Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
According to the novel there were only four squadrons: one captured by the Border Worlds, one lost at the weapons factory and two onboard the Vesuvius at the end.
"Carriers don't fly themselves, Admiral."
"Quite, quite right Colonel. It is the men, isn't it?"
IIRC, Pliers in either the game or the novel comments on how they can almost 'take care of themselves' where maintenance is concerned.Dundradal said:Dragons are expensive to manufacture and I would assume also to maintain.
Viper61 said:IIRC, Pliers in either the game or the novel comments on how they can almost 'take care of themselves' where maintenance is concerned.
C-ya
Colonel Jim said:Still de Dragon is quite a formidable craft. And yet again, it's shields and armor are unmatched. These craft could seriously cripple a cat fleet.
Dundradal said:But it still comes back to the matter of money. Dragons are expensive to manufacture and I would assume also to maintain. Although it is odd that we don't see atleast one fighter with some of the dragons refinements (possibly a newer generation fighter sized M/AM engine)
Haesslich said:Except that, while they 'almost maintain themselves' when it comes to ease of maintenance, you still need to replace parts or do minor repairs or refitting after each mission to keep them performing at their best. Remember that there's combat damage to consider, along with the usual problems inflicted by high-g maneuvering, and the resulting stresses that'll put on the frame.
They're going to cost more, especially being 'beyond cutting edge' craft.
Actually, the Black Vampire and upgraded Vampires in WCSO and WCP both match it in terms of shielding, exceed it in terms of firepower and missile loadout, and far outstrip it as far as maneuverability is concerned. They're rather like the conceptual mating of the Bearcat (high-maneuverability frames designed for dogfighting) and Dragon (powerful shield and guns plus some capship-killing capabilities) concepts. And they're even cloakable, though the cloaks don't work against the bugs.
Check the script on Wedge009's site - he has the audio clip where Stiletto and Maestro discover our cloaks don't work against the Nephilim's sensor suites.
Dragons were expensive enough during their time, due to the combination of performance and leading-edge tech (M/A engines, jump drives, new shielding and armor technologies, special weapons like Fission Cannons). We do see the Dragon's legacy in newer craft, however - those high-YPR systems that appeared in it and the Bearcat show up in all of WCP's craft, as does the idea of special guns that can handle capship-level targets (see the Devastator) and the Strike Vampire concept.
Colonel Jim said:Haesslich said:Dragons were expensive enough during their time, due to the combination of performance and leading-edge tech (M/A engines, jump drives, new shielding and armor technologies, special weapons like Fission Cannons). We do see the Dragon's legacy in newer craft, however - those high-YPR systems that appeared in it and the Bearcat show up in all of WCP's craft, as does the idea of special guns that can handle capship-level targets (see the Devastator) and the Strike Vampire concept.
Yes but the Vampire was introduced many, many years later. And it specs are indeed beter than that of the Dragon, but compare the dragon to the ships in it's time. Now compare the Vampire to the Dragon. The Dragon was way ahead of it's time.
Bandit LOAF said:According to the novel there were only four squadrons: one captured by the Border Worlds, one lost at the weapons factory and two onboard the Vesuvius at the end.