Cult Citizen

[icycalm]

I added 3x Tigersclaw in the officers' backpacks, and 1x in the Inquisitors' core. I am not sure there's space there, so let me know and I'll adjust as necessary.

We have an urgent problem however. When I copy-pasted shubn's Inquisitor reformatting, I put it by mistake in the Commanders' spec. So now that is ruined and I need someone to give it back to me so I can repost it, ideally in the same format as shubn's. I will ping Chev and ysignal on Discord to see if one of them can do it asap.

[ysignal]

Here's my checklist:

Code: Select all

CULT COMMANDER SPEC

Cubby Blast:
ForceFlex Undersuit Woodland Digi [ ]
ORC-mkX Woodland
   Core [ ]
   Arms [ ]
   Legs [ ]
   Helmet [ ]
CSP-68M Backpack [ ]
[INDIVIDUAL CHOICE LARGE FIREARM] RIGHT [ ]
   Magazine x3+1 x? core [ ]
Pyro RYT Multi-Tool LEFT [ ]
   TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment [ ]

Casaba:
CRUZ Lux x20 backpack [ ]
CRUZ Lux x4 leg [ ]

Center Mass:
P4-AR "Warhawk" Rifle LEFT [ ]
   P4-AR Magazine x3+1 x3 core [ ]
LH86 "Desert Shadow" Pistol RIGHT [ ]

Empire Health:
ParaMed Medical Device RIGHT [ ]
   ParaMed Refill [ ]
   ParaMed Refill backpack [ ]
MedPen (Hemozal) x4 x4 backpack [ ]


I don't have time to reformat it now, as I have to run out.

[icycalm]

Thanks, I updated the post, and added the 3x Tigersclaw in your format. Let me know if I made any errors.

I have no problem with keeping two different formats. Three if you count my own I guess, but I've been meaning to clean that up at some point. Until then, we can keep several formats and compare how we like them. At some point I'll produce a uniform one though. Still early days for that, much more to be added, including different loadouts per rank and specialized loadouts.

[icycalm]

Hadn't realized how expensive Tigersclaws are (1k aUEC), so I changed all quantities to 1 per person.

[icycalm]

Some notes on the ranks because people are buying stuff and it might help them if they know the various ranks’ specs. These are all work in progress, but I’d say I have them almost nailed down.

First off, I am changing the rank names. Currently I am Master Chief, and we have 3 Commanders and a bunch of Inquisitors. In the future I become Supreme Commander, the next rank is Commander, the next is Master Chief (that’s ysignal, Chev and recoil now), then Inquisitor (all CULT players), then Soldier (randoms outside the clan), then Clones.

From Master Chief and up are the officer ranks. The Master Chief is a TACTICAL rank, it means they have tactical command. Commander is a STRATEGIC rank, it means they have strategic command. And I have supreme command.

What’s the difference between tactical and strategic command? Tactical means during battle. Strategic means outside of battle. So the Commanders will be able to arrange Dynamic Event forays without me, they’ll be responsible for getting good streams, setting the whole game plan, handling logistics, who will fly what ship, etc. All the shit you see me do every week to set everything up for us. It’s a lot of responsibility, and perhaps no one in the clan now wants to take this on, which is fine. Maybe some day someone will. We’re not yet that large that we’d need more than one strategic commander. But if someone is interested in the role, you’re welcome to try it. Note that I would like Master Chiefs to handle 1 clone simultaneously with their main accounts, Commanders 2 clones, and the Supreme Commander—me—4 clones. This doesn’t have to happen right now—I don’t have 5 computers—but it is a target and an aspiration. If you are currently a Master Chief (ysignal, Chev and recoil) and you have no interest in ever controlling a clone through a second computer, it’s best if you took an Inquisitor role and left your current rank for someone else.

Also, even if someone fulfills all the requirements, it doesn’t mean I will promote them. Adjudicator had the entire team waiting for him for half an hour the other day because he hadn’t bothered to buy more than 2 gear sets, despite me explicitly asking him to several times in the days before. With that attitude I would never give him any important responsibility. No offense meant, it’s just that it’s not fun being that disorganized and spending your weekend waiting for people to fly across the system and buy stuff.

So here are the vehicle specs for each rank. They are still rough, but I would say I am 90% there. Red means it’s not in game yet, and I plan to put the aUEC prices next to the cash ones, just haven’t got round to it yet. No one has to buy anything with cash to be in any rank (except the officers who have to cash-purchase ONE ship: their main command ship, the biggest one that I have put at the top of their list). The reason I am putting in prices for everything is because I want to give an indication of the total spec cost for each rank, which rises dramatically with the rising ranks. The higher ranks will have to work harder to get their vehicles with every wipe, so it helps to buy at least some of them with cash. Of course, the higher the rank, the more the rest of us will contribute towards those bigger, more powerful vehicles, so it’s not like one person will have to slave away for an entire Javelin by himself.

INQUISITOR
Light Carrier: Liberator $575
Dropship: Cutlass Steel $235
Expedition: Terrapin $220
Ground Bomber: A1 Spirit $175
Bomber: Gladiator $165
Stealth Recon: Razor EX $155
Interdictor: Mantis $150
Search & Rescue: Cutlass Red $135
Combat Freight: Cutlass Black $100
Light Fighter: Gladius (Frostbite) $90
Snub: Fury $55
Combat Rover: Cyclone MT $75

MASTER CHIEF
Corvette: Polaris $750
Military Transport: M2 Hercules $520
Armored Personnel Carrier: Atlas Platforms (Spartan, Centurion and Ballista) $80 + $110 + $140
Gunship: Redeemer $325
Expedition: Corsair + Mule $250 + $45
Support - Medical: Apollo Medivac $275
Anti-capital: Ares Inferno $250
Dropship: Vanguard Hoplite $235
Medium Repair/Refuel: Vulcan $200
Medium Fighter: F7C-M Super Hornet (Frostbite) $180
Boarding: Legionnaire $120
Snub: Fury MX $55

COMMANDER (the forward slashes mean one of the choices per Commander, not all of them)
Frigate: Idris -M, -P or -K $1,000, $1,500 or $1,800
Ground Bomber/Combat Freight: A2 Hercules $750
Minelayer: Nautilus $725 / Capital-sized Exploration: Odyssey $700 / Large Gunship: Perseus $675
Heavy Dropship: Valkyrie + Ursa $375 + $50
Field Hospital: Galaxy w/ Med Bay $380 / Heavy Repair: Crucible $350 / Refueling: Starfarer Gemini $340
Stealth Bomber: Eclipse $300
Heavy Fighter: Scorpius $240
Heavy Tank: Nova $120

I am also making a spec for the Soldiers/randoms. They’ll be riding those little motorbikes that are coming out, hoverbikes, starter ships and similar cheap stuff.

[icycalm]

What happens if a lower-ranked player buys a higher-ranked vehicle?

That’s great! But they probably won’t be commanding it during official missions: their commanders will. So go ahead and buy a Javelin if you want, but during missions I will be commanding it—that’s all.

