Starfield Build Theory: Making Your Own Junker Ship

 Making Your Own Junker Ship

Introduction

I was thinking that "Junker" builds don't necessarily have to be entirely scratch made. Perhaps you want to roleplay as a Junker type but it's just too much effort to build out an entire ship to do it. Well, while I've done that with earlier builds on my blog, just about any ship can be transformed into a Junker with minimal effort.

Most Junker ships would actually not be full builds like I made. Most would be the salvaged wrecks of vanilla ships that might have been repaired using non-standard parts. As in the title photo, you might take an Ecliptic Falcata and junk it up. The head canon can simply be that the captain of the vessel salvaged a very damaged Falcata (or the civilian equivalent) and pieced it back together with whatever parts were at hand.

 

Techniques

Junking up a vanilla ship is really quite easy. You can 

• Replace standard parts with parts from another manufacturer.
• Add extra parts purely for visual impact.
  
• Leave "holes" or gaps in the structure (as long as it doesn't impede the function of the vessel)
• Repaint a portion of the vessel to represent that the replacement parts might have come from another vessel or vessels. 

 Personally, I think it is best to use a combination of these techniques. In the Falcata above, I removed the Stroud Cowling from the Port side. I replaced it with three HopeTech Pipes - Mid and drop glitched both a Nova Bracer and Deimos Bracer into spot. Technically, there is no advantage to having both, but I think it looks neat. I also removed a 1x1 Hab and moved the He3 tank into its spot. That gave me room to drop a Deimos Tail into the spot between the engines.

Next, I replaced the Stroud 2x1 with a HopeTech 2x1. It doesn't matter what variant you set that to, but I chose a Control Station. It doesn't even have to be HopeTech. Nova Galactic would probably be the preferred "patchwork" manufacturer but any other manufacturer would work.

Getting close to the end of the line here, I moved the Missile Launcher and Ballistic Cannon over to the Horizon mount on the Port side. I also shuffled the Nova Radiator over to the top of the Nova Bracer. I left the Equipment plate in and placed the Shield right behind it.

Finally, I painted the areas around where I imagined the original ship was damaged at. This includes the replacement parts. Let your own taste and imagination rule the day here. I wanted to go for something a little bit tonally consistent, with a few outliers.

Another Example

Here we have a Crimson Fleet Phantom II. Spacers salvaged her from the Muphrid system and pieced her back together. Obviously she had sustained significant damage to the top and starboard sides and the spacers cobbled together some parts to get her moving again.

We replaced her Starboard Landing Gear with a similar equivalent from Nova Galactic. The bridge with a Nova Galactic cockpit. We put on a HopeTech docker and a shortened wing. We replaced the Landing Bay with the NG-6 Landing Bay and moved the NG-20 Landing Gear to just behind the bay. Finally we moved some of the weapons around. How you might have junked it up is entirely up to you. The part that makes it a Junker build is that it doesn't look like it comes from a factory. It should retain most of the general shape of the original vessel, but with junk parts. Changing it too much will essentially turn it into a custom build. That's perfectly okay too, but falls outside of the scope of this essay.

Once the skeleton is assembled, it was time to paint. I chose a patchwork of colors that look like a cross between a darkened vanilla Deimos with some Crimson Fleet. Again, go wild with your choice of colors. Junker ships are a patchwork of colors. I often desaturate colors a little to suggest a worn and used appearance.

Conclusion

This article was more of a tutorial than a full-fledged ship build. Functionally the Falcata and Phantom work precisely the same as if they were just captured . They just look like something salvaged and patched together. I can't imagine not being able to give the same treatment to any vanilla ship.

Starfield Build: Raba

Raba

 

Introduction

This is the final entry in the Pocket Cargo Vessel series and was the most difficult one to finalize. I have rebuilt this time and time again until I settled on this version. If I'm being honest, I am juxtaposed between not liking the end result and not being sure that I can make it better. In my head canon, this is just one of those duds that somehow makes it to market.

Now that the series is complete, I can move on to other projects.

Made with 70k Cr and Ecliptic Stiletto/Bounty Hunter at Taiyo Astroneering on Neon.

 

Head Canon/Lore

"In summary, Taiyo was caught flat-footed by HopeTech's unexpected innovation. They had to rush both design and production. The end result? A purely functional offering that sacrifices the essence of what it means to be a Taiyo vessel.

Oh, don't get me wrong. It fits right in with the sudden surge of compact, entry-level consumer cargo vessels. It's got plenty of cargo space, decent crew accomodations, and all that. It sizes up pretty well against the competition, but that's the problem. You can buy any of the other products on the market and get a similar result. Buying Taiyo should be an experience that transcends it's competition. The Raba is not that."

- excerpt from an article published in Popular Astroneering about the Taiyo Raba

 

Components

Lower Deck

1. (4) Taiyo Pinpoint 4G Landing Gear
2. (2) Horizon Weapon Mount 
3. (2) PB-30 Electron Beam, attached to Horizon Weapon Mount
   
4. Ship Bed 200 Landing Bay
5. Taiyo Infirmary 2x1
6. Taiyo Braking Engine
   

 

Deck #1

1. (2) Taiyo Cap - Aft
2. (4) Taiyo Mid Cap (2 Port, 2 Stbd)
3. (2) Taiyo Breaking (Port, Stbd)
4. Nova Bracer
5. Taiyo Engineering Bay 3x1
6. Porthole - Fore
   

 

Deck #2

1. (2) Panoptes DT30 Engine
   
2. (2) Stroud Engine Brace
3. (4) Panoptes de Gama 1010 Cargo Hold
4. Reladyne R-3000 Grav Drive
5. Taiyo All-in-One Berth 2x1 Top B
6. Taiyo Forward Sensors
   

 

Deck #3

1. (2) Panoptes DT30 Engine
2. (2) H10 Atlas He3 Tank
3. (2) Panoptes de Gama 1010 Cargo Hold
4. Xiang Tokamak X-100 Reactor
5. Taiyo Control Center 2x1 Top B
6. Taiyo Samurai Cockpit
7. Taiyo Captain Quarters 2x1 Top B
8. Taiyo Cowling - Fore
9. Nautilus Bastille S81 Shield Generator
10. Taiyo Extender Port 200 Docker - Top
    

 

Assembly

Assemble all of the decks as outlined above. The DT30 engines on Deck 3 will need to be flip merged once the Stroud Engine Bracers are attached. Stack each deck so that the aft portion of all of the combined decks create a vertical line.

