HWS Garage Ship Community Review and Discussion

HWS General Discussion
1

Up front, the purpose of this post is to objectively evaluate all garage ships currently being offered and give this information to the community to allow feedback based on the stats/price of each ship. If you’ve bought a garage ship, this is the place to provide your feedback. If you’re new and/or looking for opinions on what to buy, read my comments below each ship.

What I’m going to do is break this into a few sections:

  1. My reason for making this post and some food for thought as you go through it.
  2. Rexxxus’s pricing guidelines
  3. Objective evaluation (and my own impression) of every garage ship

Section 1 - TheState’s Take on the Garage
When I joined HWS last year, I was really impressed with the garage among all the other unique features to HWS. What I saw were very nice looking ships with unique abilities. Now, it seems a lot of ships are less than aesthetically pleasing and almost seem overpowered or over-the-top. Some seem overpriced for what they offer (to me) while others seem like a necessity. I believe the garage ships should absolutely bring something new and refreshing to the table but be balanced - both in ability and price. I also think they should have effort put into them to look decent. These are ships that are being showcased by the top Empyrion server!
I’m going to be critical of their aesthetics as well as other factors you might not be seeing from their garage page post. That will also be subjective to the individual, some of you may disagree with me. Let me know below, this is a discussion for the community and I am far from the only voice.

From this point on, my personal comments will be in italics. This will separate my opinions from objective evaluation of the blueprints or garage in general.

Section 2 - Rex’s Pricing Guidelines

5m for an Alien Core as base value.
Then, all Alien Technology which extends the base features count as +1m.

The Eye for example with 21 drills = 21 million
5m Alien Core + 15m for 15 Drills over limit + 1m for extra features like Advanced Constr. + Medic bay etc.

He also claims to right to alter prices based on economical impact. For example, lowering the price will raise RP costs for repeatedly buying it while raising the price will make it more valuable to lose.

What his pricing conventions don’t address are armor type. A hardened steel SV compared to a combat steel one would be the same price without altering it. I feel price should probably reflect the hull type in some fashion. After reviewing all of the ships, some of the less mainstream ships seem to have some pricing quirks.
If you see one that doesn’t make sense, point it out so we can discuss it as a community.

If you want to submit a garage ship, check this out:

Section 3 - Ship Evaluations

Disclaimer: I am going to be critical of some ships here. Don’t take anything personally

Name: Alien Digger (SV)
Price: 12m
Size Class: .89 (753 blocks)
Body: Xenosteel
Power: CV thrusters (alien core)
Purpose: Asteroid/Surface Mining
Features:

  • 8 mining lasers (CV)
  • 10 mining lasers (HV)
  • 1 Advanced Constructor
  • 4 Harvest Boxes

http://puu.sh/BIAZA/d9df52e592.png

Comments: The Alien Digger is an interesting ship. It is very similar to the Space Mole and Astro Worm while being able to maintain its independence and have its own strengths and weaknesses. This ship has no interior at all, you access the cockpit from one of the wings. It is very maneuverable and has enough thrust to operate in gravity up to 5g (though pointed downward, reversing will be hard in more than 2g). The drills are spread out enough to provide good coverage when mining without wasting drills by having them overlap too much. Aesthetically, this thing looks more like a fighter than a miner but the body is cool regardless. While I’m not a fan of having it be all one texture, xenosteel is difficult to texture due to how few are available. It’s price point is accurate and I think fair for what this offers: a barebones mining ship with decent power and great maneuverability.

Name: Astro Worm (CV)
Price: 8m
Size Class: .67 (581 blocks)
Body: Combat Steel
Power: CV thrusters (alien core)
Purpose: Asteroid Mining
Features:

  • 12 mining lasers (CV)


http://puu.sh/ByszH/be332e562a.png

Comments: The Astro Worm is a cheap CV that has one job only: mining asteroids. No frills, just a barebones miner. Exterior is underwhelming. It is essentially a tube with thrusters. That said, it isn’t plainly done or haphazardly put together. The interior is well done and was a surprise to me after the fairly plain exterior. There is room to add extras inside as it only comes with one constructor. The exterior, in my opinion, doesn’t exactly fit with the spirit of the garage but it definitely is able to bring something interesting to the table.

Name: Badger (HV)
Price: 14m
Size Class: .72 (658 blocks)
Body: Hardened steel
Power: CV thrusters (Alien core)
Purpose: Mining
Features:

  • 14 mining lasers (HV)
  • 2 Advanced constructors
  • 1 shower

http://puu.sh/BysC0/662b1e2df9.png
http://puu.sh/BysD8/e9eeda5a80.png

Comments: The badger isn’t flashy, but it has character. Low-profile, unique design that I feel fits in with other garage ships. It’s appropriately priced for what it can do. While surface mining is what this ship excels at, it can also make a very effective mining tank with its CV thrusters and low block count.

Name: Blazer (CV)
Price: 17m
Size Class: 2.88 (2291 blocks)
Body: Xenosteel
Power: CV thrusters, (alien core)
Purpose: Mining
Features:

  • 2 furnaces
  • 5 advanced constructors
  • 9 grow plots and food processor
  • 17 CV Drill Modules
  • Furnace
  • BA repair bay (T2)
  • ATM

http://puu.sh/BGWlw/58b0d927cd.png
http://puu.sh/BGWxY/68e5734f6a.png

Comments: Where to start on this one… Let me start out by saying I spawned it in, excited to see the new ship and review it. As soon as I saw it and walked through it for about 30 seconds I closed my game. Another ugly ship that needs work inside and out. I was able to pull it together and remind myself that it isn’t my garage, I just review the ships in it. The good and the bad
Let’s start with the good. 17 CV mining lasers allows the Blazer to mine at a very high rate compared to a ship with only 6 drills. Just observing the rate compared to a version of the Blazer with only 6, I’d guess it’s between 2 and 3 times as fast. The drills are spaced to tackle the asteroid deposits by mining the whole thing at once and I’ll say it’s pretty effective. Now for the bad. The inside is a maze once you stray from the elevators. The thrust is abysmal, thrusters exposed, and the core is practically exposed to space (it’s behind a shutter block in the front of the ship). A lot of the inside is shutter and glass blocks which seems really unnecessary. There is a lot of empty space that feels awkward. The exterior is essentially a box plus some blocks clearly added to try and alter its shape, though it isn’t fooling me.
That said, I can see what the author was trying to do. I can see that they tried to make a very industrial feeling ship with the exposed components, see through shutters making up the floors, and the aesthetic touches to the outside. They have a good idea but just not enough practice building ships to make it come together in a fluid, non-boxy way. Aesthetically, this ship needs to go back to the drawing board. Functionally, if not for the terrible thrust and thruster locations, it is a decent ship. Being made of thin xenosteel, though, I’d steer clear of PVP space. You aren’t going to have a fun time repairing this ship or an easy time getting away with the bad thrust. Overpriced at 17m, I’ll pass on buying this ship.

