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[Fighter Blueprint] MEC VF-2 'Luctuosa' Plasma Bomber

Adapted from the designs for the VF-1 'Simillima', the VF-2 'Luctuosa' sacrifices a bit of engine power to mount two heavy plasma cannons in a vertical configuration. The Luctuosa bomber carries a crew of two - the pilot sits in the upper canopy while the gunner sits below. While the plasma cannons are capable of firing fairly rapidly, the heat and energy readings of several components need to be monitored closely while firing, and it was decided early in development that adding a dedicated gunner was a better choice than forcing the pilot to further multitask.

Original prototypes of the ship placed the cannons horizontally on either side of a center-mounted cockpit, but engineers discovered from early trials that the heat from sustained fire in this configuration could warp or fracture the delicate canopy, posing an unacceptable risk to the crew. In an innovative move, engineers opted to shift the cockpit off of the center axis of the ship, mounting the cannons on the opposite side of a heavy heat-resistant buffer. While this had the disadvantage of giving the ship a large blind spot on its weapon side, test pilots learned to cope with the new configuration and were successful in using external cameras to make up the difference in performance trials.

As a bomber, the Luctuosa's twin plasma cannons give it the punch it needs to threaten
capital ship armor. This power, however, comes at the expense of some maneuverability. While the Luctuosa is fast enough to evade most capital ship weapons, it appreciates dedicated interceptor support when hostile fighters are present, as it cannot reliably evade or hit small, fast targets. For this, the VF-3 'Velutina' is an excellent interceptor choice to complement the Luctuosa.

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This build was a result of me taking a slight break from re-creations and experimenting with a new style. The VF-2 is exactly 200 blocks. Obviously, despite what the flavor text says, Avorion fighters are customizable stat-wise and only use one pilot, so you can put whatever weapons you want on it and use it in any role you see fit. The ship's class is named for Vespa luctuosa, a species of wasp from the Philippines known for its incredibly potent venom.

Screenshots (besides the auto-generated preview image) show fighters at true scale - when you use this blueprint to produce fighters, that's the level of detail you can expect from the final product.

This ship is intended for use as a fighter blueprint, as it lacks the critical ship components necessary for player control.

Suggested weapon: Plasma gun