Star Citizen Origin 890 Jump Carrier Operations Guide
Star Citizen Origin 890 Jump Carrier Operations Guide
The 890 Jump has long been a favorite of Star Citizen’s aircraft carrier enthusiasts, ever since it was first playable in a3.6.2. With the recent introduction of manual rearmament and repair, this luxury liner is now fully equipped to serve as a starfighter carrier. In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at the features that make the 890 Jump an ideal carrier and provide tips on how to conduct efficient and effective long-term carrier operations. From practical considerations to complex strategies, we’ve got you covered.
Earn 100% passive income while you play. EarnApp is the most trusted passive income app on Reddit. Start earning now!
Key takeaways
The 890 Jump, a luxury super-yacht, can be used as a starfighter carrier in Star Citizen.
Efficient and effective carrier operations can be conducted in the game right now, including flight path and parking slot management, rearming and repairing snubs, and handling the ship’s complement and crew requirements.
The 890 Jump requires an extended crew for carrier operations, including an Aero Boss, Mini Bosses, and technical support specialists.
The best practice for the launch and recovery of snubs depends on whether the snub is housed in the hangar bay or cargo bay.
Capabilities of the 890 Jump and crew
All about the 890 Jump
The 890 Jump is a Size 6 luxury super-yacht. Although intended for recreational cruises, it’s defended by two Size 4 shield generators, two Size 5 manned turrets, two Size 5 remote gun turrets, and four Size 5 missile turrets. It also features a hangar bay with a landing pad capable of supporting two Size 1 snub crafts or one Size 2 fighter of most types, as well all necessary crew amenities necessary for long-term operation—including a medical bay.
Flight deck availability
The 890 Jump has a hangar bay forward of the bridge, and an aft cargo bay. The hangar bay consists of a large open space with dorsal bay doors. It’s serviced by an elevating landing pad, which takes up most of the internal floor space. There’s sufficient room around the landing pad to store munitions and other small cargo without obstructing access to the pad or turret accesses. The landing pad is capable of seating at least half a dozen snub fighters safely.
The rear cargo bay consists of a space about half as large with ventral bay doors. It’s serviced by a small cargo elevator capable of seating a single snub craft. A recess forward of the elevator allows a single snub or surface vehicle of some types to be parked there safely. Like the hangar bay, there is sufficient room for munitions and cargo stowage, particularly along the starboard cargo bay wall.
Both bays are directly connected by a single hallway on the port side of the ship. The hallway is suitable for the movement of personnel and personnel-sized munitions, components, and materiel. However, the hallway is not large enough to move snubs through it. A second starboard hallway of the same size indirectly connects the two bays, enabling the efficient coordination and control of foot traffic moving fore and aft as well as deck to deck.
Rearmament, repair, and refueling capabilities
At the time of writing, the 890 Jump lacks the capability to rearm, repair, or refuel the hydrogen or quantum fuel stores of its carried ships and vehicles. Likewise, there is no way for a player to refuel a ship by hand with fuel carried as cargo. But a player can still rearm and repair a ship by hand provided that they have a Pyro RYT Multi-Tool, a TruHold tractor beam attachment, and one or more Cambio-Lite SRT attachments for repair and salvage.
Join Star Citizen and get 5,000 free credits. Start flying your starship now!
Operational considerations
Suitable snubs for an 890 Jump carrier
The most limiting aspect of using the 890 Jump as a fighter carrier is the inability to refuel the hydrogen fuel stores of snubs. As a result, carried ships should be equipped with hydrogen fuel scoops for practical purposes. This limits the types of snubs that should be considered to the P-72 Archimedes, C8 Pisces variants, and some models of “hoverbikes”.
The C8 variants can be narrowed down even further to just the C8X or C8R variants, as the C8X is superior to the base C8 in every way and the C8R offers the same combat capability as the base C8. However, the C8R is likely to be less useful than the C8X as the 890 Jump is already equipped with a medical bay and the C8X can just as easily recover an ejected pilot.
But the C8X’s biggest advantage is that it carries the same number and size of weapons as the P-72 Archimedes. This makes the C8X an extremely efficient logistics mule that can be equipped with a P-72’s spent ballistic weapons, carry them to a station within quantum jump distance, restock their ammo, and then carry them back to the 890 Jump to be reequipped on a P-72. What’s more, its cargo bay can carry at least four additional Size 1 weapons that can be exchanged with the recently restocked ones and then have their ammunition restocked, too.
While the hoverbikes may find purpose in providing the carrier with a ground vehicle capability, the intended purpose is as an immediate source of salvage to repair damaged snubs.
As a side note, it should be mentioned that the Razor series has been stated to have a hydrogen fuel scoop in its sales information. However, this has either not been implemented or has been abandoned and retconned. If the former, then Razor variants can serve as alternatives to either the P-72s or C8s in the future. The most practical variant to use would be the Razor EX for its stealth capability.