Name: Companion (SV)
Price: 10m
Size Class: 1 (2784 blocks)
Body: Xenosteel
Power: CV thrusters, (alien core)
Purpose: Exploration (Mobile SV base)
Features:

  • 2 furnaces
  • 5 advanced constructors
  • 9 grow plots and food processor
  • ATM
  • Full medical bay
  • Deconstructor

http://puu.sh/BysEW/bb4cbff755.png
http://puu.sh/BQzCX/3ec13d44c6.png

Comments: The companion fills a unique role in the garage that no other SV really touches as a mobile base. Class 1 means it can go anywhere and the xenosteel armor makes it an effective exploration ship. Lots of cargo space is available. The exterior looks nice and the interior isn’t too shabby either. With the use of supergates (as its warp range is limited by its SV warp drive), I can see this ship as a viable companion for POI and supply runs. The X2 update made large improvements to the interior and added a deconstructor. The annoying shutter doors are now gone and the interior is now much more crisp and functional.

Name: Diablo
Price: 9m
Size Class: .34 (131 blocks)
Body: Combat steel (thin)
Power: CV thrusters (Alien core)
Purpose: Fighter/Bunker buster
Features:

  • 21 rocket launchers
  • 2 T2 RCS

http://puu.sh/BysIV/7041911ce2.png

Comments: This ship is good at what it does, making holes. While the slow speed of the rockets may make it hard to hit SVs, using its agility and catching one off-guard or hitting a HV that flipped or is disabled is devastating. While there really aren’t any aesthetics to comment on as the thing is basically a SV strapped to a multi-launch rocket system, it is a very unique ship on the garage that allows for a lot of customization.

Name: Draupnir (CV)
Price: 15m
Size Class: 4.71 (10510 blocks)
Body: Combat steel
Power: CV thrusters (alien core)
Purpose: Multirole CV
Features:

  • 2 furnaces
  • 18 missile-type turrets (8 over)
  • 2 large, 1 small hangar

http://puu.sh/BysKq/01caa2becc.png
http://puu.sh/BysMF/228651d0dc.png

Comments: There’s a reason this ship has been a HWS Garage veteran: it’s beautiful. Very pretty outside, well-done inside. These are the types of ships that started on the garage and what we’ve strayed away from. While the big selling point on this in the past would have been it’s abundant missile launchers (12), HWS now allows 10. That said, it does have 6 flak turrets to bump it well over the limit for missile turrets.
This CV is a good starter CV if you don’t have a good one for light combat against both SVs and CVs, though I would use it more for exploring and as a “daily driver”, if you will.

Name: Evanmaur (SV)
Price: 8m
Size Class: 1.71 (1145 blocks)
Body: Hardened steel
Power: CV thrusters (alien core)
Purpose: Utility
Features:

  • 2 advanced constructors
  • 2 furnaces
  • 66 labeled and/or colored storage boxes

http://puu.sh/BysNJ/8cbae2c2db.png
http://puu.sh/BysOX/dbe5ae71f2.png

Comments: Another ship that’s been around a while, the Evanmaur is very nice looking and fills the role of a mobile processing and storage SV. This ship is comparable to the Foundry and the Maur, which both are better at what they do individually. The Evanmaur combines those two into one ship to become a jack-of-all-trades in the utility SV market.

Name: Explorer
Price: 12m
Size Class: 4.60 (5905 blocks)
Body: Hardened Steel
Power: CV Thrusters (Alien Core)
Purpose: Teleporter SV
Features:

  • One-way teleporter
  • 2 advanced constructors
  • 4 CV Drill Turrets
  • 1 CV Multiturret

http://puu.sh/BysRm/d3fffed6dd.png
http://puu.sh/BysRR/ec0616414d.png

Comments: While this is a small vessel, it’s anything but small. Coming in at a class 5, you are limited with the options of where to fly this. Its exterior is decent, though compared to the last ships I’ve reviewed it strikes me as slightly plain with a unique shape. The interior is well-done. This is the only teleporter SV currently available so holds a pretty unique role on the HWS Garage.

Name: Expusition (SV)
Price: 20m
Size Class: 1.76 (2283 blocks)
Body: Hardened steel/shutter sides
Power: CV (alien core)
Purpose: Fighter/Assault
Features:

  • 20 Railguns
  • Food processor, repair station

http://puu.sh/BysUC/93c96c4e9a.png
http://puu.sh/BysW3/fdc263eb7f.png

Comments: The Expusition looks great and has a unique feel to it. The interior is cramped which is expected in its role. With this season’s buffs to shutter blocks, the sides and bottom are well protected, though they increase the class size significantly. The body is hardened steel which offers little protection if being fired on by a base or HV. The weapons are poorly positioned at the front, being easily shot off. At 20m, this is no cheap ship but is actually 1m under Rex’s pricing pattern.

Name: Fenrir (HV)
Price: 11m
Size Class: 2.24 (2733 blocks)
Body: Xenosteel/Hardened Steel
Power: CV Thruster (alien core)
Purpose: Anti-vehicle Tank
Features:

  • 8 SV Homing Rocket Launchers
  • 2 Artillery Turrets
  • 6 Missile Turrets
  • 1 Advanced Constructor

http://puu.sh/BysYu/02d9ec7ca5.png
http://puu.sh/Byt1n/f18846b3a4.png

Comments: As one of the designers of this ship, I can’t fairly review it. I will say that while we were creating it, we did choose a very unique look that makes it stand out. We tried to balance it to not be overpowered while making it unique, aesthetically pleasing, and useful. It has a detailed interior and is easily rearranged for whatever you plan to use it for.

Name: Foundry (SV)
Price: 7m
Size Class: .41 (328 blocks)
Body: Combat steel/hardened steel
Power: CV Thrusters (alien core)
Purpose: Utility
Features:

  • 4 Furnaces
  • 4 Advanced constructors

http://puu.sh/Byt2g/17a917033a.png

Comments: Like the Evanmaur, the foundry is a mobile processing station. The foundry, however, is cheaper and has more processing power. As far as aesthetics, I believe the foundry to be at the bare minimum of detail of what a garage ship should have. All-in-all, it is a good ship for the price.

Name: Grand Tie (CV)
Price: 30m
Size Class: 7.45 (32640 blocks)
Body: Combat Steel
Power: CV (alien core)
Purpose: Destroyer
Features:

  • 4 artillery turrets
  • 10 flak turrets
  • 10 rocket turrets
  • 10 plasma turrets
  • 10 pulse laser turrets

http://puu.sh/Byt8n/027048898b.png
http://puu.sh/Byt9S/8e723c1197.png

Comments: Another unique ship that found its niche, destroying everything. At 58 turrets you’re going to have a hard time besting this ship in combat. The gardens inside seem out of place but the interior looks good too.

Name: H-O-G (SV)
Price: 5m
Size Class: 2.37 (1645 blocks)
Body: Steel/Hardened Steel
Power: CV (alien core)
Purpose: Utility/Mining
Features:

  • 3 HV Drill Laser turrets
  • 2 SV Drill Laser turrets
  • 6 HV multiturrets
  • 1 Advanced constructor

http://puu.sh/Bytbh/7303109537.png
http://puu.sh/Bytd2/f1badb91b9.png

Comments: Going for the seaplane-meets-submersible look, the H-O-G has an exterior unlike any other garage ship. It is very detailed outside and in and conveys an industrial feel. The H-O-G is definitely built for group play with individual pods for players to sit in and man multiturrets or drill turrets. This would be a great ship for repairing bases or stripping them down without recycling, making this is a very situational SV. At 5m, this is the cheapest you’ll get an alien cored ship.

