Cult Citizen

[icycalm]

Updated the Captain and Commander specs with improved pics. I'd make a fine propaganda photographer if I may say so myself.

Note that, as aforesaid, the new pics only show up in the OP, not in the earlier update, which will not be updated.

[icycalm]

Cult Military Specialists can come from all ranks. All that is needed to assume a specialty is to acquire the necessary vehicles and gear, and then inform your Commanding Officer that you have them and are ready to don and use them when asked.


CULT SCOUT
Role: Scouts use their special training to obtain, distribute, and share vital combat and battlefield intelligence on the enemy and on combat circumstances and environmental conditions. The Scout is also known as the "eyes and ears" of The Cult. The job of a Scout is to operate as one of the first personnel in an area.

Scouts gather information on the enemy by dismounted and/or mounted reconnaissance patrols. Scouts engage the enemy with anti-armor weapons and scout vehicles in the field, track and report enemy movement and activities, and direct the employment of various weapon systems onto the enemy.

Their specialized skills enable them to assist with observation and listening posts, perform and help with navigation, and help secure and transport ammunition. The Scout leads, serves, or assists as a member of a scout crew, squad, section, platoon or troop in reconnaissance, security, and other combat operations.

Requirements: Must enjoy operating solo and unsupervised for long periods. Must be patient and self-reliant, while ready to spring into action when needed. Must have an encyclopedic knowledge of all military vehicles and gear in the verse and their tactical interrelations.

Training: stealth games, sniper games.



GROUND/PILOT SPEC
Stoneskin Undersuit [CRU-L4] [850]
Artimex "Wildwood" Armor [RSI] [$$$]
CSP-68L Backpack Forest Camo [Subscribers] [$$$]
Left back: Individual Choice
Right back: Individual Choice
Left thigh: 4x MedPen (Hemozal) [Pharmacy] [400]
Left thigh: ParaMed Medical Device [Pharmacy] [1,250]
Right thigh: LH86 "Boneyard" Pistol [Cubby Blast] [553]
Right thigh: Pyro RYT Multi-Tool + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment [Cubby Blast] [412 + 320]
Left torso: 3x Individual Choice ammo [Cubby Blast]
Right torso: 3x Individual Choice ammo [Cubby Blast]

GROUND VEHICLE SPEC
Recon Bike: Nox [Astro Armada] [349,200]

SHIP SPEC
Stealth Recon: Razor EX [Astro Armada] [1,878,800]

[icycalm]

Made a number of small changes to various specs:

• Removed Razor EX from the Inquisitor since the Scout now has it
• Added Mule and Cyclone AA to Inquisitor
• Added the following line to the Master Chief's requirements: "Must be an expert in weapons and gear procurement via any means, lawful and illicit, and supply the entire org with whatever the Captains and Commanders deem necessary for any given mission."
• Added "looter-shooters" as a training tool to the Master Chief
• Added Nox Kue to Supreme Commander
• Added Cyclone RN, F7C-S Hornet Ghost and F7C-R Hornet Tracker to the Scout

Most significantly, I introduced 5 Scout variants, one for each rank. The vehicles and most of the gear remain the same across all ranks, but the armor color and some color variations of the gear change by rank. The undersuits by the way are the exact same that each rank has.


Scout Inquisitor


Scout Master Chief


Scout Captain


Scout Commander


Scout Supreme Commander

As you can see, the Scout variants more or less match the color of each rank's base gear. So now we can all dress up as Scouts for example for infiltration missions. It'd be pretty cool to see 20 guys dressed like this coming at you in all sorts of stealth vehicles. Can't wait to make it happen!

One peculiarity is the Master Chief armor. That's the default Artimex that is only available via looting. All others can be bought on the RSI store (not the Subscribers Store, the base store), but that one can't. That's why I gave it to the Master Chief, who's supposed to be the looter. And how fortunate that its color matches his base armor color! In fact all of them pretty much match the base colors except mine, but that's okay because my shit is supposed to be weird, exclusive and unique anyway.

And remember, the full updated Scout Specs are in the THIRD post of this thread, right here: https://culture.vg/forum/topic?p=36421#p36421

Don't scroll up for my initial Scout post, because those specs are out of date now. Use the link I just gave you.

One final note about the Scout is that his ground and pilot specs are the same, so he doesn't have to change into a flight suit when he's for example in his stealth fighter. This may change in the future, but for now I am keeping the Scout's complexity manageable because his job is tough as it is, since he usually won't have backup.

[icycalm]

Couple of changes to the Scout Supreme Commander Spec.

First off I moved the Nox Kue from the base SupCom Spec to the Scout SupCom Spec, and I did this by just adding it in parenthesis next to the regular Scout Nox, so the entry now appears like this:

Recon Bike: Nox [Astro Armada] [349,200] (Supreme Commander: Nox Kue [Grey Market] [$$$])

Btw, the Nox Kue is identical to the Nox save for the paint, but the only way to get it is to pay something like $150 in the grey market. There are lots of limited stuff like this in the game, and it's not possible for me to give them to any rank besides mine because that would mean requiring the entire rank to buy it, which just isn't feasible. I don't think there's anyone else in the clan besides me that's crazy enough to pay $150 for a skin for a bike that can be bought for pennies in the game and we hardly ever use anyway. So I am giving ALL this stuff to my rank, which will make it unique as it ought to be, and help me sleep better at night knowing that my obsessive collecting is somehow justified.

In related news, I switched out the SupCom's version of the Artimex for the Hurston Dynamics Executive Security edition that can only be obtained by looting (or a lot of cash in the in-game black market):



Now it matches perfectly the SupCom's base armors and undersuit.

And yes, this means that icycalm is not only the real head of XenoThreat but ALSO the head of Hurston Dynamics Executive Security! How is this possiburu you ask. Is he an illegitimate Hurston family heir? All will be explained in the first Cult Novel: The Rise of icycalm, coming soonTM.

The screenshot btw (yes, that is in-game Star Citizen graphics) is 5400x6750 and comes from this Reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/co ... imex_armor

What are your specs for getting such a clear res pic?

