Bombers

Slashman · Post by **Slashman** » Mon, 5. Sep 11, 02:38

Hey all,

I was just going over some of the stuff I have seen and done in X3:TC and I realize that I have never really paid much attention to bombers. I've captured a few here and there but I sold them off. M8s really never crossed my mind before.

How effective are they against ships like M6s and above? Would it be worth it to invest in a military transport with a small bomber wing on it?

Skillzfire · Post by **Skillzfire** » Mon, 5. Sep 11, 02:55

they cannot dock at a TM they are classed as big ships for some reason, but against M6 they will ruin their day they can level a sector but be warned they are NOT combat ships in a sence that they will explode easily if caught by anything bigger than a M3 think of them as space artilary

Nightwatch · Post by **Nightwatch** » Mon, 5. Sep 11, 03:08

If you use them, they will need a fighter screen to protect them at all times, but they can handle anything bigger then a fighter. M6s will pretty much die in one missile hit. They are pretty cost effective if you can get them to work and position them right. The problem of course is turrets shooting down the missiles, so distracting the enemy capitals with fighters can be an effective tactic.

Slashman · Post by **Slashman** » Mon, 5. Sep 11, 03:39

Hmmm...thanks for the replies. I may do some experimenting with them.

I've always liked the concept of bombers in other space flight games like Freespace 2 and Wing Commander: Prophecy.

deca.death · Post by **deca.death** » Mon, 5. Sep 11, 08:02

.

You can use them without any protection actually (personally flying them that is) because stupid AI doesn't prioritize them as targets (and they should...)

They are effective assassins of capital ships, M6 and up. One M8 can actually clear out entire sector, bases, shipyards, everything. I usually pack 70-100 t.hawks in M8 /w approx. 500 ecells. T.hawks, although not as clumsy as torpedoes, are not best suited for taking out fighters. BTW T.hawks DO retarget. They are good quick response team and great for taking in assass. missions.

For using that weapon effectively you will need small t.hawk complex (ore mine, M food, M bio and 2 t.hawk fabs will be more then enough) and you don't have to worry about big ship enemies, ever : )

Bill Huntington · Post by **Bill Huntington** » Mon, 5. Sep 11, 09:54

Slashman, one of the nice things about M8s is the "Tomahawk trick". You fire enough missiles, either as a barrage or single missiles, to kill the target. Then you change ship, and jump out the M8 before the missiles hit. That way you have NO rep loss, for an enemy ship or even a station.
The idea is that they don't know who fired the missiles, so they can't blame anyone.

Triaxx2 · Post by **Triaxx2** » Mon, 5. Sep 11, 11:54

Yeah, they look like fighters, but they aren't. They do give fighter groups some serious anti-capital firepower though.

There's a stage in the game where a fighter just isn't enough to work with because you're encountering capital ships. The two options are move up to a capital ship, or add a bomber to your standard compliment of ships. I like the latter unless I'm flush with cash.

rwhiteruff · Post by **rwhiteruff** » Mon, 5. Sep 11, 14:49

Think of them as artillery pieces. They're not very sturdy, but they can as deca.death said, assassinate pretty much any big target through missile barrage. Surgical strike platforms is what they are.

And I think they're not classified as fighters because if you take the WW2-in-spaaaace analogy, these things are like B2 superfortresses rather than fighter-bombers. They're almost as big as corvettes for the most part, and usually pack a turret or two.

Nightwatch · Post by **Nightwatch** » Mon, 5. Sep 11, 16:15

Not really a great analogy, as Superfortresses had a pretty serious defense capabilty. They had turrets in every direction. Anti-tank guns might be a better comparison.

Slashman · Post by **Slashman** » Mon, 5. Sep 11, 20:26

Man...you guys have me excited,

I'm going to add bombers to my fighter wings and see what happens with M6s and higher ships.

Just need to find some free time to actually get it done...

Lelouch · Post by **Lelouch** » Mon, 5. Sep 11, 21:37

Nightwatch wrote:Anti-tank guns might be a better comparison.

Someone mentiones artillery. Why not stick with that?

Deadly if it manages to stay out of combat. Dead if it didn't. Glass cannon also fits.

pjknibbs · Post by **pjknibbs** » Mon, 5. Sep 11, 22:58

Skillzfire wrote:they cannot dock at a TM they are classed as big ships for some reason

They're classed as big ships because they ARE big ships. Compare the size of an M8 to the size of an M3 and it should rapidly become apparent that an M8 wouldn't fit in a TM's docking bays!

deca.death · Post by **deca.death** » Mon, 5. Sep 11, 23:02

Lelouch wrote: Someone mentiones artillery. Why not stick with that?

NO, WE'LL GO WITH TANK KILLERS!
because it sounds more immature.

temetvince · Post by **temetvince** » Mon, 5. Sep 11, 23:07

deca.death wrote:
Lelouch wrote: Someone mentiones artillery. Why not stick with that?
NO, WE'LL GO WITH TANK KILLERS!
because it sounds more immature.

Idk, I think I'll go with bombers myself.

Triaxx2 · Post by **Triaxx2** » Tue, 6. Sep 11, 00:03

I think a Catalina, or B-25 (medium bomber) is a more fitting comparison for Gladiator. It's not really large enough for a B-29 over a conventional fighter.

On the other hand, given the general specialization of the Bomber, it's more a Tank Destroyer over a standard Tank.

Sandalpocalypse · Post by **Sandalpocalypse** » Tue, 6. Sep 11, 03:30

its important to note the missile salvo function for m8s, this will allow you to fire dense enough bombardments to penetrate turret fire against most targets, esp. with multiple m8s.

Slashman · Post by **Slashman** » Tue, 6. Sep 11, 19:27

Sandalpocalypse wrote:its important to note the missile salvo function for m8s, this will allow you to fire dense enough bombardments to penetrate turret fire against most targets, esp. with multiple m8s.

Is that automatic? I mean...will my NPC ships fire salvos by themselves?

Can I choose a salvo instead of a single missile launch?

Sandalpocalypse · Post by **Sandalpocalypse** » Tue, 6. Sep 11, 20:09

it's not automatic and it's not a 'conventional' function of the ship; it's an Additional Ship Command that all m8s have access to. NPCs are as capable of firing salvos as the playership is, so there's rarely any reason to fly an m8 yourself.

perkint · Post by **perkint** » Wed, 7. Sep 11, 13:55

Just to clarify slightly - you can issue the barrage command on a ship under AI control as easily as one you are piloting. It also works OOS where missiles are insta-hit but I think swarm missiles don't hit as hard - not tried it but I've seen it said swarms are only counted as 1 warhead not 8, when OOS. Oh and there's no retargeting for missiles OOS...

Tim

Slashman · Post by **Slashman** » Wed, 7. Sep 11, 22:35

perkint wrote:Just to clarify slightly - you can issue the barrage command on a ship under AI control as easily as one you are piloting. It also works OOS where missiles are insta-hit but I think swarm missiles don't hit as hard - not tried it but I've seen it said swarms are only counted as 1 warhead not 8, when OOS. Oh and there's no retargeting for missiles OOS...

Tim

Thanks...that's handy to know.

OK...one more thing I really need to ask:

What in the heck happened to the Boron bomber? Did someone hold it and neuter it? The Marlin specs are disturbing. A 300 cargo bay?

egosoft.com

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Bombers

Bombers

"Tomahawk trick"