Posts by Tiber

some good points there...

Just like in reality, there should be a role for each type of ship and this role should define the ships characteristics - handling, firepower, toughness.

Right now everyone flies VHFs because there's been this slow power creep upwards that has left everything else in the dust. They are tougher, have more firepower and are as maneuverable as anything else in the game, plus they carry about 100 cargo...why fly anything else?

Define the roles and relationships, then code the ships to match those roles.

LFs - Speed=A, Maneuver=A , Firepower=C, Toughness=C
HFs - Speed=B, Maneuver=B, Firepower=B, Toughness=B
VHFs - Speed=C, Maneuver=C, Firepower=A, Toughness=A

Average capabilities:
Speed: A=120, B=100, C=80
Maneuver: A=25% better, B=Average, C=25% worse
Firepower: A=6 guns (4-6 cls 10), B= 4-6 guns (2-4 cls 10), C= 4 guns (2 cls 10)
Toughness: A=10000, B=7500, C=5000

There's obviously lots of room to adjust for individuality, these would kind of just be center points to work from. The cool thing is LFs/HFs wouldn't be worthless, and I'd be willing to bet that some of our top pilots could easily gut those lumbering VHFs in a well flown LF.

Right now, "clan rules" are external and it creates a sense that there are two games running in the same universe.

The software is coded right now to recognize opposing groups and shoot at them - i.e. almost all NPCs (and NPC bases) shoot Xenos on sight. If I kill enough Blood Dragons, my rep with BD drops and I can't dock at BD bases anymore...

Why not use the same code that controls rep in the NPC world to work for clans as well? I would have a rep with each clan. If my rep wasn't good enough then I couldn't dock at their base and it would shoot at me. It would even be possible (?) to code NPC clan patrols around the base that would randomly generate like BD patrols or Liberty patrols do. The clans no longer have to run around complaining that people are breaking their rules when they aren't online.

Suddenly, the whole "clan rules" thing is really an integral part of the game instead of this "separate game". When a clan buys a base, they can set the rep levels of that base. When you buy the base you decide who your clan's enemies and allies are. The trick is that rep levels work both ways. Just like in the core game the Xenos hate everyone - so everyone hates the Xenos.

I guess it's possible that FLstat is wrong - OP?

if FLstat couldn't read the files then where would it be getting the numbers though? It couldn't be looking at a vanilla file because the Shroud wouldn't exist at all then...

Well, I took your advice and (thanks to Gunny) got permission to buy a shroud. It's a heck of a fighter...I'm having a great time flying it...

Now, let's make it the interceptor that it seems like it's intended to be...

- Drop the cargo by 50%, no light figher should carry 130
- Drop the torp slots - it's an interceptor, not a bomber
These decreases and the fact that it's armor is lower than most other mainline fighters would justify increasing it's maneuverability...
- increase strafe to 30 or 40 - sideslipping is cool on LFs
- kick up the other maneuver stats - it's so average right now
- increase speed to 100 - interceptors should be faster

Just one example...BTW, I'm relatively new to CF, but I've been playing (and working on) games for over 20 years. I'd love to get involved in a project to diversify the performance of the ships - if this is something that OP is interested in pursueing.

Strange...maybe I'm overlooking something then...When I look in FLStat, the Shroud's maneuverability characteristics are identical to 40 other fighters. It's turning capabilities, it's speed, it's Strafe force...everything measured by FLStat...exactly the same.

In fact, if these stats are to be trusted, the Shroud is really very average. The Kossac and Bullpup Mk1 are actually the most maneuverable fighters listed. So, either FLstat is wrong, not listing some critical statistic, or it's all perception. Since the difference between the average fighters and the best are around 5%, I'm inclined to believe it's perception.

BTW in case there's any question...this is intended as a constructive dialog, not in any way a flame or criticism.

CF is the best Mod I've played so far. The one thing I've noticed that seems to be missing is a place for the light fighter. OP, your decision to keep flight characteristics of all the fighters fairly similar has resulted in a culture where everyone if flying VHFs in order to have a chance.

there's a reason (theoretically) that Light Fighters are manufactured and it shouldn't be just to act as cannon fodder. It would be a lot of fun to see some of our top aces in LFs flying circles around VHFs, darting in and out of combat.

Playing with Strafe, Reverse, Base speeds and turning characteristics could open the door for a whole new breed of CF player

Been flying a Bullpup MK2 for 24 hours now. I love flying this ship! BUT (and I hope that I'm not offending the original modeler) the models are a bit, well, out of date relative to most of the amazing models in CF. They don't look so bad except from the back - and that's where the pilot looks 99.9% of the time.

OP, if you love them, no intent to offend as this is just my opinion. May I humbly suggest that they need a facelift? If i haven't already upset you by messing with your mod, I can even suggest some ready made models that I ran into. If you're not opposed to getting permission to use another creators models, I saw some in another mod that would be a great addition to CF.

The stats would have to be edited, but the models are great and roughly correspond to the BP Mk1 - Mk3 characteristics. What they call the Buster already has 6 class 10 guns - like the MK2...what the VHF model looks like a light freighter.

Here's the link to the ship graphics:
http://www.asylum51.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3297