Month: September 2016

At the Starwerx

Xebec Class
Cargo Freighter

Length 55.0 M
Width 22.5 M
Height: 11.0 M
Verified.

Built primarily for service in the Merchants’ League, the Xebec class cargo freighter is designed for smaller trading operations and/or specialized cargo. Capable of hauling small loads long distances, the vessel is also popular with smaller, independent traders. At 55 meters in length, the vessel’s organic construction is sturdy, quickly repaired, and easily outfitted with a variety of upgrades.

Like many ships of the highly advanced Merchants’ League, the Xebec is built from a combination of numerous alien technologies. The vessel is a living organism. The ship’s hull is an organic exoskeleton strong enough to withstand the extreme conditions of interstellar space and when damaged, can rapidly self-repair. The Xebec also possesses a high-level intelligence capable of learning and adapting. The Xebec’s organic, neural intelligence network provides it with the autonomy necessary for strategy and self-preservation.

While the ship’s command center is considered cramped, with vertical seating for officers, the living quarters are spacious and comfortable. On board accommodations allows a traveling merchant to entertain and negotiate deals with buyers and sellers directly from the comfort of his or her own ship.




While the Merchant’s League livery of scarlet and gold is widely recognized, many of the more well-known trade houses customize their ships with their own colors and insignias. Brightly colored Xebecs are found in most trade ports across the galaxy.

The Condottier Guard, the Merchant’s League defense force, often use Xebecs as patrol boats. Cavernous cargo areas are typically replaced with weapon stations and hard points fitted with turrets, sensors, or shield generators. Such variants are typically deployed in orbital defense or as convoy escorts.




At the Starwerx

The starwerx is the busiest area of any colony, orbital station, or capital ship. The flight decks and repair facilities constantly see activity. At any given moment, a variety of spacecraft are coming, going, in repair, or being upgraded. Should you require the services of a spacer or tech, you will find them at the Starwerx.

“At the Starwerx” gives readers insight into what goes on at the Starwerx and provides an overview of the spacecraft found in the Starjump video game.




Disclaimer: Images depicted in this post are high-quality 3D renders and not in-game assets. With the game still in development, details are likely to change.

At the Starwerx

Appolina Class
Passenger Yacht

Length 34 M
Width 23.5 M
Height: 8.3 M

Originally designed as a passenger liner and luxury yacht for well-heeled space travelers, the Appolina is widely recognized as a status symbol of Terran design. The vessel’s comfortable accommodations remain popular with affluent spacers, and the Appolina is also the official vessel of the Terran Diplomatic Corp.

Christened with a feminine form of Apollo, the name Appolina is commonly associated with healing and the bearing of light. For these reasons, the Appolina maintains a rarefied prestige not often found among interstellar space craft.

Appolinas are also commonly found serving as medical ships. The Appolina’s role as a medical ship began during the Double Epidemics on Molos III when overcrowded hospital ships were forced to turn away both human and vanouri victims. A small fleet of Appolinas were quickly re-purposed for medical duties and the vessels performed well in this new role.

From a game design perspective, the Appolina began as a wedge-shaped ship typical of the Galactic Imperium. While experimenting with this design, a very unique shape emerged after refining the mesh and rounding the edges.

The primary model depicted in these images is rendered with a mesh of 17K triangles, while models with 11K and 7K triangles still maintain the graphic fidelity. Ultimately, the ship’s smooth skin relies on a 3D modelling technique known as smooth shading. The final two renders depict experiments with glossy and metallic shading.







At the Starwerx

The starwerx is the busiest area of any colony, orbital station, or capital ship. The flight decks and repair facilities constantly see activity. At any given moment, a variety of spacecraft are coming, going, in repair, or being upgraded. Should you require the services of a spacer or tech, you will find them at the Starwerx.

“At the Starwerx” gives readers insight into what goes on at the Starwerx and provides an overview of the spacecraft found in the Starjump video game.




Disclaimer: Images depicted in this post are high-quality 3D renders and not in-game assets. With the game still in development, details are likely to change.

At the Starwerx

Raptor Class
Multi-Purpose Utility Craft

Length 34 M
Width 23.5 M
Height: 8.3 M




The Raptor is a popular design found throughout the galaxy, but is most closely associated with the Free States where it first saw use and has a long history of both service and controversy.

Originally developed as a utility craft to service industrial sites, the ship was quickly put to use in many other pursuits. With the Raptor’s aerodynamic shape and powerful thrusters, the craft is well-suited for planetary shuttle flights, but the design tends to lack maneuverability.

During the Season of Terror on Atesme I, GravWell Shipyard’s blueprints of the Raptor were made freely available after revolutionaries ransacked the GravWell factory. Soon, numerous variants began to appear, having been built by many smaller, opportunistic shipyards in neighboring star systems.

As the spartan interior is spacious, most on-board systems are easily accessible and modifications are common. The Raptor’s sturdy bulkheads and extra space quickly gave rise to significant power-plant upgrades. Some of the more extreme designs reveal that the Raptor’s speed is easily optimized. While the Raptor has maintained it’s rugged character, it is also considered among the fastest ships in the galaxy. It remains a favorite among pirates, smugglers, and others who wish to elude capture.







This ship was one of the first designs created for the Starjump game. The vessel’s design has seen numerous changes and the final version differs greatly from the early sketches. The ship was always meant to be fast; and to capture the essence of this, the vessel was originally named the ‘Comet’.







The design has always called for a ‘catamaran’, or twin-hull style body, originally with large engine nacelles or cargo holds on the port and starboard sides. But eventually, it was determined that these features would be better presented as upgrades.

Excessive speed or cargo capacity is of little use to a player who might be unfamiliar with the vessel, or even with vessel design in general. And — as you will see later — adding these upgrades to a stock Raptor would make for an great achievement.







So, when the nacelles were ripped off the side of the ship, it took on a whole new look. The Comet’s new profile made it look like a bird-of-prey diving to earth for a kill. Now the ship’s speed was captured in it’s very design. At the sight of this change, ship was immediately renamed the ‘Raptor’.







The Starjump game gives players a wide variety of options for upgrading their ships. Some of these upgrades will radically change the ship’s design. Players can choose to upgrade weapons, defenses, on-board components, and even engineering systems. Players can modify ships to their playstyle and can easily experiment with numerous variations.







The twin oversized-engine nacelles seen below, were part of the original design. Erring on the side of caution, they were removed for simplicity. When mounted, they give Raptor a very aggressive, over-the-top look.









At the Starwerx

The starwerx is the busiest area of any colony, orbital station, or capital ship. The flight decks and repair facilities constantly see activity. At any given moment, a variety of spacecraft are coming, going, in repair, or being upgraded. Should you require the services of a spacer or tech, you will find them at the Starwerx.

“At the Starwerx” gives readers insight into what goes on at the Starwerx and provides an overview of the spacecraft found in the Starjump video game.




Disclaimer: Images depicted in this post are high-quality 3D renders and not in-game assets. With the game still in development, details are likely to change.