Tarsus

Tarsus
Type	Merchant Scout
Primary User	Merchants

The Tarsus is a class of Merchant scout. Centurions are also operated by the Exploratory Service.

The Mercenaries' Guild has endorsed the model 2069 Centurion as "the best publicly-available fighter". They are available to privateers at Ship Dealers for 200,000 credits unconfigured. Around 2670, Centurions became able to support level 4 engine upgrades and shield generators. Gabriel Quentin wrote about the spaeccraft in GEMINI SECTOR: AN OVERVIEW. Travis Sanford used the Centurion as the example spacecraft in Survival Tips.

In 2669, a Centurion flown by William Riordian attacked Grayson Burrows over his competing work for Tayla. Captain Seelig flew a Centurion named the Hooded Hawk. Roman Lynch dispatched Burrows to deliver a message to Seelig, who responded by attacking. After that, Salman Kroiz flew a Centurion in an attempt to stop Lynch from dispatching a weapons shipment to Siva. He and his wingmen engaged Grayson Burrows in Rikel. Four Centurions took part in Bronte's blockade of Palan. Burrows battled them to reach the planet. A Centurion flown by Captain Garrovick for Exploratory Services was the first spacecraft to visit Beta. Garrovick was driven mad by pirate attacks and did not return to base.

In 2670, Menesch flew a Centurion when he emerged from hiding to supply the Church of Man with surplus Kilrathi ships. Grayson Burrows hunted him down at Regallis and then fought a battle through the jump point to Freyja where he destroyed Menesch's Centurion. Church of Man leader Mordecai Jones flew a heavily customized Centurion. Burrows ultimately located him en route to the gray moon of Gaea and destroyed the ship.

Images

Screenshots

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Renders

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Cockpit

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Sprite Sheets

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Specifications

Name	Tarsus	Tarsus	Tarsus	Tarsus	Tarsus
Source	Playguide	Privateer	Privateer	Righteous Fire	Righteous Fire
Faction	Merchant	Merchant	Mack Christiensen (2669)	Merchant	Grayson Burrows (2670)
Class	Scout	Scout	Scout	Scout	Scout
Max. Velocity	300 kps	300 kps	300 kps	300 kps	300 kps
Aft. Velocity	600 kps	600 kps	n/a	600 kps	600 kps
Acceleration	Average	375	375	375	375
Max. YPR	Average	97/95/105	97/95/105	97/95/105	97/95/105
Power Supply		100 GW	40 GW	100 GW	55 GW
Energy Gauge		130 GJ	50 GJ	130 GJ	100 GJ
Guns	Mass Driver (2)	Mass Driver (2)	Laser (1)	Mass Driver (2)	Meson Blaster (2)
Weapons	Dumb Fire (3)	Launcher #1: Dumb Fire (2) Launcher #2: Dumb Fire (1)	Launcher #1: Dumb Fire (5)	Launcher #1: Dumb Fire (2) Launcher #2: Dumb Fire (1)	Launcher #1: Dumb Fire (10)
Cargo Hold	100 units	1-4 containers from: Food Dspnsrs (4-10) Hshld Applncs (5-15) Roboworkers (1-4) Roboservants (1-2) [Liquor]] (5-10) Space Salvage (5-10) Ejected Pilot (1-1)	100 units	100 units	100 units
Shields		Medium	Generator 1	Medium	Generator 1
Levels		2	1	2	1
Power		45 GW	30 GW	45 GW	30 GW
Regen		2	4	2	4
Side Shields		20 cm equiv. each	10 cm equiv. each	20 cm equiv. each	10 cm equiv. each
Fore Shields		20 cm equiv.	10 cm equiv.	20 cm equiv.	10 cm equiv.
Aft Shields		20 cm equiv.	10 cm equiv.	20 cm equiv.	10 cm equiv.
Shield Effect		96%	111%	96%	111%
Side Armor	8 cm equiv. each	8 cm equiv. each	33 cm equiv. each	8 cm equiv. each	33 cm equiv. each
Fore Armor	10 cm equiv.	10 cm equiv.	35 cm equiv.	10 cm equiv.	35 cm equiv.
Aft Armor	10 cm equiv.	10 cm equiv.	35 cm equiv.	10 cm equiv.	35 cm equiv.
Upgrades		Afterburners	Shield Generator 1 Plasteel Armor Iris Mk II Humboldt Quadrant Map	Afterburners	Engine Upgrade 1 Shield Generator 1 Plasteel Armor Jump Drive Hunter AW 6 Potter Quadrant Map

Options

Version	Privateer	Righteous Fire
Engine Upgrade	Level 1	Level 3
Shield Upgrade	Level 2	Level 4
Gun Racks	2	2
WoTB Racks	2	2
Turrets	No	No
Cargo Exp.	50	50
MDFs	1	1

Tarsus

Base

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  No Upgrades

Sensors

Iris

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  Mk. I

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  Mk. II

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  Mk. III

Hunter

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  AW 6

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  AW 6i

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  AW Infinity

B and S

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  Tripwire

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  E.Y.E.