I would like above all for each rank to strive to get its rank’s vehicles, and beyond that, go wild. But make sure you have at least the most basic vehicles for your rank, like your fighter and your rover or whatever.

Also, please understand that the higher ranks are not necessarily more fun to play—unless your idea of fun is sitting at a desk in a frigate and giving orders for 5 hours straight. That is MY idea of fun, but not most people’s. If you enjoy action and running around, jumping, shooting and the like—including scouting, stealth, sniping, etc.—the Inquisitor is the perfect rank for you. And you should still get some grunts to boss around in little fireteams if we recruit a few from Reddit and the like.

[icycalm]

The two new ground vehicles, the Storm and the Lynx, are precisely what I needed to flesh out the ground specs for all the ranks. I haven't updated anything above yet, but here's a quick look at what the latest ground specs look like for all the ranks:

Clone: Anything
Soldier: Ranger
Inquisitor: Cyclone
Master Chief: Storm, Mule
Commander: Nova, Ursa
Supreme Commander: Nova, Lynx

I haven't thought about the hoverstuff yet. I'll be doing so soon.

Man I wish I could play SC right now. I can't though because I am getting ready to drop on you the mother of all Battlegrounds updates. Been working on it day and night for weeks, and hopefully in a few hours it'll be live, but if I get too tired I might delay it for a day as it's 6:45 AM over here. I am really gunning for today though. Keep an eye on that frontpage! Though actually this update is so huge I'll probably end up emailing everyone. So keep an eye on your inbox I suppose.

[icycalm]

New Cult Rule: You have to be in official Cult Spec gear whenever you team up with another CULT player. Even if it's just 2 of you, and even if you aren't streaming, you need to be decked out in the full Cult Spec for your rank. Only when you're solo should you go wild with your gear and try whatever you want. If you aren't happy with your spec gear, post in this thread and help me improve your rank's spec. This also includes vehicle paints by the way.

Why do this?

1. We look cool and color-matched, even with vehicles, at all times, so all our pics will look cool. This is the top reason: fashion.

2. Players we meet in the game, and players we recruit, will be able to tell we're different than the average player, and even the average org player. You get more respect for your trouble, and people know better what to expect when dealing with you.

3. The Cult Spec costs a considerable amount of money, which means there's a hefty penalty for failure when running even duo missions. That makes every mission that much more meaningful.

4. This rule will result in everyone having loads of spec gear in storage at all times, and getting very quick at putting it on, so that when Dynamic Events roll around we'll be super-fast with the gearing up, and have more time left for the event.

5. This will also make even solo outings more meaningful, since they will be your special time to try out all sorts of crazy gear you've been hoarding. There are few advantages to playing solo over a group, and this is one of them that can only be activated with this rule.

I really see no downsides to this. And if we do get bored of wearing the same armor most of the time, we can just change the spec. I am very open to changing the armor a couple times a year or something. We'll have to change them eventually anyway because there are tons of armor sets on the horizon, so it's not like you'll be in the same armor for ten years straight.


P.S. Random recruits such as e.g. your friends joining us can wear whatever they want. Only during Dynamic Events, if they want to join us for those, they will be obliged to procure and wear the bottom-tier Cult Spec (the Soldier Spec, which I haven't posted yet but will soon).

[icycalm]

The all-arounder basic Cult Spec ship is the Cutlass Black with the default paint scheme. I was telling ysignal yesterday that I thought the Cutlass Red would be superior in most scenarios, but that was before shubn told me that it can't take a Cyclone. So forget about the Cutlass Red, at least for small team sizes. It might be useful for larger teams, but not for everyday use.



Complementing the Cutlass Black is the Cyclone MT. It's got missiles and guns and can carry 3 people (not all Cyclones can, some are 2-seaters). This is the one we'll be using in almost all scenarios, and we'll be using its Frostbite paint that matches the paints on the Gladius and Hornet, seen earlier in the thread, and also goes well with the Cutlass Black.



Paints - Cyclone - Frostbite Paint $5.00
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/pled ... bite-Paint

So the typical vehicle spec for a Cult Fireteam is a Cutlass Black with a Cyclone MT loaded, and a C8R Pisces (but with the Nightbreak paint linked earlier in the thread). With these three vehicles, you've got pretty much all the bases covered for dogfighting, ground combat and rescue because especially once a player jumps in the Cutlass Black's turret, it becomes a decent dogfighter.

So if you have:

1 player you take Cutlass Black + Cyclone MT
2 players you take Cutlass Black + Cyclone MT + C8R Pisces
3 players you take Cutlass Black + Cyclone MT + C8R Pisces + a fighter depending on the player (if he's an Inquisitor a Gladius, if he's a Master Chief a Super Hornet, and so on—always with the Frostbite paint)
4 or more players you just take more Cutlasses + Cyclone MTs or more fighters, depending on the type of the mission. Or, again depending on the type of the mission and the players involved, you can take a larger ship like ysignal's Corsair and so on.

But for the first 1-3 players, the choices are fairly limited and Cutlass Black/Cyclone MT/C8R Pisces seems the most versatile option from the current choices.

Feel free to mention alternative choices here, if you have any to suggest, and I'll discuss them with you.

[icycalm]

Now that we'll be using the Cult Spec on a daily basis as opposed to merely 10 times a year during Dynamic Events, I had to make some changes to it to make it more practical. For example, there's not much looting going on during Dynamic Events whereas during everyday play looting is an important aspect, which means that the Inquisitors will have to finally get backpacks. And since their armor is medium, we needed a medium backpack for them. There are only four of them in the game currently and available in shops, and from those the best matching one for the Inquisitors was the CSP-68M, the same one the Master Chiefs have. shubn took a pic to show how it looks on the Inquisitor armor.



So that's one major change to the Inquisitor spec, but there are some more, basically getting rid of some superfluous items. I sort of knew that they weren't very useful, simply because we weren't using them, but shubn explained to me that it's next to impossible to use them because they aren't well-balanced yet. Here, in brief, are the items and the specific reasons we are ditching them, until they are improved:

MK-4 Frag Grenade: They work 50% of the time, and the other 50% they explode on you and kill you. So no grenades until they're improved.

OxyTorch Cutter Attachment: You can use it to open doors and boxes, but shubn says he just punches them. So until the tool is improved/rebalanced, we won't be using it.

Cambio-Lite SRT Attachment + Cambio-Lite can: You can use these to patch up damage on vehicles, but according to shubn this is mostly aesthetic. I find it hard to believe that such a recently-added feature is useless, but even if it's not, we still never bother using it, so I am comfortable with the idea of removing these items from our spec for the time being.

OxyPen: According to shubn, this is only useful in prison, and you can't take it there with you. So we're removing it.

ParaMed Refill: These can be useful, but very rarely. So instead of taking multiple, we'll just take one (plus the one the medgun comes with, of course).

And a final change: before, we had rifles slung on the right, and the individual choice weapon on the left. But some of the larger weapons like the railgun can only go on the right. So from now on rifles go on the LEFT and individual choice weapons on the RIGHT.

