Constellation Mk IV Gold Standard: The Rework Inside and Out

The Constellation has always looked like a ship you could build a life aboard: a bridge for the long flight, bunks behind it, space for a cargo job and, on the appropriate variants, a little fighter tucked into the stern. Alpha 4.10.2 gives that familiar arrangement a thorough rebuild. The Mk IV keeps its identity while receiving the sort of practical attention owners will notice every time they walk aboard.

All four variants—Andromeda, Taurus, Aquila and Phoenix—are included in the Gold Standard update. The work reaches from the canopy glass to the snub bay, with rebuilt lifts, physical components, usable habitation furniture, refreshed turrets and an exterior art pass. This is the existing Constellation family being brought up to current standards, separately from the arrival of the Mk V Centaurus.

The bridge finally opens up

For a Connie pilot, the canopy changes are likely to be the first thing that earns a smile. The glass has been rebuilt inside and out, and the join between the nose glazing and the bridge has been reworked. The large struts crossing that join are gone, clearing the view for pilot and copilot without throwing away the ship's recognisable nose.

Lighting now sits behind the cockpit glass instead of being cast onto it. Both seats have been reworked, the pilot's display is centred, and the turret ring no longer catches people moving around the bridge. The flight HUD also gains self-destruct, port and shield prompts that were previously absent.

Those changes belong together. Better visibility is welcome when you are flying, but getting into the seat and moving through the bridge should feel less awkward too. For a ship built to carry a crew through several different kinds of work, the route between stations is part of the experience.

A working ship needs working lifts

The cargo lift has been remade with a dedicated control panel, rebuilt connections to the cargo area and a revised cargo grid. The fuel port has moved, while the Taurus receives a cargo-bay rebuild suited to its variant. Ladder rungs now meet the required metrics, and railings and ladders have corrected collision.

At the front of the ship, the crew lift gains new geometry and animations. Its control panel has been moved and reoriented, with new signage at the habitation deck. These are modest details beside the drama of a new hull reveal, but they are the parts of the ship you use repeatedly during an ordinary evening of hauling or mission running.

Room to live aboard, including the Phoenix

Personal storage has been added to the habitation areas and the bench seats are now interactable. Each variant has a light-control panel, with the lights properly connected and new illuminated geometry throughout the interiors. The bunks and seating finally receive attention alongside the ship's more glamorous equipment.

The Phoenix's VIP spaces have also been reworked. Controls and locks function, bedding is new, and furniture no longer clips or slides where it should stay put. The Phoenix has always asked its crew to imagine a more comfortable journey than the rest of the family; making the room's furnishings behave properly is a good place to honour that promise.

Airlocks you can reach without fighting the door

The Phoenix gains a side airlock, and airlocks and controls across the series have been repositioned. Inside the cargo bay, panels on both the left and right walls replace the old door handle. Outside, there are control panels on either side of the airlock, with the directional arrow moved to match.

New animations and venting accompany the doors. Their interaction range is wider so you can operate them without standing where the moving door catches you, and the Taurus receives corrected door-panel placement. It is a particularly welcome set of changes on a ship whose crew may be coming and going through several entrances during one job.

The turrets, engineering spaces and snub bay

Both top and bottom turrets receive their own displays and new entry animations. Corrected firing ranges and gimbal restrictions accompany the return of missing top-turret buttons, rebuilt upper missile racks and a fix for the gap that appeared when the dorsal turret deployed.

Engineering work includes physical component access and easier component swaps, corrected interactions and component-bay health, and a repositioned engineering buff hardpoint. The latter is an underlying interaction adjustment, rather than a new player weapon mount. None of this means every future engineering feature has arrived at once; it gives the current ship the fittings and behaviour required by its present systems.

At the stern, the snub bay and Kruger Merlin docking arrangement have been reworked across the applicable variants. A collision gap around the entrance has been closed. Owners are not being handed the Skylark as part of this Mk IV refit: the new RSI snub belongs with the Mk V Centaurus, while the P-52 Merlin and P-72 Archimedes are unaffected by the Mk IV's separate retirement programme.

A familiar silhouette with a cleaner finish

The exterior rebuild includes remapped surface textures, corrected decals, restored wear detail at different viewing distances and new damage states. Airlock doors have been re-exported as part of that work. The result is a broader art update than simply applying a fresh paint over the old hull.

The blue-and-red commemorative livery and emerald finish accompany the rework, and the original Kickstarter paints have now been implemented in-game. There is plenty of history in those colours for anyone who remembers the early Constellation, but the practical changes are what keep the ship useful beyond the celebration.

NPC and mission versions also use the updated hull. The Collector Constellation Taurus mission reward has been switched to the Gold Standard version, and a vehicle balance pass sits alongside the art and interaction work. You should therefore encounter the refit around the universe as well as in your own hangar.

Gold Standard is a refit, not a finish line

The Mk IV's retirement window ends on 27 January 2027, but its development does not stop there. Gold Standard describes bringing a ship up to the technology and features available now. Future engineering changes, Maelstrom, gameplay systems and balancing are still intended to reach retired ships.

That is the encouraging part of this update. The old Connie is being given a more usable bridge, a more coherent interior and the equipment access it needs to keep working. A newer generation can take its place in the spotlight without turning the familiar four-engine hull in your hangar into a museum piece.