A lot of settings. Mainly notable setting honestly is custom resolution. I had to edit registry files to get the highest possible resolution. It's right on the edge of crashing the game lol.

As for the black market price, from the same thread:

I've got like 14 sets of this for sale lmao. Selling 400k each or 5 mil for all.

It's not cheap being Supreme Commander. Even pics of you can crash people's computers. Which reminds me of a quote from the Insomnia Praise page: https://culture.vg/praise-for-insomnia.html

This guy's ego is so big it actually crashed my browser with an out-of-memory error.

[icycalm]

Renamed the Scout to Ranger. It just sounds cooler. Only the OP reflects the change, not my earlier updates in this thread.

[icycalm]

I gave everyone their rank as Discord role. This way we can tag specific ranks. So we have Inquisitors, Master Chiefs and Captains. No Commanders yet. I plan to offer the position to someone as Stanton Commander when Pyro launches (and I’ll take Pyro myself). Hopefully someone will be interested. We’ll have subforums for every system, and also Discord channels for every system. Nyx should come soon after because it only has one landing zone iirc, and they’ve already made it (it used to be in Stanton for testing but then they removed it).

Let me know if I got your Discord rank wrong. It’s 21 accounts so I might have misclicked.

[shubn]

I made a few screenshots of the Master Chief Spec with the Pembroke backpack to see if it might be a good fit.

[icycalm]

• Added a new Subscription field to each spec, with Inquisitor/Cult Citizen, Master Chief/Cult Player, Captain/Cult Superplayer, Commander/Cult Roleplayer, and Supreme Commander/Cult Founder. That doesn't mean you get promoted for subbing higher, that's just the promotion ceiling. Moreover, even if you're due for a promotion, you won't get it unless there are enough people below you to warrant minting a new officer. No point in having more officers than people to command. It's a clear-cut pyramid scheme, in other words.
  
• The A1 Spirit has been released, so I removed its red status. Moreover, its price hike means it's now the most expensive Inquisitor ship, so it climbs over the Freelancer MIS to take the top spot. This is in dollars, we don't yet know the ship's in-game price.
  
• The Storm has been released, so I removed its red status, and instead of the Summit paint, I gave it the new Darkside paint.
  
• Added the Storm AA to the Inquisitor, again with the Darkside paint. This is now his most expensive ground vehicle.
  
• Added the SRV to the Master Chief with the Dark Storm paint (looks so cool). This is an industrial vehicle, but it can have some combat uses: towing vehicles that are out of fuel, towing vehicles to save fuel or jump faster [ > ], perhaps setting down huge crates as defenses, who knows. I'll let the tacticians figure out its uses.
  
• Replaced the Captain's right-back Individual Choice weapon with the recently-released MaxLift Tractor Beam. Need to check if it clips into the backpack. I think shubn says it clips in the Inquisitor's backpack, but that's much larger. Hopefully there's no such issue here. Note that at 19k aUEC, this is a very expensive tool. It costs about as much as an entire set of gear, so now the Captain's loadout cost has doubled. But I think this is a good thing, as it will emphasize in the Captains' minds that they aren't supposed to be risking themselves on the frontline. They're supposed to be directing fireteams to risk their lives, and only coming in when the area is relatively secure, or when their special skills or gear are needed, as with the MaxLift. Btw I thought about giving it to the Master Chief, but he's already gimped with two heavy weapons with limited ammo, and I couldn't replace either of those. If the MaxLift fit in a backpack, that'd be the best, and I'd give it to the Master Chief, but I don't think it does? Try it out with the Pembroke backpack shubn just suggested and let me know. But I am not hopeful, so for now it goes with the Captains. Also, that means the Captains are responsible for experimenting with this thing and letting us know what it can do, and what it can't. They must also develop tactics that take advantage of it. And of course, instead of 3x P4-AR magazines, they should now carry 6 on their torso.
  
• Gave the Cutlass Red the Coalfire paint. As with the C8R Pisces, we don't want our support vehicles to be bright-red on the battlefield. Use the factory standard medical paint scheme only if you're playing medic and running medical beacons specifically (this applies to all medical vehicles).
  
• Added the Avenger Titan with the Ironweave paint to the Inquisitor. This is a very versatile light freight ship that we often use in Jumptown to run small high-value cargo like drugs in many trips to reduce risk. Much easier to fly and guard than the A2s we were using in the early days. Only problem was that the factory standard paint scheme didn't match the rest of our colors, so the Ironweave paint solves that issue.
  
• Moved the F7C-M Super Hornet from the Master Chief to the Inquisitor. This means that the Inquisitors now have two fighter choices: the solo light fighter Gladius, or the duo medium fighter Super Hornet. They can pick between the two depending on the mission or direct orders from their superiors.
  
• Moved the Scorpius from the SupCom and Commanders to the Master Chief, so now the Master Chief has the heaviest duo fighter in the game, which he can fly solo or with an Inquisitor in the back. I would have given it the Stinger paint, but it's $73 at the Impound right now lol. It was half that when I bought it just over a year ago. So I suppose that will remain the SupCom's special paint, even though he won't be flying it as part of regular ops. It's still my favorite ship though so I am glad to have a way to stand out from everyone else. Who knows how much the paint will be worth in a couple of years! Probably more than the ship lol. At any rate the ship has a ton of stunning paints, so we're spoiled for choice really. Let's go with the grey Tiburon to match the Master Chief's flight suit and armor colors.
  
• Moved the Scorpius Antares from the SupCom and Commanders to the Captains. This way they can control the battlefield better, perhaps with an Inquisitor in the back when needed (but multiboxing the co-pilot is very easy and saves us a pilot), and with the white Avalanche paint scheme that also matches their flight suit and armor they'll stand out well from the Master Chiefs. Note that the Antares recently went in the in-game stores (New Deal), so I've updated those details.
  
