Wing Commander Prophecy: Boom Boom recipe

[klaus]

Hehe...

"We're <hic> gonna miss you, <hic> my dear little bug! Yes we will... <hic> row, row, row your boat..."

Heh, Quarto. Why in heavens didn't they record that line for Maestro in the game?

I'd laugh my *** off.

------------------
The WC Source Code Release Project needs you!

"This matter winds itself ever in new riddles.", Faramir - The Lord of The Rings

"...we follow the sun, we follow the sun, we follow the sun..."

 

[Mad Hatter]

Well, I think Confed would be much happier if they still had Dragons against the bugs.
What ever happened to those anyway?

BTW, did anyone ever notice how in each game,
all the fighters in the beginning are relatively week, and then, towards the end of the game, an all powerfull ship comes along, and it beats the crap out of the enemy. You finish the game, Origin releases a new one, and it starts all over again.
Now I`m sure everyone has noticed this, but has anyone ever stopped to consider how stupid this is? I mean, you`ve got a great ship, why take it out of service, and put a less powerfull one instead?
Of course, people will argue that it enhances gameplay, but it is kind of weird isn`t it?

 

[KrisV]

The Dragon was not a Confed ship, and it's associated with a lot of bad things. Besides, the Vampire is superior to the Dragon in almost every way.

 

[Twister]

well, yeah, here's what i find strange;
why didn't confed make the excalibur it's primery work horse instead of the, still good, allround, hellcat...

------------------
When I'm in the air...
I'm indestructible.
No one can stop me...
But they try.
Realy WC fans support the WCSCRP

 

[Earthworm]

Well, I think Confed would be much happier if they still had Dragons against the bugs.
What ever happened to those anyway?

Because now they have even better fighters.

BTW, did anyone ever notice how in each game,
all the fighters in the beginning are relatively week, and then, towards the end of the game, an all powerfull ship comes along, and it beats the crap out of the enemy. You finish the game, Origin releases a new one, and it starts all over again.
Now I`m sure everyone has noticed this, but has anyone ever stopped to consider how stupid this is? I mean, you`ve got a great ship, why take it out of service, and put a less powerfull one instead?
Of course, people will argue that it enhances gameplay, but it is kind of weird isn`t it?

What's so weird? You end WC1 in a Rapier, by the WC2 time it's obsolete, and you start with a Ferret because you're not exactly the most trusted guy around, you're new to the ship, and you're rank isn't as high as it used to be. You end WC2 in a Morningstar, and begin WC3 in a Hellcat. You fly one mission in it, and than you can choose. In WC4 you can only choose only two fighters at the begining because it's peace time, so Excals and similar stuff aren't kept around. And in Prophecy you're a newbie again, and you have to start over. Than in SO you start with a prety good fighter.

 

[Earthworm]

The Flash-Pak was the one good thing about the Dragon that Confed should have used, IMHO.

The Flash Pak would most likely NOT work on capships anymore. Seing how it had to be fired inside to Vesuvius to do any damage to it, it would be the same thing with new capships.

Twister, like Kalk said, the Excal is way more expensive. The auto tracking comp, 4 Tachyons, Matter-Anti Matter power plant. It's peace time, the economy is cripled, the Navy doesen't get money for new toys.

 

[KrisV]

As EW said, the Vesuvius class required the flashpack to be launched from inside the bay. Confed is moving away from the classic hangar bay model, for obvious reasons, shields and armor are getting better...

You'd need one flashpack to take out one segment of the Midway class, and the sorta-organic bugships probably wouldn't take much damage at all.

 

[Earthworm]

And the Nephilim ships are an organic life form that wasn't encountered by Confed before. As far as we know it could be completly different than anything we know about organic materials.

 

[Earthworm]

Organic life, from a totaly different world, doesen't have to be the same as the one we have here.

One evidence of that is that the capships have armor. It could be natural, wich wouldn't be normal for an organic life form.

If the armor was placed there by the Nephilim, it would be safe from the Flash Pak anyhow.

[This message has been edited by Earthworm (edited April 29, 2000).]

 

[TC]

Either way we can't be sure... the FP may or may not have worked... It worked, IIRC by heating up the interior of the ship and killing people... If the hull was not conductive it wouldn't work, it could have other effects, it could act the same, we don't know because it hasn't happened.