 

Upgrade Path

This is a starter build and it could certainly use upgrades to every system. There are a couple of open slots for additional cargo bays.

Final Build

Starfield Build: Jument-class

Jument-class 

 

Introduction

This is the Nova Galactic entry into my Pocket Cargo ship series. Being as Nova Galactic is essentially defunct, I had to come up with some reason this ship even exists. 

Part of that head canon is that there is a secondary market of third party and used Nova parts. These are sold to collectors, enthusiasts, and manufacturers that incorporate Nova Galactic parts into their own designs. The rest of the head canon is detailed in the next section.

For this build, I used a Crimson Fleet Phantom and roughly 60k Cr.

 

Head Canon/Lore

Long before HopeTech existed to introduce the SFFTV class of "pocket" cargo vessels, Nova Galactic was churning out the Jument-class vessels. Each of the larger colony ships would field half a dozen Jument-class ships as multi-role extensions of the colony ship's reach.

The Juments would be loaded with supplies and resources to set up temporary settlements after surveying a world for viability. The crews had to be versed, not only in spaceship operations, but also on the sciences and practical engineering required to kick off an outpost.

Once the outpost was built, part of the crew would remain, while the Jument returned to the colony ship to transport the outpost's residents back down.

The Jument-class was built with a small form factor for much of the same reasons that HopeTech cited when introducing the Workdog. Smaller ships can more easily find viable landing places.

Where once Juments were common to the point of ubiquity, a couple hundred years have seen their numbers dwindle to obscurity. A recent resurgence in interest has seen some secondary market models appearing for sale. These newer models have replaced obsolete components with modern alternatives.

 

Components

Lower Deck

1. Dogstar 134MM Toroidal Reactor
2. NG-20 Landing Gear - Wide
3. NG-6 Landing Bay
4. Reladyne R-3000 Grav Drive

 

Main Deck

1. (2) Panoptes Ares DT30 Engine
2. (2) Protectorate Systems Caravel V102 Cargo Hold
3. Nova Galactic Infirmary 2x1
4. (2) Nova Galactic NG-15 Landing Gear
5. (2) Light Scythe Flare 15MW IR Laser, attached to NG-15 Landing Gear
6. Nova Galactic Engineering Bay 3x1
7. Protectorate Systems Marduk 1010-A Shield Generator
8. Nova Galactic Magellan C2X Cockpit
9. Nova Galactic All-in-One Berth - B 2x1
   

 

Upper Deck/Structural

1. (2) Amun Dunn Amun-3 Engine
2. (2) Nova Galactic Nova Engine Strut
3. (2) Protectorate Systems Caravel V102 Cargo Hold
4. Nova Galactic Control Station 2x1
5. Nova Galactic Nova Cowling 2L-TF, Flip Merged
6. Horizon Defense Mauler 104L Cannon, attached to Nova Cowling
7. (2) Protectorate Systems Caravel V101 Cargo Hold
8. Nova Galactic NG-2 Docker - Top
9. Dogstar M20 Ulysses He3 Tank
   

 

Assembly

This is a pretty straightforward build. The only piece that needs merging is the Nova Cowling. Just flip merge it to hide the shield generator. Otherwise, build each deck/layer as shown in the images above and attach each layer to the one above it.

 

Upgrade Path

Like all of the pocket cargo vessels, this is a Starter build and eventually you'll probably want to upgrade all of the internal components, fuel tank, shields, and weapons. The Equip Power vs Reactor would suggest a more powerful Reactor as your first upgrade. You might also swap out the three weapons for two Particles, to maximize versatility for lesser power cost.

Final Build

Starfield Build: Logistician

 

Logistician

 

Introduction

The Logistician is Stroud-Eklund's answer to the Small Form Factor Transport Vessel, though Stroud coined the marketing term "Convenience Frame Logistics" to describe their SFFTV line of vessels.

So, a couple of notes about this build. I wanted to do entirely Stroud--Eklund but I needed all of the Landing Gear. I'm a little bit OCD about the Landing Bay NOT having lifting thrusters, so I just decided to swap in an extra Accu-Lander gear and use the Ship Bed 200 Landing Bay instead.

The Habs on the Main Deck are precisely how they need to be so that the All-in-One retains both the Galley and the Restroom. For me, I design role-playing builds so that's important to me. If it is not to you, feel free to swap things around. You can even change the habs to whatever. The build simply requires three 2x1 habs (or equivalent larger habs) on the Main Deck.

Now onto the build. The build is so straightforward that I included both the Lower and Main Deck on one image.

 

Head Canon/Lore

"Where our competitors cut corners, Stroud-Eklund rounds out our award-winning classics with comfort and amenities. Our new Logistician class of Convenience Frame Logistics vessels are no different. 

Sporting top notch luxury, amenities like our integrated GalaxyTrak navigation system, comfortable crew quarters for increased crew efficiency, ample cargo capacity, and Stroud-Eklunds signature sexy lines, your clients will receive their goods on time and in style."

-from a recent Stroud-Eklund late night holo advertisement.