I will wait until ysignal makes the above changes to the Master Chief Spec and shubn to the Inquisitor Spec, and then I'll update the earlier posts with the new versions. Send me the new specs via DM on Discord, and I'll bump this thread once I've updated the posts.

Finally, note that the rank titles have somewhat changed from earlier in the thread. The new ranks are as follows:

CLONE: Anyone can play a clone, and clones don't have specific specs: they use the spec of the player controlling them.
SOLDIER: Friends of clan players or players we pick up within the game. I have a spec coming up for them shortly, but it won't be compulsory outside of Dynamic Events.
INQUISITOR: CULT members.
MASTER CHIEF: ysignal, recoil, ChevRage.
COMMANDER: We don't have any of those yet, but their spec, when we do get them, will be what my spec used to be before I changed it.
SUPREME COMMANDER: Me, and by the way, I have a new spec now that I've been using for a while and everyone's seen it, but I haven't yet bothered to post it here because after all I am the only one using it so it's not urgent to share it.

Rank titles mentioned earlier in the thread might differ from the above, but at some point I'll go back and update them. Also all the specs will be cleaned up and presented with superb pictures, and ultimately hosted on the upcoming site, plus complete rules for ranking up, for those who are interested in increased responsibility and challenge.

[icycalm]

Here's the full hardware spec for all ranks. Note that for the time being these specs are aspirational; I don't have anywhere near the SupCom spec for example, but I plan to work up to it over the coming year or so, and the same is true for the Master Chief rank (ysignal and Chev have all of it but recoil has a ways to go yet). Of course people are encouraged to exceed their rank's minimum, and that's the main reason I came up with these specs: to inspire people to upgrade their rigs and even look into peripherals they hadn't considered before. There's no game that can use hardware to the level that Star Citizen can, and every satoshi you spend on your rig will significantly enhance your experience.

Feel free to debate these specs in this thread, now or later, and of course I will be updating them as new technologies emerge.

Also, I renamed the Soldier rank to Space Marine so that now all the ranks are inspired by classic games.

SUPREME COMMANDER
Multiboxing: 4 clones simultaneously
Motion: DOF Reality P6
Feedback: ButtKicker Gamer Pro
Controllers: dual sticks + throttle + control deck + eye-tracker + steering wheel + pedals + mouse + keyboard
Streaming: 4K
Resolution: VR or 8K or triple-4K
Rig: 14900K, RTX 4090, 64 GB DDR5, NVMe M.2 SSD

COMMANDER
Multiboxing: 2 clones simultaneously
Motion: any DOF Reality
Feedback: ButtKicker Gamer Plus
Controllers: dual sticks + control deck + eye-tracker + mouse + keyboard
Streaming: 1080p
Resolution: VR or 4K
Rig: 13900K or equivalent, RTX 3090 Ti or equivalent, 32 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD

MASTER CHIEF
Multiboxing: 1 clone
Motion: none
Feedback: none
Controllers: stick + mouse + keyboard
Streaming: 720p
Resolution: 1080p
Rig: 10900K or equivalent, RTX 2080 Ti or equivalent, 16 GB DDR4, SSD

INQUISITOR
No hardware requirements

SPACE MARINE
No hardware requirements

CLONE
No hardware requirements

[shubn]

Regarding primary weapons, I have a preference for the FS-9 LMG because of its high magazine capacity (120 rounds), however, it's not available from shops. It's very common once you get to higher level bunkers, and I currently have a gazillion at Area18, but I doubt we want loot-only weapons in the spec. The P4 is probably the best choice for purchaseable weapons. I'm thinking it can even be turned into a DMR in a pinch. Either slap a 4x scope on it (and have a second weapon specifically for close ranges), or keep one in your backpack and put it on when you need to ventilate some bad guys at medium distances.

For sidearms, at least for the Pilot spec, I'd pick the Arclight because of its high-capacity batteries (30 caps per battery), which, with two extra batteries on the undersuit, gives you a total of 90 shots. You can check the Star Citizen Wiki to find the color that would fit best: https://starcitizen.tools/Arclight_Pistol

[icycalm]

SUPREME COMMANDER PILOT SPEC
Odyssey II Helmet (Yellow)
Odyssey II Undersuit (Sunset)
Arclight Pistol (Herrero) + Arclight Pistol Battery (30 cap) x2
Pyro RYT Multi-Tool + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment
MedPen (Hemozal)
OxyPen



MASTER CHIEF PILOT SPEC
Odyssey II Helmet (White)
Odyssey II Undersuit (White/Black)
Arclight Pistol (Boneyard) + Arclight Pistol Battery (30 cap) x2
Pyro RYT Multi-Tool + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment
MedPen (Hemozal)
OxyPen



INQUISITOR PILOT SPEC
Stoneskin Helmet (Desert)
Stoneskin Undersuit
Arclight Pistol (Midnight) + Arclight Pistol Battery (30 cap) x2
ParaMed Medical Device
MedPen (Hemozal)
OxyPen


NOTES

• These aren't all the ranks, but we don't need all the ranks right now. I just cooked these up fast because we need them right now, and I'll examine them further when I have the time and possibly change them up a bit in the future, plus add the missing ranks.
• I've added an OxyPen because it makes sense to me for a pilot to have one. If nevertheless it's useless in the game right now, someone will tell me and I'll replace it with a second MedPen. Until then, this is how it is.
• Equip the pens in the order listed, so that we'll all have them placed in the exact same spots on our flight suits.
• I haven't seen the Stoneskin helmet in-game, and I can't find any pictures of the complete suit with helmet online, so if that turns out to look bad we'll give the Inquisitors a different helmet, possibly the same helmet of the other ranks but in an appropriate color. Until then, this is the spec.
• The above pics are rough drafts and don't include all the items. Perfect pics will be taken when the spec is finalized.

[shubn]

The Stoneskin helmet that goes with the Stoneskin undersuit seems to be the Desert version, while the Tactical seems to go with the Stoneskin Agra undersuit. The Desert looks green in the shop screen, but grey in-game. Below is a screenshot of the shop screen, and a few of the spec, with the correct Arclight pistol color, but with the Stoneskin Helmet Desert.











A few notes:

• The SC Wiki says the Arclight batteries hold 60 caps, and perhaps these used to be in the game, but the only ones available in-game right now are 30 caps.
• No big complaint about the OxyPen. There was maybe one time in my however many hundreds of hours I've played the game that I would have needed one, but it was a long time ago so my memory is fuzzy, and I could have dreamt it up. I still think the MedPen would be more useful, but if you have to use either you're probably pretty fucked anyway. That being said, it could also be used to rescue someone who had been stranded for a while, so like I said, no big complaint.
• The consumable slots can take a Tigersclaw, which could be useful, however it sticks out of your hip, which looks bad.
• The undersuits can carry one large weapon on the back. It doesn't really make sense for pilots to be piloting with a large weapon on their back though. If they want large weapons, they should probably use their ship's gun rack, if it has one. The Gladius, Cutlass Black and Scorpius have gun racks, but the Hornets don't.

