Aurora Variant Sale

We didn’t get the Hornet goodies (brochure, variant sale, commercial) that were promised for “tomorrow” in the livestream Thursday night.  Apparently Chris Roberts still doesn’t think the Hornet stuff is ready:

Last night, I showed a preview of the Hornet commercial. I explained that this release wasn’t just coming in hot, it was laser-scorched and burning. In fact, we downloaded the cut of the commercial you saw as I was presenting. I was expecting to release the finished commercial and brochure today, along with a promotion putting Hornet variants on sale. Unfortunately, they just aren’t ready yet. I want the Hornet release to be perfect, with a proper sound mix in the commercial and Hornet variants you can immediately interact with in your hangar. That won’t happen if we rushed to get them out today, so I’m delaying the Hornet release until next Friday. Check back then to learn all about the best dogfighter in the UEE fleet. If you would like to see the unfinished commercial, it will remain available in the recording of last night’s event; an improved version with enhanced audio is coming soon.

I’m beginning to think the Hornet commercial, variants, etc.. are just plain cursed, and will never be released as they’ve now been pushed back to ‘next week’ for the last 2-3 months.  :P

 

Instead of the Hornet, we’re getting the Aurora Legionnaire.  This sale also marks the return of ‘upgrade kits’ to the RSI store.  So, if you’ve got the Aurora MR (the ship that comes in the Aurora pledge package), for example.. and want to upgrade to the LN, while keeping all your goodies.. you can pick up the Aurora LN Upgrade kit.

This is a good thing, and hopefully, it’ll be expanded to future variants of all ships.  There are folks who have physical goodies in their pledge packages, that they can’t get anymore (signed copies of the game, for example).  Being able to upgrade to a different variant of the ship in your package, without having to melt down the whole package, will be exceptionally helpful for those people.

 

Here’s a quick look at the differences between the Aurora MR, and the Aurora LN:

More POWER!
More POWER!

The primary difference is the bigger power plant, and additional maneuvering thrusters..the Aurora LN should be a bit more agile than it’s MR counterpart.

We also got a new commercial for the Aurora LN… and I do like the style this one is done in.  It feels more like a ‘normal’ car commercial from today than a factory demo reel like the 300i’s did.

 

 

As part of the Comm-Link giving us the Aurora information, Chris Roberts also talks about preparations for next year’s CitizenCon:

I can tell you right now: next year will be different. Sandi and her team are starting the planning process now with an eye towards creating an event that Citizens from around the world will be able to attend in person. To kick this off, we’re asking the community to choose the venue. Please vote in the poll below on where you’d like to see CitizenCon 2014. In future years, we hope to alternate locations around the world to give everyone a chance to attend.

The destinations up for a vote are:

  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Las Vegas, NV
  • London, England
  • Berlin, Germany
  • Montreal, Canada
  • Sydney, Australia

So, sign into the RSI site, and head over here to vote for Las Vegas, because, that’s the city I’ll be most likely to be able to make it to for next year’s Con :P

Looks like the Aurora sale will only be running for about a week (I think, I can’t find a cut-off date yet).  So, if you want one, grab it while it’s available!