Argo is best known for its heavily industrialized design, but the manufacturer is yet to announce its take on a salvage ship, something that has been addressed almost perfectly by a dedicated Star Citizen fan.
The Spectrum user, Kasorayn, recently shared a concept for an Argo salvage ship that fills in the huge gap between the single-seated Drake Vulture, and the gigantic Reclaimer. That is indeed a gap that needs to be fulfilled by CIG, and who can do it better than Argo?
The concept art for the salvage ship flawlessly falls in line with the design language of Mole and Raft, while also burrowing those long twin arms in front of the Drake Vulture.
While Salvager is a little bit longer than Mole and Raft, it tries to maintain the same overall size, capable of carrying up to 64 SCU of cargo, and a Buffer Station of the same size, which allows it to collect up to 128 SCU of salvage material in a single run, way above Drake Vulture, but still below Reclaimer.
Kasorayn says the ship features VTOL thrusters similar to other Argo ships, and it comes with two Size-3 remote turrets that can be accessed from the co-pilot seat. The ship is also aimed to have a C1 Spirit-style cargo bay with a row of 32 SCU grids on either side and a Buffer Station in the middle corridor.
This cargo bay design is probably the only part I would disagree with, as Argo is known for using more optimized methods of storing cargo rather than implementing a cargo bay. So, I would expect it to be something similar to Raft, where the Buffer Station ejects boxes into cargo holder claws, and once a claw is fully loaded, the next claw cycles in to receive its cargo. Of course, we are all dreaming here, and anything could be possible.
Named simply Salvager, this concept ship would require a crew of three, with two of them in the cockpit, and one serving as an engineer.
Aside from the fact that we have no clue if CIG will ever decide to announce a salvage ship from Argo, this concept truly hits home. So, even if CIG does not have any similar plans, they should really give it a thought now!
Currently, the development team behind Star Citizen is mostly focused on RSI ships, with the Arrastra, Polaris, and Perseus on the line awaiting their completion. And it seems like Drake could be the next focus with the Ironclad getting an announcement recently. So, it might take a little longer than usual to see the next big ship in the Argo series.
