{"data":{"id":16872,"title":"Q&A: Aopoa San'tok.y\u0101i","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/comm-link\/engineering\/16872-Q-A-Aopoa-Santoky-i","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-links\/16872","api_public_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/comm-links\/16872","channel":"Engineering","category":"Development","series":"Concept Ship Q&A","images":[{"id":16632,"name":"XIAN_medium_fighter_saltplanes_4k_AA01.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/d9can8x93o2pfr\/source\/XIAN_medium_fighter_saltplanes_4k_AA01.jpg","alt":"","size":551322,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2018-11-21T11:18:48+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/16632","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/16632\/similar"},{"id":16633,"name":"XIAN_medium_fighter_landed_1_4k_AA01.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/rmexd80efqz62r\/source\/XIAN_medium_fighter_landed_1_4k_AA01.jpg","alt":"","size":1070988,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2018-11-21T11:18:48+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/16633","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/16633\/similar"},{"id":16634,"name":"XIAN_medium_fighter_cockpit_4k_AA01.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/50qzg3tqd5wj3r\/source\/XIAN_medium_fighter_cockpit_4k_AA01.jpg","alt":"","size":427610,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2018-11-21T11:18:47+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/16634","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/16634\/similar"},{"id":16635,"name":"Xian_med_fighter_dogfight_1_4k_AA01.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/rln53kgmwcxjkr\/source\/Xian_med_fighter_dogfight_1_4k_AA01.jpg","alt":"","size":741258,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2018-11-21T11:18:29+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/16635","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/16635\/similar"},{"id":25004,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/w0shv2sobeaiw\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":927693,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2019-05-09T20:01:24+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/25004","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/25004\/similar"},{"id":25438,"name":"Aopoa-Olivegreen.png","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/gpcv7shrohc53r\/source\/Aopoa-Olivegreen.png","alt":"","size":43350,"mime_type":"image\/png","last_modified":"2018-11-22T09:58:14+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/25438","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/25438\/similar"},{"id":26482,"name":"Shipdetail-Concept-Bg_bw.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/robertsspaceindustries.com\/media\/c2ae7q1c7cg63r\/source\/Shipdetail-Concept-Bg_bw.jpg","alt":"","size":1111159,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2017-05-24T19:35:00+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26482","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/26482\/similar"},{"id":38062,"name":"source.jpg","rsi_url":"https:\/\/media.robertsspaceindustries.com\/huwhfjtdvra4r\/source.jpg","alt":"","size":3377215,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","last_modified":"2025-03-21T15:18:25+00:00","api_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/38062","similar_url":"https:\/\/api.star-citizen.wiki\/api\/comm-link-images\/38062\/similar"}],"images_count":23,"translations":{"en_EN":"Q&A: Aopoa San\u2019tok.y\u0101i\n\nFollowing the launch of the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i from Aopoa, we took our questions to the ship designers to give you more information on this recently-unveiled medium class fighter.\n\nSpecial thanks to John Crewe and Todd Papy for answering our questions.\n\n\nWhat can the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i do that the Khartu-al cannot and vice versa? What are the advantages and disadvantages? What are the main differences?