• Added the F8C Lightning to the Commanders (standard version) and the Supreme Commander (Executive Edition). Note that the Executive Edition can only be got by spending $15,000 on the store, which sends it straight to the top of the SupCom's list, above the Javelin lol. Apparently it's the only special edition ship which has a different interior to the other versions, with leather and gold accents if I am not mistaken. Some day I will get it, but until then I'll be borrowing the one ysignal is sure to acquire in a few months.
  
  

P.S. I am evaluating shubn's suggestion for the Pembroke backpack, plus I am preparing to make a host of further changes and additions soon.

[ysignal]

I was able to place a MaxLift into the Pembroke backpack (with room to spare). Here's what it looks like on the Captain's backpack:

[icycalm]

People are looting stuff off the new Dusters gang (yay full-loot PVE!) in PTU, so we're mere days away from having all this gear available to us for potential spec upgrades. Moreover, some of the new derelict settlements come with shops, and I THINK I heard there's some new gear there, hopefully different from the gear the Dusters use. Then again, these settlements are mostly (or wholly?) run by Dusters, so maybe not. At any rate, consult the Stanton Derelict Settlement Reference Sheet [ > ] and help me catalogue the new gear. Anything interesting, post it in a new Stanton Clothes & Armor thread, and if you have specific suggestions for a spec, post them here. I think we'll mostly be using the Duster stuff in the (upcoming) Pirate Spec. I could see the Legendary core and/or helmet being used by the Master Chief perhaps, but... it's Legendary thus hard to get. The Uncommon gas mask helmet is the only piece that stands out to me as nice (reminds me of R6 Siege), and could open up opportunities for a reimagined Master Chief Spec. Otherwise we're definitely using it for piracy.

[icycalm]

• As explained in my recent post in the "To sub or not to sub?" thread [ > ], I've added the RSI subs to the various specs. Subscribers Store access is required to get some of the cooler gear, and this will be getting more and more imperative as time goes on and they add more and more cool stuff. I am still keeping the Inquisitor free of cash-bought gear, for the lowest barriers to entry, so he doesn't need to sub, but I made the Master Chief and Captain Centurion subscribers (roughly $10/month) and the Commander and Supreme Commander Imperators (roughly $20/month). Now you might say the Imperator is superfluous since the Centurion already gives access to the Subscribers Store, but first of all "Imperator" sounds cool and the right level for the top two ranks that are focused on strategy, plus it gives two 20% off coupons for those big vehicle purchases that these ranks will be making anyway. Plus the Imperator Test Flight perk gives them every new vehicle to test for free for a week on launch (all the way up to capital ships!), so they'll always be up to date on the latest vehicle technology so they can make informed acquisitions decisions.
  
• Now that we have some base-building info I thought it's time to incorporate base-building into the specs. The info we have is very early and very subject to change, but it's still useful to allocate the vehicles and functions to the various ranks so we can start preparing, also in terms of cash purchases etc. So there seems to be a "Surveyor tool", which looks like a hovering vehicle to me, so I just called it the "Surveyor" and gave it to the Master Chief, which is the lowest rank that's authorized to build stuff, in this case Small buildings (will probably be defenses like turrets etc.) You can find it in his Ground Vehicle Spec, and I put it at the top of the list because it'll likely be the most expensive. Next up was the Captain. The Captain has all the Atlas Platforms, and the Medium base-building vehicle seems like an extended Atlas Platform, so it's perfect for the Captain. Once more it's going at the top of his Ground Vehicle Spec list because I am sure it'll be the most expensive. We don't have a name for this vehicle, so I labelled it "Atlas Platform Construction Vehicle" for now. And finally the Galaxy has a base-building module that can build up to Large structures, and the Pioneer can go up to Extra Large and is apparently also a mobile base into the bargain, so I gave these last two to both the Commanders and Supreme Commander. Note that none of us has secured a Pioneer yet, though it's not a terribly urgent matter because XL structures will take a lot longer to go in the game than the smaller buildings we can expect to see by the end of next year (and which, let's face it, will probably be delayed anyway). Still, the Pioneer is rarely on sale so the earlier we start trying to get one or two of them, the better. If you plan to get one, post in the Cult Capital Fleet thread to let us know.
  
• A while back ysignal mentioned some military uniforms available in the Subscribers Store. Because there were three of them, and at the time we had three officer ranks, he thought we could use them, but I had glanced at them briefly and wasn't a huge fan of them, so I dismissed the idea. Since then, I've had another look at them and they aren't bad at all. They're about what you'd expect futuristic ceremonial military uniforms to look like. Moreover when I realized that the two fanciest ones are white and red, matching our Captain's white and Commander's red, I was sold on the idea. But there were some hurdles to overcome before I could fully embrace it. First off, we only have one lower uniform left, the blue one, but two lower ranks: Inquisitor and Master Chief. But the Inquisitors can't buy Subscribers Store items anyway, so they don't get a ceremonial uniform, so the Master Chief gets the blue one. That left the Supreme Commander, which I solved by remembering that Darth Vader doesn't wear a formal military uniform, he keeps wearing his armor even while commanding all the officers in the Empire. So it's perfectly fitting for my SupCom to stay in his armor in all situations. And that's it: with three uniforms we covered all five ranks. One snag is that, in the lore, the white uniform is fancier than the red, while in our ranks it's the other way around. But whatever, I've already twisted myself into a pretzel to get these to fit our hierarchy, I am not going to worry about this, nor about the fact that these uniforms don't seem to signify rank but merely different levels of formality (blue was worn on duty, red was semi-formal and white "the most formal"), or the fact the Second Tevarin War (in which these uniforms were worn) took place 350 years in the past so why are the CULT officers cosplaying as dead war veterans? Maybe they have an obsession with the war, who knows. But either way we'll be wearing these uniforms in the bridges of our capital ships to be easily able to distinguish the "captain" etc. Unless they release other, more appropriate uniforms before then, in which case we'll relegate these to ceremonial functions, perhaps parties at HQ or in 890Js etc. So for now I am putting these in the Pilot Spec section of each spec, and calling them "Capital bridge uniform". So basically Inquisitors aren't generally allowed on capital ship bridges, unless they have a special purpose to be there I suppose.
  
