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The vulture is god's gift to light fighter pilots.
I'd say its easily the most balanced ship in the game. The Serco Vulture Guardian, for example, besides being a hot seat in a dogfight, is also an excellent chaser.
The Hornet just can't keep up, in a duel or in a race. What good is some extra damage when you can't hit them?
Which is also why the Quad Rail and Quad Flare hornets have their uses.
If you only need to hit them once or twice. They're going to have to concentrate a lot harder on not slipping up.
I'd say its easily the most balanced ship in the game. The Serco Vulture Guardian, for example, besides being a hot seat in a dogfight, is also an excellent chaser.
The Hornet just can't keep up, in a duel or in a race. What good is some extra damage when you can't hit them?
Which is also why the Quad Rail and Quad Flare hornets have their uses.
If you only need to hit them once or twice. They're going to have to concentrate a lot harder on not slipping up.
>8D
Okay, long distance chasing, the Orion Hornet isn't bad, but you can't chase with any layout that you could use in a fight can you?
Zornets need bigger engines.
And enough with the Blizzard-GuildSoftware comparisons!
Blizzard is a massive, multi-billion-dollar company with more employees and cders than you can count. Guild is three guys running an expensive server on a shoestring budget and living on pocket change. They do not have the luxury of time and money to do anything they want with VO. At present there are much higher priorities than making everything look pretty for the newbs. Things like rewriting the AI and mission engine so it works, fixing bugs, and making the game more playable in general. It's a miraculous feat that they've even managed to keep VO running as long as they have, so let's appreciate more what they've done, and spend less time scolding them for not being able to do as much as Blizzard, ok?
And enough with the Blizzard-GuildSoftware comparisons!
Blizzard is a massive, multi-billion-dollar company with more employees and cders than you can count. Guild is three guys running an expensive server on a shoestring budget and living on pocket change. They do not have the luxury of time and money to do anything they want with VO. At present there are much higher priorities than making everything look pretty for the newbs. Things like rewriting the AI and mission engine so it works, fixing bugs, and making the game more playable in general. It's a miraculous feat that they've even managed to keep VO running as long as they have, so let's appreciate more what they've done, and spend less time scolding them for not being able to do as much as Blizzard, ok?
I bet Blizzard spends more money on toilet paper, coffee and sodas in a month than Guild since inception on the entire VO game.
Corporal Hicks wrote
"there is the occasional shoot-a-mining-unarmed-EC89-in-the-back type of person (he is on my hitlist BTW) but they seem to be far and between. So, I stay. and fly."
Bad boy Lecter, bad boy
"there is the occasional shoot-a-mining-unarmed-EC89-in-the-back type of person (he is on my hitlist BTW) but they seem to be far and between. So, I stay. and fly."
Bad boy Lecter, bad boy
Welcome, Corporal Hicks. Couple things from the original post that jumped out at me:
All Newtonian physics tell me that if an object is not influenced by other forces (such as gravity) it will either stand still, or if moving, continue in the direction at which it is moving, and at the speed it was moving.
Its not accurate physics if the ship des not behave like this. This I think is very, very bad.
I agree (although calling it 'very very bad' is hyperbole, mate). One reason things are the way they are is combat, which will become apparent when you get into PvP.
I really think you guys could learn something from the way Blizzard has made the tasks in WoW They have to be simple, and easy to understand.
The devs are smart people, you can bet they've studied the competition. WoW's missions are very well crafted, but they also have a much larger development team. Creating missions is something players can help out with; Try signing up for the PCC after you've spent some time in game and submitting a few of your own missions.
And why is the space dwo dimentional anyway ??? Why isent a sector say a 6x6x6 cube instead of a flat square ???
It's called the plane of the ecliptic. Most objects orbiting star systems fall within a certain distance of a flat plane.
http://www.heavens-above.com/gloss.asp?term=ecliptic+plane
I think that not only should there be a complete cockpit (with working screens etc.) but you should also be able to customize it (like picking upholstery...
Ack! No! This isn't Star Wars.
All Newtonian physics tell me that if an object is not influenced by other forces (such as gravity) it will either stand still, or if moving, continue in the direction at which it is moving, and at the speed it was moving.
Its not accurate physics if the ship des not behave like this. This I think is very, very bad.
I agree (although calling it 'very very bad' is hyperbole, mate). One reason things are the way they are is combat, which will become apparent when you get into PvP.
I really think you guys could learn something from the way Blizzard has made the tasks in WoW They have to be simple, and easy to understand.