\nIn the Xi\u2019an order of battle, the Khartu-al serves principally as a light fighter, scout, and skirmisher, whereas the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is a medium fighter and direct combatant. Just like the UEE Military, the Xi\u2019an military employs various types of fighters with different strengths and performance characteristics. The comparison between a Khartu-al and a San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is similar to the comparison between a Gladius and a Hornet \u2013 one emphasizes firepower and the other emphasizes speed and agility. Particularly due to its lower mass and lighter weapons complement, the Khartu-al is faster, accelerates more quickly, and is even more responsive than the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i. However, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i carries considerably more weaponry. That said, the Khartu-al and San\u2019tok.y\u0101i are both Xi\u2019an designs through and through, set apart from other fighters by the exceptional maneuverability afforded to them by their distinctive maneuvering rigs. In the hands of a capable pilot well-versed in the ship\u2019s capabilities, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is a difficult target. The Khartu-al, maddeningly so.\n\n\n\nIs this a true Xi\u2019an military ship or a civilian export?\nSimilar to the Khartu-al, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is a civilian version of the Xi\u2019an military ship designed for export and sale in the Human market. Like the Khartu-al, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is an original Xi\u2019an-produced export by Aopoa, and not a replica, reconstruction, or a product of reverse-engineering.\n\n\nHow does this ship handle, maneuverability wise?\nIn terms of maneuverability, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is one of the best-handling ships of its size and weight class \u2013 in this case, the proper point of comparison is other medium fighters, such as the Hornet or Sabre. The design of Xi\u2019an fighter craft revolves around their unique thruster configuration, which relies on highly articulated main thrusters. When compared with the typically human thruster setup, which relies on one or more main fixed thrusters with yaw, pitch, and roll delivered through additional small maneuvering thrusters, the Xi\u2019an approach provides superior strafe-movement capabilities and lateral acceleration. The ability to deliver main engine performance on multiple axes also affords some other benefits. For example, many ships have finite VTOL endurance or exert heavy wear on their maneuvering thrusters while engaged in VTOL. Xi\u2019an fighters, like the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i, barely notice such activity, it being nearly as natural to them as forward flight.\n\n\nWill the Xi\u2019an tech that introduces this new strafing maneuverability be applied to any other ships?\nTheoretically it\u2019s possible, but it will likely remain exclusive to Xi\u2019an ship designs. While Xi\u2019an thruster technology plays a large part in delivering this unique strafing flight capability, the overall design of the ship\u2019s entire spaceframe and power infrastructure is also integral to providing the full range of articulation and point reinforcement needed to utilize it to its fullest. It is not something that can be effectively or efficiently retrofitted to ships not designed with them in mind from the ground up. Furthermore, the resulting structural arrangement, with main thrusters located outside the ship\u2019s main fuselage and borne articulation joints that may be exposed from multiple angles, is less durable under fire than contemporary \u2018bricky\u2019 human designs. Xi\u2019an engineers still make their fighters as strong and durable as they can without compromising the ship\u2019s other capabilities, but this requires accounting for these requirements from the get-go. An attempt to retrofit a Xi\u2019an thruster rig to a ship that wasn\u2019t designed with one in mind from the start would result in something downright rickety.\n\n\nIs this a common ship in the Xi\u2019an empire?\nAs a mainstay medium fighter in the arsenal of the Xi\u2019an Empire, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is about as common a sight in Xi\u2019an space as a Hornet or Sabre would be in UEE space. It serves prominently in the Xi\u2019an fleet and may also occasionally be found serving civilian security forces of some of the more powerful Xi\u2019an houses.\n\n\nAre we getting any cool Xi\u2019an weapons? Xi\u2019an missiles maybe?