• Last month's subscriber flair were three colored medguns, and two of the colors are useful for us: red for the Commander and purple for the Supreme Commander. And how fortunate that it is precisely these two ranks which don't fit the medgun at all as it looks dumb for Darth Vader and his lieutenants to carry freakin' medguns around. However, for mechanical reasons, we need the damn things, at least until we have dozens of troopers and medics swarming all around us. So now with these colors the medguns will blend better on our uniforms and not look so out of place. As for the Captain, since his armor is white, the standard medgun already blends nicely with it, and the lower ranks are frontline ranks so they NEED a medgun on them, so it's cool that it stands out on their armor. As for the yellow medgun, I have in mind to use it for the yellow Overlord armor that I'll probably end up giving to the Master Chief in the Pirate Spec. More on that soonish.
• Moved a bunch of stealth ships from the regular specs to the Ranger Specs, and did some rearranging there so that every Ranger rank will have at least one stealth ship. Specifically, moved the Sabre Raven from the SupCom to the Ranger SupCom, the Prowler from the SupCom to the Ranger Captain, the Eclipse from the Captain to the Ranger Master Chief, and the Sabre from the Captain to the Ranger Captain. Moreover I gave the Razor EX and Hornet Ghost to the Ranger Inquisitor, and the Hornet Tracker to the Ranger Commander. That should bring some clarity to how I want to run full-stealth operations, and similarly one can see which rank should fulfill which role even in semi-stealthy ops.
• Added the C2 Hercules with Cerberus paint to the Captain for when he must simply bring the maximum amount of vehicles to the battlefield (while his M2 is to bring the maximum troops plus vehicles).
• Captains can only use the Oracle Helmet Base, not the colored variations that can be found in lootboxes. I know I previously said the opposite, but after some time testing this, I take it back.

A few more changes coming soon, plus Medic, Bounty Hunter, Bum and Pirate Specs. If you can think of any more specialties, let me know, as I am all out of ideas once the above are done.

[ysignal]

What about outfits for cargo running? I was hauling cargo today and thought of using the same kind of outfit we used the last time we took the Hull Cs out, but I needed oxygen at the pick-up location, and also a gun for safety. I wasn't sure what to wear, so I defaulted back to the full Captain ground spec, but for a lot of cargo missions that seems like overkill, especially if you have backup.

[icycalm]

I’ve said that I don’t plan to have uniforms for industrial professions, everyone can buy whatever work clothes they want. But the oxygen requirement complicates things. Is there any way to blend that with work clothes in a good-looking manner? As for a gun, you can attach pistols to pants now. If you want something heavier... there are some cheap undersuit/light armor sets that look like they could be industrial. Maybe we could use those. But then when would we use plain work clothes? What’s their function?

I really like the Pembroke and Novikov suits btw, especially the three Pembrokes for sale in the Subscribers Store, and I try to use them with box deliveries, cave exploration and as many industrial mission types as possible, but their temperature ranges limit usability. The Zeus suits are neutral in terms of temperatures, so maybe we could use those for work. Of course Inquisitors can’t get any of those, so they could use plain work clothes and/or just run security with their standard Inquisitor gear.

But yeah we need to look at the light armor sets for something that looks industrial. We can offer suggestions in this thread even if there isn’t an official industrial spec.

[icycalm]

After putting some more thought into the subject of industrial operations, I give you the batshit insanity of the Cult Contractor! I always loved the Pembroke suit, and the CIG cinematics team—who have terrific taste in everything—love it too because they often put it even in trailers where it doesn't belong, for example in cave exploration, which is ridiculous because caves are supposed to be cold and they are showing a suit that's made for extreme heat. But it looks super-cool, so they use it often when they want to showcase some kind of "work" in a trailer. In terms of looks, it is the ultimate work suit. Previously I had thought that the high heat rating would make the character die from heatstroke in normal scenarios, but after checking the specs, that doesn't seem to be the case. In regards to cold, the suit has roughly the same range as normal armors, plus it extends much higher in temperature. So we can basically use it just fine for work in all normal scenarios, plus extreme heat scenarios. And that solves the oxygen issue, plus the weapons issue, as it can take quite a few weapons, and its gargantuan backpack that's perfect for looting also takes weapons. Moreover, it turns out there are perfectly appropriate for us color variations for ALL FIVE ranks. I didn't realize this at first, but it's true. First of all, and extremely fortunately for us, there is the in-game base Pembroke for the Inquisitor to buy with aUEC. Its color is copper-like, which might at first seem to not match the Inquisitor's silver armor, but when you think that copper and silver are two of the most well-known base metals (think sports event medals), there is some continuity there. And beyond that we have a dark-ish Subscribers version for the Master Chief, a perfect white for the Captain, and then a yellow for the Commander, which again might at first seem to be clashing with the Commander's red armor, but if you think of flashy primary colors, then red and yellow go well together. And finally I thought the SupCom would have to go without a Contractor uniform, which seems fine since he's not supposed to work after all. But then it turns out there is a NINE TAILS variation of the Pembroke!!! And like all 9T gear it has purple accents, so it's perfect for the SupCom. But... you can only get it from one of the Siege of Orison lieutenants lmao, typically the second lieutenant you encounter. He also has the backpack btw. This set is so rare that there aren't even any pictures of it, and I had to hastily screenshot a video where someone was showing off all the 9T SoO lieutenants [ > ] (if you can take a better pic, post it below, because I can't take a better on my laptop). Actually a couple guys on Reddit found the HELMET of this set in a loot box somewhere, but no one has found the complete set, to my knowledge. So anyway, I am never gonna get this thing, at least not without paying crazy cash in the black market, and even then, imagine having to pay millions FOR EVERY WORK UNIFORM I LOSE lol. But that's why we have to git gud at the industrial professions. Until then I’ll be wearing the Commander’s set, just like I do with the base specs.

