Major update! The Arcade now features three music track by Psiyon, numerous balance and pacing changes, elite fighter wings, a new elite type (Shielded), and two bonus bosses (attained by not using one or both of your super systems during the whole arcade up to that point).
Also: new ships, new weapons!
Tundra-class Transport [0.5 Logistics]
Oh boy.I figured that Starsector needs to have more civilian ships, so the Tundra was conceived to add a definitive non-combat civilian transportation vessel to Starsector. When I say non-combat, I mean it. This thing takes hits about as effectively as a piece of wet toilet paper. Aside from that, it hauls cargo and personnel pretty well. Sprite by Shellster.
Avalon-class Mini-Carrier [2.5 Logistics]
The short bus carrier.This is the cheapest method of gaining a flight deck, but has little value beyond that. It is completely incapable of defending itself and has little value outside of combat beyond its flight deck's contribution. If you don't need the cargo, crew, or fuel capacities nor the medium missile slot of the Condor, perhaps the Avalon is for you. Sprite by Shellster.
Sloop-class Yacht [3 Logistics]
For rich city folk.Flavored as a yacht for wealthy individuals, small corporations, or starting space adventurers, the Sloop is the crap-tier destroyer this game was missing. It's cheap and it sucks, but it still beats non-combat destroyers like the Condor and has a slight advantage in combat over a Mule. You can mass a surprising amount of these and collect a few even with zero leadership aptitude. Sprite by Shellster.
Vista-class Luxury Liner [3.5 Logistics]
Traveling in style.Nobody wants to be crammed into a sardine can, so this is the upscale alternative to the Valkyrie. The Vista has a surprising amount of bite to it, so don't get sloppy when taking one down. Unlike the Sloop, the Vista is not suited for actual combat sorties despite its larger set of weapon slots and marginally higher OP, but is a decent alternative to the Valkyrie if you want more guns and more cargo than the Valkyrie would otherwise offer. Sprite by Shellster.
Summit-class Cruiser [6 Logistics]
A home away from home.This cruiser is designed to be a purely civilian, but armed and dangerous, general cruiser. As a result, we have the Summit, a dangerous but somewhat underpowered cruiser that can be bought on the cheap (relative to other cruisers). Don't let its lack of slots fool you; it has the Astral's drone system and competent flux stats, allowing it to be quite effective in combat for a small logistical impact. Don't try to do too much with the Summit, however, since it is rather fragile, can't slug it out with larger ships, and is too slow to avoid being flanked. Sprite by Shellster.
Flare Gun [Small Missile: 1 OP]
Poor-boy point defense.Due to a lack of low-tier weapons, I saw fit to make a modular "weapon" for the flare launcher system. Compared to the system, the Flare Gun shoots only half the number of flares per flare port, so some ships' flare systems will totally outclass the Flare Gun. On the other hand, you can aim the Flare Gun and get more ammo for it via hull mods. Plus, it only costs 1 OP. Sprite by Shellster.
Tesla Gun [Small Energy: 4 OP]
Call me Nikola.There are not many EMP weapons, even for energy slots. I wanted to add a low-cost, low-flux, low-performance alternative to the Ion Cannon, so the Tesla Gun was the result. It's short-ranged but does quite a bit of EMP damage if you manage to hit. It can be re-purposed for point defense with the Integrated PD AI hull mod, but its damage output is pretty worthless. The most noteworthy part of the Tesla Gun is that it costs only 4 OP on an energy slot, which no vanilla weapon can claim. Sprite by Shellster.
Reliant HMG [Small Ballistic: 1 OP]
The weapon of last resort.This is the ultimate cheapo ballistic weapon. It pews and it plinks, but never really does much damage. It's there to fill space if you have OP to spare, since it costs a whopping 1 OP. If you have enough, it becomes a reasonably effective point defense option and can keep some level of pressure on shields, but that's about it. Sprite by Shellster.
Contender Cannon [Small Ballistic: 3 OP]
Size matters not.This is a small ballistic burst damage option. Each shot does quite a bit of damage, but its fire rate is so poor that its DPS is even worse than the Light Mortar's. Still, it is a viable alternative small high explosive damage option if the Light Assault Gun is too much and the Light Mortar isn't enough. It can also be used to good effect on ships that rely on burst damage. Sprite by Shellster.