\nThe Yeng\u2019tu S3 Laser Repeater that comes with the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is manufactured by Torral Aggregate and uses Xi\u2019an technology to provide a higher rate of fire than traditional human-produced laser repeaters of comparable size. While powerful, the design that produces this increased rate of fire comes at the expense of a lower maximum heat threshold, leading to a reduced firing duration before overheating.\n\n\nWill Xi\u2019an ships get their own UI style? (They currently use VNCL UI)\nYes, as noted they currently use a recoloured Vanduul ship UI as a temporary stand-in. We have plans in the future to make all the Alien manufacturer ships feel different UI wise.\n\n\nWill the ship have a Xi\u2019an branded ship-computer-voice? If yes, will we be able to switch between English and Xi\u2019an?\nThat\u2019s certainly an interesting idea and while we have plans to record new cockpit audio for all the alien ships, we hadn\u2019t planned on doing them in alien languages specifically, assuming that the export version of the fighter would use human language. Now that you mention it, we\u2019ll try to gauge interest for this feature.\n\n\nIn terms of combat capability, how does it compare to ships like the Anvil Super Hornet or Aegis Sabre?\nThe San\u2019tok.y\u0101i resides within the same medium fighter weight class that the Super Hornet and Sabre inhabit, so it is designed to be competitive with them. As noted above, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i\u2019s design makes it less resilient to damage than either of those two ships, and its weapons loadout is lighter than these two specific contemporaries, but not by much. It\u2019s the Xi\u2019an thruster design and arrangement, of course, that make it superior to either of those two fighters in terms of lateral acceleration and strafe-focused flight, while its Xi\u2019an-designed weapons are designed to capitalize on relatively brief windows of target vulnerability. Each fighter is capable in a variety of scenarios and yet each matches particularly well for certain types of pilots: We expect that the Super Hornet will be favored by sluggers and endurance fighters who can maintain steady firing solutions and use their ability to shrug off minor hits to press an advantage. The swift, stealthy Sabre may be favored by pilots who prefer ambush and boom-n\u2019-zoom tactics, using momentum to strike and fade. We anticipate that the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i may be the favorite of consummate dogfighters and sneaky pilots who thrive in furballs and crowded, tricky environments, never giving anyone more than a few seconds to fire before ducking behind cover. Of course, how it all bears out depends greatly on how you, the players, decide to use these ships in practice. We\u2019re eager to see what you can do with them!\n\n\nWhat amenities will pilots find on board the ship?\nThe San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is a military medium fighter, so while it\u2019s big on maneuverability and firepower, it\u2019s short on creature comforts \u2013 same as you\u2019d expect from other military medium fighters. If you\u2019re looking for cargo, storage, or living space, you won\u2019t find it here; but then, if you\u2019re designing a ship specifically to go up against Super Hornets and Sabres, you\u2019d best keep your head in that game and focus the ship\u2019s edges on combat!","de_DE":"F&A: Aopoa San'tok.y\u0101i\n\nNach dem Start der San'tok.y\u0101i von Aopoa haben wir unsere Fragen an die Schiffsentwickler gestellt, um Ihnen weitere Informationen \u00fcber diesen k\u00fcrzlich vorgestellten Mittelklasse-J\u00e4ger zu geben.\n\nBesonderen Dank an John Crewe und Todd Papy f\u00fcr die Beantwortung unserer Fragen.\n\n\nWas k\u00f6nnen die San'tok.y\u0101i tun, was die Khartu-al nicht k\u00f6nnen und umgekehrt? Was sind die Vor- und Nachteile? Worin bestehen die Hauptunterschiede?