[icycalm]

I replaced the Tactical with the Desert helmet for the Inquisitors, and turned the 60 cap Arclight batteries to 30.

I am not sure I like the Stoneskin helmet, so I might look for an alternative, but until I find something we are using what we have.

[icycalm]

Tigersclaw and large gun are optional for pilots. If you do bring a large gun, don’t wear it in the pilot’s seat. Carry it on your back until the hangar, and then put it in a rack if your ship has one. If it doesn’t, don’t bring a large gun.

[shubn]

The Tigersclaw will have to replace one of the pens by the way, but what you could do is put it in your ship storage, and then if you need it, replace for instance the OxyPen with it, use it, then put the OxyPen back.

Ship storage can of course also be used for extra ammo, supplies, etc.

[icycalm]

We discovered that the flight suits can take one tool on the hip, so I added the multitool to the officers' Pilot Spec, and the medgun to the troops'. Check out the updated specs above (for the officers you have to also buy and equip the tractor attachment).

And P.S. the flight suits can carry any size gun in the back, all the way up to a railgun. We're still thinking about what to do with that.

[icycalm]

Preliminary Pilot Spec group pic, with the Supreme Commander Spec on the right, Master Chief in the middle, and Inquisitor on the left. We're missing some helmets and gear from this pic, but at least you can see all three specs in use right now next to each other. I think they look great, and I am even happy with the Stoneskin helmet. Not perfect, but good enough for the job until we find something better.

As for carrying a big gun on the back, we will do this, but first we have to figure out which one because our standard rifle floats a few inches off the back and it looks bad. We need to find something available in the shops that looks good with the suits and touches our back when carried. It doesn't have to be the same for all ranks, but it must match the colors of each.

[icycalm]

At last I present to you the latest iteration of the infamous Cult Spec, and the first iteration that can be said to be relatively "complete", with a full set of carefully-shot illustrative pictures (alas they're only 1080p, but from the next version I'll have them at 4K, and possibly next year at 8K).

I took each set of pics in a different location around Cult HQ in ArcCorp's Area18 and tried to find cool places to shoot at (the best so far has been the one shubn found behind the reception in the ArcCorp building itself). I thought about flying across Stanton to find the best spots, but on top of this being time-consuming I just think it makes more sense if all the locations are around our HQ (with one exception, the SupCom Spec, for reasons to become clear below).

I haven't given the updated technical specifications yet, I plan to do this asap. For now I am only giving the pictures.

Note also that I no longer stipulate what each member should carry in their backpacks or inside their armor. Members can carry whatever they want; I am only concerned with stuff that can be seen from the outside. This simplifies the specs quite a lot, which is necessary to use them on a daily basis. You don't want to be running around trying to get hold of Tigersclaws and such when you're only going out for a salvage mission or whatever. I will trust each member to learn the game enough so as to be able to figure out what extras to bring depending on the mission (and you can always ask your CO for advice, when you need it). And if you run out of rifle ammo or whatever, we all use the same rifle, so someone should be able to help you out. Same if you run out of medpens or drinks or whatever.

Without further ado then, here are the 4 ranks of The Cult. (A 5th rank is forthcoming, but not very soon. It will be the equivalent of the "heavy" that a typical gang has, and will be placed between Inquisitor and Master Chief.)


CULT INQUISITOR









This is the good "old" Inquisitor, and nothing has changed since the last iteration apart from the addition of the backpack, removal of grenades, etc. I always liked the Inquisitor Spec but it has only grown on me since I first chose it. It looks especially fierce as the group of them gets larger; take a look at three of them together in the following pic for example:



Super-aggressive, no? I think that, in a group, they are the meanest-looking force in the game right now. Can you imagine a couple dozen of them coming at you? In this pic btw I am sitting at my desk in the Hammerhead with recoil on the left in his (old) Master Chief gear, and shubn, Tango and Adjudicator's clone in front of me. We'll take more pics with more Inquisitors in the future, and you'll see how much fiercer they look with each additional Inquisitor. It's like the cheerleader effect for males.


CULT MASTER CHIEF











The new Master Chief Spec is pretty much identical with the old one apart from the helmet and the color of the rest of the stuff. The one major functional difference is that the backpack is smaller, because that's the only size in which you can get a matching camo backpack in the game so far (and this backpack can only be purchased in the Subscriber store, so the Master Chiefs will have to buy a few of these and keep melting and rebuying them with the store credit whenever they lose a bunch of lives).

The main advantage of the new spec is that the new Green Goblin-like helmet finally matches that of the Inquisitors, as opposed to the open-face military-style one we had before. It was ysignal who brought this discrepancy to my attention, and though at first I tried to justify it (because my earlier SupCom Spec was also military-style and also featured an open-face helmet, so THAT matched the Master Chiefs at the time), in the end I looked into whether it was possible to harmonize all our ranks with what's available in the game, and it turns out it was possible. This new helmet looks exactly what you'd expect the commander of the Inquisitors to look like: meaner and even eviler, if such a thing is possible. Moreover, going from military olive to white for the armor means it's much easier to match the armor to all sorts of vehicles paints. White goes with everything, as does the Inquisitors' silver, and of course black. But there aren't that many good black armors in the game, or they are lootbox-only, so we can't use black for the lower ranks. Silver and white are the best substitutes, so I picked those. And also it'll be easy to make out the white officers in a sea of silver knights. The Inquisitor/Master Chief combo is a really superb design, if I may say so myself. The only functional improvement I am eager to make as soon as it is possible is to replace the backpack with a larger one, when a suitably color-matched one is added to the game, because the current one is next to useless for looting. That said, there are only 3 Master Chiefs, and they are supposed to be surrounded by many Inquisitors at all times, so there should be plenty of room for loot in ideal circumstances. It'll get a little tougher in day-to-day operations where a team might be small (e.g. only 2 or 3 members), but we'll deal with it for as long as we must for the sake of... looking good.



One peculiarity about the Master Chief Spec is that I'd like to allow a tiny degree of individual customization to the armor, specifically in the helmet. This exists in a couple dozen color variations, but all except one can only be found in lootboxes. So the default color will be the one purchasable at shops, but a Master Chief can use any color helmet he wants. Maybe that will make it easier to differentiate them in the heat of battle? You can see in the above pic ysignal trying on the "Grey" one (which is really gold-grey), and I think it looks cooler than the blander standard version. So go ahead and experiment with different colors you find. I may choose to ban some of them, once I see them in the flesh, but for now anything goes.


CULT COMMANDER









The Aves armor set, only purchasable at the RSI store, has been my own spec up till now, but I am demoting it to the Commander Spec because I found a cooler one. That said, because the cooler one is extremely rare, I'll still be using this one for daily operations, and saving my proper one for Dynamic Events and such. There's also another reason for my using two specs: my new gear is XenoThreat, and that's an outlaw faction. So my dude is XenoThreat, but of course he can't go around his daily Stanton operations dressed like that, so he keeps it on the down-low. During Dynamic Events though, when my org is out in full force, I go out dressed in full XenoThreat gear, and it is glorious, as you will see below.

