How about a ship that can reach speeds of around 1000 m/s, has heavy shielding but has slow accel. and less than 10% steering. 6 hard points frontal with a top/botom turret with two hard points each. The tactic of this ship would be a hit and run against a Capital Ship. You would have a squadron of fighters take on the fighter screen while this ship accelerated to top speed and gave a long burst of mass destruction into enemy capital ship. The basic concept model is the experimental SR-71 blackbird the CIA tried to make into a bomber, the B1-B Lancer, or the new hypersonic bombers (Aurora?) that are in concept design now. I think it would be awesome to fly something super-fast (push the envelope how about 1500 m/s?) that packs a big bunch. Maybe have it only capable of firing a special high-damage mass driver whose ammunition requirements make it a one pass bomber.
This concept is to settle a gripe about space sims, the fighters go so slow. The SR-71 black bird goes mach 3.1 which is three point one times the speed of sound the speed of sound is something around 363 m/s. Your telling me 900 years into the future they can hike across the universe in star gates but they can only get a couple ships around mach 2? If we ever get the x-45 beyond engine testing it is going to go at least mach 5. Now I can see the huge lumbering tin cans of destruction going really slow but a fighter craft from 900 years in the future should be able to go a hell of a lot faster than 200 m/s, especially in a medium without air resistance and friction. I have to spend two hours in my argon mercury at 80 m/s in order to get any feel of acceleration from my fastest ship at 525 m/s.
It would also be really neat if some one put a Super Star destroyer in the game (a well done one). I don't need to fly it I just want to see the fighter screen come out of the hanger bays. A typical American Aircraft carrier will have around 72 fighters + support aircraft ranging from helicopters to AWACs. Imagine how many times as massivea interstellar ship would be. In the Star Wars books I think an SSD holds three wings of fighter craft, thats 246 fighters added to those of the destoyers and cruisers around it. Close to 500 fighter craft could be deployed in a SW fleet battle, seeing that with x3 graphics would be pure joy. At the battle of Midway, if I remembermy military history right there were probably around 500 fighter craft in the air. Some of the Allied bombing raids on Germany consisted of hundreds of B-17s flying in tight formations. Would be cool to feel the immensity of a battle like that, even cooler controlling the battle from the lead bomber.
Bomber that Goes fast but straight
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McPhearsom
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There's no actual reason why space fighters would travel faster than the larger ships, it's all dependant on engine power vs size since you don't have to worry about gravity or air resistance. Acceleration and Turning however would be different but then again in space there is no lift so you'd need equally powerful engines mounted on the sides of the ship to steer it as well as one on the front to slow it down which could then be applied to the big ships as well as the small.
1000m/s is a bit excessive, especially if the ship can't turn well. Also the missiles in the game only max out at about 800m/s. Really it's not better ships that are needed but better missiles, think about it, now our missiles are guided, even launched from ships hundreds of miles away. We don't do carpet bombing anymore as you can fit the same firepower in a small missile which is precision guided.
The weapon range in X3 is a bit small, really you'd expect 50 nuclear torpedos to be launched at a carrier from 50km away or more which travel at very fast speeds. You'd then need equally fast smaller missiles and flak that the carrier would lauch to intercept them. They'ed also be long range artillery fired from huge cannons on the capital ships. A bomber would only be useful if it could deliver something really powerful which is maybe unguided, otherwise long range cruise missiles and artillery is more what you'd expect.
If individual ship parts could be targeted then fighters would have a purpose as you could send a group of smaller ships to try and knock out the defences on the enemy capital ships so your gunboats can lauch their missiles.
Unfortunately though, with shields there's no reason why the entire ship wouldn't be shielded which therefore means that you'd need a capital ship to be able to punch though the shields of another capital ship, both firing at each other from long distance. (the way it used to be in Naval battles until torpedos and missiles were used).