 

Components

Lower Deck

1. (6) Accu-Lander-11 Landing Gear (3 Port, 3 Stbd)
2. (2) Stroud Nose Cap C (Port, Stbd)
3. Stroud Engineering Bay 3x1
4. Ship Bed 200 Landing Bay
   

 

 

Main Deck

1. (4) Panoptes De Gama 1020 Cargo Hold (2 Port, 2 Stbd)
2. (3) Amun-3 Engine
3. Stroud Control Station 2x1
4. (2) Stroud Cap A -Fore, Top (Port, Stbd)
5. (2) Flare P 15MW IR Pulse Laser (attached to Stroud Cap A)
6. Shroud Infirmary 2x1
7. Stroud Braking Engine
   
8. Shroud All-in-One A 2x1
   

 

Upper Deck/Structural

1. (2) Panoptes Ares DT40 Engine (Port, Stbd)
   
2. Reladyne R-3000 Grav Drive
3. (2) Panoptes De Gama 1020 Cargo Hold (Port, Stbd)
4. (2) Dogstar M30 Ulysses He3 Tank (Port, Stbd)
5. Stroud Captain's Quarters 2x1
6. Stroud-Eklund Viking CP-100 Cockpit
7. Xiang Tokamax X-150 Reactor
   
8. Connect Pro Docker - Top
9. Nautilus Bastille S82 Shield Generator
   

 

Assembly

Assemble each Deck/Layer as shown in the images above. Drag the Main Deck over to the Lower Deck so that the Stroud Cap A pieces rest directly above the Stroud Cap C pieces. Leave the Fuel Tanks and Cockpit detached from the Upper Deck. Drag the rest of the Upper Deck over to the Main Deck so that the Reactor and Grav Drive rest on top of the Amun-3 Engines.

The Cockpit will have to be drop merged to get it into its place. Once done, place the M30 Ulysses tanks on the side snap points of the bridge. Snap the Shield Generator to the top of the Cockpit. The Connect Pro Docker will snap to the point behind the Shield.

 

Upgrade Path

For all of their bluster about rounding out their products, Stroud-Eklund just slapped a couple of cheap lasers on the Logistician. Being a Starter Ship, you'll want to upgrade just about everything but those lasers will probably be your starting point.

After that, it's just a matter of leveling up, developing your Pilot and Ship Design skills to improve as many components as needed to make your build work for you 

Final Build

Starfield Build: Crangon-Class SFFTV

 

Crangon-class SFFTV

Introduction

This ship is a continuation of the Small Form Factor Transport Vessel series. In this series, I take a Crimson Fleet Phantom II donor ship and build up a relatively small cargo ship for each manufacturer. From the Phantom II, I extracted the Reactor, Grav Drive, NG-20 Landing Gear, Fuel Tank, and Shield. For this build I replaced the weapons with particle weapons.

I decided to place the following constraints on the SFFTV builds;

• 40m x 40m
• A-class
• Starter ship, meaning nothing that requires Ship Design, save for the parts scavenged of the Phantom II.
• Less than 100k Credits out of pocket costs. This was easy, as the character only had 76k in her account.  

This build cost the Phantom II and 64k credits to complete.

 

Head Canon/Lore

Named after the Elk Crangon that wander the Akila plains, the Crangon is an entry-level Small Form Factor Transport Vessel from HopeTech. The Crangon is explicitly designed for a small company or individual pilot to begin their career with and then, later, expand outward to fit a variety of commercial needs.

 

Components

Undercarriage/Lower Deck

1. (2) Hope 5 Landing Gear
2. (2) Hope 6 Landing Gear - Fore
3. NG-20 Landing Gear - Wide
   
4. Hope 4 Landing Bay
5. (4) StorMax 30 Cargo Hold
6. Tokamax X-150 Reactor
7. (2) Pantopes Ares DT40 Engine
8. HopeTech Cargo Hall 2x3
9. (3) HopeTech Hab Spine
10. (2) Horizon Weapon Mount w/PB-30 Electron Beam attached
11. (3) Porthole
    

Note: Keep Hope 6 Landing Gear detached until the Main Deck is attached. Once Main Deck is attached, flip merge the two Hope 6 Landing Gear into place.

 

Main Deck

1. (4) StorMax 30 Cargo Hold
2. Hope 11 Docker, Stbd
3. HopeTech Infirmary 2x1
4. (2) HopeTech Hab Cross Brace
5. Reladyne R 3000 Grav Drive
6. HopeTech Engineering Bay 3x1
7. Porthole
8. HopeTech All-in-One Berth 2x1
9. Bastille S82 Shield Generator
   

 

Upper Deck/Structural

1. (3) Amun-3 Engine
2. (2) HopeTech Thruster
3. HopeTech Control Station 2x1
4. Armstrong 10 Cockpit
5. (2) M10 Ulysses He3 Fuel Tank
   

 

Assembly

Build each deck as pictured. Leave the Hope 6 Landing Gear detached for now. Each layer easily snaps to the one below it, with the Reactor resting on top of the NG-20 Landing Gear and the Grav Drive resting on top of the Reactor. Once all of the decks are connected, flip merge the Hope 6 Landing Gear into place as pictured.

 

Upgrade Path

Like the other SFFTV ships in this mini-series, the Crangon-class is designed to be a Starter ship that will ultimately be expanded and upgraded by the player. Just about every single component can (and should) be improved.

Final Build

Starfield Builds: Gator-class SFFTV

 

UC Gator-class

Introduction

After building the Poltergeist/Workdog, I just had the idea to do a bunch of Starter Build, "Pocket" Cargo ships. The first four were built on a single character, using a Crimson Fleet Phantom II as the donor ship. I would start from a save before any of the Pocket Cargo ships were built, construct the ship, save a new game, and then revert to the pre-build save. That mostly worked for the first four builds. The fifth one would not save and I suspect that there was save game corruption in the pre-build save.

