Merchantman

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.

Pledge description
"Banu traders are renowned for their merchant prowess, traveling the spacelanes and trading with everyone from humans to the Vanduul! Their sturdy, dedicated trading ships are prized beyond all other transports, sometimes passing from generation to generation of Banu."

Specifications
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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.

Gallery
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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.

The initial concept artwork for the Merchantman was developed by Emmanuel Shiu (Freelance Conceptist) in 2013. The concept was later reworked to reflect the new design styles from the Defender.

In May 5, 2021 it was revealed that the Merchantman was in production and to be implemented in game with an allocated work schedule of 50 weeks. At CitizenCon 2951, additional information was provided on the Merchantman.

As of May 2022, the Merchantman is currently in active production.

On May 26 2023, Merchantman has been 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.