Name: Invader (CV) REMOVED FROM GARAGE INDEFINITELY
Price: 100m
Size Class: 5.75 (14083 blocks)
Body: Armored concrete
Power: CV
Purpose: Assault Lander
Features:

  • 8 BA Artillery
  • 35 BA Flak
  • 10 CV pulse laser
  • 12 BA Rocket
  • T2 Repair Pad (BA)
  • Teleporter

http://puu.sh/ByteB/df57912880.png
http://puu.sh/Bytgr/89a51bc1c1.png

Comments: This is just something you need to see. Massive, heavily armed, with seats for 20 of your closest friends. Large pad for docking ships with a detailed interior. While this might be unnecessary to use in almost any situation, this would be a lot of fun.

Name: Ixodida (SV)
Price: 19m
Size Class: 2.82 (9513 blocks)
Body: Xenosteel
Power: CV Thruster (Alien core)
Purpose: Fighter/Multirole
Features:

  • 8 CV Rocket Launchers
  • 1 Furnace
  • 2 Advanced Constructors
  • Full med bay

http://puu.sh/BythN/aa83ff7d47.png
http://puu.sh/Byti2/c48cf2d642.png

Comments: It’s ugly. No, seriously. In my opinion, this ship should not be in the garage for that reason alone. Very little effort went into the exterior and about the same went into the interior. Additionally, this ship also suffers from an identity crisis. It’s classified as a fighter but, besides the xenosteel, the only thing going for it is the CV rocket launchers. I classed it as a multirole due to its manufacturing capabilities and the ore detectors onboard, though there are ships better (and cheaper) for both of these tasks. I think this one needs to be reevaluated or reworked.

Name: Kolfskot X2 (SV)
Price: 15m
Size Class: 1.45 (3173 blocks)
Body: Combat Steel
Power: CV (alien core)
Purpose: Fighter
Features:

  • 12 SV homing rocket launchers
  • 1 advanced constructor

http://puu.sh/Bytji/986bd7797c.png
http://puu.sh/BytjT/93a75c643a.png

Comments: This is a very tanky SV. It packs a punch and can take hits back with its full combat steel hull. It isn’t the fastest to accelerate but it is quick to turn. The Kolfscot has a sleek, unique look that I feel fits in with the spirit of the garage well and is fairly priced for a combat SV.

Name: Maur (SV)
Price: 5m
Size Class: .84 (487 blocks)
Body: Hardened Steel
Power: CV thrusters (alien core)
Purpose: Utility
Features:

  • 1 Advanced Constructor
  • 1 T2 (BA) Repair Pad
  • Lots of colored boxes

http://puu.sh/Bytle/278b9fcdf7.png
http://puu.sh/BytlS/f8a5ce1e2f.png

Comments: The maur is the little brother of the Evanmaur. Smaller amount of storage, only one constructor, no furnaces. Where the Maur does shine, though, is that it has a repair bay. Essentially, this ship is a little mechanic and material storage shed. At 5m, it’s hard to get more value out of a ship. Please note that the repair bay is now on the top of the ship due to mechanical changes in Empyrion regarding the repair bays.

Name: Mite (SV)
Price: 17m
Size Class: 1.22 (3000 blocks)
Body: XenoSteel
Power: CV thrusters (alien core)
Purpose: Fighter
Features:

  • 9 pulse lasers
  • 10 plasma launchers
  • Advanced constructor

http://puu.sh/BQAoo/d213c1f73a.png

Comments: _Right off the bat, remove two or three pulse lasers. They’re in horrible positions and the second you’re engaged from the front they’re going to go. With a ship bragging overlimit lasers, you’d expect it to be a brawler but the weapon placement here does not match it’s design intent. That said, it is a maneuverable and well-armored ship. It can definitely dogfight and is tough, save for the exposed thrusters and poorly placed weapons. There are some other design aspects I can’t really get on-board with, namely the whole ship being one bright texture and some odd windows in the back that are out of place. It has a unique shape that gets all weapons into firing positions but gives this ship a large profile that will be easy to hit. At 17m, this ship will be a pass for me. It isn’t useful or durable enough to warrant such a high price aside from its armor that will probably last through a few fights.

Name: Mjolnir (HV)
Price: 9m
Size Class: 1.48 (4657 blocks)
Body: Hardened Steel with Combat Steel front
Power: CV thrusters (alien core)
Purpose: Tank
Features:

  • 3 HV artillery
  • 6 HV plasma
  • 8 HV rocket
  • 1 Advanced Constructor

http://puu.sh/BytnK/7ad7b0f766.png
http://puu.sh/Bytpx/cf89b45e21.png

Comments: The Mjolnir is a favorite to PVPers who have used it, there is nothing like watching 8 missiles and 3 artillery rounds connect with an SV. It’s very maneuverable and easy to use as far as HV tanks go. While not the prettiest ship in the garage, it is unique and functional. I think the lower price point on this one is fair based on its hardened steel hull.

Name: Mordred (SV)
Price: 13m
Size Class: 2.05 (2760 blocks)
Body: Hardened steel front with Xenosteel back
Power: CV thruster (alien core)
Purpose: Fighter
Features:

  • 10 SV plasma
  • 10 SV pulse laser
  • Full med bay
  • 1 Advanced constructor

http://puu.sh/Bytr8/4d585af2c2.png
http://puu.sh/Bytsy/79684c5a27.png

Comments: While it has an interesting shape and weapon loadout, I think this ship falls just below the line of what should pass into the garage based on aesthetics. The ship has a neat design but ends up being blocky and not having a sleek, polished finish. While the interior has some neat design aspects, it also feels bland and nothing special. It does handle amazingly well and feels balanced. I’ll also admit I think it looks pretty good from the back, as long as you don’t get too close. If this gets polished up I think it could be a good garage ship.

Name: Nautilus (CV)
Price: 15m
Size Class: 5.77 (9013 blocks)
Body: Combat steel
Power: CV (alien core)
Purpose: Explorer
Features:

  • Portal
  • ATM

http://puu.sh/Bytvh/8f9cfc9a31.png
http://puu.sh/BytwM/2dbace9027.png

Comments: Essentially, this is just a CV with a portal and an ATM. A BEAUTIFUL CV with a portal and an ATM. A lot of work went into the interior of this ship and the exterior is amazing as well. I’m not sure what teleporters go for these days but a class 6 CV that’s ready to go with an alien core would be worth at least 10m in my book. I think this is fairly priced.