But there is more. Since on occasion we'll have to go into low-temp environments for work, we'll need the Novikov suit too. Unfortunately that pretty much only exists in the base color variation, so what I have done is added it to every rank as an accessory. This means that if you want to be prepared for every possible work scenario, throw one of these in the storage of whatever ship or vehicle you're on. This isn't part of our regular work uniform, think of it more as a tool like the multitool that you only pull out for a specific job. And thinking of it this way makes it easier to accept that we don't have rank-based variations of it. EXCEPT WE KINDA DO, at least for the Supreme Commander, because ANOTHER of the Siege of Orison lieutenants wears a Nine Tails Novikov variation! But without a backpack or even a helmet. I could stomach the backpack loss, since again the SupCom isn't supposed to be carrying backpacks lol (I haven't even given him one for his base spec)—imagine Darth Vader with a backpack lol—but the insectoid helmet they have given him in Siege of Orison looks crap, so I don't know what I am going to do. Maybe I'll just use one of the other Siege of Orison lieutenant helmets, because the crazy thing about this particular Novikov suit variation is that it apparently can use any helmet! (normal Novikov ones can only use the Novikov helmet). And finally note that CIG released another Novikov variation with IAE, a shiny silver one that looks nothing like a work suit but more like a Warhammer 40k battlesuit to the point where they didn't even make a backpack for it, but then the players revolted saying that no existing backpack looks good with it, so now CIG is making the appropriate version of the backpack and will add it to the set at some point. I am not sure what we can do with this Warhammer Novikov variation. It looks out of place among the other Contractor suits, and if I added it it would spoil the "tool-like" nature of the suit as aforesaid. Maybe I'll keep it for myself in lieu of the hard-to-get 9T variation for cold work environment, we'll see. For now though, I am not including it. Oh and also I finally found a use for the yellow medgun: I gave it to the Commander to match his yellow Pembroke.

Only thing I haven't done is give this spec ships and ground vehicles (and paints). It's on my list of things to do.

The point is that when The Cult performs industrial contract work or offers civilian services, we do it heavy, and in style. I can't wait to see some industrial pics with 5-10 fully-geared Pembrokes! I bet we’ll be doing industrial work far more often from now on! And btw, the Pembroke and the Novikov seem to be classed as heavy armor, so maybe they're decent in combat too.


CULT CONTRACTOR
Role: When The Cult performs industrial contract work or offers civilian services, they do it heavy, and in style. Known as "the workhorse" of The Cult, the job of a Contractor is to generate funds for the organization by mostly legal industry such as mining, salvaging and repairing, or cargo hauling and trading, but also offering passenger transport, medical emergency and private security services, among others.

Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, military contractors engaged in direct support of military operations may be legitimate targets of military interrogation, so Cult Contractors are heavily armed and ready to counter threats when necessary.

Requirements: Must be enterprising and hard-working and must enjoy devising and/or executing and refining complex logistical plans.

Training: automation games, logistics/management games.


Contractor Inquisitor


Contractor Master Chief


Contractor Captain


Contractor Commander


Contractor Supreme Commander

GROUND/PILOT SPEC

Inquisitor: Pembroke Exploration Suit [ARC-L1] [10,330] + Pembroke Backpack [ARC-L1] [2,180] + LH86 "Nightstalker" Pistol [Cubby Blast] [553] + Pyro RYT Multi-Tool + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment [Cubby Blast] [412 + 320] + Novikov Exploration Suit [10,330] [Everus Harbor] + Novikov Backpack [2,180] [Everus Harbor]

Master Chief: Pembroke RSI Graphite Edition [Subscribers] [$$$] + Pembroke RSI Graphite Backpack [Subscribers] [$$$] + LH86 "Nightstalker" Pistol [Cubby Blast] [553] + Pyro RYT Multi-Tool + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment [Cubby Blast] [412 + 320] + Novikov Exploration Suit [10,330] [Everus Harbor] + Novikov Backpack [2,180] [Everus Harbor]

Captain: Pembroke RSI Ivory Edition [Subscribers] [$$$] + Pembroke RSI Ivory Backpack [Subscribers] [$$$] + LH86 "Stormfall" Pistol [Cubby Blast] [553] + Pyro RYT Multi-Tool + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment [Cubby Blast] [412 + 320] + Novikov Exploration Suit [10,330] [Everus Harbor] + Novikov Backpack [2,180] [Everus Harbor]

Commander: Pembroke RSI Sunburst Edition [Subscribers] [$$$] + Pembroke RSI Sunburst Backpack [Subscribers] [$$$] + LH86 Pistol [Centermass] [553] + Pyro RYT Multi-Tool + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment [Cubby Blast] [412 + 320] + Novikov Exploration Suit [10,330] [Everus Harbor] + Novikov Backpack [2,180] [Everus Harbor]

Supreme Commander: Pembroke Exploration Suit RSI Edition (Modified 9T) [Loot] [N/A] + Pembroke Backpack RSI Edition (Modified 9T) [Loot] [N/A] + LH86 "Boneyard" Pistol [Cubby Blast] [553] + Pyro RYT "Quicksilver" Multi-Tool [Subscribers] [$$$] + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment [Cubby Blast] [320] + Novikov Exploration Suit (Modified 9T) [Loot] [N/A]

Left back: Same as base spec
Right back: Same as base spec
Left thigh: 4x MedPen (Hemozal) [Pharmacy] [400]
Left thigh: ParaMed Medical Device [Pharmacy] [1,250] (Supreme Commander: ParaMed "Venule" Medical Device [Subscribers] [$$$]) / (Commander: ParaMed "Xanthic" Medical Device [Subscribers] [$$$])
Left torso: Same as base spec ammo [Cubby Blast]
Right torso: Same as base spec ammo [Cubby Blast]

[shubn]

Regarding the base Pembroke and Novikov, the helmets are not included and must be purchased separately. Both suits can be used with any helmet (I tested all helmet types and they all worked). They seem to share the same damage resistance as other heavy armor, and thus should indeed be good in combat.

