Star Citizen – The New Crusader Spirit Concept Ships Are AWESOME!
Star Citizen has new Concept Ships on Sale the Crusader Spirit Series… And we have a load of new and updated information on these now, so let’s delve into what we know about these extremely cool & diverse ships.
The Crusader Spirit is a Series of 3 Ships the C1, A1 & E1 that focus on Cargo, Bombing and VIP Transport Respectively. They are roughly competing with the Freelancer and Cutlass Ranges.
Quality, liberty, and the pursuit of a more equitable Empire; just a few of the tenets that make Crusader Industries a true force of good in an often-unstable universe.
Now, Crusader casts its net of unity even further with the Spirit series, a commitment to provide civilians with the freedom to tackle multiple roles and multi-faceted jobs.
What’s Common between all of the Spirit Series?
All of the Spirit Series are suitable for 2 Crew, Pilot & Co-Pilot.
Each ship has 2x S2 Weapon Mounts on the Nose & 2x S3 Weapon Mounts on the Wings. The ships also all have a complement of 4x S3 Missiles.
They have bunks, kitchen & a toilet in a small living area.
The ships all have a selection of single S2 Components for pretty much everything.
Ship Size Compared to Cutlass & Freelancer
Don’t let the metrics fool you… the Spirit is technically 46.5 x 43.5 x 10m which sounds massive compared to the Cutlasses 29×26.5×10.
But that’s measuring furthest points… in reality the Spirit’s profile is pretty thin, so if it’s coming towards or running away from you it may be very hard to hit… conversely if you are directly above or below it… well it’s very easy to hit…
C1 Medium Freight – The C1 Spirit is tuned for hauling, with the ability to transport large volumes of freight or small vehicles. However, its flexible design allows for a degree of improvisation that makes the Spirit the perfect everyday ship without sacrificing any of the functionality of a dedicated career vessel.
The defining Features of the C1 are it’s 48 SCU Cargo Bay that can take a vehicle upto the size of a Cyclone if you are so inclined.
It also have a S3 Rear Mounted Tractor Beam to help load and unload cargo.
A1 Bomber – The A1 Spirit is equipped with a bespoke ordnance system loaded with a payload of ten bombs. However, its flexible design allows for a degree of improvisation that makes the Spirit a perfect everyday ship without sacrificing any of the functionality of a dedicated tactical vessel.
The Defining Features of the A1 are it’s Bombs, it’s have 2x sets of Bomb Racks that each carry 5xS5 Bombs for 10 total… so where the Herculues A2 might go for a big boom, this ship can drop a load of smaller gravity bombs at multiple tagets.
But it can’t really carry any cargo to speak of because of this.
Instead of the Tractor Beam it has a rear mounted remote turret that houses 2x S2 weapons.
E1 VIP Transport – The E1 Spirit redefines executive travel with VIP accommodations and panoramic viewing portholes. Its flexible design allows for a degree of improvisation that makes it the perfect everyday ship without sacrificing any opulence or comfort.
The defining Features of the E1 are it’s VIP Passenger Cabins. In the style of 1st Class on a Train, the ship has 6 sealable cabins with luxury seating, amazing views and big screens. There is also a mix master, VIP storage lockers and refreshment facilities. Basically this brings the Genesis Starliner Passenger Transport at a smaller scale… for upto 6 people in fact.
The ship also makes use of the same rear mounted turret at the A1.
The ships are all on Concept Sale at time of recording but there is no timeline for their completion (I am expecting it sometime in 2023 personally).
The C1 is available from $100, the A1 $155 and the E1 $135.
The Loaners for the ships until they are flyable are Cutlass Black for the C1, Freelancer MIS for the A1 and a Cutlass Steel for the E1.
There was a Crusader Spirit Q&A that answered a load of questions about the ships:
Which weapon systems can be controlled by the pilots?
By default, the main pilot has control over the nose and wing guns, with the co-pilot having control over the rear turret. The nose guns can also optionally be controlled by the co-pilot if desired.
