Same here. Coyote is my next favorite. Grendel for the looks.

I like the Patriot. Wolverine is also cool - a flying tank

Light is faster than sound. It is for this reason that some people seem bright until you hear them talk.

Crusader. I've used it for every mission (except the one where you rescue Steiner and the very last one) but only on EASY! Guns are great with a good recharge rate and you rarely need to take fuel pods due to its large fuel reserves. Spectral shield allow you to make runs on heavily armed stations without getting splattered all over space.

I like the Mirage too. Those neutron cannon are well placed directly on the sight line which makes them very accurate. I rarely use heavy fighters but when I have lots of torps to take out then a Patriot is a good choice.

Ban REVERSE THRUST! Fly something other than a phoenix for a change!

Interesting choices, Pure. Don't you find the Crusader too slow? I think it's a great ship but the speed just drives me batty. Isn't is top speed 240 (with powerball centered)? Or am I thinking of another ship?

Nope. Speed is completely unimportant in most missions in Starlancer. Agility, however, is essential along with guns powerful enough to take a target out quickly. The guns on the Coyote and Predator are puny. The Tachyon Cannon on the Tempest are too far apart and since there's no gun harmonisation in Starlancer, you often find shots going either side of the target (especially if the target is a turret). The Patriot isn't bad but I prefer the more agile Mirage over the extra hardpoint that the Patriot offers plus the Mirage's big guns are on the centreline. The Wolverine is too, too lumbering. It turns like it's flying through porridge - but anything that does cross it's gunsights doesn't last long . . . The Reaper is OK but suffers from the same lack of agility as the Patriot. Naginata can be a lot of fun but it's guns aren't too hot. the Grendal has the advantage that you can use the powerball to feed all energy to shield and engines with no appreciable loss of firepower.
Lack of speed is only a problem on torp intercept missions (where you tend to be using burners anyway so just add a fuel pod) and that mission with all the defence satellites (use a Patriot, tachyon cannon and blindfire).

Oh, being british might have a teeny, tiny bit to do with my choice . . . Actually I like the chunky looks of the Crusader whilst admitting that the Grendal looks good too.


Ban REVERSE THRUST! Fly something other than a phoenix for a change!

Edited by - Pure on 22-12-2003 16:27:12

I love the Patriot for its flexibility. Full fire and pump out lots of damage in a short time, or switch to one of the guns and turn on blind fire for short, accurate bursts.

I really start feeling I should brush the dust off SL CD and reinstall it.
Nice to see the resurrection of SL forums.

"Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy"

Pure--

Okay, I've got to admit, you're right about the Crusader. While I enjoy fighters that are faster than the Crusader, it really isn't that important for most missions. And the Crusader's mix of firepower (gatling lasers are the best gun in the game--powerful, fast-firing, and long-range), agility, and defense (spectral shields) make it second to none among the non-prototype fighters. Even though it doesn't have blind-fire, hunting torps is easy because of the rapid fire and long range of the gatling lasers.

I've done a bit of testing (using SL edit tool) and I think that collapser guns are probably the best weapon - btw, has anyone EVER run out of ammo in Starlancer?
More important than the type of weapon is it's location. The Tachyon cannon on a Tempest are almost useless. The Neutron cannon on the Mirage are excellent;y placed - try anti torp missions using just the neutron cannon. Fire one shot (OK, you have to be able to fly accurately enough to put your crosshairs in the box!) and the torp dies. It takes some nerve, however, to fire that shot and then flip to the next torp before you've verified that the first is dead . . .
My perfect ship design would be a light fighter as agile as a Crusader, Mirage or Coyote with gatling lasers or collapser guns mounted close to the centreline of the ship, at least 5 missile hardpoints, similar armour and shields to a Crusader and with the option of blindfire or spectral shields depending on the mission.

I have downloaded lots of custom designed ships off this excellent website but I am often dismayed at the designers habbit of making uber-ships that unbalance the game whilst I applaud their skill at being able to create them in the first place. Well I have just got myself a copy of LIGHTWAVE so I'm going to have a go at creating my own ships. Perhaps I will get my perfect ship, eh?
Wish me luck!

Ban REVERSE THRUST! Fly something other than a phoenix for a change!

Edited by - Pure on 1/7/2004 10:22:54 AM

My dream would be a ship with three pairs of collapser guns, a hella good powerplant and no hardpoints.

I wouldn't ignore hardpoints, especially when you have to Jackhammer sth or have multiple torps inbound.

"Beer is proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy" - Benjamin Franklin

Thanks to SL edit I don't think that internal guns are essential. Just pop a pair of gatling lasers, pulse cannon, laser cannon or proton cannon on the hardpoints of your choice. Sorted!
I do this all the time. Usually I add a pair of lasers to my Crusader or, if it's a big dogfighting level, I remove the gatling lasers and replace them with the twin laser cannon units found on the Lonestar Shuttle. Four lasers gives excellent close range firepower (just don't try hunting torps with 'em!)

Ban REVERSE THRUST! Fly something other than a phoenix for a change!

I almost never use hardpoints. I'd gladly trade them for bigger guns. I've done the whole campaign using only the necessary Jackhammers.

But surely having the option of carying a pod of screamers for shield generator dispatch duties is handy? No fighter so much gun energy that they never need a little extra firepower.

Ban REVERSE THRUST! Fly something other than a phoenix for a change!