Armor prices have increased with 3.22 (inflation?), and the Universal Item Finder is not up to date. I went to ARC-L1, Baijini Point, the Stanton-Pyro Jump Point, and Tammany, and these are the prices I've seen:

Pembroke Exploration Suit [ARC-L1|Stanton-Pyro-JP|Tammany] [14,981]
Pembroke Helmet [ARC-L1|Stanton-Pyro-JP|Tammany] [11,734]
Pembroke Backpack [ARC-L1|Stanton-Pyro-JP|Tammany] [8,531]
Novikov Exploration Suit [Baijini|Stanton-Pyro-JP] [16,116]
Novikov Helmet [Baijini|Stanton-Pyro-JP] [11,734]
Novikov Backpack [Baijini|Stanton-Pyro-JP] [8,531]

[icycalm]

I made some aesthetic improvements to the OP. First off, I added some lines at the top and bottom that make the thread seem like an official communiqué from Cult High Command to new recruits. And then instead of the single pic we had, I added five more, for a total of six.

The one we had before was of course the awesome Hammerhead office pic.


Attention in Hammerhead office

That's now joined by 3 more Cult Life pics, in the following order:


Assembly in Crusader building lobby


Meeting in the Carrack


Readying to drop from Cutlass Steel

And finally at the bottom I added two pics of me, at the point where I sign the message.





Even experienced players don't know how to get hold of my armor, so it should be mighty impressive for newbies, which is the whole point.

Since this thread and its OP is usually the first thing new recruits see of The Cult, I am sprucing it up to look as good as possible in order to make a good impression. I think we're making a superb impression by this point because I don't think there's a more stylish org than ours in Star Citizen, or in any other game. Nowhere near as stylish. Other games don't even have such quality assets anyway, so they can't compete at all, while Star Citizen orgs vary in fashion sense, but no one can match mine in the least. And this is just the beginning, as they're adding hundreds of assets to the game every year from which to build even cooler specs!

If you have any ideas on how to improve the OP in this thread, or the subsequent spec posts, let me know. For my part, my most immediate task is to retake the two pics below from a better angle/in a better location/with better lighting, as their concept is cool but the execution not quite as good as it needs to be to be featured in the OP:





The first just needs a slightly different angle, and perhaps a couple more people (my head obscures someone, which is why it needs an angle change), but the second needs an entirely new location, and better distribution of the people (e.g. not a Captain behind me, etc.)

And ultimately all the pics must be at 4K at full detail, so we'll need to reshoot those that are of lower fidelity. None of this is urgent, but it's something to keep in mind to get done over the next year. Because eventually all this is going on the new website with cutting-edge web 3.0 features etc., so it all must look stunning, starting from the promo screenshots.

Check out the OP for yourselves to see what we currently have, and let me know of any ideas and suggestions: https://culture.vg/forum/topic?t=7837

[icycalm]

Massive aesthetic upgrade for the two Cult Specialist Specs: Ranger and Contractor. First the Ranger.

I added three stunning images among the introductory text. The first is a render from a CIG artist on ArtStation, and the other two are in-game screenshots by players.







And then I have brand-new in-game screenshots by players of all the ranks, admittedly not with our exact equipment, but they're certainly a massive improvement over the stock Artimex images I had before (which also didn't have our exact equipment).


Ranger Inquisitor


Ranger Master Chief


Ranger Captain


Ranger Commander


Ranger Supreme Commander

Note that the eye color of all the specs is blue except mine which is red. I thought that was pretty cool.

Also note that there has been a substantive change with this update, I changed the Ranger Inquisitor's Artimex from Lodestone to Wildwood (i.e. from grey to gold, which I think is a huge upgrade) and his backpack from Night Camo to Forest Camo to match the armor change. He is now the only one with this backpack, all the rest have the Night Camo. Note also that his backpack can't be purchased on the main store, only on the Subscribers one (unlike his armor which can be purchased in the main store), which breaks with my Inquisitor policy to not require an RSI subscription. But you can still get one by asking a subscriber to gift you one and then sending him the money. Problem is, if you then melt it to rebuy it with store credit after death, you need to keep sending money to a subscriber, so that doesn't really work long-term. However, a way to restore lost items is coming in the next six months, so eventually this problem will go away. Until then, you can sub if you want to play a Ranger Inquisitor. But you don't have to if you don't want to because we have plenty of Rangers to use, we don't need an army of them, just the occasional scout here and there.

As for the Inquisitor getting a gold-ish armor, that might not seem to make sense at first, but I've made it make some sort of sense in my mind. First off it HAS to be this way because all the other cool Artimexes are taken. And then it does sort of track with his Contractor suit being copper-colored, his base armor being silver, and now his stealth armor being gold. So that's what we're doing until perhaps more Artimex variations become available.

And then I also updated the Contractor's stock images with the far superior ones below:






Contractor Inquisitor


Contractor Master Chief


Contractor Captain


Contractor Commander


Contractor Supreme Commander

I was super-happy to finally find an image of the Nine Tails Pembroke, and it's a stunning composition. Too bad the other two 9T lieutenants are hogging the view, but I will get someone on Fiverr to airbrush them out, and then update the pic. Until then I could crop it, but I don't want to. So I am leaving it like that for now.

You really should go and see the images in their proper context with all the text and specs: https://culture.vg/forum/topic?p=36421#p36421

The specs aren't fully blended with the images yet, but they will be in the next major update, and the page will look even cooler then.

[icycalm]

Medical Response
https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/co ... l_response

What undersuit/armour setup is that?

It's the Venture Undersuit red/white, Lynx Arms Base, TrueDef-Pro Legs Black/Silver and when I have to wear a helmet, Venture Helmet White/Red.

It's worth putting this together to see how it would look for a Medic Spec. He has decent taste in photography, so maybe his fashion sense is also good.

[icycalm]

Crusader Industries - another shift, another credit
https://www.reddit.com/r/starcitizen/co ... her_credit



This is a cool look that never occurred to me. Could be used for the Master Chief if I don't end up using that helmet for the Medic.

[icycalm]

Made an update that's been a long time coming: the spec tiers are now tied to Concierge levels.

Concierge Levels and Rewards
https://support.robertsspaceindustries. ... nd-Rewards



For the Inquisitor there's no requirement, as usual.

