Yeah, should probably point out that I'm not complaining about the mission as much as responding to the complaints about it being too hard... I saw where everyone wanted the new ship and so Inc just threw something in.

I'd actually like to see more missions that required group effort. If it was even harder and required two people to do, that might be a cool change of pace.

i have no problem whatsoever with hive bots.

i have a problem with a mission whose purpose it is to get a ship that would otherwise lessen the burden of taking that very mission.

it's reversed purpose.

sorry to tantalize your elite superiority complex. that mission is just plain aggravating. with two alts well above the 11/11/11/-/- mark and >10k bots of experience, i dont mind the bots. i mind the gank fest this mission is.

and so i *cheated* as some think by using a friend's helping hand. fuck it. i did it to give me a reason to stay in vo. because right now, my interest is very, very thinned.

and i helped another friend get the damn ship.

and i'd do it again because requiring ubber skills to get access to a ship that lessens the burden is the wrong way to go about.

and dont yap at me with "well it's just a prototype to test the balance out". yeah. what balance? those ultra-experienced (/gifted?) players against noob (/clumsier?) flying what? i want a chance to try out the new setup against proms and whatnot. *that* will be a better test than star pilots in x-1 going against regular pilots in crappier ships.

after many months, the raptor is still considered a prototype. so i'm not going to sit and wait until this makes mainstream.

I hope the Serco get some experimentation in the next update... I'm feeling left out here, esp now that we have people like Ghost flying around in prototypes and dodging absolutely anything you could possibly throw at them from well within their effective weapons range.

the new valk is not restricted to itani.

besides the mission, it has the same requirements as the vengeance or other valks.

so, yeah, some serco out there have it. lecter, for one, whom i owe a couple of pks for various reasons. i'll try to catch him in game tomorrow and see if i can do nicely, valkake against valkake.

edit:
valkake or flatkyrie? we should nick this thing officially! any ideas?

I wouldn't say I dodged everything. You got me down to 19% in the one fight that we had.

I really need some more time with it to figure out if it's balanced or not though. It does still have a good sized collision mesh, just smaller than the original.

"valkake or flatkyrie? we should nick this thing officially! any ideas?""
potato-chip

Serco?! SERCO?! How bout something nice for the not-bp-havin not-bs-havin not-useful-special-ship havin UIT?!

Cunjo: I saw you were using l-mines for your fights. How does the collision profile affect your use of those exactly? You're fighting in a rag (a heavy bomber), maybe you should switch to a fighter or the prom??

Next we're gonna get TRS telling us he can't beat it in his EC-89? We should reduce it's speed and make it 8000kg right?

I tried to make the mission challenging A) because it seemed fun at the time and B) because I wanted feedback from players advanced enough to be able to pass the mission. I figured it would be possible to cheat, but still, many wouldn't. I recently read about a newbie who managed to make it to Combat 5 (or something like that?) without ever learning how to fight or kill bots. So, yeah, a challenging mission made sense to me.

The Valk X-1 is not a permanent vessel, it is truly an experiment, and it will get pulled eventually (the lead-in to the mission warns about that specifically), but I am very much interested in feedback in the meantime. Yes, the Raptor has languished long in "testing" land, this will not be the same.

For the record, I currently have no way of forcing a given mission to a certain nation. I only have faction standing, which as we all know, has been messed up for time immemorial. Hopefully it'll be fixed in a couple of weeks, and then we won't be having this specific discussion. Instead people will be unhappy about other stuff, like not being able to have high Serco *and* Itani faction at the same time. Or perceived advantages of one nation over another. I'm sure that'll all be exciting. Until then, let's just test the experimental ship and not worry too much about it, ok?

Yessah! I'm even going to up tosh's Itani standing to get it...
*checks the skies*

I hope I don't lose all my valk X-1's when I get back from my x-mas break :(

Och , all this running about space getting special ships....

I Just opened a couple of cargo presents and found a case of whisky !

Cheers Devs

Until then, let's just test the experimental ship and not worry too much about it, ok?

that's all i ask.

edit: the mission is fun, inc. just too hard i think for the purpose. perhaps splitting the first wave in half (3 light, 2light+hog, then the current second wave) would suffice.

edit: truce

The mission was hard for me at first, but I loaded some gauss and then it wasn't a problem. I think a hard mission should take quite a few tries for people to complete it, and that is what we have here. If you play around with different loadouts and strategies, most players shouldn't have too much of a problem with it.

I think it's fine for what it is.

No comment till I get home.

You know what they say, once you go PowerMac, you never go back...

No comment till I get home... SO DON'T COMMENT AND STFU!

> I recently read about a newbie who managed to make it to Combat
> 5 (or something like that?) without ever learning how to fight
> or kill bots. So, yeah, a challenging mission made sense to me.

If you think that fighting could be learned, then please put something in to learn that, and make it work. I`ve even been told that some of the hits I place don`t make any damage. Where`s any challenge to whatever is put in before the game becomes playable in the first place?

I'm not exactly sure what your first sentence is in regard to, but is the hostile tone really necessary or helpful? Here you have the head game developer actively conversing with the player base in an open and respectful manner - and this is how you respond?

Maybe you were talking about AI? I know of many games with good bot AI, but all of them are predictable and defeatable after a little observation. Vendetta is no worse (barring Deliverator bugs).

As for hits not causing damage sometimes, this happens all the time with online games. Some people don't experience it often, and some have a constant issue. Vendetta is quite playable in that regard, and generally has fewer "false hit" issues than other games I play. It's more an issue of how YOU connect to the server.

Cunjo: Ghost flying around in prototypes and dodging absolutely anything you could possibly throw at them from well within their effective weapons range.

Anyone else, save TRS, I'd say they were being sarcastic. Because it is so goddamn far from the truth that it's laughable.

I've run through a number of tests involving IBG vs. X-1 and (the clencher) Vengance vs. X-1 with matched setups. The X-1, as expected, tends to take less damage in matched setup energy battles, but it only wins out sometimes. The flattening isn't even that much % difference: I'd guess a 15% squish or something. Inc. if you get a chance could you post a side by side and what you actually did to the Vengance to make it into an X-1?

Anyway, yeah, if the X-1 can "dodge absolutly anything you can throw at it" you really need to get closer than 400m out. Or, learn to aim. It's still thicker than an IBG by a lot and the thrust:mass ratio leaves it a good bit less perky.

Good stuff to start with, let's see it incorporated into all Valk structures save the Rune and maybe the Valk Mk I. And see about flattening the body as well as the wings, eh?