\nIn der Xi'an-Kampfordnung dient der Khartu-al haupts\u00e4chlich als leichter K\u00e4mpfer, Sp\u00e4her und Scharm\u00fctzler, w\u00e4hrend der San'tok.y\u0101i ein mittlerer K\u00e4mpfer und direkter K\u00e4mpfer ist. Genau wie das UEE-Milit\u00e4r besch\u00e4ftigt das Xi'an-Milit\u00e4r verschiedene Arten von K\u00e4mpfern mit unterschiedlichen St\u00e4rken und Leistungsmerkmalen. Der Vergleich zwischen einem Khartu-al und einem San'tok.y\u0101i ist \u00e4hnlich dem Vergleich zwischen einem Gladius und einer Hornet - das eine betont die Feuerkraft und das andere die Schnelligkeit und Agilit\u00e4t. Vor allem aufgrund seiner geringeren Masse und seines leichteren Waffenkomplements ist der Khartu-al schneller, beschleunigt schneller und ist noch reaktionsschneller als der San'tok.y\u0101i. Die San'tok.y\u0101i tr\u00e4gt jedoch deutlich mehr Waffen. Allerdings sind die Khartu-al und San'tok.y\u0101i beide Xi'an-Designs durch und durch, die sich von anderen K\u00e4mpfern durch die au\u00dfergew\u00f6hnliche Man\u00f6vrierf\u00e4higkeit unterscheiden, die ihnen ihre unverwechselbaren Man\u00f6vrierger\u00e4te bieten. In den H\u00e4nden eines kompetenten Lotsen, der mit den F\u00e4higkeiten des Schiffes vertraut ist, ist die San'tok.y\u0101i ein schwieriges Ziel. Der Khartu-al, verr\u00fcckterweise so.\n\n\nIst dies ein echtes Xi'an Milit\u00e4rschiff oder ein ziviler Export?\n\u00c4hnlich wie die Khartu-al ist die San'tok.y\u0101i eine zivile Version des Xi'an Milit\u00e4rschiffes, das f\u00fcr den Export und Verkauf auf dem Menschenmarkt entwickelt wurde. Wie das Khartu-al ist auch das San'tok.y\u0101i ein original Xi'an-produzierter Export von Aopoa und keine Nachbildung, Rekonstruktion oder ein Produkt des Reverse-Engineering.\n\n\nWie verh\u00e4lt sich dieses Schiff, wenn es um Man\u00f6vrierf\u00e4higkeit geht?\n\nIn Bezug auf die Man\u00f6vrierf\u00e4higkeit ist die San'tok.y\u0101i eines der am besten handhabbaren Schiffe seiner Gr\u00f6\u00dfe und Gewichtsklasse - in diesem Fall sind andere mittlere J\u00e4ger wie die Hornet oder Sabre der richtige Vergleichspunkt. Das Design der Xi'an-Kampfschiffe dreht sich um ihre einzigartige Triebwerkskonfiguration, die auf hochgelenkten Haupttriebwerken basiert. Im Vergleich zu der typischen menschlichen Triebwerksanordnung, die auf einem oder mehreren festen Haupttriebwerken mit Gieren, Neigen und Rollen basiert, die durch zus\u00e4tzliche kleine Man\u00f6vriertriebwerke geliefert werden, bietet der Xi'an-Ansatz \u00fcberlegene Strafe-Bewegungsf\u00e4higkeiten und Querbeschleunigung. Die F\u00e4higkeit, die Hauptmotorleistung auf mehreren Achsen zu erbringen, bietet noch weitere Vorteile. Zum Beispiel haben viele Schiffe eine begrenzte VTOL-Ausdauer oder \u00fcben starken Verschlei\u00df an ihren Man\u00f6vriertriebwerken aus, w\u00e4hrend sie an VTOL beteiligt sind. Xi'an-K\u00e4mpfer, wie die San'tok.y\u0101i, bemerken solche Aktivit\u00e4ten kaum, da sie f\u00fcr sie fast so nat\u00fcrlich sind wie der Vorw\u00e4rtsflug.\n\n\nWird die Xi'an-Technologie, die diese neue Straffing-Man\u00f6vrierf\u00e4higkeit einf\u00fchrt, auf alle anderen Schiffe angewendet werden?\nTheoretisch ist es m\u00f6glich, aber es wird wahrscheinlich exklusiv f\u00fcr Xi'an Schiffsdesigns bleiben. W\u00e4hrend die Xi'an-Triebwerkstechnologie eine gro\u00dfe Rolle bei der Bereitstellung dieser einzigartigen Strafing-Flugf\u00e4higkeit spielt, ist das Gesamtdesign der gesamten Raumfahrt- und Energieinfrastruktur des Schiffes auch integraler Bestandteil der Bereitstellung der gesamten Bandbreite an Gelenk- und Punktverst\u00e4rkungen, die erforderlich sind, um sie optimal zu nutzen. Es ist nicht etwas, das effektiv oder effizient auf Schiffen nachger\u00fcstet werden kann, die nicht von Grund auf f\u00fcr sie entwickelt wurden. Dar\u00fcber hinaus ist die daraus resultierende strukturelle Anordnung mit Haupttriebwerken au\u00dferhalb des Hauptrumpfes des Schiffes und getragenen Gelenkfugen, die aus mehreren Winkeln freigelegt werden k\u00f6nnen, im Brandfall weniger widerstandsf\u00e4hig als moderne \"ziegelartige\" menschliche Konstruktionen. Xi'an-Ingenieure machen ihre Kampfflugzeuge immer noch so stark und langlebig wie m\u00f6glich, ohne die anderen F\u00e4higkeiten des Schiffes zu beeintr\u00e4chtigen, aber das erfordert die Ber\u00fccksichtigung dieser Anforderungen von Anfang an. Ein Versuch, ein Xi'an Thruster-Rigg auf ein Schiff umzur\u00fcsten, das nicht von Anfang an auf ein solches ausgelegt war, w\u00fcrde zu etwas geradezu klapprigem f\u00fchren.\n\n\nIst dies ein gew\u00f6hnliches Schiff im Reich Xi'an?