For the Master Chief it's High Admiral ($1,000; shubn has long hit it), for the Captain it's Grand Admiral ($2,500; ysignal has long hit it and I think recoil should be around there already; Chev is on the way, though if he doesn't want to pursue it he can drop to Master Chief, no problem, just let me know, and keep in mind there's no time limit to hitting it, as long as you're moving in that direction we're cool), for the Commander it's Praetorian ($15,000), and for the Supreme Commander it's Legatus Navium ($25,000, I'll get there in a couple of years if not sooner if my cryptocoins explode, no worries).

As some may have noticed, that leaves a couple of levels not represented, which is because there are 6 Concierge levels but only 5 Cult Spec ranks, and one of them has no requirement. So I'd need 7 Cult Spec ranks to cover all levels. The levels missing are between Captain and Commander: the Space Marshal level at $5,000 and the Wing Commander level at $10,000. And I have indeed been thinking about adding a couple more ranks to the specs, but haven't done it yet and won't be doing it any time soon because we'd need more players. Specifically, I would like a kind of company commander/Major above the Captain (a company consists of 3-4 platoons), and a planetary commander to complement the system commander. So for example in Stanton there would be 4 planetary commanders plus the system commander above them. The planetary commander would get the current Commander's loadout and colors (red), and the system commander would take gold for his colors (there's already a gold armor tied to Concierge level, and some gold weapons and vehicle paints). And btw the planets are already huge enough and full of places to go and things to do that it makes perfect sense already for each planet to be assigned to one commander to coordinate planetary strategy. Exactly like Planetary Annihilation in fact.

I think with a couple dozen more players I could institute these extra two ranks, so I believe it will be happening at some point. I think the only thing I need to do to make it happen is spend a few months in a stable address playing and streaming 20-30 hours per week while constantly recruiting. I'd be doing this right now if I wasn't on the move, and of course if I wasn't working on Battlegrounds. I see it happening this summer with 4.0's release most probably, or the autumn (by which time the bulk of Battlegrounds work will also be behind me). At the latest in the winter, because that's when Squadron 42 will be out, and SC will be exploding in popularity. Multiple capital ships will be out including engineering mechanics, and people won't be able to solo them, and server meshing will have turned the game to PlanetSide. It will be the perfect time to play hardcore throughout the week and recruit hardcore, and the playerbase will be primed for it. Can't wait.

Which is why I am going to keep updating and refining the Cult Spec, then posting all of it beautifully on the new upcoming SC website at http://cultcitizen.org plus more surprises I am working on.

[icycalm]

I've been thinking about alternate ground loadouts for a while, and I finally have something to reveal. Let's take it rank by rank.


INQUISITOR
The Inquisitor doesn't really need an alt. loadout. He has medium armor already, which is perfect for his multiple roles: he can tank some hits, but also run, stealth, etc. He's supposed to be versatile, the "marine" of The Cult.

That said, if CIG ever releases their "Heavy Armor Marine" concept, I'd be inclined to give it to the Inquisitor, subject to superior approval (i.e. they wouldn't be able to just use it whenever they wanted, they'd have to be instructed to use it for specific missions).

Star Citizen Heavy Armor Marine
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/4gx5W



So, for now, I've added this armor to the Inquisitor Spec in red, which means TBA, if ever.


MASTER CHIEF
You would think I'd have given the above heavy armor to the Master Chief, but I didn't because I was saving him for something even heavier, the upcoming Titan Exosuit: https://starcitizen.tools/Titan_exosuit



This isn't vaporware, like the previous suit, this is really coming with Squadron 42, so I expect we'll see it in the release date trailer later this year. They will want to wow people with the breadth of the action, so a mech suit will show the world this isn't just a "space sim". Moreover, since this suit will need to be charged inside specific ships like the Retaliator dropship version, I speculate that that's the reason they're working on the Tali gold pass right now. They need it for SQ42 and for the Titan's PU debut. That's what I think at any rate.

So the Master Chief will get this, and it'll be up to him, and of course up to his superiors, when to use it. It'll be quite a complex decision, I am sure.


CAPTAIN
For the Captain, his current armor is perfect, he doesn't need anything heavier than medium. However, there are several color variations of his ORC-mkX armor, and they all look smashing. Forest, desert, naval variations, and more. In fact the one I've given him is the arctic one, chosen because white goes with all vehicle colors, which can't be said for the other variations. So I'd love it if the Captains had ALL their armor variations and picked between them according to the mission. Imagine how much cooler ysignal would look below if his armor matched his Storm's desert color:



Of course he would also have to be in a desert or desert-adjacent environment, and that is a problem given how quickly Star Citizen sessions can jump between radically different environments. Even worse is that the process of changing vehicle paints requires physical transportation of the paints, so coordinating armor, vehicles and environments on the fly can be extremely time-consuming, and the more players are involved the worse it gets. So though I have added the color variations to the Captain Spec, I don't recommend their usage unless you REALLY feel like dicking around with them. If you do it though, do it well, which means ALL Captains present should look the same AND all their vehicles (ground + space) should be appropriately and identically painted. So in practice it'll be easier if there's just one Captain present, and you have a proper mission in mind instead of doing a random session.

Eventually there will be lockers in the game with one-click loadout changes that will make things easier, but I don't know about vehicle paints. Maybe it'll get easier once we have built a base somewhere, and we can match the vehicles stored there to the environment. But for now, the Captain's alt. ground loadout should be used extremely sparingly (and make sure to also match his undersuit, btw: I'll make detailed alt. loadouts at some point, but for now research them yourselves if you plan to use them).


COMMANDER
And now we come to the Commander which is the only rank that can ACTUALLY use his alt. ground loadout on a regular basis right now (and who is the main reason for this update; the rest I just added to round it out).



For the Commander I picked a cool heavy armor that will be his battlesuit, in contrast to his main loadout which is a light armor that gets him killed very quickly in combat. But since he isn't supposed to be at the front, the light armor makes sense as ceremonial/prestige armor when going about his system supervising things, or running his capital ship or whatever. But I also picture him as having a heavy battlesuit in his office or quarters, ready to use if the capital ship gets boarded, or the base defences get breached or whatever. In practice, he'll also be at the front as field commander simply because we don't currently have enough players and ranks to cover all roles, plus of course it's fun. And the heavy red goes very well with his light armor's red accents. There's no mistaking, when you see this guy in combat, that he's in charge of everything around him.