Regarding the Commander Spec itself, it is lighter than the lower ranks because heavy armor isn't important to Commanders. It also has the small camo backpack, which again isn't important for Commanders: it can just fit some drinks, some extra ammo, and the helmet for going around the ship or landing zones.

Note that we don't yet have Commanders in the org. This is a strategic-level rank, and it will only come in play when Pyro is added, at which point I will need one Commander to oversee one of the systems for me. So basically with every solar system added to the game, I will ideally need another Commander to oversee it and direct daily operations. (And how will we be able to play together, if every Commander is in a different system? I will just run a clone account with Inquisitor Spec in the other Commander's system, and he can run one in mine, if he wants to. Clever as fuck, no? We'll also have entire new SUBFORUMS for EVERY SOLAR SYSTEM, and threads where I issue orders and we coordinate strategy, and so on. It will be wild, mark my words! What systems will we build bases on? What planets or moons? How many resources allocated, and where? Which orgs to ally with and which to oppose? These are the kinds of orders I will be giving to the Commanders, as if I am playing a turn-based 4X game, and they will be responsible for carrying them out as if they're playing an RTS.)



Pic shows me as Commander on the left with ysignal as Master Chief on the right, chatting on the Area18 shuttle. You can see that both are officers because of the white armor, but they are also easily distinguishable, while it is clear the Master Chief is the tactical asset due to the heavier armor and meaner look.


CULT SUPREME COMMANDER



And finally we arrive at the mysterious figure known as "icycalm", the shadowy leader of The Cult who has XenoThreat ties (or just cosplays as XenoThreat???) Above you can see him posing at Grim HEX, because of course he would. He leads two separate lives, a lawful public one as leader of a mercenary group based off ArcCorp, and the other as schizophrenic genocidal maniac out of Stanton's infamous lawless station.



Whatever else you can say about icycalm, you can't fault his fashion sense. He is easily the most strikingly-clad individual in the verse, let alone Stanton.





That said, the above pics aren't mine, I got them off Reddit, because I only have the core and arms for the XenoThreat armor (and those were given to me by shubn, who got them after ages of looting). So I need to get the legs, and I also need the helmet which can only be got by spending $600 on a limited edition original concept ship. I am working on both those fronts, so eventually I'll take my own pics, but for now you can see me clad in what I do own in the following pics:





And that, dear readers, is icystyle.

Even when I do track down the leg piece and acquire the helmet, I won't be able to use them regularly. The helmet I'll basically never use outside of landing zones because once it's gone I am only getting it back at the next wipe. The rest I will use only during Dynamic Events, pared with these googles that look cool. I don't plan to leave our main ship in the Dynamic Events anyway, I'll be at my office in either the Carrack or the Hammerhead, directing operations, so it makes sense to not wear a helmet and just wear the cool googles. It would look stupid if I was sitting at my desk with that opaque helmet.

If sitting at a desk for every event sounds boring, I have a solution for it. I will use a clone with Inquisitor armor to take part in frontline operations. So while my SupCom will be giving orders to e.g. recoil, my clone will be following recoil's orders on the frontline. Pretty amazing eh? This way I get to enjoy all the game's facets, simultaneously even. In what other game can you do this?


TL;DR: With this spec update, The Cult's aesthetics are finally harmonized. Before, we had kind of an identity crisis, with half the spec being military-themed, and the other half cyberpunkish. Now ALL the specs are cyberpunkish, for lack of a better term. More specifically, I would call our aesthetic "hardcore cyberpunk nutjobs". That's the look we're going for. Or, in a single word, we're cultists. Sci-fi cultists guarding a long-forgotten ancient artifact only known as the "Orgy of the Will".

[icycalm]

Me in my Commander gear sitting in the Hammerhead captain's office, recoil on the right in the old Master Chief gear, and shubn, Tango and Adjudicator's clone in front of me in Inquisitor gear.

That's how Commanders will mostly be playing the game, especially once we have entire fleets: sitting at a desk all day. But they can have an Inquisitor clone in another computer playing combat etc.

[icycalm]

Basically, you can play any rank on a clone that's lower than yours. So e.g. the Commander can play a Master Chief or an Inquisitor in addition to his Commander, and I can play everything.

[icycalm]

After a year's work, I present you Cult Spec 1.0: the most complete and comprehensive Star Citizen org spec ever. Note that the following details have now been copy-pasted to the first post in this thread, and further changes will be made to THAT post, NOT this one. Always refer to the first post in this thread for the latest spec details.



The Cult Spec is the standard-issue CULT equipment for official operations. You'll need a set of gear for every life you lose, so if you want to play two or more lives per event, you'll need two or more sets of gear (5 is a good number to have at all times, and some people keep 10+). Keep the gear stowed in our HQ at ArcCorp's Area18, because that's where we'll begin for every mission (and also make that your spawn/regeneration point if you want to have the easiest time hooking up with us; though that's not required).

We have 5 ranks: the Inquisitor rank is inspired by Warhammer 40k, Master Chief by Halo, Commander by Wing Commander, and Supreme Commander by Supreme Commander of course. The Captain rank is the only one that doesn't come from a famous sci-fi game franchise; if you have a suggestion for changing this, let me know.

For every rank we have two sets of gear—ground and space; plus a list of approved vehicles. These lists will always be a work-in-progress as we learn more about the gear and vehicles, and as the universe is enriched with more new gear and vehicles. There'll also be many specialized loadouts like scout, sniper, assassin, etc. But for now, I am only going to be posting the basic loadouts. You are encouraged to post suggestions for changes to any of these lists and loadouts, plus suggest entire new specialized loadouts, including for industrial or even recreational purposes. Just post everything in this thread, and we'll sort it out. If you don't have login credentials to this website, post your suggestions in our Discord.

Note that the ships and ground vehicle specs below are the minimum required. Players are encouraged to buy and use whatever they want. Go wild and buy a Javelin if you want, even if you're only an Inquisitor: we can always use more Javelins. The difference is that you won't be COMMANDING this Javelin during Dynamic Events and large ops, that's all. Also, if you're an Inquisitor (the frontline rank), you don't really need ANY vehicle beyond a Gladius and a Cyclone MT (both with Frostbite paint, only about $5 each from the RSI store), and we can buy those for you if you show up to a Dynamic Event or major op where they're needed (not the paints though, you have to get these yourself). Often you won't need any vehicle because you'll be riding in a bigger ship or vehicle provided by your CO (Commanding Officer). You WILL need the armor and personal gear, however; you can't play with us without these so make sure you always have a good stockpile of those if you want to be able to quickly and randomly jump into our ops.


CULT INQUISITOR
Role: Frontline soldier operating in fireteams, small military subordinated elements of infantry designed to optimize initiative, combined arms, bounding overwatch and fire and movement tactical doctrine in combat. Depending on mission requirements, a typical fireteam consists of four or fewer members: an automatic rifleman, a grenadier, a rifleman, and a designated fireteam leader.