Going back to the build, for each build, I extracted the Reactor, Grav Drive, NG-20 Landing Gear, Fuel Tank, and Shield. For some builds I would even keep the weapons but others I did not. I decided to place the following constraints on my builds;

• 40m x 40m
• A-class
• Starter ship, meaning nothing that requires Ship Design, save for the parts scavenged of the Phantom II.
• Less than 100k Credits out of pocket costs. This was easy, as the character only had 76k in her account.  

This build cost the Phantom II and 53k credits to complete.

 

Head Canon/Lore

Deimos hasn't stayed in business for hundreds of years and maintained the UC contract for more than a century by being blind to the competition's clever marketing strategies. Seeing HopeTech's introduction of the Workdog class, Deimos proposed a similar vessel to the UC brass. Seeing a strong military and emergency relief role for such a craft, the UC approved construction of the Gator-class Small Form Factor Transport Vessel (SFFTV)

 

Components

 

Undercarriage

1. (2) Panoptes Ares DT-40 Engine (Port, Stbd)
   
2. (2) StorMax 50 Cargo Hold (Port, Stbd)
3. (3) Accu-Lander 11 Landing Gear (Center, Port, Stbd)
4. (2) Deimos Belly - Fore
5. NG-20 Landing Gear - Wide
6. LD-120 Landing Bay

 

Main Deck

1. (4) M30 Ulysses He3 Tank (2 Port, 2 Stbd)
2. Deimos All-in-One Berth 2x1 
3. (2) StorMax 30 Cargo Hold (Port, Stbd)
   
4. Tokamax X-150 Reactor
5. Deimos Engineering Bay 3x1
6. Deimos Braking Engine
7. Deimos Infirmary
   

 

Upper Deck/Structural

 

1. (2) Pantopes Ares DT-30 Engine (Port, Stbd)
2. (2) StorMax 40 Cargo Hold (Port, Stbd)
3. (2) StorMax 30 Cargo Hold (Port, Stbd)
4. Reladyne R-3000 Grav Drive
   
5. Deimos Control Station 2x1
6. Deimos Phobos DS10.1 Cockpit
   
7. Dangan Pb RF Autocannon (mounted on top of Cockpit)
8. 110 DP Docker - Top
9. (2) Horizon Weapon Mount (Port, Stbd)
10. (2) Flare 15MW IR Laser (mounted to Horizon Weapon Mount)
11. Bastille S82 Shield Generator
12. Deimos Cowling Fore (flip merged over shield
    

 

Assembly

Construct each level as shown in the images above.

Detach the Cockpit from the rest of the Upper Deck. Drag every thing else over so that the Grav Drive rests on top of the Reactor on the Main Level. Drop Merge the Cockpit so that it fits above the Deimos Braking Engine.

Connect the Docker, Horizon Mounts and Shield to the top of the Control Station. Flip Merge the Deimos Cowling so that it covers the Shield.

Select the assembled Main and Upper decks and drag them over so that the Reactor rests on top of the LG-20 Landing Gear. Makes sure that the rest of the pieces are connected.

 

Upgrade Path

This is a Starter Build, intended for and built by a character in the middle teen levels. As a result, almost everything can and should be improved as your character levels. What I often fail to mention in these blog entries is that once you build this, it is yours to expand upon however you feel fits. Want it longer? Make it longer.

Final Build

 

Starfield Builds: Poltergeist/Workdog

 

HopeTech Workdog/Crimson Fleet Poltergeist

 

Introduction

As with many of my builds lately, I got called out to make a tiny cargo hauler during Crimson Flyboy's YouTube stream. The Svyatoshchik was apparently still too big, clocking at 54m total length. Crimson demonstrated one that was 48m in total length, so that was mark target to meet or make smaller.

In a humorous twist, I had just captured a Crimson Fleet Ghost III and had torn it apart and was about 75% through creating the "first draft" build of a much larger cargo ship. It made pivoting to this new challenge so much better. The end result is 40m in length, trimming a whole 8m off of Crimson Flyboy's build and a whopping 14 meters off of the Svyatoschik.

This build was made using a Crimson Fleet Ghost III on a Level 37 character with Piloting 3 and Ship Design 2. I took great pains to make sure that no merging is necessary. I also placed an extra Deimos Spine C on top to give a couple more weapon mounts for further weapon expansion. I picked up an extra Shielded Cargo Hold from my Outpost Builder and the Scan Jammer from the Red Mile.

The value listed in the Ship menu is 281,100 credits but much of that came over from the Ghost III. I spent about 140k credits, out of pocket, to make the build. Now, if you are coming in with a lesser version of the Crimson Fleet Ghost it will cost more. If you are insane and buy a Watchdog variant, that cost is added to the total.

 

Head Canon/Lore

In today's high volume transport industry, HopeTech is always innovating. As more and more small outposts are being settled, a new kind of cargo vessel is needed to server our valuable customers in these rugged settings. Beginning in 2331, HopeTech is offering the Workdog line of compact cargo vessels.

These new Workdogs can land anywhere and, thanks to our dedicated staff of experienced engineers, we've pack a lot of cargo into a tiny vessel. Compared to some of HopeTech's earlier models, the Workdog can match a vessel nearly twice its size. Plus, it has the horsepower to plow through the most extreme of planetary conditions, virtually guaranteeing no hiccups to your delivery schedule.

Each Watchdog comes with the same care and attention HopeTech is known for. Whether it is the first time or the hundredth, when you pilot a HopeTech vessel, you pilot quality. So come check out the Workdog, or any of our quality vessels.