Name: Nomadder (SV)
Price: 15m
Size Class: .94 (1085 blocks)
Body: Xenosteel
Power: CV Thrusters (alien core)
Purpose: Miner
Features:

  • 10 Drill Module T2 - Laser (HV)
  • 10 Drill Module (CV)
  • 1 Multiturret (HV)
  • 1 Multiturret (CV)
  • 4 Harvest boxes
  • Full med bay
  • ATM

http://puu.sh/BQAXr/e7bb179ab8.png
http://puu.sh/BQAYJ/ada68bf8c2.png

Comments: My very first impression of this ship was, “Great, another space mole.” It has the well known cylinder shape shared by the space mole and astro worm and, functionally, it does the same job. After actually getting into it and checking it out though, this is a unique ship that does things differently. Sure, it’s a miner and sure we have like 20 of those. At 10 lasers of each type, it packs a decent mining punch and is meant to be low profile. The multiturrets on top retract allowing this ship to dig tunnels very well, though its long shape makes it hard to pitch inside them. It has two cockpits, one for HV mining and one for CV mining with their lasers facing opposite directions - a neat touch that I haven’t seen in a garage ship. All-in-all, this is a pretty standard multipurpose mining ship with a tinge of survival built-in. Compared to the space mole, it’s honestly a toss-up for me, though I think I prefer the less phallic shape of the Nomadder.

Name: Oriole (SV)
Price: 3m
Size Class: 1.05 (625 blocks)
Body: Hardened Steel
Power: HV thrusters
Purpose: Mining
Features:

  • 6 HV mining lasers
  • 2 HV Drill Turrets
  • 6 SV Rocket launchers
  • Furnace

http://puu.sh/Bytyc/902cb62b68.png
http://puu.sh/BytyB/22f217ce44.png

Comments: Until reviewing this, I never really noticed this ship. I saw its unique shape and mining lasers, but it silently sat in the garage line-up while I passed it by for more expensive ships that do the exact same thing this does. The 6 drill lasers are perfectly positioned to maximize the hole that it makes, keeping it from getting hung up while tunneling. The furnace and 6 SV constructors allow it to process ore on the go, making this a great starter miner SV for people on a budget. No alien core present in this one.

Name: Panzer (HV)
Price: 30m
Size Class: 1.49 (1720 blocks)
Body: Xenosteel
Power: CV thrusters
Purpose: Combat Tank
Features:

  • 3 Artillery (HV)
  • 7 Rocket Turrets (HV)
  • 8 Plasma Turrets (HV)
  • 12 Homing Rocket Launchers
  • 10 Plasma Launchers

http://puu.sh/BQAZR/7da2a95edb.png

Comments: I honestly don’t know what can be said about this. It’s ugly and covered in guns. I think the weapon count speaks for itself. This thing is like the Mjolnir and Fenrir had a child that grew up eating lead paint chips. While it may be one of the derpiest looking things on the Garage, its firepower is nothing short of awesome and, for the amount of thrusters it has, it’s surprisingly maneuverable. The panzer makes absolutely no effort to hide its guns and goes for resembling a tank with a large barrel filled with plasma launchers and textured tracks. There is almost no interior to this HV to show off. Without spoiling the secrets for those who will dish out 30m for this vehicle, there are two glaring weaknesses that may cripple this massive offensive tool quickly and permanently. Cool idea and I want to see how this performs, but the weaknesses have me holding back from dropping 30m on the Panzer.

Name: Phantasm (SV)
Price: 30m
Size Class: 3.08 (7006 blocks)
Body: Armored Concrete
Power: CV Thrusters (alien core)
Purpose: Heavy Fighter
Features:

  • 6 SV Homing Rockets
  • 6 Railguns
  • 4 CV Rocket launchers
  • 1 HV Multiturret
  • 1 CV Multiturret

http://puu.sh/BytAs/3db714d5f8.png
http://puu.sh/BytAT/4d22e1b44e.png

Comments: The first thing you notice about the Phantasm is that it has one of the most unique bodies in the garage. It has an amazing shape and details, making it look awesome. The interior is fairly bare-bones like most fighters tend to be. This ship is fitted for both space and planet fighting or POI busting. It has good maneuverability for being the most heavily armored SV on the garage.

Name: Plasmia (SV)
Price: 500k
Size Class: .48 (133 blocks)
Body: Exposed/Some Hardened Steel
Power: SV Thrusters
Purpose: Base removal
Features:

  • 2 HV plasma turrets
  • 5 SV plasma launchers

http://puu.sh/BytCJ/11d6184741.png

Comments: The Plasmia is a niche ship meant for digging in antigrief zones with its HV plasma turrets. With the changes this season removing antigrief from select PVP playfields, this ship’s already limited use may become even more limited.

Name: PO-7 (SV)
Price: 11m
Size Class: 1.06 (1122 blocks)
Body: Combat steel
Power: CV Thruster (alien core)
Purpose: POI Attack
Features:

  • 11 Railguns
  • 2 HV Artillery Turrets
  • 1 Advanced constructor

http://puu.sh/BytGH/309ca94bba.png
http://puu.sh/BytHf/e94bb64dd1.png

Comments: This is another garage ship that embodies the title. It fills a unique role and has the tools to fill that role better than a standard vehicle. It looks good outside and in and has just what’s needed to take on POIs. This ship would be best used with a couple friends to man the two HV artillery turrets while the pilot fires the railguns.

Name: Prometheus (SV)
Price: 11m
Size Class: 1.04 (1886 blocks)
Body: Combat Steel
Power: CV Thruster (alien core)
Purpose: Fighter
Features:

  • 2 Advanced Constructors
  • 10 SV Homing Rocket Launchers

http://puu.sh/BytIr/d7bdf31a09.png

Comments: A very unique looking ship, though fairly impractical in the way of armor. Though it looks neat, you’d need to rework this ship to get it in a better fighting shape. Most garage ships should be altered if taking them into PVP, but this one requires an overhaul. At 11m, it’s cheaper than the other ships boasting extra homing launchers but not by much. For the amount of work required, I wouldn’t be buying this to make into a class 1 PVP ship.

Name: Prototype Q (SV)
Price: 9m
Size Class: .35 (275 blocks)
Body: Combat Steel
Power: CV Thruster (alien core)
Purpose: Mining
Features:

  • 9 HV Mining Lasers
  • 1 HV Drill Turret
  • 1 Harvest box

http://puu.sh/BytJX/f573187b69.png
http://puu.sh/BytLQ/2bc5c5fa39.png

Comments: This is the middle class miner when it comes to SV miners. You have the Oriole and H-O-G on one end, the Eye and Raider on the other. This falls just under the X7-B in terms of mining lasers and features. Where this ship does excel, though, is mining tunnels. Its small profile and massive mining power to size ratio allows it to tunnel easily without getting hung up like you do with larger ships like the Raider or X7-B.
It has plenty of room to add armor if you’d like.

Name: Pyre (HV)
Price: 2m
Size Class: 1.06 (1643 blocks)
Body: Combat Steel
Power: HV Thruster
Purpose: Tank
Features:

  • 10 plasma turrets
  • 6 SV plasma cannons
  • 4 SV rocket launchers
  • 1 Advanced constructor

http://puu.sh/BytOb/8d7f4cca71.png
http://puu.sh/BytOx/ae1f772f62.png

Comments: This is one interesting vehicle. Like the Fenrir, it has SV direct fire weapons onboard. Full combat steel hull, over-limit plasma turrets, and only 2m. This is a pretty neat idea for an actual tank tank. It only has HV thrusters so it is fairly slow, like a tank. Outside, the HV looks phenomenal. Very unique and asymmetrical. Inside, it is completely plain and could use a bit of detail. This is an interesting addition to the garage and I’m excited to see how it gets used.