Requirements: Must enjoy bold and decisive action: breaking down doors and blowing shit up as you set the enemy's world on fire. Must be able to coordinate with teammates and follow orders, but also improvise when needed, and even take the lead when the chain of command breaks.

Training: first- and third-person shooters, stealth games, vehicle sims, space sims, racing games, fighting games.

HARDWARE SPEC
No hardware requirements.



GROUND SPEC
Stoneskin Undersuit [CRU-L4] [850]
Morningstar Helmet Black Steel [CRU-L4] [2,980]
Inquisitor Black Steel Core/Arms/Legs [CRU-L4] [3,680/985/1,645]
CSP-68M Backpack [Cubby Blast] [2,177]
Left back: P4-AR "Nightstalker" Rifle [Cubby Blast] [3,671]
Right back: Individual Choice
Left thigh: 4x MedPen (Hemozal) [Pharmacy] [400]
Left thigh: ParaMed Medical Device [Pharmacy] [1,250]
Right thigh: LH86 "Nightstalker" Pistol [Cubby Blast] [553]
Right thigh: Pyro RYT Multi-Tool + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment [Cubby Blast] [412 + 320]
Left torso: 3x P4-AR Magazine (30 cap) [Cubby Blast] [36]
Right torso: 3x Individual Choice ammo [Cubby Blast]

GROUND VEHICLE SPEC
Light Tank: Storm (Summit) [N/A] [N/A]
Combat Rover: Cyclone MT (Frostbite) [New Deal] [28,086]
Combat Bike: Ranger TR [N/A] [N/A]



PILOT SPEC
Stoneskin Undersuit [CRU-L4] [850]
Stoneskin Helmet Desert [CRU-L4] [1,097]
Left thigh: 2x MedPen (Hemozal) [Pharmacy] [200]
Left thigh: ParaMed Medical Device [Pharmacy] [1,250]
Right thigh: Arclight "Nightstalker" Pistol [Centermass] [693]
Left torso: 2x Arclight Pistol Battery (30 cap) [Cubby Blast] [14]

SHIP SPEC
Gunship: Freelancer MIS (Black) [New Deal] [2,537,800]
Ground Bomber: A1 Spirit [N/A] [N/A]
Expedition: Freelancer DUR (Black) [New Deal] [1,967,600]
Bomber: Gladiator [Astro Armada] [1,954,500]
Stealth Recon: Razor EX [Astro Armada] [1,878,800]
Combat Freight: Cutlass Black [New Deal] [1,385,300]
Dropship: Cutlass Steel [New Deal] [1,355,300]
Interdictor: Mantis [New Deal] [1,230,000]
Light Fighter: Gladius (Frostbite) [New Deal] [1,169,900]
Small Medical: C8R Pisces Rescue (Nightbreak) [Astro Armada] [918,000]
Snub Fighter: Fury [Grey Market] [$$$]


CULT MASTER CHIEF
Role: Designated fireteam leader. The role of the Master Chief is to ensure that the fireteam operates as a cohesive unit. Fireteam organization addresses the realities of 29th-century warfare, where combat is getting exponentially faster and more lethal, as it identifies and removes anything which slows down the reaction time between first detection of an enemy and rounds impacted.

Requirements: Must enjoy bridging the frontline and tactical spheres, existing on the thin precipice between action and thought all the while holding heavy weaponry at bay and being ready to unleash it on the enemy at the optimal moment. Must possess an instinctive understanding of when to charge and when to take cover, and communicate it effectively and efficiently to your team.

Training: tactical shooters, milsim shooters, space sims.

HARDWARE SPEC
No hardware requirements.



GROUND SPEC
ForceFlex Undersuit DigiCamo [Cubby Blast] [1,219]
Neoni Yuki Onna Helmet [Subscriber] [$$$]
ADP Black Core/Arms/Legs [Tammany] [4,360/1,140/1,960]
Left back: GP-33 MOD Grenade Launcher [Loot] [N/A]
Right back: Scourge "Nightstalker" Railgun [Loot] [N/A]
Left thigh: 4x MedPen (Hemozal) [Pharmacy] [400]
Left thigh: ParaMed Medical Device [Pharmacy] [1,250]
Right thigh: LH86 "Nightstalker" Pistol [Cubby Blast] [553]
Right thigh: Pyro RYT Multi-Tool + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment [Cubby Blast] [412 + 320]
Left torso: 4x GP-33 MOD Grenade Launcher Magazine (6 cap) [Cubby Blast] [240]
Right torso: 4x Scourge Railgun Magazine (5 cap) [Cubby Blast] [240]

GROUND VEHICLE SPEC
Heavy Tank: Nova [New Deal] [546,026]
Exploration: Ursa [New Deal] [70,267]



PILOT SPEC
Odyssey II Undersuit Grey/Black [Tammany] [1,000]
Horizon Helmet Black [Tammany] [1,290]
Left thigh: 2x MedPen (Hemozal) [Pharmacy] [200]
Left thigh: ParaMed Medical Device [Pharmacy] [1,250]
Right thigh: Arclight "Nightstalker" Pistol [Centermass] [693]
Left torso: 2x Arclight Pistol Battery (30 cap) [Cubby Blast] [14]

SHIP SPEC
Light Carrier: Liberator [N/A] [N/A]
Gunship: Redeemer [New Deal] [8,675,500]
Heavy Ground Bomber: A2 Hercules Starlifter [Crusader] [5,525,000]
Dropship: Vanguard Hoplite (Frostbite) [New Deal] [3,104,200]
Expedition: Terrapin [Astro Armada] [2,568,100]
Medium Fighter: F7C-M Super Hornet (Frostbite) [Astro Armada] [2,132,600]
Bomber: Vanguard Harbinger (Frostbite) [New Deal] [2,050,500]
Interdictor: Vanguard Sentinel (Frostbite) [New Deal] [2,012,000]
Medium Repair/Refuel: Vulcan [N/A] [N/A]
Search & Rescue: Cutlass Red [New Deal] [1,810,500]
Boarding: Legionnaire (Shadow Strike) [N/A] [N/A]
Snub Fighter: Fury [Grey Market] [$$$]


CULT CAPTAIN
Role: Squad leader commanding multiple fireteams organized into a squad in co-ordinated operations. Squad leaders supervise and manage other soldiers and first-line supervisors within their squad. A squad leader is the tactical center of a squad, maneuvering and leading their team to meet the objective.

Requirements: Must excel at tactical thinking under pressure, receiving strategic objectives and figuring out on your own how to tactically achieve them. Must relish life on the battlefield, where plans routinely fall apart on contact with the enemy, and only zen-like quick thinking amidst total chaos can win the day.

Training: real-time tactics and real-time strategy games, tactical space sims.