HopeTech. Quality. Community

- excerpt from a recent HopeTech advertisement

 

Components

Undercarriage/Lower Deck

1. Hope 5 Landing Gear
2. Hope 4 Landing Bay
3. (2) Caravel V103 Cargo Hold (Port/Stbd) 
4. (2) SAE-4110 Engines in bottom configuration (Port/Stbd)
5. (2) Caravel V103 Cargo Hold (Port/Stbd)
6. (2) Hope 55 Landing Gear (CF Ghost or Hopetown vendor)
7. (2) Caravel V102 Shielded Cargo Hold
8. SGD 2300 Grav Drive
9. 102DS Mag Inertial Reactor
10. HopeTech All-in-One Berth 2x1
11. Hope 11 Docker - Fore
    

 

Main Deck

1. (2) Amun-7 Engine (CF Ghost III)
2. (2) Panoptes De Gama 1020 Cargo Hold
3. HopeTech Control Station 2x1
4. HopeTech Storeroom Fuselage 1x1 (Ghost or Hopetown vendor)
5. (2) PB-175 Neutron Beam (attached to HopeTech Fuselage)
6. Scan Jammer Multi-Frequency (Red Mile, attached to Fuselage)
7. Armstrong 20E Cockpit (Ghost III or Hopetown vendor)
   

 

Upper Deck/Structural

1. (2) SAE-4110 Engines in top configuration (Port/Stbd)
2. (2) Panoptes De Gama 1020 Cargo Hold
3. (2) 500T He3 Fuel Tank
4. Warden SG-200 Shield Generator attached to Top point of Aft 500T tank
5. Deimos Spine C - Aft attached to Top point of Forward 500T tank.
   

 

Assembly

Construct each deck/layer as shown in the images above. Connect Hope 5 Landing Gear to bottom of Reactor and Grav Drive. Select Hope 4 Landing Bay and Caravel V103 Cargo Holds. Drag beneath Lower Deck and connect the rear point of the landing bay just in front of the Hope 5 Landing Gear. The front of the cargo hold should extend slight past the opening to the Landing Bay.

To connect the Main Deck to the Lower Deck, start by placing the Amun-7 engines on top of the SAE-4110 engines. Select the remaining pieces of the Main Deck and drag them over to the top of the Lower Deck. The 2x1 Hab should rest on top of the Reactor and Grav Drive.

Connect the Shield Generator to the top of the Aft 500T tank. Connect the Deimos Spine C to the top of the Forward 500T tank. Select all of the now-connected pieces of the Top Deck and drag them over to the top of the Main Deck. The SAE-4110 engines will rest on top of the Amun-7 engines.

Customization & Upgrade Path

If you wanted to run a perfectly law-abiding version of this vessel, you could remove the Scan Jammer and replace the Shielded Cargo Holds with the non-shielded variants. Doing this would garner an additional 120 Cargo Capacity before and Crew or Skill modifiers.

For the maroon color, I just matched it to the Ghost's Cockpit and Fuselage. The dark gray color was made by selecting any gray color and moving the brightness slider to the left until its position is about at the halfway point of the leftmost swatch. 

If building it as the Workdog equivalent, just use the default colors for each module. That may necessitate deleting and re-adding each component. I used a medium-light gray as a shortcut in the image below and I think that I inverted the color scheme on the De Gama cargo holds. Again, a quick delete and re-add will put the default color scheme on.

In regards to upgrades, better Reactor, Grav Drive, Weapons, and Shield are high on the list of things that can be upgraded as your character gets access to them. Upgrading the Engines will improve mobility, but unless there is some serious cargo upgrade, the next level of Slayton Aerospace engines will probably be more than sufficient. It is possible to upgrade the Cargo modules, but some merging might be necessary.

Final Build

Starfield Builds: Saif

 

Saif

Introduction

The Saif is a B-class, multipurpose ship. I intentionally went with Lasers/Ballistics/Missiles due to the head canon age of the vessel and Deimos. It is, therefore, not as efficient a damage dealer as a Particle boat. Similarly, I didn't mount the best Shield I could find. Adapt those components as you wish.

I started with a Crimson Fleet Banshee (Deimos Naginata) and replaced all of the Stroud parts with Deimos counterparts. I did rearrange a lot of the interior Habs, added a couple, and expanded some of the Structural pieces. The internals (Reactor, Grav Drive, Fuel, Shield, and Engines) and Weapons are just straight upgrades.

Cost was around 250k credits.

 

Head Canon/Lore

"Every dragon needs a slayer. Somebody to step above the crowd drive the spear through the monster's heart."

That was the opening to Commander Amir al-Qāḍī's pitch to UC command when he requested to form the Fugitive Recovery Taskforce. In the months following the War, a seemingly endless supply of pirates and gangs, all former members of one of the two militaries, sprouted up like weeds. Amir intended to rip them all out by the roots.

The UC took little convincing. A few interviews and a mountain of forms later, Amir had his crew and a squad of marines. Sadly, the xenotech squads were all disbanded, their members discharged without consideration that they were just following orders. It cut off a potential asset, but that was okay.

He also had his ship. It was decommissioned a few weeks after the war and its name was reserved. Amir renamed it the Saif, a type of sword, and thus it was recommissioned.

Alas, the young Amir al-Qāḍī did not anticipate the tenacity of either his foes' resolve nor the toll it would extract from him to pursue them. Over the years, the FRT lost official sanction and funding. The UC may look the other way from time to time, but operating a ship and crew is expensive. 

The slow seduction of rich payouts wormed its way into his soul. So what if this pirate crew or that backwater gang were willing to surrender. The contract called for their deaths. How many lives did they take or ruin? And there was always a little something extra. Weapons, a few credits here and there, maybe even some special cargo that could be discreetly sold to the Trade Authority or certain interests elsewhere. It kept the Saif fueled and the crew paid up.