Name: Raider Mk2 (SV)
Price: 21m
Size Class: .93 (1981 blocks)
Body: Xenosteel
Power: CV Thruster (alien core)
Purpose: Mining
Features:

  • 21 SV Mining lasers
  • 1 Furnace
  • 1 Advanced constructor
  • Full med bay
  • 6 Harvest boxes
  • ATM and almost all extras (shower, food processor, etc)

http://puu.sh/BytS3/9ead15226d.png
http://puu.sh/BytTM/b43a0ef3d5.png

Comments: This is one of the two high-end mining SVs available. The raider has pretty much anything you’d ever need for anything and doubles as an explorer vehicle as well. I own one myself and use it as such.
When I saw that the MK2 had a furnace and all of those extras, it was a necessary purchase for me. And that is the thing that I dislike about it, it made me feel like this miner had it all, basically “OP”. I’ve said before that I think garage ships should be balanced. Mining is fine, Exploring is fine, a little of both is fine, but not making the ship the best of both worlds.
Back to the ship itself, it is great for mining surfaces and deposits, poor for tunneling. It has a low profile design and unique shape and exterior. The interior in the MK2 variant is much improved over the first version to be more inline with how garage ships should look, though the exterior is fairly poor looking. The drills on the Raider are too close together to actually give you 21 mining lasers of mining power, though it should continue to operate as purchased despite losing half its drills.

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Name: Reclaimer (CV)
Price: 35m
Size Class: 4.83 (7079 blocks)
Body: Armored concrete
Power: Thruster (alien core)
Purpose: Escort Cruiser
Features:

  • 7 Pulse lasers
  • 10 Plasma turrets
  • 9 Rocket turrets
  • 10 Rocket launchers
  • 16 Flak turrets
  • 6 Minigun / 1 Cannon turret


Comments: This ship would function nicely as an escort ship for a CV destroyer. It has 360 coverage as opposed to a frontal fire focus and it’s numerous flak turrets will keep SVs at bay. It is thinly, but heavily, armored with armored concrete blocks accented in some places with combat steel. If you get a hole in this you won’t be repairing it with the same material. The outside of this ship looks amazing. It is sleek and looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. Venturing inside, it can only be described as a nightmare. It is a maze of white marble with no rhyme or reason to the layout. There are no signs, no apparent easy way to anything. Speaking with other people who have used this CV, they agree that the interior is somewhat of a trainwreck.

Name: Romanova (SV)
Price: 5m
Size Class: 1.3 (1923 blocks)
Body: Hardened Steel
Power: CV Thruster
Purpose: Utility/Exploration
Features:

  • 2 Advanced Constructors
  • 1 Deconstructor
  • 2 Furnaces
  • 4 Sentry Guns
  • 1 CV Drill Turret
  • 1 ATM



Comments: This is a great starter survival ship. Plenty of storage, all the functionality of a mobile base (minus full medbay), and a price that can’t be beat. Note that this ship does not have an alien core so you’re paying for its functionality alone. Aesthetically, the outside is fairly - but reasonably - plain. It looks like it is ready to get to work crafting and shuttling your goods from point A to point B and can’t be bothered to look fancy doing it. The interior is sparse but clean with a very appealing layout on the walls with all of the equipment and devices the Romanova comes with. This is also the first ship I’ve seen come with its very own dancing lady on the dashboard! To summarize, if you need a multipurpose ship on a budget, pick this one up.

Name: Scorpia (SV)
Price: 20m
Size Class: 1.39 (1072 blocks)
Body: Wing blocks
Power: CV Thruster (alien core)
Purpose: Fighter/Sniper
Features:

  • 20 railguns


Comments: Maneuverable and nimble, the Scorpia is a direct competitor to the Expusition in price and ability. The body is made of wing blocks and hardened steel. While wing blocks got an HP buff this season, I’m not convinced they will be that effective. I suppose it doesn’t matter as long as the ship doesn’t get shot; like the Expusition it is not meant to take many hits. Unlike the Expusition, however, the railguns are in a much better place to keep them away from both AI and player fire. The skeletonized hull gives the Scorpia a weird yet awesome look, though it does leave a lot of exposed thrusters. The inside is small like a fighter and you drop into it, a very cool feature unique to this SV.

Name: September (CV)
Price: 15m
Size Class: 4.56 (10389 blocks)
Body: Combat Steel
Power: CV Thruster (alien core)
Purpose: Exploration
Features:

  • 12 Rocket Turrets
  • 9 Plasma Turrets


Comments: While the turrets are almost possible with the current config, the September is a tried and true CV for players who want something solid to get them from point A to point B. To be completely honest, there is not much separating the September from a CV you can spawn in. The rocket turrets are 2 over the limit and that’s it, save the alien core. That doesn’t stop this from being a very pretty ship inside and out. The logic used in this ship is the best I’ve seen, too.

Name: Smoke (CV)
Price: 17m
Size Class: .25 (150 blocks)
Body: Combat Steel
Power: CV Thruster (alien core)
Purpose: Planetary Attack
Features:

  • 3 HV Artillery Turrets
  • 6 SV Homing Rocket Launchers
  • 5 HV Rocket Turrets
  • 4 BA Flak Turrets

Comments: I uh… I spent way too long in survival waging war against the raptors on the plains of Akua. This thing was like piloting a SV with HV and BA turrets. I imagine this would be best used taking out POIs and testing this made me want to fork over 17m to give it a go. Instantaneous acceleration in all directions except vertically, this would be a master at dodging shells. While this would be interesting in PVP, I can’t imagine it would fare well as ALL of its internals are hanging out on the sides and bottom. The only areas covered are the front with thin combat steel and wherever turrets are. In case you missed the block count above, this is a CV capable of going on any planet without warnings. This is a unique, very stripped-down ship that will be a lot of fun to fly and see in use.

Name: Space Mole (SV)
Price: 11m
Size Class: 1.48 (1895 blocks)
Body: Xenosteel
Power: CV Thrusters (alien core)
Purpose: Mining
Features:

  • 8 CV Drill Lasers
  • 8 HV Drill Lasers
  • 2 Advanced Constructors
  • 1 Furnace
  • Full med bay
  • ATM
  • 4 Harvest Boxes


Comments: This is a very agile miner for both space and surface mining. It has everything needed for extended mining and processing. While the outside of the ship tries to represent a mole head and claws, I can’t look past the fact that it is mostly a tube like the Astro Worm. The majority of the body is plain and unimaginative. The interior is better looking than the exterior and everything is nice and organized. All-in-all, this doesn’t seem to be a bad ship if you’re into both surface and asteroid mining.