SUPREME COMMANDER
As for me, I already have the coolest loadout in the game, I don't need an alt. one. That said, I may have something very cool in store in this respect, but I'll wait until an upcoming project is complete before unveiling it. May the... courage be with me to complete that project, because it is a lot of work, but it will have to get in line behind Battlegrounds and standard Star Citizen recruitment. Once those are in a place I am happy with, then I'll dig into this project. And then I may get an alt. ground loadout after all.

[icycalm]

A list of the main ships pirates use, for when I build the Cult Pirate Spec:

• Drake Cutlass Black
• Drake Cutlass Blue
• Drake Caterpillar
• Drake Buccaneer
• RSI Mantis
• RSI Scorpius Antares

I know nothing about piracy, I merely compiled the list from this thread that begs CIG for a Mantis pirate skin to compensate the pirate community for the fact QED probably won't be working in 3.23 due to the Master Modes introduction:

If QED is broken in 3.23, how can CIG make Pirates happy?
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/spec ... e-pirates-

[icycalm]

I am proud to finally reveal the long-awaited Cult Medic Spec! I am not so proud of the accompanying picture, but it was a draft by Rory and I'll be taking a better one soon next to a hospital bed, etc. Also, the draft picture doesn't contain all the gear. It contains most of it.

Some points of note:

• The Medic doesn't have any ca$hmoney gear or rare loot gear, just standard stuff you can buy in the shops, so that everyone can use him, exactly as with the Inquisitor Spec.
• All medical ships have been removed from the other ranks and given to the Medic, so if you want a medical ship in your team you HAVE to bring a Medic along. Unless you're bringing a Carrack or 890J I suppose, or even bigger capitals.
• The Medic should be the LAST person to fall, and ideally he should never fall. So keep him safe and away from fire, unless you have no alternative or the CO has decided to risk him. Won't this be boring for Medics? Mostly, yeah, but some people love it, and Star Citizen is certainly the best game to play a medic due to the massive playfield and infinite scenarios and extraction possibilities. So if you're ever going to enjoy playing a medic, it's going to be in this game (well D&D clerics are even better, but for real-time, yeah, SC is it).
• Even better than playing a Medic with your main account is playing one with a clone, so if you multibox, having a medic trail you is the absolute best use of your second computer, and the upshot is no one gets bored (if more people have clones they can bring a capital ship, a refueling ship, et. al support vehicles).
• The locations of the medgun and multitool have been switched ONLY FOR THIS SPEC. It just looks cooler with the medgun in a more prominent position in this spec. You can roleplay it in your mind that it's faster to draw the medgun this way. Maybe it actually is?
• There are no additional ranks in the Medic Spec, no Master Chief Medic or Captain Medic etc. All Medics are Inquisitor Medics, at least for now. I've heard that CIG is working on medic-specific armor, so if that comes in different colors we might add more ranks at some point. But we'd also need a lot more players to make it worthwhile. When the Galaxy field hospital arrives, and the rumored Ursa ambulance, we might end up with a Captain Medic overseeing several teams of medics on the ground and in space during a Planetary Annihilation-level battle (which btw are coming sooner than you think; I'll have news on this up soon).

CULT MEDIC
Role: Cult Medics are responsible for providing emergency medical treatment at a point of wounding in a combat or training environment, as well as primary care and health protection and evacuation from a point of injury or illness. Additionally, Medics may be used in hospitals and clinics, where they have the opportunity to work in additional roles, such as operating medical and laboratory equipment and performing and assisting with procedures.

Requirements: Must be comfortable with frequently witnessing injuries and death and be often exposed to personal threats of trauma as you render aid to those injured on the battlefield while exposing yourself to danger. While under attack, you must be comfortable with fighting alongside your fellow soldiers.

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



GROUND SPEC
Venture Undersuit Green/Black [ARC-L1] [1,000]
Morozov-SH Helmet Snowdrift [ARC-L1] [7,952]
ORC-mkX Iceborn Core/Arms/Legs [Cubby Blast] [2,721/826/1,095]
Arden-CL Backpack Archangel [Cubby Blast] [1,511]
Left back: P4-AR "Nightstalker" Rifle [Cubby Blast] [3,671]
Right back: Individual Choice
Right chest: 2x Pink QuikFlare [Cubby Blast] [50]
Left thigh: 4x MedPen (Hemozal) [Pharmacy] [400]
Left thigh: Pyro RYT Multi-Tool + TruHold Tractor Beam Attachment [Cubby Blast] [412 + 320]
Right thigh: LH86 "Nightstalker" Pistol [Cubby Blast] [553]
Right thigh: ParaMed Medical Device [Pharmacy] [1,250]
Left torso: 3x P4-AR Magazine (30 cap) [Cubby Blast] [36]
Right torso: 3x ParaMed Refill [Pharmacy] [180]

SHIP SPEC
Field Hospital: Galaxy w/ Med Bay [N/A] [N/A]
Support - Medical: Apollo Medivac [N/A] [N/A]
Search & Rescue: Cutlass Red (Coalfire) [New Deal] [1,810,500]
Small Medical: C8R Pisces Rescue (Nightbreak) [Astro Armada] [918,000]

[icycalm]

That yellow getup looks good to me for a Cult Engineer Spec. He could be trailing the main force with a refueling vehicle (or later with a repair ship when they come out, or minelayer etc.) alongside the medical ship. Only thing I am not sure about is that the helmet's the same as the Medic's. Not sure if this is good or bad. On the one hand, you'd think unique helmets for unique specialists would be best. On the other hand, maybe their common helmet signifies their commonality as support troops.

We need to take some pics and run some trials. Also some alternate helmets.

[icycalm]

This could also work well as engineer or refueler pilot or deck crew, or whatever. Don't know the name of the suit though or how to acquire it.