Looking at this ship more closely, it appears to have two empty small side mounts. I need to ask WHY Alex keeps making so many ships with these pretty much useless side mounts. Now both of the new ships have, and several of the new ships from the last batch of ships, have these nearly useless mounts...
Maybe I don't understand the complain here, but... IMO those are anything but useless.
Small side weapon slots (with appropriate arc) are a requirement for any well rounded loadout, especially on larger ships. On many ships they let you have side defense against missiles and fighters (and annoyingly agile frigates or phase ships ... that threatens your sides). Paragon, Onslaught, Legion, Astral, Conquest, Aurora, Dominator, Eagle, Gryphon, Falcon, Mora and Heron, all have their sides protected by small side turrets for this purpose. On some ships they can also be part of the main weapon system for broadside-type piloting - see Odyssey and Shrike.
And since this ship has a 180 degree omni shield, they are even MORE worthless!
Do you mean "no need for side defence weapon because shield can protect the side of the ship"? Sure, leaving some small slots empty is a compromise one can make in order to save OPs. I do that with the 2 small rear side slots of a Medusa. But on most ships I would never sacrifice neither side nor rear defence.
On the other hand sometimes I leave both right and left large weapon slots empty on an Onslaught (or put medium guns). And sometimes I leave the right side large weapon slot empty on an Odyssey. Go figure.
It is good to have options, right?
All in all, this ship looks to be another Shrike, yet even worse somehow
A larger Shrike coming in the next Starsector release is exiting news from my perspective! Although reading the forum it seems pretty obvious Shrike-type gameplay does not appeal to every player.
I'm curious about base flux dissipation (I guess around 500-600) and capacity, medium turrets arc (will a Fury need to face its target?), armor (Falcon-level?), how AI-friendly is will be, and of course how agile it will be.