Merchantman

Capital heavy freight ship manufactured by Banu Souli
Quick facts:
Merchantman
Merchantman Concept - Citizen Con 2021.png
In concept
Merchantman
Banu Souli (BANU)
Role
Heavy Freight
Size
Capital
Capacity
Crew
4 – 8
Cargo
2,880 SCU2,880,000 KµSCU <br />2,880,000,000 µSCU <br />
Cost
Standalone
$ 650.00€ 656.50 <br />£ 552.50 <br /> ($ 250.00€ 252.50 <br />£ 212.50 <br />)
Warbond
$ 600.00€ 606.00 <br />£ 510.00 <br /> ($ 300.00€ 303.00 <br />£ 255.00 <br />)
Availability
Time-limited sales
Specifications
Length
237 m0.237 km <br />23,700 cm <br />
Width
203 m0.203 km <br />20,300 cm <br />
Height
80 m0.08 km <br />8,000 cm <br />
Mass
9,635,000 kg9,635 t <br />
Development
Announced
11 November 2013

The Banu Merchantman is a trading ship capable of landing or docking and then inviting locals in to view what its cargo holds have to offer. The ship design, perfected by generations of Banu development, is intended to offer a combination of high speed and durability. While the Merchantman is less configurable than a Caterpillar or a Starfarer, there's still plenty of room to take the ship in different directions.[1]

Features

Bazaar
Featuring an on-board enclosed marketplace, traders can display their goods and services to be exchanged or sold.
Negotiation Room
This is where the Banu does all the negotiating with clients which looks onto the cargo bay so clients can see the cargo.
Craftsmanship
When you walk around a Merchantman, you will quickly notice the exquisite craftsmanship with intricate subtle detailing the Banu are well known for. Ideal if you wish to give a good impression to your clients.
Durability
They are reliable, sturdy and durable, which makes them valued by their Human owners. Amongst the Banu, a ship can sometimes be passed on from generation to generation.
Defense
If there is one thing that these ships are famous for, it is their defensive capabilities. With a hull & armor that can take a pounding, together with a set of fast engines, the Merchantman can easily escape an attack with minimal damage to the ship and internal cargo.
Concealed Weaponry
All the Banu's weapons are concealed because of their need for being low key. But in times of need, the Banu's weaponry can pack a punch, making them ideal in situations like running at pirate blockades.

Specifications

Radarnav.svgRadar
1x
S3
Large Radar
To be determined
Computernav.svgComputer
1x
S2
Medium Computer
To be determined
Powerplantnav.svgPower plant
1x
S3
Large Power Plant
To be determined
Coolernav.svgCooler
1x
S3
Large Cooler
To be determined
Shieldgeneratornav.svgShield generator
2x
S3
Large Shield Generator
To be determined
Quantumdrivenav.svgQuantum drive
1x
S3
Large Quantum Drive
N/A
Jumpdrivenav.svgJump drive
1x
S3
Jump Drive
N/A
Fuelintakenav.svgFuel intake
1x
S3
Fuel Intake
N/A
Fueltanknav.svgFuel tank
1x
S2
Fuel Tank
N/A
Quantumfueltanknav.svgQuantum fuel tank
1x
S3
Quantum Fuel Tank
N/A
Weaponnav.svgPilot weapon
2x
S8
Size 8 Weapon
N/A
Turretnav.svgTurret
1x
S6
Manned Turret (Top)
N/A
2x
S5
Size 5 Weapon
To be determined
2x
S5
Remote Turret (Wing)
N/A
4x
S4
Size 4 Weapon
To be determined
4x
SX
Point Defense Turret
N/A
4x
SX
Weapon
To be determined

Pledge price history

Date Pledge cost (USD) Insurance Availability Sale
2013-11-20 250 LTI Time-limited 2013 anniversary sale [3]
2014-11-22 250 2 years Time-limited 2014 anniversary sale [4]
2015-11-21 250 3 years Time-limited 2015 anniversary sale [5]
2016-11-25 250 4 years Time-limited 2016 anniversary sale [6]
2017-04-22 350 (Warbond - 300) 6 months Time-limited 2017 Defender sale [7]
2019-11-28 350 10 years Time-limited IAE 2949 [8]
2020-06-12 350 6 months Time-limited 2020 Alien Week[9]
2020-11-26 450 (Warbond - 425) 10 years Time-limited IAE 2950[10]
2021-06-11 550 (Warbond - 450) 6 months Time-limited 2021 Alien Week
2022-06-16 600 (Warbond - 550) 6 months Time-limited 2022 Alien Week
2022-11-21 650 (Warbond - 600) 10 years Time-limited IAE 2952
2023-11-17 650 (Warbond - 600) 10 years Time-limited IAE 2953

Gallery

Development

The Merchantman was part of the 27 million stretch goal in 2013, aiming to expand the game’s alien cultures. As with the Khartu-al, the Merchantman helped introduce and define the Banu race early on before copious amounts of additional lore were developed for the species.[11]

2013-11-11 Announced as a part of the $27 million stretch goal.[11]
2013-11-26 First concept sale [12]
2019 Original concept was reworked to reflect the new styles from the Defender.[2][13]
2021-05-05 Revealed to be in production and to be implemented in game with an allocated work schedule of 50 weeks.[14]
2021-10-09 Additional information about the state of reworked Merchantman is provided on CitizenCon 2951.[2]
2023-06-26 Revealed to be demoted into the development backlog to prioritize capital ships such as Polaris from Roberts Space Industries. It was due to RSI capital ships costing less resources and more impactful to develop, as it has existing design kits and the created assets can be applied to several other RSI ships. While the Merchantman needs a lot of unique assets and there are less or no Banu vehicles in the pipeline. Due to its long development time, some key people that have worked with that are no longer with the company, with Merchantman having no existing guidelines, it will take significant time to restart the development process.[15]

References

  1. Clipper Ship: Banu Merchantman. Transmission - Comm-Link
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 CitizenCon2951: Ship Talk on YouTube
  3. Star Citizen Anniversary Livestream & Sale!. Transmission - Comm-Link
  4. Star Citizen Anniversary Sale. Transmission - Comm-Link
  5. AnniVERSEary Sale: Kickoff. Transmission - Comm-Link
  6. Banu Merchantman - Anniversary 2016. Archived 2016-11-25.
  7. Banu Defender. Transmission - Comm-Link
  8. Banu Merchantman IAE 2949. Pledge Store
  9. Alien Week 2950. Transmission - Comm-Link
  10. IAE 2950. Retrieved 2020-11-26
  11. 11.0 11.1 Letter from the Chairman: $27 Million!. Transmission - Comm-Link. Retrieved 2023-06-15
  12. 2013 Anniversary Sale. Transmission - Comm-Link
  13. 13.0 13.1 "Visual Dictionary: Alien Ships". Jump Point. Vol. 8 no. 11. pp.24–25. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  14. Roadmap Roundup - May 5th, 2021. Spectrum
  15. Star Citizen Live: Invictus All-Vehicles Roundtable
  16. Banu Merchantman on ArtStation
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