Name: The Eye (SV)
Price: 26m
Size Class: 1.50 (2955 blocks)
Body: Xenosteel
Power: CV Thrusters (alien core)
Purpose: Mining
Features:

  • 21 Mining Lasers (HV)
  • Furnace
  • Advanced constructor
  • Deconstructor
  • 8 Harvest boxes
  • Full med bay
  • ATM


Comments: The Eye is a great mining ship. The drills are spaced adequately so that it is using most of them when removing material, unlike all other mining vessels. In fact, compared to the closest competitor, the Raider, it mines more material and has far superior tunneling ability. The unique ball shape allows for unparalleled maneuverability in any direction and the thrust is good. The exterior is unique but I can’t help notice that an opportunity was lost to paint it more like an eye. The interior was just updated (Oct. 24) and now is massively improved from what it was. Switches now control ramps and shutters that conceal the storage and equipment aboard the ship. It also received a reduction in class size. The Eye still has the most mining efficiency of any ship on the Garage, though I feel the 5m price hike for adding a deconstructor and reducing class size was unnecessary.

Name: The Leviathan (CV)
Price: 17m
Size Class: 5.83 (10443 blocks)
Body: Combat Steel
Power: CV Thrusters (alien core)
Purpose: Exploration/Portal
Features:

  • 2 Furnaces
  • Portal
  • ATM


Comments: My first impression of the Leviathan was that it looks like something from a sci-fi movie. It is very detailed outside and has an industrial look to it; you can tell a lot of effort went into the exterior. Inside, the detail is very high in some areas and low in others. Perhaps the creator left room for the buyer to add their own details to the ship. Regardless, there is room for expansion and plenty of storage and hangar space for transporting your ships throughout the HWS system. The handling feels as a class 6 CV should, no surprises there. Like I said before, I am not sure what the going rate for portals is but, compared to the other portal CV the Nautilus, it would seem each furnace is tacking on 1m. Personally, I don’t think that two furnaces should add that much to a ship. Maybe 500k each would be better. Either way, this ship is very comparable to the Nautilus with the difference being the furnaces. Take that into consideration when purchasing.

Name: Titan-S (SV)
Price: 8m
Size Class: .92 (643 blocks)
Body: CV Hardened Steel
Power: Thruster (alien core)
Purpose: Mining
Features:

  • 6 HV Mining Lasers
  • 2 CV Multiturrets
  • 2 CV Drill Turrets
  • 2 Harvest Boxes


Comments: I always thought this was a weird looking ship. Weird in a good way. Part angler fish, part submersible, this ship is another mining SV. The exterior is very unique, the interior is textured but fails to feel alive like the better garage ships. Similar to the Eye, its shape gives it its maneuverability and also makes it great for tunneling. To make it even better at fitting into tight areas, take the drills and multiturrets off unless you plan on using this in space. I’ll be honest, I didn’t think I was going to like this ship but it turned out to be pretty good. I don’t think it’s worth 8m though when the Proto-Q is 1m credits more with 3 more lasers and a combat steel hull. If we price this one out, the only things that are adding to the value of the alien core by Rex’s formula are the turrets, which, let’s face it, nobody wants to use.

Name: V-Wing X2 (SV)
Price: 13m
Size Class: 1.71 (2365 blocks)
Body: Combat Steel/Xenosteel
Power: CV Thruster (alien core)
Purpose: Heavy Fighter
Features:

  • 10 SV Rocket Launchers (homing)
  • Advanced constructor
  • Some extras (Medical, food processor, etc.)


Comments: If there was a way to tell how much time I spent in a certain type of ship, the V-wing would likely be the one I logged the most flight hours in. The V-wing is a tried and true fighter that can hold its own and dish out massive punishment. Without altering, the weapons are at risk of being shot off due to the design. The many thrusters pushing around the massive combat steel frame of the V-wing tax the single generator, creating power issues when dogfighting. While it might not be the fastest fighter, the ship has a low profile and enough RCSs to stay on target and dodge shots. Outside, the V-wing is adequately detailed. Inside, there is a slight exploration vibe the ship gives off with its food processor, LCD stovetop, and multiple fridges. A quick once-over with a multitool will sort that out, though, and you’ll be back to the rugged fighter you either love or hate. The Oct. 24 X2 update increased maneuverability on all axes by 2-3x and increased/normalized thrust in all directions while adding generators and cutting weight with xenosteel interior.

Name: Valkyrie (CV)
Price: 15m
Size Class: 2.96 (6418 blocks)
Body: Armored Concrete
Power: Thruster (alien core)
Purpose: TBD
Features:

  • Furnace
  • 2 CV Artillery
  • 4 BA Artillery
  • 10 CV Rocket Turrets
  • 8 Plasma Turrets
  • 7 Pulse Laser Turrets
  • 6 Cannon Turrets
  • 6 Flak Turrets


Comments: From Wikipedia:
Valkykrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is one of a host of female figures who choose those who may die in battle and those who may live.
This ship might be aptly named, it chooses your enemies to live with its poor design.
Before we get into that, let’s start with the good: the interior is acceptable. It is clean, nicely textured, and organized. I’d even go with it looks pretty. The bridge is a little lackluster and barren, but mostly the interior is okay. Looking under the hood, I’m kinda confused at why the designer made some choices (by the way, miniguns won’t distract anymore) but really nothing is mechanically horrible. Yet. Let’s look outside. Wow. That’s a lot of guns on the top and bottom. Cool!
No, not cool. They are all level with each other. Not only will they not fire if you are pointed straight at something, if you angle up or down only half of the guns fire. Basically, this makes this CV into any normal CV you can create, except as far from visually appealing as possible. Yep, it’s ugly too. It has 33 solar panels on it. You might think this is a cool idea, solar powered CV! No, sorry, it has an alien core. Solar panels are doing nothing. It does have offline protection and a T2 repair bay though?

Name: X7 (SV)
Price: 10m
Size Class: .82 (630 blocks)
Body: Combat Steel
Power: CV Thruster (alien core)
Purpose: Mining
Features:

  • 9 HV Drill Lasers
  • 1 Advanced Constructor
  • 1 ATM
  • 2 Harvest Boxes
  • 1 CV Drill Turret
  • Medic station/shower


Comments: Last but not least, an upgraded version of the original X7. Officially called the X7-B, the X7 is a solid mining SV that looks great on the outside and respectably on the small interior as well. With the addition of retractable mining lasers the X7 looks more sleek than ever. It is a very effective miner and passable tunneler, though the CV drill turret has a tendency to get caught on the terrain and its long body makes it hard to turn. The only complaints I have about the X7 are that its down-thrust is weak and that its drills are close together, minimizing the mining area and thus your bottom line.

And there you have it, all of the garage ships and what makes them worth being offered. Some that I reviewed are NOT yet on the garage but should be soon.
I’ll reiterate it here, the comments were strictly my opinion and not that of HWS or anyone else. I included them to spark conversation and give more detail as I flew, fought, and explored each one just as someone who bought it would. At this point, this has taken me a few days to write and I likely will add more info as either requested or if I feel I left something out. I may go back through and add pictures to each one, inside and outside, though Ju did a good job with his garage ship updates here: HWS Garage Ships.

Please feel free to ask questions about these ships or correct me if I made a mistake. This was done to spark conversation about whether or not you’re happy with the way garage ships are done mechanically, aesthetically, and monetarily. If you have a concern about any of that, please comment below. Thanks for reading!