All of it acceptable deviation if it allowed him to carry on his mission. One last crew, Orozco's Raiders, has eluded him for nearly a quarter century. One last crew to take down before he retires.

 * * * * *

The Saif began life as the Cavendish, a Nagamaki-class Deimos destroyer. It served faithfully from her commission date of September 9th, 2223 (Sol date) until the end of the Colony War, when she was decommissioned and slated for salvage.

Captain al-Qāḍī rescued her from the scrap yard and she was recommissioned, after a lengthy retrofit, as the Saif. Since then she has faithfully served Captain al-Qāḍīin his quest to crush Spacer gangs throughout the galaxy.

The Saif's retrofit enlarged the overall profile of the vessel by adding more interior space. The more powerful engines make her nimble for a vessel her size. She needs that agility as all of her weapons are fixed, forward facing.

Due to the nature of pirate hunting, the Saif might be away from port for extended periods. The crew was given ample living space to accommodate long-term deployments. 

Components 

Lower Deck

1. (2) NG-20 Landing Gear - Wide
2. (2) NG-20 Landing Gear
3. (2) NG-20 Landing Gear - Fore
4. 120-LD Landing Bay
5. (4) Deimos Belly (2 Aft, 2 Fore)
6. Deimos Captain's Quarters 2x1
7. (2) Caravel V101 Shielded Cargo Hold
8. (2) Caravel V101 Cargo Hold
9. Deimos Engineering Bay A 3x1
   

 

Main Deck

1. (2) Deimos Wing C (Port, Stbd)
2. (2) Deimos Wing B (Port, Stbd)
3. (2) Deimos Wing A (Port, Stbd) with (4) 241P Pulse Laser attached (2 each wing)
   
4. (4) Deimos Belly (3 Aft, 1 Fore)
5. Deimos Infirmary 2x1
6. Deimos Battlestations 2x2
7. (2) Deimos Braking Engine
8. (2) Deimos Companionway 1x1
9. Deimos Armory 2x1
10. Deimos Bracer A
11. (2) Deimos All-in One 2x1
12. (4) M30 Ulysses He3 Tank
13. Deimos Living Quarters 2x1

 

Upper Deck/Structural

1. (2) Hercules DT160 Engine
2. (2) Deimos Spine G
3. (2) Deimos Spine D - Fore
4. (4) Deimos Spine B
5. (2) Deimos Spine A - Fore
6. 104DS Mag Interial Reactor
7. RD-3000 Beta Grav Drive
8. 110 DP Docker - Top
9. Deimos Hull A
10. Deimos Computer Core 2x1
11. Osiris 2040-B Shield Generator
12. DS30.1 Bridge (Deimos Shipyard or salvage)
13. (2) Mauler 106T Cannon (attached to Bridge Port/Stbd points)
14. Deimos Bracer A (not visible, connects Ares DT60 Engine to Reactor)
15. Ares DT60 Engine
16. Atl-Atl 280B Missile Launcher (attached to Port Deimos Spine A)
    

 

Assembly

Assemble each deck as closely as possible to the images above. The Port Hercules engine needs to be Drop Merged over the Deimos Bracer A (Upper Deck). The Ares engine connects to the Deimos Bracer A point, which should stick out from the Hercules engine.

Select everything on the Lower Deck and drag it under the Main Deck so that the Starboard, Fore Deimos Belly connects under the Fore Companionway.

Select everything on the Upper Deck and drag it over the Main Deck so that the Reactor rests on the aft-most Deimos Belly.

 

Upgrade Path

Shields are an obvious point that can be upgraded. Engines could be upgraded to allow for additional cargo. Finally, the Lasers/Ballistics can be exchanged for Particle Weapons.

From there, C-class is the next logical step.

Final Build

Starfield Builds: Redshift

 

Redshift

Introduction

WARNING: This ship uses a fair amount of merging techniques to get the engine pods to look like they do. Rather than try to explain each step, please visit Crimson Flyboy's tutorial video on merging. I used the drop merging technique on those pieces.

That out of the way, this is my "entry" for the Discord Ship Building challenge. As this is an informal challenge, the only rule was to build a ship for a member of Constellation. 

I chose Noel, as she is the least developed character in Constellation. I don't play nice with the Constellation members, but I know that Noel is not a companion and, according to an online source, doesn't really have much of a backstory. That was perfect for me, as it gave me room to invent something whole cloth. And, if later on Bethesda gets around to giving Noel something more substantive than being told to shut up by Sarah, there are a whole lot of universes out there in the multiverse. My Noel dwells in one of them.

 

Head Canon/Lore

Even young people have a past. In Noel's case, before the Stroud-Eklund scholarship and subsequent Constellation internship, Noel was a racer. Specifically, she raced high speed yachts around Gagarin and throughout the Alpha Centauri system. Here she applied her technical skills and scientific knowledge to craft her own racing ship that she christened the Redshift, after the scientific name for the Doppler light effect of an object moving away from the observer. In her mind's eye, this was a sly reference to leaving her competitors behind as she sped away from them. A joke worthy of any science nerd.

Since her racing days, the Redshift has been upgraded with a powerful reactor, strong shields, and deadly weapons. In the rare instance that Noel has to travel into potentially hostile sectors, she is well equipped to handle hostile pirates or Va'ruun zealots.

 

Components

There are very few components in this build, therefore instead of detailing each deck separately, I am going to consolidate the Fuselage into one section and the Engine Pods into another section.

