get within 4-7km of a target without being detected. At that close range, an enemy has 10-15 seconds before the torpedo hits. The torpedoes' max range is 30km, and I've killed people in the 20-25km range a few times. This is one of my favorite ships in the game and I've probably killed the most people with it.

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking of using it to upgrade to an Aquila to use for my Aquila to Orion Upgrade that I got a while back. I really need to map out what my ship plans are now that so much has changed. So many extra ships that have been added that I want (almost all RSI) like the Zeus Mk 2, RSI Arrastra, Perseus, etc. I may need to wind up keeping it if the F8 doesn't fit in the Polaris though.

Aquila's price is increasing tomorrow. I think it's going to be $310, which is crazy considering the base Andromeda is $240. They must have something special planned for exploration and the scanning station the Aquila gets in place of a gun turret.
If you already have an Aquila to Orion upgrade, that's still a good deal though, because the Orion is increasing by $75 (to $650). I bet it goes up more yet when it becomes flight ready.

Yeah, there are a lot of sweet RSI ships now/coming soon. I think the Zeus might be under gunned and slow based on the revealed stats, but I got one anyway.

The F8 will definitely fit in the Polaris.

Also, rumor/leak suggests there will be an event in December similar to the F8 event for the Mk II Hornet.

i would love to have it if i could actually log in with a ship with fuel to leave lorville. lots of bugs tonight for me

I've been playing pretty consistently for the last couple of months and know workarounds for most of the bugs. If you post exactly what the problem is, I might be able to help.

Note that game performance is always poor during these free-fly events. If the server you are on is especially slow, log out then back in to get on a different server. I had to restart the game about once an hour or so tonight, which was worse than normal, but didn't have major issues otherwise. Made around 15mil running drugs.

Funny, I still have my F7A hornet upgrade package. If they are releasing more, it makes me wish I had sold mine. The F7A looks way fucking better than the "civilian" version.

I traded in my Cutty Black for the C1, best $15 I’ve ever spent. Plus my LTI transfers over which is a plus.

C1 will be awesome for JumpTown especially with a few fighter escorts.

I did buy a Cutter Scout for a low key recon ship to scope out Brio’s.

If you don’t have a C1 buy it, it’s worth the money. Best daily driver in the game currently with a functional ship tractor beam that has cargo hold access.

I was all set to get a Liberator today, and they went and revealed the Arrastra at the same price. I realized I didn't want a Liberator after all.


Yeah, the C1 is a super versatile yet inexpensive ship; easily one of the best all-around ships in its class right now.

The Arrastra looks like a money printing machine. I just don’t like buying concept ships. I’ll wait till it releases to buy it.

It's going to be an awesome ship. I wish all ships got away from manned turrets and went to remote like the Arrastra. I went ahead and traded away my F7A upgrade kit for the Arrastra. Spending $5 all those years ago got me a big and bad ass mining vessel. I like the F8 more than the F7A in terms of looks, so no big loss.

There are pros and cons to buying concepts. Buying new concepts isn't like it used to be, where you could expect a ship to greatly increase in price between "concept" and "flight-ready," but the "value" of my fleet is 50% higher today than it was at original purchase price.

Some of that is from crafty CCUs (I have a $330 Polaris), but ships like the Hull C, Carrack, Merchantman, and Orion have more than doubled in price since concept. Other ships like the Caterpillar and Hull D are up over 50% since concept.

The only "downside" is that the best discounts are on the larger ships which require more money to buy than smaller ships.

Ship packs were (still are?) great value if you wanted all/most of the ships in the pack - and you can CCU away from ones you don't want. You often get a 25% or greater discount right away, and it only becomes better if the price goes up (I picked up a "UEE Exploration Pack" years ago that included a Carrack, Terrapin, and Dragonfly for $495 - the sum of those ships today is $860).

Obviously buying any ships at all is nuts. But if you're going to do it, getting them at concept isn't a bad way to go.


There are a few things that make the Arrastra particularly attractive:
- All of the stations are operated remotely from the bridge, making it easier for a solo/small crew to operate at high efficiency. Compare it to even the single-seat Vulture where the pilot has to frequently move to the cargo hold of the ship to move boxes.
- Quad-gun defensive turrets. That's pretty good anti-fighter firepower. Whether controlled by humans or eventually NPCs, it has a lot of defense.
- Missiles. It carries a number of missiles, including the ability to carry a pair of size 5 torpedoes. This ship could probably handle a light combat patrol...
- Hanger for small ships/ground vehicles. Versatility.
- On-board refinery. It's a one-stop shop with several game loops in one ship.

I'm not even particularly excited about mining, but this is an exciting ship. I think it's the model for how future multi-crew ships will be made. The reality of the viability of multi-crew ships is setting in (they generally aren't viable), and the devs are adjusting accordingly.

Nice

I was just typing another response where I said: I think the Arrastra is the model for how future multi-crew ships will be made.

You might’ve just sold me on concepts, I am weird in that I ONLY buy ships with real world money. Half my fleet I bought from Star Hanger so I could get LTI, while the other half of my fleet I’ve used LTI token ships (like the Fury) and then melted to get the ship I wanted to get LTI through RSI. I should get at least 1-2 concepts.

I currently own a Gladius, Cutter Scout, C8X Pisces, 600i Touring, and a C1 Spirit,

ETA: just bought a Mantis

You can get great deals on the grey market. The biggest downside is that you don't get credit towards rewards from CIG.

It works in reverse, too. I have a free F8C for being a Wing Commander ($10,000 level), but I sold a bunch of high-priced ships years ago, and my "actual cost" is way less than that.