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As the original designer of the Scorpia (before DeeExpus gave it several upgrades) I am both amazed that it’s still in the Garage, and pleased that it passes the grade for aesthetics :slight_smile:

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Fantastic review,
and as you asked for community feedback on these garage ships, I shall share some.

It’s always been my opinion that any ship that deserves to have money spent on it by a wider playerbase needs to have a visually appealing design, above all else. Not only must it be visually appealing, but it must also be unique in some way. That however does not mean putting literally everything on it.

That being said, I feel that many of the newer garage ships fail to meet these expectations of mine, as I have witnessed in ships like the valkyrie, raider, and Ixodida, etc.

They lack anything visually appealing, seem to have just haphazardly thrown blocks onto them, and don’t feel anything like older garage ships. The raider in particular only really serves a practical purpose, as it’s visual appeal and interior leave alot to be desired.

My ideal garage ship is the X7B, a perfect mix of practical, visually tidy and appealing; while fitting into the core theme of the HWS universe and it’s garage.

In my opinion, the HWS Garage isn’t steam greenlight, and sadly, not every player will be able to make a ship that fits into the theme of the garage. Tighter controls on what is allowed on the garage is essential to ensure it doesn’t become bloated, with too many overlapping purpose built ships.

Sidenote:
It is important to remember that Rexxxus cannot be expected to visually inspect each and every one of the ships submitted to the garage, but instead, a community vote could be a simple and effective means to patrol the garage.

Perhaps a limit of 6 garage ship additions per season, with them being polled at the end of the season for which ones the players want to see next season would be effective? (Designer names withheld to prevent bias on voting, of course.)

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Thank you for this feedback. The more I look at this ship the more I see where I can make improvements. Just the other day I was raiding poi’s with another player and he mentioned that there is not a repair device for armor and tools. While that may not be a problem for those of us with tons of armor, tools, and guns it could be for someone that does not have that collection.

Another thing we were able to do was take advantage of both drill types. While on the way to another poi we hit up a deposit. Then later went to check out Phoenix and mined an asteroid. Thankfully we did not get too close to anything dangerous :open_mouth:

In response to your feedback on the exterior my original thinking was to make sure it could dig tunnels without getting hung up. After digging lots of tunnels though I believe I could put more character into the shape and possibly submit a 2.0 version of the ship for next season. That would also help with other feedback I’ve gotten about the phallic shape… :expressionless:

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Move one “ball” forward, lengthen both, and turn it into a tri-hull design. Can’t get any more not phallic with that :slight_smile:

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So aesthetics aside, as a day 1 purchase I feel the Space Mole is an awesome ship for my see a squirrel and get distracted play style.

It’s definitely a true jack of all trades but master of none. I also appreciate that it only has 16 turrents. That has allowed to me to strap on a minigun for drones and 4 rail guns for sniping poi turrents.

For the price more then we’ll worth it. My biggest complaint that I brought up was that the clone chamber does put you stuck inside of the ship itself.

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I bought a PO-7 thinking it was going to be a fast, highly agile SV, capable of taking POI head on.
I was dismayed at how slow and clunky the handling was. The front quarters around the weapon array also seem under armored and not sufficient enough to fight against heavy weapons, at least head on.

As Rex corrected me, the primary role of this vehicle is more of a flying Artillery cannon, and not a fighter jet.
if you take the time to use the artillery cannons, you can blast huge holes in combat and Xeno steel.
Buyers should look past the over count of rail guns, useful as they may be, and focus on using the artillery turrets.

The criticism I have is that the front array of weapons are too closely placed together and poorly armored so if you take damage in the frontal zone, multiple weapons get hit.
The agility issue I had can be upgraded by manually adding to the thruster and RCS count, so that is more of a secondary issue.

This ship would be a home run for me if the weapons were evenly dispersed and not cluttered together. The RCS and thruster count were increased and the armor was reinforced with an extra layer of Xeno steel.

Overall it is an excellent ship for POI farming, just not ones with alien missile arrays. :face_vomiting::wink:

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Nice reviews, pretty spot on as well. I would like to hear feedback from anyone who has used the Fenrir though. The Fenrir looks like it fits in well and fulfills a role, but I have never used one.

I too have been trying to figure out the Ixodida. 8 CV rocket launchers would be cool in a SV fight… but they only fire in space where SVs don’t like to fight much. Also the size class limits it from all PvP hotspots. Maybe it was designed with space POIs in mind?

One more thing… why would someone want a portal? It sounds cool until I add it all up. 1 way teleport only, how do I get back? No matter where I teleport to I am going to have to build another ship for the return flight, then where do I put all these return ships? Recycle I guess? I don’t mean to criticize the idea, it is great, and players will often make a use for something nobody thought of.

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Hey grizzly, we would buy two portal ships in the old days.

That way you have a two way system. It was amazing as we could nstantly go from our donator planet to Golden Globe or Armageddon. It was a very useful system which was great as if we were under attack we could all teleport there straight away without any of the ‘faffing’ of flying to orbit>warping>warping>warping>flying to planet.

Also @TheState Very nice review, a well-thought and detailed post which I think makes some very good points. My only disagreement is that i personally see asthetics as less of a decisive factor than others. To me the Garage is a perfect place for experimentation with the ever evolving config, and i feel that those who wish to experiment with it should not be limited to making a ship look beautiful. Similarly to how some ships are bought and modified for PVP reasons a similar thing could be done for asthetic reasons.

I’ve long considered that maybe we need a ‘poor mans’ garage which has less asthetics but some pretty interesting and heavily modifiable designs for those just getting their teeth into HWS.

EDIT?: TL:DR It’s a tale of two cities. PVErs are more likely to want beauty (which is fine, i have no complaints about that, the PVE community keeps me stocked with ammo and mats) whereas the PVP community want something which is unique/easily modifiable (e.g less ‘clutter’ such as fridges, growing plots, decos and so on.) So we have to be careful to cater for both communities. Without reducing choice but instead working to expand it.

Best regards, and once again much kudos for the post.
Wise.

Best regards
Wise.

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I’d be very careful about it turning into a popularity contest, for me it is about experimentation. It’s all about combining interesting possibilities without creating something that is gamebreaking. For instance personally i don’t like the look of the Fenrir, it’s had a lot of work put into it but i just find it ugly. HOWEVER when it comes to the experimentation factor (AN Anti-SV/Anti-air HV) it is unique and fascinating to use. A truly brilliant and well made ship.

By reducing the new garage content to “is it pretty enough?” would hinder the Garage more than it would help it in my opinion.

Best regards to you Zackey :slight_smile:
Wise.

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Does the “teleporter” in the 100M ship work 2-ways?

About how ships look…I’ve never considered that when buying them. They have a special purpose, it’s pointless to buy one for aesthetics when there are thousands of ships on the workshop for that.

Also in this season I have no reason to buy any mining ship because everyone in my group has more resources than they could ever possibly use, outside of spam spawning hundreds of CVs or something. The mole seems like the best choice in the event of an OCD wipe or something…

Maur/Foundry are great, can’t think of a reason to buy the Evanmaur. Would be great to have a Maur that can warp.