Fuselage

1. Ship Bed 200 Landing Bay
2. Taiyo Infirmary Bottom B 2x1
3. Taiyo Storeroom Bottom B 1x1
4. Taiyo Control Station Bottom B 2x1
5. Warden SG-400 Shield Generator
6. Magellan C2 Cockpit
7. (2) Horizon Weapon Mount
8. (4) PBO-175 Helion Beam, 2 on Horizon Mounts, 2 on Cockpit
   
9. (2) CE-39 Missile Launcher, Horizon Mounts
   
10. (6) Porthole, 4 Bottom Deck, 2 Upper Deck
11. Taiyo All-in-One Berth Top B 2x1
12. Taiyo Science Lab Top B 2x1
13. Nova Cowling TL-2F
14. Deimos Tail A
15. (2) Deimos Spine B
16. Deimos Spine C - Fore
17. Deimos Spine A - Fore
    
18. Slimline Docker (not shown, attaches to underside of 1x1 Storeroom)
    

 

Engine Pods

The two sets of engine pods are very similar, using merge techniques to join together the fuel tanks with a HopeTech Radiator piece. The two Aft pods also add the Grav Drive and Reactor (one each) to the mix. In the photo below, I've broken out the Port side pods. The Starboard side ones are mirror images of the Port ones, so you can get an idea of what the finished product will look like

 

 

1. (6) Amun-7 Engine (2 on each Aft pod, stacked vertically, 1 on each Forward Pod in the top slot)
2. (4) Pinpoint 4G Landing Gear (1 for each pod)
3. (2) Taiyo Cowling Aft (1 for each pod, attached under the Amun-7 engine)
4. (4) Taiyo Braking Engine (1 for each pod)
5. (4) 500T He3 Tank (1 for each pod)
6. (4) HopeTech Radiator (1 for each pod)
7. (2) Stroud Engine Bracer A (1 for each Forward pod)
8. (Port) R-4000 Alpha Grav Drive ; (Starboard) 104DS Mag Inertial Reactor
   
9. (4) Nova Thruster, mounted on 500T tank, opposite to the point that connects to the Fuselage.

 

Assembly

Fuselage

Select all items on the Top Deck (Items 10-12), except for the Nova Cowling (13) and drag them over to connect to the Bottom Deck just in front of the Landing Bay. Flip Merge the Nova Cowling over the Warden Shield Generator. Select the Deimos Tail and Spine pieces (Items 14-17) and connect them to the top of the Top Deck, with the Deimos Tail connected to the aft point of the AIO and resting above the Landing Bay.

Connect Slimline Docker to bottom of 1x1 Hab.

Aft Engine Pods

Start with the Pinpoint 4G Landing Gear. Snap one of the Amun-7 engines to the Pinpoint Gear. Place the second engine on top of the first. Place the 500T Tank on top of the Pinpoint Gear. Snap the Taiyo Braking Engine to the front.

Now comes the tricky part. Drop Merge the Reactor/Grav Drive with the 500T Tank. Once done, Drop Merge the HopeTech Radiator with the 500T Tank and Reactor/Grav Drive.

Mount Nova Thruster to outside point of 500T tank.

Forward Engine Pods

Start with the Pinpoint 4G Landing Gear as before. Snap Taiyo Cowling Aft to the rear point of the gear. Attach the Amun-7 Engine to the top of the Taiyo Cowling. Place the 500T Tank on top of the Pinpoint Gear. Attach the Taiyo Braking Engine to the front of the assembly.

The only piece you have to merge this time is the HopeTech Radiator. Once that is completed, attach the Stroud Engine Bracer to the 500T Tank, facing the side of the fuselage you want to connect it to. We can now begin final assembly.

Nova Thruster mounted on 500T tank, opposite of Stroud Engine Bracer.

Final Assembly

Once all of the pods are constructed we can then attach them to the fuselage to complete the build. The Aft pods connect to the aftmost points of the 2x1 AIO and Infirmary Habs. The Forward pods connect to the Top Deck, above the Horizon Weapon Mounts.

    

Upgrade Path

The Redshift is an endgame compatible, fully realized ship. There really isn't a lot one might do to make her better. That said, customize the weapons to your needs. If you want, change some of the Habs around. Almost everything will be a side grade as opposed to an upgrade.

Final Build

Starfield Builds: Whippoorwill

Whippoorwill

 

Introduction

After I designed the Black Sparrow, I decided to try to slim down the design to get it as close to the picture that Crimson Flyboy posted as a challenge to build. I was able to cut 16m off the total length but was unable to slim it down on the lateral axis. During the conversation with Crimson, the accidental similarity between my ship and the Chieftain from Elite: Dangerous was pointed out. I decided to lean into that with the DT-40 engines attached to the wings. As the wings could not support that, I drop merged two Deimos Bracers into them and attached the engines that way.

My starter ship was an Ecliptic Bayonet and that's where the Cockpit, Engines, and Shield came from. The rest of the ship was put together at the Outpost Landing Pad with Ship Builder console.

 

Head Canon/Lore

During the production phase of the Black Sparrow project, the Whippoorwill was one of the rejected designs. The project files were forwarded to the UC Marine Corp, who were looking for a fast response dropship due to a training incident that turned deadly when the marines were ambushed by Spacer forces. After reviewing the project files, UC Marine engineers submitted a revised, budget-friendly version for consideration.

A dozen or so Whippoorwills were commissioned and are currently deployed for field testing and assessment.