I track it all in a spreadsheet: "retail value;" "my total spent;" "my actual cost."

Besides buying concepts, playing the CCU game is one of the best ways to build value today (it's unlikely ships will see such massive price increases again). I have my spreadsheets, but there's a site that a lot of people use to maximize savings through CCUs: https://ccugame.app/


ETA: one more important thing about CCUs to unreleased ships: don't apply them until the ship is flyable unless you can further CCU it if you don't like it.

Welp. As of today i'm like 2.5k into this game. RSI day killed me with the Arrastra, and I was already wanting a Polaris.

Bright side, The Arrastra is the kind of gameplay I love, and I figure I can sit out in an asteroid belt mining and make enough for any other ship I want moving forward.

Agreed about the credit towards RSI, I’m working more towards that now because I would like to get concierge level.

IAE ends in ~12 hours and I will not be available before then.


I still have 2 1 $0 Redeemer -> Merchantman CCUs that were never purged and I will not be using.

According to the CCU game app, a Redeemer with LTI can be purchased for $225, which means the Merchantman will only cost $225. https://ccugame.app/

Today, there is a Polaris warbond CCU available at a $50 discount, which means that my CCU can be used for a $275 Polaris.

If up to two people 1 person are interested, I will buy and upgrade to the Merchantman and gift it to you at cost: $225 - I'm not looking to sell anything or make any profit.
Of course, you could keep the Merchantman, you don't have to upgrade to the Polaris (or you could upgrade to a Perseus, or Odyssey, or something else)

The purpose of this is to hook up a couple fellow Arfcommers who play (or will play) Star Citizen. I don't want those who take me up on this to act as middlemen for their own profit. To that end:
- You must have been on Arfcom for at least 5 years
- This must be for you. You wife, your brother, your cousin, or friend does not count.
- While I won't outright exclude someone with a low post count, I need to at least recognize your name
- You must be in our Star Citizen Org, have entered your ships on our fleet spreadsheet, be in the Discord, or make a really, really good case for an exception
- I will not transfer to a new RSI account
- Transfer of ship will be pending transfer of funds (I can cover the cost, but I won't transfer the ship without money from you)
- First two one who respond will get it, but I reserve the right to reject someone if they're not in accordance with any of the above, or I feel they're not participating in the spirit of the giveaway
- If anyone points out a potential exploit that I missed, it will be addressed

Disclaimers:
1) This is not a sale; it is a giveaway because I'm doing this at-cost. If there was another way to give away a $0 CCU, I would do that instead.
2) Remember that a ship can only be gifted once. Once I send it to you, that's it.
3) The melt value will be $225, which is the amount you are giving me.
4) If this in any way breaks ar15.com's rules, or a mod has a problem with it, it will be deleted with my sincere apology.

I'm very much interested in one! Been wanting a Polaris bad,and that would help me a ton. Don't think I'm in the org,but been looking for one of those,too.

IM Sent

That is extremely generous of you and I hope others take you up on this offer

Very generous,and went extremely smooth! I'm shocked nobody else I saw took him up on it.

I'm guessing people didn't see it. 1 is still available.

IAE ends in ~38hrs, Nov 30 at noon PST. I'm probably going to be busy around the end time, so the evening of the 29th (~24hrs) will be the last opportunity.

Has anyone here experienced Siege of Orison? Once it’s over they send you to prison

They tell you to get off the platforms and if you don't its prison time. Same thing happened to my group.

That's a corporation for you. "Thanks for the help! Now get off our property in five minutes or we're pressing charges!"

If you haven't seen this yet, it's game changing. I'm going to try it after the new patch with structural salvage comes out:

I saw it but only meet some of the requirements set. Besides, my game is bugged to shit and I can’t play it anyway. Better for it to go to someone that will actually use it.

That's pretty neat, but impractical for real combat (especially PvP) because of the slow response time. Additionally, as someone who has a second computer setup to look up info online while playing, the trading functionality would be slower for me to use and provide less information.

Back in 2018 I used VoiceAttack, which was basically hotkeying keystrokes to voice commands with some limited interaction, but even that was somewhat limited by response time - IIRC, in combat, I only used it for firing missiles and managing the power triangle.

I was really just trying to keep scammer types away. You should have messaged me, and I would have hooked you up.

No one is using a Merchantman or Polaris right now anyway.

All I want is an AI that can sit in my turret and shred anyone I don't like. Lol

It's OK, I appreciate it. I tried to play it last weekend but it wouldn't even load. My game is borked.

New patch with an really prototype version of structural salvage is in. I hopped on for a few last night and ran around. Started at Orisin (never been there in all these years) and it's amazing. I flew up to Seraphim station and made it my home and logged out. I'll munch on some ships with my Reclaimer this weekend.

I spent some time in AC playing around with the new ships in Master Modes. The Super Hornet is super deadly now. Of the four ships available, it’s probably the best for Vanduul Swarm.

I know a lot will be changing when those changes carry over, but I really need to hone my dog fighting skills in general. I think I'm going to get one of those VKB dual stick setups before I start to focus on it though.

The vkb sticks are great. I use the gladiator Evo right stick,and the gladiator Evo omni throttle for the left.

Started playing a few hours at a time about two weeks ago.

Finally made enough aUEC for a Cutlass Black. Damn this game is really in depth!

"RotorDemon" In game.

o7

There is some money to be made this weekend at JumpTown.

I've been itching to get back in and re-train my flight skills.  But I'm holding off until the new master modes are fleshed out and added.  So maybe by the end of 2024.

They're in arena commander right now on a number of ships if you want to try them out.