HARDWARE SPEC
Multiboxing: 1 clone
Motion: none
Feedback: none
Controllers: stick + mouse + keyboard
Streaming: 720p
Resolution: 1080p
Rig: 10900K or equivalent, RTX 2080 Ti or equivalent, 16 GB DDR4, SSD



GROUND SPEC
ForceFlex Undersuit Arctic Camo [Cubby Blast] [1,219]
Oracle Helmet Base [Everus Harbor] [1,290]
ORC-mkX Arctic Core/Arms/Legs [Cubby Blast] [2,720/714/1,216]
CSP-68L Backpack Night Camo [Subscriber] [$$$]
Left back: P4-AR "Nightstalker" Rifle [Cubby Blast] [3,671]
Right back: Individual Choice
Left thigh: 4x MedPen (Hemozal) [Pharmacy] [400]
Left thigh: ParaMed Medical Device [Pharmacy] [1,250]
Right thigh: LH86 "Nightstalker" Pistol [Cubby Blast] [553]
Right thigh: Pyro RYT Multi-Tool + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment [Cubby Blast] [412 + 320]
Left torso: 3x P4-AR Magazine (30 cap) [Cubby Blast] [36]
Right torso: 3x Individual Choice ammo [Cubby Blast]

GROUND VEHICLE SPEC
Anti-air: Ballista [Astro Armada] [364,500]
Short-range Anti-air: Centurion [Astro Armada] [287,400]
Armored Personnel Carrier: Spartan [Astro Armada] [255,500]



PILOT SPEC
Odyssey II Undersuit White/Black [Everus Harbor] [1,000]
Horizon Helmet [Everus Harbor] [1,290]
Left thigh: 2x MedPen (Hemozal) [Pharmacy] [200]
Left thigh: ParaMed Medical Device [Pharmacy] [1,250]
Right thigh: Arclight "Nightstalker" Pistol [Centermass] [693]
Left torso: 2x Arclight Pistol Battery (30 cap) [Cubby Blast] [14]

SHIP SPEC
Corvette: Polaris [N/A] [N/A]
Large Gunship: Perseus [N/A] [N/A]
Refueling: Starfarer Gemini (Black) [New Deal] [6,191,500]
Military Transport: M2 Hercules Starlifter [New Deal] [5,225,300]
Expedition: Constellation Aquila (Polar) [New Deal] [4,926,700] + P-52 Merlin + Ursa [New Deal] [70,267]
Heavy Dropship: Valkyrie [Astro Armada] [4,454,400] + Ursa [New Deal] [70,267]
Stealth Bomber: Eclipse [New Deal] [3,490,000]
Support - Medical: Apollo Medivac [N/A] [N/A]
Anti-capital: Ares Star Fighter Inferno [Crusader] [2,859,000]
Anti-capital: Ares Star Fighter Ion [Crusader] [2,859,000]
Stealth Fighter: Sabre [New Deal] [2,183,300]
Snub Fighter: Fury MX (Templar) [Grey Market] [$$$]


CULT COMMANDER
Role: Those serving in this prestigious position are responsible for ensuring The Cult is ready for combat at all times and against all enemies, external and internal. Rather than giving soldiers direct commands, Commanders are responsible for planning their missions and strategies. Those in this role oversee the command of an entire solar system during times of war and times of peace, and can launch operations without prior authorization.

Requirements: Must excel at strategic thinking and operating from a command center far from the front while planning missions and logistics. Must display boundless initiative and thrive under conditions of complete lack of supervision.

Training: grand strategy games (4X), city-building/automation games, survival-builders, first-person 4X games, roleplaying games.

HARDWARE SPEC
Multiboxing: 2 clones simultaneously
Motion: any DOF Reality
Feedback: ButtKicker Gamer Plus
Controllers: dual sticks + control deck + eye-tracker + mouse + keyboard
Streaming: 1080p
Resolution: VR or 4K
Rig: 13900K or equivalent, RTX 3090 Ti or equivalent, 32 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD



GROUND SPEC
TCS-4 Undersuit Arctic [Cubby Blast] [850]
CCC AVES Helmet [Subscriber] [$$$]
CCC AVES Core/Arms/Legs [Subscriber] [$$$]
CSP-68L Backpack Night Camo [Subscriber] [$$$]
Left back: P4-AR "Nightstalker" Rifle [Cubby Blast] [3,671]
Right back: Individual Choice
Left thigh: 4x MedPen (Hemozal) [Pharmacy] [400]
Left thigh: ParaMed Medical Device [Pharmacy] [1,250]
Right thigh: LH86 "Nightstalker" Pistol [Cubby Blast] [553]
Right thigh: Pyro RYT "Bloodline" Multi-Tool [Subscriber] [$$$] + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment [Cubby Blast] [320]
Left torso: 3x P4-AR Magazine (30 cap) [Cubby Blast] [36]
Right torso: 3x Individual Choice ammo [Cubby Blast]

GROUND VEHICLE SPEC
Luxury Transport: Lynx [Grey Market] [$$$]



PILOT SPEC
Odyssey II Undersuit Red/Black [HUR-L1] [1,000]
Horizon Helmet Dark Red [HUR-L1] [1,290]
Left thigh: 2x MedPen (Hemozal) [Pharmacy] [200]
Left thigh: ParaMed Medical Device [Pharmacy] [1,250]
Right thigh: Arclight "Nightstalker" Pistol [Centermass] [693]
Left torso: 2x Arclight Pistol Battery (30 cap) [Cubby Blast] [14]

SHIP SPEC
Light Carrier: Kraken [N/A] [N/A]
Frigate: Idris-M [N/A] [N/A]
Minelayer: Nautilus [N/A] [N/A]
Heavy Gunship: Hammerhead [New Deal] [12,459,900]
Heavy Expedition: Carrack Expedition [RSI] [$$$] + C8R Pisces Rescue (Nightbreak) [Astro Armada] [918,000]
Field Hospital: Galaxy w/ Med Bay (Protector) [N/A] [N/A]
Heavy Repair: Crucible [N/A] [N/A]
Heavy Bomber: Retaliator Bomber [New Deal] [4,031,700]
Heavy Fighter: Scorpius [New Deal] [2,879,700]
Heavy Fighter: Scorpius Antares [Grey Market] [$$$]
VIP Transport: E1 Spirit (Crimson) [N/A] [N/A]
Snub Fighter: Fury MX (Teng) [Grey Market] [$$$]


CULT SUPREME COMMANDER
Role: Supreme Leader whose word is absolute and ultimate as the sole source of power in the organization, leading his ever-expanding forces into escalating conflicts across the galaxy according to the ancient Chinese proverb "Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt."

Requirements: Must be icy and calm.

Training: grand strategy games (4X), city-building/automation games, survival-builders, first-person 4X games, roleplaying games.