Flight paths and parking slots
The contour of the 890 Jump and the positioning of the hangar bay and cargo bay accesses create natural flight paths (see: Fig. 1). Two flight paths intersect at the landing pad on top of the 890 Jump’s bow. The first path (Alfa) extends from the port quarter to the starboard bow, while the second (Bravo) extends from the starboard quarter to the port bow. A third flight path (Charlie) extends from the pad to the bow of the 890 Jump. The fourth and final flight path (Delta) extends vertically from the pad. These flight paths offer the best potential view of approaches and departures for an observer in the dining area of Deck 02.
The hangar bay has six parking slots (see Fig. 2). The slots are composed of three rows organized into a triangle-like shape. All slots are referred to by their number. Numbering starts toward the bow and works its way backward from port to starboard (left to right). The first row holds Slot 1. The second row holds Slot 2 and Slot 3. The third row holds Slots 4, 5, and 6.
The cargo bay has two flight paths. The first is Echo, the second is Foxtrot. Echo extends from the cargo elevator to the bow, while Foxtrot starts from the cargo elevator and continues astern of the ship.
At first glance, it may seem like Echo and Foxtrot should be a single flight path. But the vertical lift arms which are on the port and starboard side of the cargo elevator create a dangerously narrow hazard to maneuver between. There’s also the matter of the crew elevator, which is located directly ahead of the cargo elevator and so has the potential to present an additional hazard. Thus, it’s safer to maintain Echo and Foxtrot as two separate flight paths.
As a result, snubs launched off of the cargo bay elevator should always launch opposite to the direction of the carrier’s travel. Typically, this means that snubs are launched backward along flight path Foxtrot, similar to how a Kruger P-52 snub fighter would launch from an RSI Constellation.
The cargo bay has two parking slots. Slot 1 is on the cargo elevator itself. Slot 2 is directly forward of the cargo elevator, in a large recess housing various systems of the 890 Jump. Slot 2 is turned 90 degrees from Slot 1 so that they form a T-like shape.
Rearmament, repair, and refueling
Rearmament is fairly straightforward, with guns and missiles capable of being swapped out by hand using the tractor-beam attachment. Currently, there is no way to refill ballistic gun ammunition in situ. But, replacing the entire gun with a newly-bought one effectively restocks the ammunition. Spent ballistic guns can be equipped on a quantum-capable ship and “muled” to a station to have their ammunition restocked before being returned to the 890 Jump and reequipped on other snubs.
When it comes to repair, any Cambio-Lite SRT attachments will need to be filled with Recycled Material Composite (RMC) either at a commodities kiosk, by a salvaging ship tending the 890 Jump, or by spare snubs small enough to be stored easily for salvage in either bay (such as the Drake Dragonfly or Nox). Otherwise, it won’t be possible to repair any damaged snubs.
To refuel its carried ships efficiently, an 890 Jump will have to return to port. However, operating time can be extended by using fighters and other snubs that are equipped with their own hydrogen fuel scoops. Meanwhile, quantum fuel isn’t essential since the 890 Jump can simply carry the snubs with it as it performs a quantum jump itself.
Aircraft handling
The landing pad takes up nearly all of the floor space in the 890 Jump’s hangar. Therefore, the safest place to park snub fighters at any given time is on the landing pad. But limiting the placement of snub fighters to the landing pad creates some minor operational inconveniences.
If rearming and repairing snubs is performed in the hangar with the pad down, workers are better protected and materiel will be easy to access from the 890 Jump’s stores. But, launch and recovery options will be impeded and the ship’s hangar itself will be more vulnerable when the hangar doors are open. If the landing pad is raised, launch and recovery operations are easier and personnel on the pad can still conduct rearmament and repairs. But crew will be exposed to any combat outside the 890 Jump, and the retrieval of ordnance and materiel will be severely limited. A third option sees the landing pad raised and lowered as needed, but this can be time consuming and may not offer enough practical benefit over other options.
There is enough space along the back wall of the hangar deck to park a snub fighter like the P-72 sideways. This way, one P-72 can be repaired and rearmed uninterrupted without influencing launch and recovery operations. While parking a snub in this area is likely to obstruct access to the lower manned turret, that’s only an issue when someone needs to enter or exit the turret.
Meanwhile, the cargo bay has its own operational obstacles to overcome. Although a snub that’s parked in the recess can be rearmed and repaired without issue, the other snub must remain on the elevator. This can cause a bottleneck if the snub in the recess is in mission-ready condition, but the snub on the cargo elevator isn’t.
Such a bottleneck can be mitigated by moving the second snub onto the cargo elevator after launching the first snub. If the first snub returns in a poor state, the second snub can be immediately launched. The damaged snub can then be recovered and parked in the cargo bay’s recess for repair while the second snub is recovered. If the first snub returns in a mission-ready state, the second snub can be moved back to the recess easily.
Maneuvering the subs while both are in the cargo bay is possible, but much too dangerous to encourage it as recommended practice.
Ship’s complement and crew requirements
There are at least three parts to the ship’s complement. First is the ship’s crew, which is necessary to maneuver and fight the carrier. Second is a dedicated flight deck crew, who will manage all operations related to the flight of the snub fighters. Personnel will be needed to direct the flow of aircraft into and out of the carrier’s controlled aerospace, monitor snubs as they travel within the carrier’s aerospace, manage and direct snub craft handling in each bay, and conduct rearmament and repair operations. The third part of the ship’s complement is the pilots who will fly the snubs.