None of the combat ships are designed with game mechanics in mind, just how cool they look and throw in a few more guns here and there. I gambled on buying the Reclaimer before information was out on it hoping it had interesting things inside, maybe a portal or something. I guess it’s just a 1-off pvp suicide vessel for fun, not to win, then recycle to recover 5 out of 35m after it loses turrets.

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I agree with all of this. The weapons out front look cool but that’s about it. They are the first things to go and the band of combat steel around them isn’t fooling anybody.

I’ve used it on GG a couple of seasons ago. It’s maneuverable and it keeps its guns forever. Low block count and easily removable triangle-heavy blocks mean you can add plenty of armor to the front. Full Xenosteel hull protect internals very well, the ship was combat ineffective after being used to tank bases in one of our pushes to remove all bases from the planet. Never died in one, only recycled. If you’re comparing the Mjolnir with the Fenrir, they both have their uses. I consider them equal on arty count since the Mjolnir’s is so far forward and there isn’t much room to add armor or distractions to it. The Fenrir is a good anti-HV vehicle since it can match others in weapon count and then still direct fire 8 missiles while keeping its armor towards them. With the elevated launchers, sniping turrets or vehicles over hilltops is easy.

When factions are limited to two portals per season, I always found this kind of silly. If one end get blown up there goes your hope of portals for the season.

I agree with this, though my counterargument is that the ships don’t need to look beautiful, they need to look like they had effort put into it. “What’s the difference?” you may ask. When a ship is a block, anyone can make it. Ships that actually look decent generally correlate with more experienced builders. That’s not what I had meant at the start by going over vehicles aesthetics, though the trend I could see while doing this review was such. The two vehicles I really laid into appearance-wise also failed mechanically. The Valkyrie can only fire half its weapons if it’s appropriately angled because the creator made a gun platform, essentially. They all block each other. Additionally, they were misusing distraction turrets as evidenced by the minigun turret directly behind the manual fire weapons. From a glance, I saw this as a low-effort build. Flying inside and through and looking under the hood there were inexperienced builder’s mistakes.

I’m sure I can find mistakes or "why did you do this"s in all ships, but none were as glaring as the ships that appeared to be done by inexperienced people. Another example, the Ixodida. I didn’t include it in my write-up, but its core is surrounded in fuel tanks. 5 sides. At that point just picture me closing the “hood” and walking away, I was afraid of what else I’d find.

I see what you’re saying, though. As a PVP player you want quality over aesthetics. Nobody flies around blocks, though. At least not in NA anymore. While PVP is making the most you can out of the limits, it gets really ugly when everyone is piloting bricks. Most factions will add character to their PVP ships and I don’t think the garage should be anything different. It started by making effective, appealing ships and should return to that, in my opinion.

Also, it is in the description of garage ships on the submission info:
http://puu.sh/ByCU4/77dc3ee7c9.png

You may be onto something with the idea of buying a very moldable ship and making it into whatever you want. Kinda like a PVP ship starter kit that you build off of. Neat.

That would be a @RexXxuS question. It is labeled “Emergency Teleport” inside so I would imagine it wasn’t intended to be. For 100m though… I see what you’re saying.

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A really good and interesting reply! I once again was to reiterate just how fantastic it is the care and detail you have put into this post! ++++++Rep! :slight_smile:

Best regards
Wise.

PS: I haven’t got past the ‘brick’ building stage so i might be a little bit too relative/subjective in my opinion ahahaha:

Summary

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/455647682627764224/492623558812499968/unknown.png

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im pretty sure a 2 way teleporter would work, but if you moved your ship, you would be teleported to the point in space where Rex pointed the tele exit to. So, if you warp jumped or moved your ship a few meters you would be floating in space on teleport exit where the teleport exit was established.
at least that’s how I understand it should work from making maps in hammer.

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Good review and I agree with just about everything you said.

I do think The Eye is a bit of an eye-sore, and the reclaimer looks nice in shape but the texturing is pretty bad. I generally don’t like it when a ship is just all one texture with a few decals slapped on. I also would be harder on the Mordred which I think is barely above the level of the Ixodida/Valkyrie but still looks very amateurish. Maybe my standards of aesthetics are a bit too high though.

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Teleportals don’t work on CVs for that exact reason. You need to have it on a stationary base for the game to recognize its location. When a portal is set, it tracks the playfield as well. You simply cannot have it inbound on a CV.

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Again: thanks a ton @TheState
A LOT of hours spent into this, I know.

The Garage submission process is currently on hold because as you said: recently I was overwhelmed with so many submissions and working on HWS 8.X handling everything.
I think it’s good to have such comparisons available now.

While I agree with all of you, be it aesthetics are important or not or the price or the overall “worth” value, it would be best to try create “categories” or “guidelines” for the Garage.

Initially @DeeExpus and I had this in mind. Creating the “Space X” series - very aesthetic ships, pricey but very high end. And then the “Legacy range” (maybe a better word is needed). These would be all other player made ships, experiements some like, some not.
The overall intention though: NEVER offer an over powered ship AND each ship needs at least one weakness.

Another idea was that some garage ships are only available for certain Origins (Like the PO-7 only for Freelancer). This idea was a big success in HWS 7.X but it just was too much work to keep it that way…
Now, with Origin locked Stargates and Supergates… I think I can make it work again in the next season.

And another idea is maybe even to create “Classes” for the Garage ships. Like in MOBA (Tank, Supporter, Carry, etc.). We have it already with “Explorer”, “Fighter” etc. but make it even more noticable.
And matching the price on the classes then. Not sure yet.

Last but not least the overall pricing topic.
I think it’s important to make some expensive to give all the trading and gold mining a “worth it” feeling.
But there could be also the approach of dumping. Making them all very cheap, so a lot can afford them easily.
Combined with the mechanic we have in place that it cost you +1 RP per purchase you ran out soon rather on RP than credits, which gives RP a bigger role, what I prefer.
It also takes away the “pay to win” hate of some.
Only disadvantage overall: your own “normal” made ships will become less used and you feel more and more that competition can’t be made without Garage ships.

HWS Garage is an insane invention which went over the roof to be honest — not expected it. Neither great posts like this nor other server owners grabbing my idea and wrap around real money donations out of it even.

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I think categories is a really good idea. Help sort what is being offered and what they do and also prevent one type of ship from dominating the garage. Currently, there are a TON of straight mining ships, for example. Creating classes/categories/series with limits (ex: 5 ships/category) could create a nice rotation on a monthly (or whatever time period) basis. You could even create multiple garages or a “black market garage” that rotates its ship offerings or just has ships other than the ECC garage and requires RP or some secret way to access it.

Something that might also be something to look for are themed ships or a series of ships meant to go together. For example, the Draupnir has a space intended for the mjolnir to dock that fits it perfectly and a hangar bay for the maur. Having ships that are related is a really neat idea.

Another idea someone had in this thread was to sell bare bones ships that the player could take the internals of and make what they wanted out of it. Something like the Smoke CV, for instance, could be made into a stripped SV with CV thrusters that a player would have to customize. Perhaps a talented builder could even make a business out of fixing those ships up.

I had a lot of thoughts in here. The garage has come a very long way indeed and I look forward to seeing what the future holds for it.

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