Do the Size-7 guns use bespoke ammunition, and how much ammo can the gunboat carry? The brochure’s picture implies dedicated ‘ballistic’ ammo-loaders below the turret: can we customize the rounds to be either high-explosive or armor-penetrating rounds like IRL battle tanks can choose between during battle? Will the Size-7 guns be swappable, or are they locked like on the Ares?

The main turret weapons on the Perseus are currently planned to be bespoke S7 ballistics, with customizable ammo types to provide flexibility.

How far along is this ship? What’s the current stage within the pipeline?

The Perseus is at the concept stage and isn’t in production in the vehicle pipeline at this time.

How heavily is it armored?

It’s heavily armored for its size and designed to take a beating from other ships, but it isn’t as strong as a capital ship.

What are those “pylons” on each side of the ship (right next to the docking collar) supposed to be for?

Currently, they’re decorative. It was the rule of cool at the time and in keeping with the aggressive vibe of the ship. Maybe we’ll look at them later and alter them to be more like buffer bars or additional sensor technology.

What’s the largest ship that the Size-7 guns will be effective against? For example, how effective will they be against larger ships like a Polaris, 890, Idris, or a Javelin if they hit?

They’re expected to be effective against all large-size ships. If targeting critical areas on capital ships, they should provide similar effectiveness as the Crusader Ares’ Size-7 weaponry.

Does it have an armory or weapon racks, medical facilities, and facilities for troop-carrying? Otherwise, what is the point of a patrol ship being able to carry a rover?

In lore, the ship was not designed to carry a rover, it’s more a happy accident that it can and is a good representation of the general cargo volume. It has no armory or troop-carrying abilities as that is not its role. Its typical role is fleet defense, so it would rely on other ships in the fleet for its medical needs.

Is the cargo elevator the only entrance into a landed Perseus, or is there a dedicated entrance for personnel?

There is a dedicated personnel entrance located on the bottom of the ship to the rear behind the cargo elevator.

Why does the exterior appear to have two “doors” whilst only one airlock? Is it meant to only have one airlock (and it was just for symmetry), or does that other side have a function?

There is no functionality there and was purely done for symmetry.

Why is the SCM speed for a 100m ship set at a sedate 92 m/s?

The SCM speed is broadly in-line with other ships of its size, class, and weight, particularly given its heavily armored nature. Though, as always, speed will be revisited as the ship progresses through the pipeline.

Will it have pilot-controlled weapons? Will both big manned turrets be able to link to the pilot via computer blades if the crew gets sick?

The pilot will have access to the torpedoes, and some of the other bridge stations will be able to control weapons. Like other ships with manned turrets, they’re designed to be human-operated. However, as a fallback, they will be able to be NPC-crewed or equipped with a computer blade.

People speculate that this ship will be able to ram enemy ships, as seen in one of the concept-art images. Is this the plan? Will the front feature heavy-duty armor?

The concept art depicts the Perseus moving through the wreck of a hammerhead after destroying it, not actually ramming it. Like other ships, it’s capable of it but it’s not recommended nor designed to do so.

According to the Perseus IAE page, it states: “Nearly identical to the historic military original, get to know the new Perseus.” What makes this Perseus different from the military original, and will players be able to acquire the military original in-game in the future?

Regarding the “military original” referenced in the brochure/lore, we wouldn’t ever see the originals, as they are VERY old, predating the Tevarin wars and the Xi’an cold war. The lore does allude to a modern military version, which the in-game model is based on, but this is much the same as the Hornet, the Idris, or any other ship available to players also used by the UEE military. The implication is that the civilian model available to players is a slightly nerfed version of its theoretical military counterpart (‘cause, you know, laws).

What are the expected weaknesses of the Perseus versus a ship such as the Hammerhead? Specifically, blind spots, speed, armor, etc. And, can the manned turrets turn quickly enough to easily follow fast targets like dogfighters, medium fighters, etc., or do they turn slowly?

The big weakness of this ship is a swarm of fighters, so exactly what the hammerhead is designed to combat. It may have two Size-7 turrets, but they aren’t enough to defend against a determined group as they don’t rotate quickly enough to catch anything but larger targets.

In the brochure, it states that “Twin ballistic Gatling guns can be fully automated or remotely controlled to keep incoming ordnance at bay.” Will it require AI blades to automate these, or is automation part of the ship design as this line of the text seems to imply?

These turrets will come equipped with blades, so can be automated by default. In addition, they will be controllable remotely from the bridge if a player wishes to manually control them.