Topic: SFC is now on wikipedia...

[Capt_Bearslayer_XC]

and I saw this....

Super Heavy Fighters

Often called bombers, these units were massive shuttles so big that they could not be deployed from vessels and were exclusively ground based. They were the backbone of many planets defensive armament, but were too slow to be effective offensive units. While they carried more firepower than most frigates, they shared their smaller brother's limitation of having only one volley of firepower before heading home to rearm. As Fast Patrol Ships became more readily available, many frontline or high value systems replaced their aging bomber designs with them. But the cheaper bombers remained on active duty for decades after.

And it made me wonder..... can we add 'bombers' to planets?

IIRC, someone (Dizzy?) changed hard points on planets.... can this be implemented for shuttle bays on planets too?

[GDA-S'Cipio]

And it made me wonder..... can we add 'bombers' to planets?

IIRC, someone (Dizzy?) changed hard points on planets.... can this be implemented for shuttle bays on planets too?

My idea was to add them to the defense sattelites around planets.  Not *quite* canon SFB, but since I wouldn't use scripts that had defense stations showing up anywhere except around planets, I figured it was close enough for SFC.

-S'Cipio

[Dizzy]

That was me Bear. Here: http://home.satx.rr.com/spiderwebs/Planet_Side_gif.gif http://home.satx.rr.com/spiderwebs/Planet_Top_gif.gif http://home.satx.rr.com/spiderwebs/Planet_re-Hardpoint_Diagram.gif

And since ftrs cant be added to planets, ITracey was kind enough to write me a planet assault script where we had 2 Bats orbiting the planet. Easy to add however many PF's or ftrs to those... But for balance... those Planet assaults with a wing took about 12 mins. I think that's fairly decent. But I never did get too much feedback on that script. Everyone thank Tracey G for her efforts, that script was pretty popular.

[FPF-SCM_TraceyG_XC]

I have always thought that if the hardpoint in the planet model for exactly where fighters and drones were being released (the stock model has it inside the planet and when launched they collide with the model) was moved to a small distance just above the surface of the planet, that this would fix the problem with fighters and drones being launched from planets.

Another alternative is to actually simply add (create) a squadron of fighters through the mission script that 'appears' near the planet. How many fighters would a whole planet have any? Especially if its a Homeworld? In 20th century terms, if the Earth was attacked by aliens from outer space, how many F-16s and F-18s would the US be able to launch in its defence, let alone the combined forces of the world's airforces? A script cant support 100s let alone 1000s of fighters (the max. ship limit for a mission is 60), but perhaps a timer can be used that generates a new squadron of fighters every 5 minutes.

Using orbital fighter bases is probably the simplest and easiest, but it would be nice to get the planets working as they should. There are some new planet textures that Wanderer pointed out to me on Battleclinic, but overall, planets are an under ustilised resource in the game, especially since we have 9 different types of planet terrains to choose from.

[Capt_Bearslayer_XC]

. How many fighters would a whole planet have any? Especially if its a Homeworld? In 20th century terms, if the Earth was attacked by aliens from outer space, how many F-16s and F-18s would the US be able to launch in its defence, let alone the combined forces of the world's airforces?

Just remember to divide that number by 2/3's....

[762_XC]

LOL Bear

[Dizzy]

Wouldnt matter in SFB how many ftrs or ships a homeworld has to defend itself with, Tracey, its a matter of SFC mission time vs line cruisers and the DV of the hex.

[Capt_Bearslayer_XC]

hell, I could go for a low hex DV if the missions for home words and major bases were insane enough for it to require two-three big ships to complete.

Of course, getting the stability to do it is the problem Tracey is working on right now.

[KAT Chuut-Ritt]

Wouldnt matter in SFB how many ftrs or ships a homeworld has to defend itself with, Tracey, its a matter of SFC mission time vs line cruisers and the DV of the hex.

Agree totally there Dizzy, the point is whether or not it would do anything to benefit a campaign without detriment to the balance, all SFB considerations come secondary at best (and for some are totally irrelevant).  Options are always nice however, just doesn't mean we should rush in and use em if they don't fit the bill.  SFC = Star Fleet Command not Star Fighter Command, I'd say more fleets and less fighters personally.

[Dizzy]

Hehe and then there are lag and poly issues... blah blah blah.

That SG4 PA script tracey wrote... gives the server designer just the flexibility s/he needs. The base can be anything and have anything. Better still, there are 2 of them in that mission, one on the far side of the planet, so no matter how fast your drones are... you still need to get LoS to shoot it which means even droners still need to get to the other side like everyone else. Amazing how balancing that made this mission. Never planned it, just happened to work out that way.

Oh, figured out how to get a base to accomodate 96 ftrs or 16 PF's or a mix of 48 ftrs and 8 PF's. How's that for flexibility? Be afraid...

[KAT Chuut-Ritt]

Oh, figured out how to get a base to accomodate 96 ftrs or 16 PF's or a mix of 48 ftrs and 8 PF's. How's that for flexibility? Be afraid...

2 words:

Not interested

[GDA-S'Cipio]

Oh, figured out how to get a base to accomodate 96 ftrs or 16 PF's or a mix of 48 ftrs and 8 PF's. How's that for flexibility? Be afraid...

2 words:

Not interested

I doubt I'd be interested in those large numbers either.  However, I would be interested in the machanics of how you are doing it, both in numbers and in mixing fighters and PFs on the same platform.  It is flexible.

-S'Cipio

[Dizzy]

Well, I figured it out for my Star Wars mod. When attacking an Imperial Star Destroyer, you want more than 24 ftrs for that 'epic' feel. And a mixture of ftr type Ties and shielded PF's like Assault Gunships and Adv Ties are a must. But it actually works out best if the Star Destroyer was setup as a base and doesnt move. Thats why in SFC it works so well. The base actually drops 'Hangar Pods'.

The Hangar Pods themselves hold PF's or ftrs. Each pod is then setup in similar fashion to 'donors' where necessary, and may accomodate 16-24 ftrs or 4 PF's. Give the Hangar Pods the 'xbox' model and a bit of hull, power, stealth and cloak and the base protects them... and the pods are pretty safe from direct and seeking weapons. AI doesnt seem to fire at them unless they are on top of the base... which isnt often.

Well... It's a neat way to give a nasty surprise and give the admin a whole lot of flexibility. I wouldnt hesitate to use 8-16 ftrs and 4-8 PF's om a Starbase, but again, it's all relative to the number of line cruisers vs SFC mission time and hex DV.

[KAT Chuut-Ritt]

On second thought, it might actually be interesting to use the full loadout you propossed, but with one adjustment.......

Destructable planets 

[762_XC]

Destructable planets 

I think it is time we tested the full power of this station!

[Capt_Bearslayer_XC]

Destructable planets 

I think it is time we tested the full power of this station!

[Nemesis]

Destructable planets 

I think it is time we tested the full power of this station!

A couple of months ago I was playing a battlefest against a friend and he was called away.  While he was gone I attacked the planet.  I destroyed it before he returned.  So they can be destructible.   Might make a good planetary assault mission for the D2.

[Dizzy]

I dont know of a D2 mission where you can have destructible planets w/o losing the ship collision destruction upon impact with the planet.

[762_XC]

I dont know of a D2 mission where you can have destructible planets w/o losing the ship collision destruction upon impact with the planet.

This station is the ultimate power in the universe!

[KAT Chuut-Ritt]

I dont know of a D2 mission where you can have destructible planets w/o losing the ship collision destruction upon impact with the planet.

This station is the ultimate power in the universe!

Nope its this:

CH3CH2OH