The new front page poll asks about your favorite type of landing. A lot of people have fond memories of the first time they figured out how to land in the front of the Tiger's Claw. Everyone also had fun the first time they zoomed through the first fly-through bay on the Victory. And with Gothi pounding their rear armor and electronics popping across your cockpit, who can forget the relief of getting pulled into an automatic landing zone? Our annual New Years poll shows that more Wingnuts feel 'great' about 2010 and fewer predict the year will be 'poor', but there is also greater uncertainty compared to 2009. I think people who voted for the first option will be proven right as the year unfolds! What kind of year will 2010 be for WC? Great 22.82% Good 15.85% Average 18.70% Poor 33.28% Unsure 9.35% Ended on January 31, 2010 | 631 votes -- Original update published on January 31, 2010
"Now entering automatic landing zone" sure is memorable but not always were they the words I wanted to hear: some dogfight near planets were cut short even though I didn't want to land and...mission failed!
Yeah, that's what I disliked about them as well. Plus, there was something great about having to actually do something to land - whether it means lining up with the front of the ship in WC1, or actually entering the hangar in WC3/4. The landings in Priv or WC2 were pretty unexciting - with the exception of Priv's landings taking place either at the worst possible moment in a dogfight, or at the best possible moment when you were about to be destroyed.
It always felt to me like planets had a decent amount of space around them for the action to take place in. A couple times the ACLS grabbed me too, but you get a warning from air traffic control and then a chance to afterburn away from the planet if you get too close. What stands out in my mind are the desperate rushes to the automatic landing zone and then punching the comm screen for immediate landing (in a slower Tarsus). It's one of the only places in the series that I get the sense I'm running a blockade (which are coincidentally frequent plot points in the Privateer missions).
I agree with both the good and bad side of the automated landings in Privateer. They were both great for running blockades and terrible during some dogfights. But what would the alternative be? Allowing you to smash yourself into a planet/base?
Like in Priv 2? (Though IIRC, you burned up in the atmosphere) I agree on the blockade running aspect too.
I never took landing on the Intrepid too seriously, it was an opportunity to do things like a figure eight through the landing bay. Look out grease monkeys, here I come!
