Star Citizen‘s implementation of ships is jaw-dropping in most cases, but similar to all parts of this game, it’s not flawless. We love all the Star Citizen ships – except for Herald – and the level of detail in their design, but sometimes the developers make some weird decisions that can hardly be justified.
This article is about 7 design decisions on ships that lead to frustration rather than realism. These are rather flaws than design language, and I believe all of them can be fixed with a little bit of remastering the ship models or even adding some extra lines of code to make the flying experience much smoother!
Anvil Valkyrie – Ladder’s Placement In Hab Area
Anvil Valkyrie is among the top dropships if not the best one, but if you fly with it for more than a few days, you will soon realize that there is a problem that gradually annoys you.
The ladder in Anvil Valkyrie that leads you from the cargo bay to the hab area is placed in a not-so-proper location, and whenever you want to pass by the ladder, you automatically interact with it.
You will face this problem more if you attempt to use the beds for logging out. Of course, this is not as severe as the following design decisions, but still something that will wear you down in the long run.
Misc Freelancer Series – Ladder Entrance Won’t Allow You To Jump Off The Ship
This is a problem that only dedicated Freelancer fans may have noticed. All Freelancer ships include a ladder entrance from the side, which provides quick and easy access to the hab area.
However, if you ever decide to just deploy the ladder from inside and then jump off the ship rather than climb down the ladder, you will realize that it is not possible, as the ladder’s bars will prevent the character from moving forward.
This is quite annoying because Misc Prospector uses the same entrance method and still it allows you to jump off, but the option is weirdly obstructed in the Freelancer series.
Tumbril Storm – Narrow View Of Surroundings
Tumbril Storm is Star Citizen’s second attempt at designing tanks, and unfortunately, it is not a successful one. The biggest problem that comes with Storm is not its weak combat capabilities, but rather a narrow view of the outside.
Storm features a series of screens that allow you to see outside, but the ultimate view is too narrow that you feel quite uncomfortable when driving this nimble tank.
RSI Constellation Series – Pilot View Obstructed By Thick Bars
Personally, I have a lot of problems with the Constellation series but I can live with all of them. I can live with the slow speed. I can live with the elevator not aligning to bumpy surfaces. I can live with the nose of the ship hitting surface when landing. But I definitely cannot live with those thick bars blocking the pilot’s view in the cockpit.
This might be more of a personal problem, but the bars, especially in Andromeda and Taurus, directly pass through the middle of the crosshair, and it is just a pure pain to have your crosshair blocked by a thick bar even if you are supposed to do nothing other than cargo hauling.
Anvil Carrack – Lack Of An Elevator To Get In/Out
You don’t really need to own a Carrack to realize the pain of getting in and out of this giant ship. While Carrack is a dream home for every Star Citizen player, the lack of a direct path to the cockpit or at least the Hab Area from the outside has always been felt.
The Hercules series, 890 Jump, Caterpillar, Reclaimer, and Hull-C are all ships with similar size compared to Carrack, and they all feature an elevator to take players directly out of the ship, offering a much easier and quicker way in/out.
However, Carrack still forces you to enter the ship from the ramp, then wait for three doors to open up, and anticipate an internal elevator to come down to eventually find yourself in the Hab area.
RSI Mantis – Too Much Noise In The Cockpit
As an interdiction-focused ship, RSI Mantis has its own fans and it does provide a unique experience in battles or piracy for the players, however, the main issue is not about its combat capabilities, but rather the excessive noise in the hab area and the cockpit.
I know this ship carries Snare Bombs and that will obviously make some extra noise, but the problem is RSI Mantis still makes crazy noise even when the EMP or Snare Bombs are not active. Hell, even shutting off all systems will not cut off the noise.
This makes flying with RSI Mantis a not much pleasant experience, especially if you have a passenger with you, as the noise is even louder around the back of the hab area.
All Ships – Lack Of Ability To Force Interior Doors Remain Open
Many ships in Star Citizen feature interior doors, and I am not against it. However, the lack of an ability to always keep doors open is what drives most of us crazy.
If you own Anvil Carrack, MSR, Corsair, or any ship from the Hercules series, you are deeply familiar with the misery of waiting for doors to open up. This becomes even more frustrating in urgent situations where you want to get off the ship before the self-destruction blows it up.
Hopefully, this seems to be the easiest fix for CIG to deliver. All we need is a new option in the interaction menu or on the door panel to allow us to keep it open.