 

Components

 

Lower Deck

1. 100 DP Slim Docker - Bottom
2. (2) Deimos Belly - Aft
3. (2) Stroud Cap A - Fore, Bot (Port/Stbd)
4. Pinpoint 4G+ Landing Gear (Taiyo Showroom)
5. HopeTech Companionway 1x1
6. NG-6 Landing Bay
   

 

Main Deck

1. (2) Deimos Belly - Aft
2. HopeTech Infirmary 2x1
3. (2) 220 CB Landing Gear (Port/Stbd)
4. (2) Nova Cowling 2F (PF/SF)
5. (2) Disruptor Electron Beam
6. Nova Cowling 2L-BA
7. 134MM Toroidal Reactor
8. HopeTech Control Station 2x1
9. Equipment Plate
10. Atl-Atl 270A Missile Launcher
11. Samurai Cockpit
12. HopeTech Armory (optional: Workshop) 2x1
    

 

Upper Deck/Structural

1. (2) Ares DT40 Engine
2. (2) Nova Wing (Port/Stbd)
3. (2) Deimos Bracer (Port/Stbd) - drop merged into the Nova Wings
4. (2) M30 Ulysses Fuel Tanks
5. (2) Stroud Cowling 1LA (PT/ST)
6. (2) Stroud Cap A - Top (Port/Stbd)
7. Deimos Hull A
8. R-2000 Alpha Grav Drive
9. HopeTech All-in-One Berth 2x1
10. Nova Cowling 2L-TF
11. Deimos Tail A
12. (2) Deimos Spine B
13. Deimos Spine A - Fore
14. Marduk 1010-A Shield Generator
    

 

Assembly

Attach Slimline Docker to bottom of 1x1 Companionway on the Lower Deck. Select all pieces of the Lower Deck and drag them over to the bottom of the Main Deck. The Deimos Belly Aft pieces should connect to the bottom points of the 2x1 Habs.

Connect the Deimos Tail - A to the Aft point of the Deimos Hull A. Connect the Deimos Spine B and A pieces to the top of the Deimos Hull, Grav Drive, and Aft point of the 2x1 Hab. Select everything but the two Stroud Cap A and Nova Cowling Pieces. Drag the selection over to the Main Deck so that the front of the AIO Berth sits right behind the Atl-Atl missile launcher.

Flip merge the Stroud Cap A pieces to connect to the front of the Stroud Cowlings while covering the 3300 Electron Beams. Flip merge the Nova Cowling to attach to the front of the AIO Berth and cover the Atl-Atl Missile Launcher.

 

Upgrade Path

The Whippoorwill is a starter build, intended for characters in their teen levels. That leaves a a lot of room for upgrade and expansion. Almost every part can and should be upgraded as the character progresses.

The most notable change, other than the internals, shield, and weapons would be to change out the Stroud Cowlings for SAE 42xx engines. This will increase Mobility and even allow for some extra cargo. Each of the Nova Wings can mount a 100CM Ballast Cargo Pod that doesn't really detract from the appearance.

In the Port 2x1, I have a Workshop, but if you are not running a crafting character, that can be changed to an Armory, another All-in-One berth, or whatever you want to put in there. For role-playing the intended purpose of being a dropship, I would slot an Armory.

While this is, lorewise, intended to be a cheap, almost disposable craft, you could take it to the next level with a B-class Reactor and one or more turrets mounted on the Spine pieces. That would also give you access to some powerful shields, like the Vanguard or SG-series.

Final Build

Starfield Builds: template (copy to new builds)

Ship Name

<Insert Pic>

 

Introduction

Text

 

Head Canon/Lore

Text

 

Components

Lower Deck

<insert pic>

1. Item

 

Main Deck

<insert pic>

1. Item

 

Upper Deck/Structural

<insert pic>

1. Item

 

Assembly

Text

 

 Upgrade Path

Text

Final Build

<insert pic>

Starfield Builds: San Jacinto

San Jacinto

Introduction

A couple of months back, Crimson Flyboy did a series of videos on creating an actual Navy for the Freestar Collective. Me, being me, was inspired to build a ship that might fit into the same theme. This was the best ship that this character could field at the time, which makes it perfect for this theme as it does not use absolutely top shelf parts.

 

Head Canon/Lore

The San Jacinto class of Destroyer was one of the models submitted to the Freestar Naval Review Commission, as a contender for active service selection

A prototype model was ordered and recently completed. Active trials are slated to begin soon.

Component List

 

Undercarriage

1. (4) HopeTech Nosecap B (2 Fore, 2 Aft)
2. (4) Accu-Lander 11 (2 Port, 2 Stbd)
3. White Dwarf 3020 Engine
4. Hope 4 Landing Bay
   

 

Main Deck

 

1. (2) SA-4220 Engine
2. (2)M40 Ulysses He3 Tank
3. HopeTech Captain's Quarters 2x1
4. (4) 200 CM Ballast Cargo Hold
5. (2) HopeTech Thruster
6. R-4000 Alpha Grav Drive
7. HopeTech Companionway 1x1
8. HopeTech Engineering Bay 3x1
9. Porthole Fore
10. HopeTech All-in-One Berth 2x1
    

 

Top Deck/Structural

 

1. 103DS Mag Inertia Reactor
2. HopeTech Companionway 1x1
3. (2) Porthole (Port/Stbd)
4. HopeTech Control Station 2x1
5. (4) HopeTech Cap A
6. (4) PBO-100 Auto Neutron Turret
7. Overseer 300 Bridge (Hopetown)
8. Warden SG-200 Shield Generator
9. (2) Nova Radiator - Top
   
10. Connect Pro Docker - Top
11. (2) PB-100 Neutron Beam

 

Assembly

Select all of the components on the Undercarriage layer. Connect the Undercarriage to the Main Deck with the Aft Landing Gear connecting to the bottom of the SA-4220 Engines. The Landing Bay will connect to the 1x1 Hab.

On the Structural Layer, connect the Shield Generator to the top of the Reactor. Place the two Nova Radiators on top of the 1x1 Companionway and the Aft point of the 2x1 Control Station. Attach the Connect Pro docker to the Fore point of the Control Station. Connect the PB-100 Neutron Beams to the top of the Overseer 300 Bridge. 

Once those pieces are assembled, select all of the components. Drag them over to have the Reactor sit on top of the Grav Drive and the Bridge on top of the forward point of the Engineering Bay.

Finished Build