Can the tractor beam mount on the C1 be swapped to the remote turret mount of the A1 and E1?
It is not currently planned to allow this, but as the ship progresses through the pipeline, we’ll evaluate whether it’s a tradeoff we need to look at it.
Can the rear turrets on the A1 and the E1 fire forward?
No. They specifically cover the rear arc of the ship.
Will there be different types of bombs, like precise strikes or carpet bombs, that we can use with the A1 Spirit?
At launch, we only plan to support a single type of bomb, which will be a dumb high explosive. However, in the future, if alternate options do exist, they’ll be swappable just like we support on other ships where you can customise your missile tracker type.
The A2 Hercules has an option slated to swap out the S10 bombs for a cluster bomb system. Will the A1 Spirit have a similar option?
There are no plans at this time to provide alternative bomb launchers as in the A2 Hercules.
The A1 Spirit bomber variant has a round ‘dish’ on top of the roof, but the specs don’t show the same S2 scanner/radar as other variants. What is this round feature?
The round dish on top is just a “rule of cool” aesthetic feature and provides no gameplay benefit.
Looking at the stats of the Freelancer and the Cutlass Black, the Spirit seems to be in the low-end equipment-wise (shields, firepower, cargo capacity, defense capabilities). Is this ship going to keep up with the high-speed capabilities of Crusader? How does the speed and maneuverability of the Spirit compare to ships of similar size/role, such as the Cutlass and the Freelancer?
Just like other Crusader ships, the Spirit will be more maneuverable than its size would normally dictate, allowing it to run a lower component loadout whilst still being effective.
This ship almost looks stealthy. Will the spirit have a lower EM/IR signature than the Cutlass?
IR/EM signature is generated by the components attached to the ship and their use, so the ship’s appearance has no impact. However, the cross-section signature is affected by the shape, so coming at targets head-on (or running away) will give a reduced signature.
Is a secondary entrance or will we only be able to access the Spirit via it’s ramp?
There is no secondary entrance. The relatively small and straight-line layout of the Spirit wouldn’t really benefit from an additional entrance, nor was there space to put one without other compromises.
What docking capabilities do these ships have? For example, can they dock to a larger vessel?
There are no docking capabilities as the Spirit is small enough to land at any location within an enclosed hangar.
What kind of living amenities can we expect to see for the crew? Will the E1 have better living amenities for the crew, and will the E1 passengers have a separate VIP bathroom?
All three variants have the same crew living quarters, with a shared space featuring beds, a small kitchen area, and an integrated shower and toilet. However, on the E1, passengers have a separate toilet and shower located beneath the main seating area.
Will it be modular? For example, could we buy one model and then, maybe at some time in the future, swap modules to make our C1 into an E1 or A1?
No. Early on during development we looked at making the ship modular but decided against it as it would require fundamental changes to how the sections were made. This particularly affected the E1, which would’ve been much more limited in scope and size.
The PDF shows 48 SCU of cargo capacity for each variant. This is probably a copy/paste error. Could you confirm?
This was a copy/paste error. The website has the correct details now.
Which Spirit variants can carry vehicles, and of what size?
Only the C1 Spirit is designed to fit a vehicle, which can be Cyclone-sized or smaller. The E1 and A1 do not officially support any vehicles, although we fully expect players to cram some of the smaller ones in the entrance area.
Spirit seems to be a break from the naming convention for the Crusader line. Most Crusader ships are named in reference to Greek and Roman mythology. Where did the name Spirit come from?
“Crusader is seeing the Spirit as a new direction for the brand. Starting with the Star Fighter, the company has been moving away from its transport-dedicated roots and expanding into new markets. With the Spirit’s multi-role functions, it decided to leave the old nomenclature behind.”
I am really liking the Spirit… I love the look of Crusader Ships but the C1 may very well replace the Cutlass Black in my ship line up for versatile daily driver… at $100 it’s not even too expensive by CI’s standards… I am looking forward to it being in game.