HARDWARE SPEC
Multiboxing: 4 clones simultaneously
Motion: DOF Reality P6
Feedback: ButtKicker Gamer Pro
Controllers: dual sticks + throttle + control deck + eye-tracker + steering wheel + pedals + mouse + keyboard
Streaming: 4K
Resolution: VR or 8K or triple-4K
Rig: 14900K, RTX 4090, 64 GB DDR5, NVMe M.2 SSD



GROUND SPEC
Lamont Corvus Undersuit [Loot] [N/A]
Calva Helmet [Grey Market] [$$$]
ORC-mkX (Modified) Core/Arms/Legs [Loot] [N/A]
Left back: P4-AR "Nightstalker" Rifle [Cubby Blast] [3,671]
Right back: GP-33 MOD "Thunderclap" Grenade Launcher [Subscriber] [$$$]
Left thigh: 4x MedPen (Hemozal) [Pharmacy] [400]
Left thigh: ParaMed Medical Device [Pharmacy] [1,250]
Right thigh: LH86 "Nightstalker" Pistol [Cubby Blast] [553]
Right thigh: Pyro RYT "Quicksilver" Multi-Tool [Subscriber] [$$$] + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment [Cubby Blast] [320]
Left torso: 3x P4-AR Magazine (30 cap) [Cubby Blast] [36]
Right torso: 3x GP-33 MOD Grenade Launcher Magazine (6 cap) [Cubby Blast] [240]

GROUND VEHICLE SPEC
Luxury Transport: Lynx (Nebula) [Grey Market] [$$$]



PILOT SPEC
Odyssey II Undersuit Sunset [CRU-L1] [1,000]
Horizon Helmet Yellow [CRU-L1] [1,290]
Left thigh: 2x MedPen (Hemozal) [Pharmacy] [200]
Left thigh: ParaMed Medical Device [Pharmacy] [1,250]
Right thigh: Arclight "Herrero" Pistol [Subscriber] [$$$]
Left torso: 2x Arclight Pistol Battery (30 cap) [Cubby Blast] [14]

SHIP SPEC
Destroyer: Javelin [N/A] [N/A]
Frigate: Idris-K [N/A] [N/A]
Minelayer: Nautilus Solstice Edition [N/A] [N/A]
Heavy Gunship: Hammerhead [New Deal] [12,459,900]
Heavy Expedition: Carrack Expedition (BIS2950) [Grey Market] [$$$] + C8R Pisces Rescue (Nightbreak) [Astro Armada] [918,000]
Field Hospital: Galaxy w/ Med Bay (Protector) [N/A] [N/A]
Luxury Touring: Constellation Phoenix [New Deal] [5,658,800] + P-72 Archimedes + Lynx (Nebula) [Grey Market] [$$$]
Stealth Dropship: Prowler [Astro Armada] [4,248,200]
Heavy Repair: Crucible [N/A] [N/A]
Heavy Bomber: Retaliator Bomber [New Deal] [4,031,700]
Heavy Fighter: Scorpius (Lovestruck) [New Deal] [2,879,700]
Heavy Fighter: Scorpius Antares (Lovestruck) [Grey Market] [$$$]
Interdiction: Sabre Raven [Grey Market] [$$$]
VIP Transport: E1 Spirit (Olympia) [N/A] [N/A]
Snub Fighter: Fury MX [Grey Market] [$$$]

[icycalm]

Our ranks/hierarchy can be found here: https://culture.vg/forum/topic?t=7837

Currently, I am SupCom, and ChevRage, recoil and ysignal are Captains. Everyone else is Inquisitor.

This thread is about managing members' ranks, and as a first post I want to offer the new rank of Master Chief to shubn, if he wants it. The problem with the Master Chief loadout is that his two primary weapons can only be found via looting, so ideally you want Master Chiefs who loot a lot and have a ton of these weapons in stock, and shubn is the biggest looter in CULT by far. That doesn't mean he'll ALWAYS be big into looting, but that's what demotions are for. It's no problem if people go up and down in ranks depending on their schedules and playstyles. This is to be expected.

One problem with the Master Chief loadout is that he doesn't have a backpack, so how tf is he gonna keep looting without one? And why doesn't he have a backpack in the first place? Well, he doesn't have a backpack because 1) Only the small camo backpack looks good with his armor color, and 2) The railgun doesn't attach perfectly to the small backpack, it looks like it's floating, and that looks bad. I considered giving him the medium olive backpack that the Inquisitors are using, and that looks pretty decent on him, but the big guns then clip into his model most of the time, and he would be ruining every screenshot he's in, so that's out of the window until the clipping is fixed. I am sure eventually they'll put a backpack into the game that looks good on him and has no clipping issues, or they'll put different armor that's fit for a Master Chief and looks good with the current backpacks, so this problem is temporary, but it IS a problem. And this is how we'll deal with it: the Master Chief can do his looting when he's playing solo, with different armor. Even better, he can switch to Inquisitor gear whenever he wants.

That's another peculiarity of our rank/hierarchy system: everyone can switch to a lower rank whenever they wish, and then switch back again. This means that Chev, recoil and ysignal can also play Master Chiefs or even Inquisitors whenever they want. recoil also tends to loot quite a bit, and he has some big guns stocked from time to time, plus he blew up a C8R with a railgun the other day, so it would be cool if he played a Master Chief occasionally.

Switching loadouts in this way ALSO temporarily switches your place in the chain of command, so don't forget about that. It all boils down to what kind of ranks we need for each mission, and how many players we happen to have. If we have 7 players in the voice channel, we don't need 3 Captains, so one or even two of them can switch to Master Chiefs for that session, if they wish, as long as they have the loadout of course (they can also ask for shubn for some weapons, he usually has loads).

Back to shubn and his potential promotion, note that the Master Chief rank DOES come with increased responsibility, on top of the new loadout, so shubn needs to take that into consideration too, before accepting. The Master Chief is EXPECTED to loot, and supply people with specialized weapons when needed (e.g. give an Inquisitor a sniper rifle, and so on). He is the "looter" and "big weapons-bringer" of the clan. He is also the fireteam leader, and Captains will be dispatching him to lead teams of up to 3 Inquisitors.

So it's important that the Master Chief doesn't charge into fights, both because he's supposed to be leading the Inquisitors, and because he's bringing in the big guns and must keep them safe for when they're needed. Anyone who has this rank then must learn to hang back and not put himself into undue risk. Helping this is the fact that he runs VERY slowly with that huge armor (do the big guns also slow him down? I am not sure how complex the encumbrance rules are in this game), so he'll always be falling behind in sprints. So if someone wants to be on the frontline at all times, this isn't the rank for them. Having a Master Chief in the squad basically ensures that the Captain has big firepower to bring into bear when he needs it, and that's the whole point of this rank.

So think about it and get back to me, shubn. It's also no problem if we try it and it doesn't work out, I don't think there's any shame in that. I think it's better to do tryouts rather than me withholding promotions until I am 100% certain of them. I am not 100% certain of this, but if it sounds like it would be fun to you, we can give it a try.


TL;DR: All CULT promotions (and demotions) will be handled publicly in this thread.

[shubn]

Sounds good, we can give it a try.

I imagine I will be using the Inquisitor rank on simpler operations, and the Master Chief rank when the mission warrants it.