Faction: Corvus +900
Licenses: 13/11/-/-/-
Armor: 8000
Cargo: 10
Weapon Port: 2s
Mass: 3500 kg
Thrust: 225n
Max Cruising Speed: 75 m/s
Max Turbo Speed: 220 m/s
Turbo Energy: 53/s
Spin Torque: 9
Storm Radar Range: 2000m
Suggested Price: 150,000cr

Somehow lifting the plans for the Raptor from TPG, scientists at Corvus did some research to provide the criminal element with the best pirate fighter they could. They also managed to make improvements to the built in storm radar, increasing the fighters visibility in ion storms. However, these scientists need to be paid. Thus, the fighter's high price tag ensures that novice pilots don't ever take these out on a run...

it sounds pretty cool...but 500,000? I'd just get the original.

Cut the armor by 1/3 to 1/2, 2x to 3x the cargo. Pirates are there to kill helpless prey, not engage in combat. And 10 cargo is a joke. 100,000 credits a pop will suffice.

you love flaming everyone's threads, don't you lecter?

Well... 10 cu actually makes sense, Lecter. Get a buddy of yours to haul the cargo...

I think most professional pirates understand that not all traders are helpless. Good traders either hire bodyguards or they're also fighters. If you're expecting to attack helpless prey you won't profit. Unless you're just after the kill, that is. The Storm Raider is perfect for its job though; ambushing the unsuspecting victim in an ion storm. That is unless they also have storm radar...

Actually Tosh, if you're getting a buddy of yours to haul cargo, then why would you need any cargo?

And KennRNK, the most profitable victims are the helpless ones. While it's fun going after the Moth with the three escorts, unless the escorts are helpless, it doesn't tend to be very profitable once you factor in the cost of repairs/replacement, and the time spent on the kill.

Give me some cocky XC trader alone in Grey any day.

Reduce the armour, up the cargo (24 would mean 5 trips to clean up Moth guts), reduce the thrust a touch and decrease the energy drain to 55-57.

Would be cool though, as storms hold the key to so many unfulfilled pirate wishes. Now we just need to get the traders into them.

Okay. Tweaked it a bit...

I have no idea how you expect to fit 30cu into a raptor if atlases only hold that much

I just realized that too. Most light fighters hold between 2-6cu in cargo. 11 is the most I've seen. So I tweaked it back.

Why do pirate types expect to have a lot of storage space in a tiny little fighter anyway?

The Raptor is hardly a light fighter. Remember that it's 17m long. That's just barely less than the Centaur.

Come on, you're making a ship called a Storm Raider and you only have one storm specific idea? How about engines that go faster and use less energy when inside storms, but go slower and use more energy outside of storms?

That'd require some changes in the game engine, and I don't think the devs will do that for the time being. Might be useful in the future though...

personally id rather have a quad s port ship with a built in 2km storm extender, it'd be really nice for railing un-suspecting traders. Hell I'd still use it if it only had 4k armor, and no cargo hold.