\n\nAls Mainstay-Medium-K\u00e4mpfer im Arsenal des Xi'an-Imperiums ist die San'tok.y\u0101i im Xi'an-Raum etwa so verbreitet wie eine Hornet oder Sabre im UEE-Raum. Es dient prominent in der Xi'an-Flotte und kann auch gelegentlich im Dienste ziviler Sicherheitskr\u00e4fte einiger der m\u00e4chtigeren Xi'an-H\u00e4user stehen.\n\n\nBekommen wir irgendwelche coolen Xi'an-Waffen? Xi'an-Raketen vielleicht?\nDer Yeng'tu S3 Laser Repeater, der mit dem San'tok.y\u0101i geliefert wird, wird von Torral Aggregate hergestellt und verwendet Xi'an-Technologie, um eine h\u00f6here Feuerrate als herk\u00f6mmliche, von Menschen produzierte Laser Repeater vergleichbarer Gr\u00f6\u00dfe zu erreichen. Obwohl leistungsstark, geht die Konstruktion, die diese erh\u00f6hte Feuerrate erzeugt, zu Lasten einer niedrigeren maximalen W\u00e4rmeschwelle, was zu einer verk\u00fcrzten Brenndauer vor \u00dcberhitzung f\u00fchrt.\n\n\nWerden Xi'an-Schiffe ihren eigenen UI-Stil bekommen? (Sie verwenden derzeit die VNCL-UI)\nJa, wie bereits erw\u00e4hnt, verwenden sie derzeit ein neu gef\u00e4rbtes Vanduul-Schiff UI als tempor\u00e4ren Ersatz. Wir haben Pl\u00e4ne f\u00fcr die Zukunft, damit sich alle Alien-Herstellerschiffe in der Benutzeroberfl\u00e4che anders anf\u00fchlen.\n\n\nWird das Schiff eine Xi'an Marken-Schiffscomputer-Sprache haben? Wenn ja, werden wir zwischen Englisch und Xi'an wechseln k\u00f6nnen?\nDas ist sicherlich eine interessante Idee und w\u00e4hrend wir Pl\u00e4ne haben, neue Cockpit-Audiosignale f\u00fcr alle au\u00dferirdischen Schiffe aufzunehmen, hatten wir nicht geplant, sie speziell in fremden Sprachen aufzunehmen, vorausgesetzt, dass die Exportversion des J\u00e4gers menschliche Sprache verwenden w\u00fcrde. Nun, da Sie es erw\u00e4hnen, werden wir versuchen, das Interesse an dieser Funktion zu messen.\n\n\nWas die Kampfkraft betrifft, wie steht sie im Vergleich zu Schiffen wie der Anvil Super Hornet oder Aegis Sabre?\n\nDie San'tok.y\u0101i befindet sich in der gleichen mittleren Kampfjet-Gewichtsklasse wie die Super Hornet und Sabre, daher ist sie so konzipiert, dass sie mit ihnen konkurrieren kann. Wie bereits erw\u00e4hnt, macht das Design der San'tok.y\u0101i sie weniger widerstandsf\u00e4hig gegen Sch\u00e4den als eines der beiden Schiffe, und ihre Waffenverladung ist leichter als die dieser beiden spezifischen Zeitgenossen, aber nicht viel. Es ist nat\u00fcrlich das Design und die Anordnung des Xi'an-Triebwerks, die es einem dieser beiden K\u00e4mpfer in Bezug auf Querbeschleunigung und Strafe-fokussierten Flug \u00fcberlegen machen, w\u00e4hrend seine von Xi'an entworfenen Waffen so konzipiert sind, dass sie von relativ kurzen Fenstern der Zielgef\u00e4hrdung profitieren. Jeder K\u00e4mpfer ist in einer Vielzahl von Szenarien einsetzbar und passt dennoch f\u00fcr bestimmte Pilotentypen besonders gut: Wir erwarten, dass die Super Hornet von Schl\u00e4gern und Ausdauerk\u00e4mpfern bevorzugt wird, die stabile Schussl\u00f6sungen beibehalten und ihre F\u00e4higkeit, kleine Schl\u00e4ge abzusch\u00fctteln, nutzen k\u00f6nnen, um einen Vorteil zu erzielen. Der schnelle, verstohlene S\u00e4bel kann von Piloten bevorzugt werden, die Hinterhalt und Boom-n'-Zoom-Taktiken bevorzugen und mit Schwung schlagen und verblassen. Wir gehen davon aus, dass die San'tok.y\u0101i der Favorit von perfekten Luftk\u00e4mpfern und hinterh\u00e4ltigen Piloten sein k\u00f6nnte, die in Furb\u00e4llen und \u00fcberf\u00fcllten, kniffligen Umgebungen gedeihen und niemandem mehr als ein paar Sekunden zum Feuern geben, bevor sie sich hinter Deck verstecken. Wie sich das alles auswirkt, h\u00e4ngt nat\u00fcrlich stark davon ab, wie Sie, die Spieler, sich entscheiden, diese Schiffe in der Praxis einzusetzen. Wir sind gespannt, was du mit ihnen machen kannst!\n\n\nWelche Annehmlichkeiten werden die Piloten an Bord des Schiffes finden?\nDie San'tok.y\u0101i ist ein milit\u00e4rischer Mittelk\u00e4mpfer, also, w\u00e4hrend sie gro\u00df auf Man\u00f6vrierf\u00e4higkeit und Feuerkraft ist, ist sie kurz auf Kreaturkomfort - wie Sie es von anderen milit\u00e4rischen Mittelk\u00e4mpfern erwarten w\u00fcrden. Wenn Sie auf der Suche nach Fracht, Lagerraum oder Lebensraum sind, werden Sie ihn hier nicht finden; aber wenn Sie ein Schiff speziell f\u00fcr Super Hornets und Sabres entwerfen, sollten Sie Ihren Kopf in diesem Spiel behalten und die Kanten des Schiffes auf den Kampf konzentrieren!","zh_CN":"Q&A: Aopoa San\u2019tok.y\u0101i\n\nFollowing the launch of the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i from Aopoa, we took our questions to the ship designers to give you more information on this recently-unveiled medium class fighter.