All personnel permanently stationed on the carrier should be trained to medically assist personnel, and be able to prepare, respond to, and counter potential boarding action.
The best joystick for Star Citizen is the Thrustmaster T16000M flight stick. Get yours now and start flying like Avenger__One today!
Modern 890 Jump carrier operations
Carrier launch and recovery operations
While operating within the proximity of the 890 Jump’s aerospace, a snub’s pilot will be guided by the Aero Boss. The Aero Boss will tell the pilot what pattern to enter into and hold,1 which flight path to use during launch or recovery, and—for the hangar bay—which slot the pilot should attempt to land the ship in.
During launch operations, the snub pilot is released from the supervision of the Aero Boss once they are 10 km away from the carrier. During recovery operations, the snub pilot becomes subject to the direction of the appropriate Mini Boss the moment their snub touches down on the landing pad or cargo elevator.
Once a snub is successfully on the landing pad or cargo elevator, the appropriate Mini Boss and the technical support specialists under their direction are responsible for its handling. Any snub craft in a bay is the property of that bay’s Mini Boss. The Mini Boss will direct all movement of snub craft on the pad, elevator, or otherwise in the bay. He or she will direct rearmament and repair operations at their discretion. A snub craft isn’t ready to be launched without the Mini Boss signing off on it.
Snub pilots should obey all directions given to them by the flight deck crew at all times.
Crew and complement
A minimum of five crew are required to maneuver and fight the 890 Jump. They include a pilot, two support officers to help manage the ship’s systems and control the remote missile turrets, and two manned turret gunners. If gameplay systems allow for it in the future, it may be beneficial to have an additional two support officers at all times on the battle bridge as well.
Carrier crew should understand and have bare minimum knowledge of:
How to fight the 890 Jump, especially during launch and recovery operations.
All launch and recovery flight paths.
The flight deck crew, who will manage flight operations as they relate to the carried ships, should be composed of no less than five personnel. The roster includes an aerospace officer to direct all traffic within the 890 Jump’s aerospace, two assistant aerospace officers to manage and direct handling of snubs within the hangar and cargo bays respectively, and at least two technical support specialists split between each bay to focus on rearmament and repair.
The aerospace officer, or “Aero Boss”, is in charge of the overall management of carrier snub craft operations, including authorization and tracking of launch and recovery operations, and all snub craft movement within a 10 km radius of the 890 Jump.
Currently, the ideal location for the aerospace officer to observe most traffic is in the dining area on Deck 02. There, they’ll be able to see all approaches and departures for the hangar bay without impairing any other functions of the carrier. However, the role of the Aero Boss is primarily a “paper job”, meaning that it’s more dependent on organizing and keeping track of information than it is on actually doing anything with one’s character in the game. Therefore, as long as the Aero Boss maintains an efficient means of communication with personnel aboard the 890 Jump, he or she may not need to be aboard the carrier or even in the game itself to execute their role effectively.
One assistant aerospace officer is assigned to the hangar bay, while a second is assigned to the cargo bay. These assistants are known as the “Mini Bosses”. Each Mini Boss is responsible for aircraft handling and providing direction to technical support specialists and pilots in their respective bays. Additionally, either Mini Boss should be prepared to take over for the Aero Boss if the latter is unable to fulfill their role for any reason.
While the cargo bay’s Mini Boss may have fewer snubs to manage, they may have a more complex mission. This is because they’re responsible for the logistics that keep ammunition, salvage material, and other goods crucial to sustaining aerospace operations flowing to and from the carrier.
Flight deck crew should understand and have knowledge of:
All launch and recovery flight paths.
The number and location of each parking slot.
How to facilitate rearmament and repair.
Basic logistics.
The technical support specialists assigned to each bay provide immediate rearmament and repair services. The mission of the technical support specialists is to conduct rearm and repair operations, as well as retrieve and manage cargo and inventory from the carrier’s stores in support of that mission.
Flight deck technical support specialists must understand and have knowledge of:
How to rearm and repair a ship.
How to walk pilots through the process for rearmament.
Finally, at least eight personnel will be needed to pilot the snubs. Their sole responsibility is to fly their snub fighters and manage their snub’s systems.
It’s imperative that snub pilots understand and have knowledge of:
All launch and recovery flight paths.
The number and location of each parking slot.
How to open and close their sub’s ports for rearmament.
Read the “Self Status” display and relay the location of damage to support personnel.
It’s reasonable to expect that the 890 Jump may carry a larger complement. That may include additional technical support specialists to help with rearmament and repair, infantry troops, or even a small dedicated medical team. In any case, the ship’s complement should reflect the needs of the carrier’s expected scope of operations.
But how would you run your 890 Jump carrier? Are there other snubs that you would use instead of the P-72 Archimedes and C8 Pisces variants? Would you use a much bigger crew as standard? Tell me what you think in the comments below.
Discussion of specific holding patterns that suit the 890 Jump and its carried snubs are beyond the scope of this article, but are expected to reveal themselves naturally.