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  Omniscience

Engines

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  Upgrade 1

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  Upgrade 2

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  Upgrade 3

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  Upgrade 4

Weapons

Missile Launcher

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  Starboard

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  Port

Torpedo Launcher

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  Starboard

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  Port

Tractor Beam

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  Starboard

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  Port

Guns

Laser

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  Starboard

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  Port

Mass Driver

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  Starboard

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  Port

Meson Blaster

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  Starboard

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  Port

Neutron Gun

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  Starboard

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  Port

Particle Cannon

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  Starboard

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  Port

Tachyon Cannon

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  Starboard

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  Port

Ionic Pulse Cannon

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  Starboard

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  Port

Plasma Gun

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  Starboard

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  Port

Fusion Cannon

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  Starboard

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  Port

Steltek Gun

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  Starboard

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  Port

Wing Commander Privateer Player's Guide

Tarsus

The mainstay of the Exploratory Services fleet just a few years ago, these steady craft are now a familiar part of private enterprise. The Tarsus has been discontinued. We list it here because of its popularity and general availability in the used markets.

Cockpit. Low visibility, especially through the small side windows. Cockpit placement prevents any over-the-shoulder view. Offers one MFD along with standard radar and armor displays (see illustration, p. 12). Comfort is comparable to the Orion but claustrophobic by comparison with the other two models reviewed here.

Speed/Maneuverability. Sluggish in turns and rolls. Can upgrade to Level 1 engine.

Ordnance/Protection. No slots available for turrets. Supports Level 2 shield upgrades. Two gun racks and two weapon or tractor beam racks.

Overall Performance Rating. I would give it a B in peacetime. With the war so close and the rise of piracy, I have to downgrade my rating to a D. Longevity in Gemini is worth the extra expense of purchasing a better ship or paying for protection.

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Privateer Playtesters' Guide

TARSUS

Since this ship is very vulnerable, you need to concentrate on upgrading your weapons right away:

• Sell your missile launcher for 7500 credits.
• Buy a torpedo launcher, torpedoes and two meson blasters. Meson blasters are the best cheap guns available.
• Once you have loaded out your ship with reasonably effective weapons, use your spare credits to join the Merchants' Guild. The Tarsus has large amounts of cargo space so you can easily accept cargo missions from the guild.
• As soon as you have accumulated enough money, upgrade your shields and engines and buy an ECM package. Now you are also ready to accept patrol and out missions in the Troy system. Patrol and scout missions at this stage of the game rarely generate more than one or two enemies. Your opponents in the Troy system are not very smart. They will usually fly straight at you, making it easy for you to down them with a few well-placed torpedoes.
• Use all available money to upgrade your ship. As soon as you can afford it, invest in a Hunter AW 6i scanner, which offers the best features of all scanners in its price range and distinguishes objects by color.

Suggested Loadout
Make sure your ship is completely equipped before you leave the Troy system:

• Shield upgrade 2 and full loadout of tungsten armor
• ECM package, upgraded to highest level possible
• Fly your missions in Troy with a torpedo launcher and two meson blasters, then switch to dual missile launchers before you leave the system.
• Load out your missile launchers with image recognition missiles. They lock more quickly than heat seekers and are cheaper than friend or foe missiles.
• Repair droid
• Engine upgrade
• Upgraded scanner
• All quadrant maps
• Cargo expansion
• Jump drive

You are now ready to leave the Troy System. The Potter Quadrant is probably your wisest choice. The Tarsus has poor capacity for speed. On the other hand, it can serve as a combat ship because it is very small and enemies have a hard time forget-ting it. Once you leave Troy, you should avoid taking patrol missions against groups of enemies. The random enemies in other quadrants are significantly smarter and will give you a hard time if you try to defeat them in the Tarsus. Instead, accept scout and bounty hunting missions and trade constantly. When you have reached the heart of the Potter Quadrant, i.e. the area right around New Constantinople, New Detroit and Oxford, you can accept patrol missions. This area is relatively safe.

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Appearances

• Wing Commander Privateer Player's Guide
• Wing Commander Privateer
• Privateer Playtester's Guide
• Privateer Righteous Fire

Behind the Screens

Concept Art

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Unused Manual Art

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Pre-Release Screenshots

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Source Models

• CLNKVIEW - Tarsus
• CLUNKER - Tarsus
• LANDCLNK - Tarsus
• LNCHCLNK - Tarsus
• BURNER - Tarsus (afterburners)
• CLUNKPAD - Tarsus w/ Landing Pad
• CLNKGEAR - Tarsus w/ Loader
• CLUNKEXP - Tarsus Exploding
• CLUNKPIT - Tarssus cockpit
• B_REPLAN - Landing Pad w/ Ships
• DD_DELR1 - Ship Dealer w/ Ships
• DD_DLR-S - Ship Dealer w/ Ships
• PERSHIP2 - Box Cover Tarsus
• EIGHTB - Intro Shot - Talon and Tarsus
• EIGHTB01 - Intro Shot - 2 Talons and Tarsus
• JAKE - Intro Shot - Talon and Tarsus
• JAKE01 - Intro Shot - Talon and Tarsus
• S1 - Intro Shot - Tarsus
• S3 - Intro Shot - Talon and Tarsus
• S6A - Intro Shot - Tarsus
• S7A - Intro Shot - 3 Talons and Tarsus
• S7B02 - Intro Shot - 3 Talons and Tarsus
• S9A03 - Intro Shot - Tarsus
• S9A03TEM - Intro Shot - Tarsus
• S9B - Intro Shot - 3 Talons and Tarsus
• S9C - Intro Shot - 3 Talons and Tarsus
• S9C01 - Intro Shot - 3 Talons and Tarsus
• S9D - Intro Shot - 3 Talons and Tarsus
• S10B1 - Intro Shot - Tarsus
• S10BMISH - Intro Shot - Tarsus