\n\nSpecial thanks to John Crewe and Todd Papy for answering our questions.\n\n\nWhat can the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i do that the Khartu-al cannot and vice versa? What are the advantages and disadvantages? What are the main differences?\nIn the Xi\u2019an order of battle, the Khartu-al serves principally as a light fighter, scout, and skirmisher, whereas the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is a medium fighter and direct combatant. Just like the UEE Military, the Xi\u2019an military employs various types of fighters with different strengths and performance characteristics. The comparison between a Khartu-al and a San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is similar to the comparison between a Gladius and a Hornet \u2013 one emphasizes firepower and the other emphasizes speed and agility. Particularly due to its lower mass and lighter weapons complement, the Khartu-al is faster, accelerates more quickly, and is even more responsive than the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i. However, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i carries considerably more weaponry. That said, the Khartu-al and San\u2019tok.y\u0101i are both Xi\u2019an designs through and through, set apart from other fighters by the exceptional maneuverability afforded to them by their distinctive maneuvering rigs. In the hands of a capable pilot well-versed in the ship\u2019s capabilities, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is a difficult target. The Khartu-al, maddeningly so.\n\n\n\nIs this a true Xi\u2019an military ship or a civilian export?\nSimilar to the Khartu-al, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is a civilian version of the Xi\u2019an military ship designed for export and sale in the Human market. Like the Khartu-al, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is an original Xi\u2019an-produced export by Aopoa, and not a replica, reconstruction, or a product of reverse-engineering.\n\n\nHow does this ship handle, maneuverability wise?\nIn terms of maneuverability, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is one of the best-handling ships of its size and weight class \u2013 in this case, the proper point of comparison is other medium fighters, such as the Hornet or Sabre. The design of Xi\u2019an fighter craft revolves around their unique thruster configuration, which relies on highly articulated main thrusters. When compared with the typically human thruster setup, which relies on one or more main fixed thrusters with yaw, pitch, and roll delivered through additional small maneuvering thrusters, the Xi\u2019an approach provides superior strafe-movement capabilities and lateral acceleration. The ability to deliver main engine performance on multiple axes also affords some other benefits. For example, many ships have finite VTOL endurance or exert heavy wear on their maneuvering thrusters while engaged in VTOL. Xi\u2019an fighters, like the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i, barely notice such activity, it being nearly as natural to them as forward flight.\n\n\nWill the Xi\u2019an tech that introduces this new strafing maneuverability be applied to any other ships?\nTheoretically it\u2019s possible, but it will likely remain exclusive to Xi\u2019an ship designs. While Xi\u2019an thruster technology plays a large part in delivering this unique strafing flight capability, the overall design of the ship\u2019s entire spaceframe and power infrastructure is also integral to providing the full range of articulation and point reinforcement needed to utilize it to its fullest. It is not something that can be effectively or efficiently retrofitted to ships not designed with them in mind from the ground up. Furthermore, the resulting structural arrangement, with main thrusters located outside the ship\u2019s main fuselage and borne articulation joints that may be exposed from multiple angles, is less durable under fire than contemporary \u2018bricky\u2019 human designs. Xi\u2019an engineers still make their fighters as strong and durable as they can without compromising the ship\u2019s other capabilities, but this requires accounting for these requirements from the get-go. An attempt to retrofit a Xi\u2019an thruster rig to a ship that wasn\u2019t designed with one in mind from the start would result in something downright rickety.