Also, although it's capable of, X3 doesn't use proper sized sectors. Really you'd expect to have sectors that are 1000km diameter which would then make high speed bombers/fighters useful since they can be sent in to soften up the smaller targets which would otherwise pose a threat to your capital ships (the enemy fighters would be scrambled to intercept your bombers so you might need a fighter escort) and then sometime later the battleships would get within range and start firing. At this scale ships also have time to react (you'd see incomming missiles/fighters and have time to launch a squadron against them). You'd also have use for AWACs style spacecraft to detect incomming ships/missile and destroying it would leave the enemy blind allowing you get up close.
The scale just isn't there in the X-Universe to have such big space battles, currently you'll see two M2s circling each other at close range (3-4km) shooting at each other with 'laser' fire that moves so slowly you'd think it was thrown out of the airlocks by the crew. There's also no real flight time, current bombers have at least an hour of flying before they get near their target.
I guess the problem is if you make the game more realistic or at least more what you'd expect then the overall appeal is reduced leaving only the most hardcore fans taking the time to plan battles.
It's like the difference between actual flight sims and arcade versions, the realistic ones may be 'better' but the quick and easy arcade games appeal to more people since you can just jump in and play, no waiting, no extensive control system or tactical planning.
Personally I'd prefer it is X3 became more simulator based and less arcade Freelancer type as the engine is there and quite capable, but then I reckon most people wouldn't enjoy it being so complicated or time consuming...or maybe they would?
1000m/s is a bit excessive, especially if the ship can't turn well. Also the missiles in the game only max out at about 800m/s. Really it's not better ships that are needed but better missiles, think about it, now our missiles are guided, even launched from ships hundreds of miles away. We don't do carpet bombing anymore as you can fit the same firepower in a small missile which is precision guided.
The weapon range in X3 is a bit small, really you'd expect 50 nuclear torpedos to be launched at a carrier from 50km away or more which travel at very fast speeds. You'd then need equally fast smaller missiles and flak that the carrier would lauch to intercept them. They'ed also be long range artillery fired from huge cannons on the capital ships. A bomber would only be useful if it could deliver something really powerful which is maybe unguided, otherwise long range cruise missiles and artillery is more what you'd expect.
If individual ship parts could be targeted then fighters would have a purpose as you could send a group of smaller ships to try and knock out the defences on the enemy capital ships so your gunboats can lauch their missiles.
Unfortunately though, with shields there's no reason why the entire ship wouldn't be shielded which therefore means that you'd need a capital ship to be able to punch though the shields of another capital ship, both firing at each other from long distance. (the way it used to be in Naval battles until torpedos and missiles were used).
Also, although it's capable of, X3 doesn't use proper sized sectors. Really you'd expect to have sectors that are 1000km diameter which would then make high speed bombers/fighters useful since they can be sent in to soften up the smaller targets which would otherwise pose a threat to your capital ships (the enemy fighters would be scrambled to intercept your bombers so you might need a fighter escort) and then sometime later the battleships would get within range and start firing. At this scale ships also have time to react (you'd see incomming missiles/fighters and have time to launch a squadron against them). You'd also have use for AWACs style spacecraft to detect incomming ships/missile and destroying it would leave the enemy blind allowing you get up close.
The scale just isn't there in the X-Universe to have such big space battles, currently you'll see two M2s circling each other at close range (3-4km) shooting at each other with 'laser' fire that moves so slowly you'd think it was thrown out of the airlocks by the crew. There's also no real flight time, current bombers have at least an hour of flying before they get near their target.
I guess the problem is if you make the game more realistic or at least more what you'd expect then the overall appeal is reduced leaving only the most hardcore fans taking the time to plan battles.
It's like the difference between actual flight sims and arcade versions, the realistic ones may be 'better' but the quick and easy arcade games appeal to more people since you can just jump in and play, no waiting, no extensive control system or tactical planning.
Personally I'd prefer it is X3 became more simulator based and less arcade Freelancer type as the engine is there and quite capable, but then I reckon most people wouldn't enjoy it being so complicated or time consuming...or maybe they would?
