This Acheron calling, Acheron calling. Rebounding my signal from a small array that…use to be some sort of international space station.

Hello readers from across the spectrum; whether die-hard Star Citizen fans, or curious gamers – welcome to Acheron’s Transmission. Today I had a few notifications on my RSI profile, always interesting to see if I’ll start my day off angry after being flamed. However it was from The Herald sub-forum, it was not anger inducing, but while there I got to thinking about Aegis. Aegis, the manufacturer extraordinaire, Aegis the company with all the ships (Aegis who had two hangar ready ships ahead of my…The Herald)

An Aegis ‘Verse, an Aegis Production Line

I’m going to start off this post by pointing out the cold hard reasons as I see them for the plethora of Aegis ships we currently have. The next most important thing on the Star Citizen horizon is what? Is Squadron 42, of course. Well, for me it is Nyx, but logically it is SQ42. Thus what sort of ships do we see rolling off the conveyor belt, Aegis ships. Mighty military machines that will dot our single player experience with explosions and high octane fun.

And I understand that Aegis must be considered, in the lore of the Universe, the premiere military ship designer, but for the love of the Mighty Space Crab is there nothing else? Can we not see another type of military ship roll off the block? Are the Hornet and Gladiator going to be the only Mil-spec ships that didn’t come from Aegis ? (And don’t come at me with no alien ship or Starfarer Gemini nonsense. I’m talking military fighters, from good old fashioned humans). So, Aegis. I’ve said that word a lot over the last 10 minutes, and thought it a lot when considering how two ships get propelled ahead of the once exciting and coming our way Herald. The now not talked about, undefined, cast into doubt by the other EWAR modules and unjustly forgotten Herald (I do have a torch for that ship). The two ships that leaped ahead of it are obviously The Sabre, and The Vanguard, which fair enough looks amazing (well the concept art did, but the whole journey from concept to hangar deserves it’s own post), but all the same leave me asking “Where the Sam Hill and tarnation did you two come from?”

“More Aegis ships anyone?” – Said by a large enough proportion of the community

And I know that The Herald isn’t really forgotten, I’m not a complete idiot, but there is nonetheless that overwhelming sense of…impatient anticipation? Or fatalistic resignation that things will come at a certain speed, but not at the speed or order we’d like them to? I suppose that is the way of both game development and life in general; but still I voice frustration, I’m only human. Of course all of this doesn’t just affect The Herald, but numerous non-combat orientated ships; even lower down the priority line. The pains of not being included in SQ42. The subforums for ships of it’s kind, Utility Ships, speak in whispers; slowly turning over, running on fumes with so little information. I just really want to see the production line kick into gear and throw us some a) Non Aegis ships, b) Some non-military spec ships. They don’t even have to be hangar ready, just some nice images, a final design, more information and intended uses. I suppose to an extent that has been done with the Freelancer in 2.0, but my Lord that was a long time coming too. The Heralds, The Caterpillars, The Orions etc of this ‘Verse – what of them? Even The Hulls deserve a little more of a look in considering the amount of money pledged for them. Fine fine, money donated does not allocate CIG resources, I know that, but we can all understand the frustrated sentiment being borne out, there is an area of ship development, which is a substantial part of the game, that has been quiet for a long while.

And fine, as well, Aegis have made some quality ships, and they will be good for their functions, but I have the nagging sense that there is a large swathe of the population that wants to see what I called “Utility Ships” make some headway. I know that they aren’t strictly useful to SQ42, except for The Herald making it all the more confusing; but whole Organizations are founded upon these non-military ships, and I fear we are at risk of this part of the population stagnating for want of information.

Thanks to the release of Alpha 2.0 we have seen a revitalization in the community, a well deserved and well needed revitalization; but I hope that months do not drag out with no word or progress on what I suppose are non-priority ships. And finally, I do not aim to dictate CIG’s business to them, I’m not doing that at all. This just airs a frustration that has been growing in myself, and in pockets of the forums, made clear by the joke dotted around the community “More Aegis ships anyone?” – CIG have a pipeline and priorities, I just hope to see some more content on the fields not crucial to Squadron 42 soon.

This was Acheron’s Transmission, I said these were opinion pieces, didn’t I?

“…I hung low, slow, moving with lethal care, among the rocks that drifted here and there. And with infinite thought, and cautious care, The Sabre caught it’s target there…”