The devs are smart people, you can bet they've studied the competition. WoW's missions are very well crafted, but they also have a much larger development team. Creating missions is something players can help out with; Try signing up for the PCC after you've spent some time in game and submitting a few of your own missions.
And why is the space dwo dimentional anyway ??? Why isent a sector say a 6x6x6 cube instead of a flat square ???
It's called the plane of the ecliptic. Most objects orbiting star systems fall within a certain distance of a flat plane.
http://www.heavens-above.com/gloss.asp?term=ecliptic+plane
I think that not only should there be a complete cockpit (with working screens etc.) but you should also be able to customize it (like picking upholstery...
Ack! No! This isn't Star Wars.
You know why I like posts like this one from Hicks?
Because it is a fresh look on the game.
Things that pop out at me are (in no particular order)
- maybe a better job of explaining the physics and other non-intuitive design decisions is in order. We all know that turbo is the way it is for gameplay. How hard is it to incorporate some sort of an explanation of this into the VO story? Same goes for the 2D map.
- On creating a new character, especially the first one for an install, an intro sequence could be used to well, introduce new players to the game. It's a great opportunity to give some of the backstory as well as some sort of indication on what to do. It can also showcase some of the more exciting things people can see in the game, like a hive queen, a variety of ships, battles, etc. I think that using the in-game engine for this, with a simple voiceover would be very effective. I know, I know, it's yet more work, but something to think on.
- Better descriptions and clearer, more explicit orders for missions is not the same thing as 'dumbing down' the game. It's just better writing and can actually enhance gameplay. After a while, players get used to how this game works and that's great. But capturing the first impressions new players have with VO is something that is terribly important to 'our four guys' as they know all too well that the difference between making a good first impression and a bad one is often a subscription.
- Hicks mentions the desire to 'see' his ship. I agree with this - if the ship is my avatar, show it off. They do look fantastic and his suggestion of even a rendering of the ship in a generic hangar at least gives the player a visual 'reward'. I don't care if there are hangar animations or if it is a static image. Reward the pilot with a view of their starcraft when they come into a hangar. This idea is not new, and keeps coming up because lots of prospective players like it.
Finally, a note for Mr. Hicks. If you haven't noticed by now, the forums are often an area of 'lively' discussion. The game is quirky in it's own way and unlike almost anything else available. One of the things you have yet to get a sense of is the tight community of players. You won't find the anonymous hordes like in World of Warcraft here, but rather a crew of 'regulars', each with a unique personality. Grudges, partnerships and competition all help to add another layer of complexity and detail to the game.
So with that, welcome to the game. I hope you like it as much as we do. I also hope you develop into a capable fighter pilot, because we all know the convoys need more protection out there.
Because it is a fresh look on the game.
Things that pop out at me are (in no particular order)
- maybe a better job of explaining the physics and other non-intuitive design decisions is in order. We all know that turbo is the way it is for gameplay. How hard is it to incorporate some sort of an explanation of this into the VO story? Same goes for the 2D map.
- On creating a new character, especially the first one for an install, an intro sequence could be used to well, introduce new players to the game. It's a great opportunity to give some of the backstory as well as some sort of indication on what to do. It can also showcase some of the more exciting things people can see in the game, like a hive queen, a variety of ships, battles, etc. I think that using the in-game engine for this, with a simple voiceover would be very effective. I know, I know, it's yet more work, but something to think on.
- Better descriptions and clearer, more explicit orders for missions is not the same thing as 'dumbing down' the game. It's just better writing and can actually enhance gameplay. After a while, players get used to how this game works and that's great. But capturing the first impressions new players have with VO is something that is terribly important to 'our four guys' as they know all too well that the difference between making a good first impression and a bad one is often a subscription.
- Hicks mentions the desire to 'see' his ship. I agree with this - if the ship is my avatar, show it off. They do look fantastic and his suggestion of even a rendering of the ship in a generic hangar at least gives the player a visual 'reward'. I don't care if there are hangar animations or if it is a static image. Reward the pilot with a view of their starcraft when they come into a hangar. This idea is not new, and keeps coming up because lots of prospective players like it.
Finally, a note for Mr. Hicks. If you haven't noticed by now, the forums are often an area of 'lively' discussion. The game is quirky in it's own way and unlike almost anything else available. One of the things you have yet to get a sense of is the tight community of players. You won't find the anonymous hordes like in World of Warcraft here, but rather a crew of 'regulars', each with a unique personality. Grudges, partnerships and competition all help to add another layer of complexity and detail to the game.
So with that, welcome to the game. I hope you like it as much as we do. I also hope you develop into a capable fighter pilot, because we all know the convoys need more protection out there.