The Nil'kemorya Arachnid is a Polaris ship in Escape Velocity Nova. To purchase an Arachnid, you must have defended Polaris space from invading Aurorans attacking the Nil'ikro system and your shareware trial must not have passed 30 days.
"Like all Polaris vessels, the Arachnid starts out as a metal frame with internal components. It is then suspended in a vat of amniotic fluid which begins to grow an organic shell around those components. Eventually the two intermesh so well that it is difficult to pick the mechanical from the biological. In battle, the Arachnid's main weapon is an organic-based Capacitor Pulse Laser that is grown during this phase and which runs from a fusion generator. The generator itself is installed after other construction is complete, and Arachnids do not leave the shipyard without one." ― Buying an Arachnid
The Arachnid is the backbone of the Polaris fleet. Literally built around the lethal Capacitor Pulse Laser, this large but nimble warship is powerful enough to take on entire enemy fleets by itself.
Stats[]
"«If you can provide the finance to provide for my ship and crew, I would be honored to escort your ship,» says the elegant Polaran before you. «I can vouch for her worthiness; she has served me well throughout my seventy years as her Nil'kimas.» He turns to you, and notes that the word doesn't register with your translator. «Nil'kimas is most closely translated as 'war master',» he smiles. War is about right, too. This Arachnid would chew through the formations of lesser races." ― Hiring a Arachnid
Untitled (#158)[]
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Wild Variants[]
Shipvariant stat changes are relative to the stats of the basic model. The basic model is Untitled.
The following shipvariants are unavailable in the shipyard and must be captured in the field.
Nil'kimas (#311)[]
Nil'kimas means 'war-master' in the Polaran tongue. It is a designation given to ships that demonstrate that their pilots understand that the best way to survive is to have top-of-the-line statistics and firepower.
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Cloaking Variants[]
As the game progresses, Arachnids begin to carry Cloaking Organs.
Stat changes are relative to their non-cloaking counterparts.
Cloaking (#259)[]
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Nil'kimas, cloaking (#319)[]
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Hyperspace Drifting Variants[]
As the game progresses, Arachnids begin to carry Cloaking Organs and Tunneling Organs.
Stat changes are relative to their non-cloaking counterparts.
Cloak and Tunneling (#267)[]
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Nil'kimas, cloak and tunneling (#326)[]
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Nil'kimas, cloak and tunneling #2 (#408)[]
This variant is identical to #326, but 2.5M cheaper. Its purpose is unknown.
Gameplay Analysis[]
"A very nice ship indeed. Very fast, very powerful, the Arachnid is more powerful than some of the best ships for the other governments. And it looks cool, too. :)" ― EVula Survival Guide
The Arachnid is the most powerful Destroyer-class vessel in the galaxy. It acts as a monitor: a ship built around a disproportionately large gun. It has no other weapons besides a limited quantity of torpedoes, but it needs no other weapons. A sweep of the Pulse lazor will annihilate fighter wings and a sustained exposure will destroy most else.
Images[]
The original Arachnid was made by Scott Vardy who made the model, Steve Chick who made the textures and Dave Williams who made the render and lighting.
Appearance[]
<ship description>
Ship Spins[]
This ship has 36 frames per set and 3 sets for 108 frames in total. It banks when turning in one direction for a certain amount of time. The lights pulsate.
- Ship: 96x96
- Lights: 96x96
- Engine: 96x96
- Weapon: 144x144
Representative Images[]
Additional Images[]
| Castes: Kel'ariy • Mu'hari • Nil'kemorya • P'aedt • Tre'pira • Ver'ash Polaris Ships: Manta (v) (i) 250k, Sprite (v) (i) 500k, Striker (v) (i) 1M, Dragon (v) (i) 1.1M, Zephyr (v) (i) 2M, Arachnid (v) (i) 2M, Cambrian (v) (i) 2.5M, Scarab (v) (i) 7M, Raven (v) (i) 10M Polaris Storyline (Preamble • Intro Missions • Diplomacy Branch • Technology Branch • Rise of Ory'hara • Fall of the Polaris) Polaris Outfits • Polaris Weapons | ||