\n\n\nIs this a common ship in the Xi\u2019an empire?\nAs a mainstay medium fighter in the arsenal of the Xi\u2019an Empire, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is about as common a sight in Xi\u2019an space as a Hornet or Sabre would be in UEE space. It serves prominently in the Xi\u2019an fleet and may also occasionally be found serving civilian security forces of some of the more powerful Xi\u2019an houses.\n\n\nAre we getting any cool Xi\u2019an weapons? Xi\u2019an missiles maybe?\nThe Yeng\u2019tu S3 Laser Repeater that comes with the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is manufactured by Torral Aggregate and uses Xi\u2019an technology to provide a higher rate of fire than traditional human-produced laser repeaters of comparable size. While powerful, the design that produces this increased rate of fire comes at the expense of a lower maximum heat threshold, leading to a reduced firing duration before overheating.\n\n\nWill Xi\u2019an ships get their own UI style? (They currently use VNCL UI)\nYes, as noted they currently use a recoloured Vanduul ship UI as a temporary stand-in. We have plans in the future to make all the Alien manufacturer ships feel different UI wise.\n\n\nWill the ship have a Xi\u2019an branded ship-computer-voice? If yes, will we be able to switch between English and Xi\u2019an?\nThat\u2019s certainly an interesting idea and while we have plans to record new cockpit audio for all the alien ships, we hadn\u2019t planned on doing them in alien languages specifically, assuming that the export version of the fighter would use human language. Now that you mention it, we\u2019ll try to gauge interest for this feature.\n\n\nIn terms of combat capability, how does it compare to ships like the Anvil Super Hornet or Aegis Sabre?\nThe San\u2019tok.y\u0101i resides within the same medium fighter weight class that the Super Hornet and Sabre inhabit, so it is designed to be competitive with them. As noted above, the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i\u2019s design makes it less resilient to damage than either of those two ships, and its weapons loadout is lighter than these two specific contemporaries, but not by much. It\u2019s the Xi\u2019an thruster design and arrangement, of course, that make it superior to either of those two fighters in terms of lateral acceleration and strafe-focused flight, while its Xi\u2019an-designed weapons are designed to capitalize on relatively brief windows of target vulnerability. Each fighter is capable in a variety of scenarios and yet each matches particularly well for certain types of pilots: We expect that the Super Hornet will be favored by sluggers and endurance fighters who can maintain steady firing solutions and use their ability to shrug off minor hits to press an advantage. The swift, stealthy Sabre may be favored by pilots who prefer ambush and boom-n\u2019-zoom tactics, using momentum to strike and fade. We anticipate that the San\u2019tok.y\u0101i may be the favorite of consummate dogfighters and sneaky pilots who thrive in furballs and crowded, tricky environments, never giving anyone more than a few seconds to fire before ducking behind cover. Of course, how it all bears out depends greatly on how you, the players, decide to use these ships in practice. We\u2019re eager to see what you can do with them!\n\n\nWhat amenities will pilots find on board the ship?\nThe San\u2019tok.y\u0101i is a military medium fighter, so while it\u2019s big on maneuverability and firepower, it\u2019s short on creature comforts \u2013 same as you\u2019d expect from other military medium fighters. If you\u2019re looking for cargo, storage, or living space, you won\u2019t find it here; but then, if you\u2019re designing a ship specifically to go up against Super Hornets and Sabres, you\u2019d best keep your head in that game and focus the ship\u2019s edges on combat!"},"links_count":0,"comment_count":100,"created_at":"2018-11-28T00:00:00+00:00","created_at_human":"7 years ago"},"meta":{"processed_at":"2026-04-25 06:44:31","valid_relations":["images","links","translations"],"prev_id":16870,"next_id":16873}}