Q&A: RSI Scorpius
Following the concept release of the RSI Scorpius, we gathered questions about the latest fighter. Here are the answers, straight from the designers themselves.
Can the turret be controlled by the pilot? If so, does it fire in conjunction with the forward-facing weapons or is it controlled separately? Not by default. However, as it’s a remote turret, it will be able to be ‘slaved’ by a computer blade in the future, where it will be locked facing forward in the upper position.
Is the turret fixed to one of two positions (upper, forward-facing/lower, rear-facing), or is it freely movable between the two extremes? It can only be used in the two positions. During transition, it is unable to fire, though that transition is relatively quick to minimize downtime.
How long does it take the turret to move from one end of its rail to the other, and does it move fast enough to accurately follow a small dogfighter like the Gladius? The current time taken is less than five seconds. Whether or not that’s fast enough to follow a Gladius is hard to say as there are so many variables, but we intend for it to be quick enough to not hinder combat.
Can I equip the remote turret with an AI blade? Yes. Like all remote turrets on vehicles, we plan for this to be the case if you have the blade capacity on board.
Is there a way for the pilot and gunner to quickly escape in an emergency? For example, ejection seats, escape pod, or something similar? The ship comes as standard with two ejection seats that can fire independently.
Can you fire the wing weapons when the fighter is in its landed state? When in the landed state, the weapons are folded away to reduce the ship’s overall size, so they are unable to be fired.
Does the unique turret benefit from any special target assistance, such as additional auto-gimbal assistance? No, it’s just a regular remotely controlled turret and has all the features existing turrets have.
What size of ships does it fit into? We designed the landed state to make sure it fits the metrics for ‘extra small’ or Size 2 landing pads. This is in line with the majority of our other fighters and allows it to fit inside a Polaris.
Will the turret’s degree of freedom be restricted differently depending on the wing state? There will be different fire arcs depending on the position, but we only envisage you to be using the turret in the deployed wing state.
Are the turret guns bespoke and can they be customized/swapped out? What is the maximum weapon size it accepts? The turret guns are standard Size 3 weapons and can be customized like any other.
How does its flight range compare to that of the Vanguard or Hurricane? It’s closer in flight range and style to the Hurricane, but slower in SCM due to its larger mass. As part of the work to introduce the Scorpius to the game, we’ll re-evaluate the speed and handling of this type of ship to ensure they all fit their desired goals, as we noticed some irregularities in the existing tunings. The Vanguard remains a long-range, heavy fighter and benefits from larger fuel tanks and onboard living to support extended duration flight.
How does its armor compare to the Vanguard, Hurricane, Super Hornet? It has equal armor levels to the Hurricane, slightly less than the Super Hornet, and less than the Vanguard.
Where does the ship sit compared to other fighters like the Super Hornet, Vanguard, and Hurricane? It very much sits in the mix with them all, and all have pluses and minuses when compared to each other. The Scorpius is most closely compared to the Hurricane, though trades a manned turret for a remote one. Compared to the Super Hornet, it’s slightly stronger offensively but doesn’t benefit from the Hornet chassis’ modularity. Compared to the Vanguard, the Scorpius provides less forward-facing offensive firepower in favor of greater coverage.
Why would I pick the Scorpius over the Hurricane? Both ships have the same role, but if you want a slightly more flexible turret position providing more fire angles independent of the pilot’s control, then the Scorpius provides that.
Disclaimer The answers accurately reflect development’s intentions at the time of writing, but the company and development team reserve the right to adapt, improve, or change feature and ship designs in response to feedback, playtesting, design revisions, or other considerations to improve balance or the quality of the game overall.