TC

------------------
CAG of the Blacklance HQ
"Canadian and proud of it"-TC

 

[Earthworm]

Kalk, you don't get it. As said in WC4, the Vesuvius had a new type of armor that made the FP useless from the outside. Of course the transports had armor, but the Vesuvius had a better and newer one.

 

[Death's Head]

Many interesting topics here...
Flash-Pak is a very curious little tool, but it was engineered to take down standard capships. For all we know, it was designed to have no effect against the Vesuvius armor and strike terror into the hearts of the Assembly by blowing the hell out of transports making it look like mercenaries hired by the Border Worlds or the BW themselves. The Flask-Pak may even have been outlawed by the assembly after the Black Lance trial. If that is the case, we may never know what the FP might do against a bug ship. Even if it were used, the armor during 2681 could have been proof against the FP, so who knows what it could have done to a bug ship.

The Excalibur was used A LOT. Line ships and even stations in the inner sanctum of Confed used Excaliburs like crazy, not as much so as they used T-bolts, but still. Confed may have found ways to produce the ship at a lower cost, or shipped a model that wasn't so luxurious. Prices for the technologies in the 2671 era could be rock-bottom compared to
what they were earlier, especially what they might have been during the war.

The Dragon we knew would be semi-obsolete without upgrades, but with modern tech and enhancements to the engines, lighter(newer) armor, and refitting every other component would yeild a very deadly ship indeed. The main question is how much would it cost? Another point was that it might not be a welcome sight. Well, how do you see a cloaked ship? I think pilots would be eager to fly a refurbished Dragon as fellow pilots die in lighter ships. Civilians are the ones that would be in an uproar, no doubt. But the thing to remember is they aren't the ones who have to put their lives on the line every day. The Dragon was used to do many horrible things, this it true. But then so weren't so many other ships? The arguement is anologous to guns today-do we throw away the guns, or the people who use them to murder and commit crimes?


------------------
My own humble site, this link works
A fan's way to preserve Wing Commander's future

 

[Earthworm]

Flash-Pak is a very curious little tool, but it was engineered to take down standard capships. For all we know, it was designed to have no effect against the Vesuvius armor

Well, something like that. The Vesuvius was build so it can't be damaged by the FP.

Even if it were used, the armor during 2681 could have been proof against the FP, so who knows what it could have done to a bug ship.

Especialy since it already was FP proof in 2673.

The Excalibur was used A LOT.

We only see few Excals in WC4. There's one mission in the Silenos nebula when we encounter 3 Excals, and later the two missions in the dead zone, but other than that we only see them few times if ever.

Prices for the technologies in the 2671 era could be rock-bottom compared to
what they were earlier, especially what they might have been during the war.

Very true. With the economy directed to support the war effort, after the war it was in a horible shape. And than all the fleet personel getting laid off...

The Dragon we knew would be semi-obsolete without upgrades, but with modern tech and enhancements to the engines, lighter(newer) armor, and refitting every other component would yeild a very deadly ship indeed.

Armor (300cm) is actualy very good at the Prophecy time, and it's shields are superior to anything at that time. It's guns are still prety good, and the missile/torp loadout is average.

The main question is how much would it cost?

Hm, a cloacking device, matter-antimatter power plant that's more effective than the one on the Excal, the autotracking comp, likned to the Tachyons and Plasmas. It would all sum up to a nice piece of change. The black lance only had 40 Lances.

Well, how do you see a cloaked ship?

With a weapon that can see through cloack.

The Dragon was used to do many horrible things, this it true. But then so weren't so many other ships? The arguement is anologous to guns today-do we throw away the guns, or the people who use them to murder and commit crimes?

But the Dragon was used for genocide, for killing millions of incoent lives. Our current society, and the one in the future, see something like that as much worse than hundreds of little murders.

And Confed wouldn't exactly want to spend all that money on new Lances/Dragons. There were less than 10 of them left after the BW conflict. 10 destroyed in Speradon, 10 captured by BW with some of them later destroyed, and 20 of them on the big V, also destroyed.




[This message has been edited by Earthworm (edited April 29, 2000).]

 

[Knight]

But the Dragon was used for genocide, for killing millions of incoent lives. Our current society, and the one in the future, see something like that as much worse than hundreds of little murders.
[This message has been edited by Earthworm (edited April 29, 2000).]

OK, but he's still right. Think of what would have happened had a biochemist been working on something that worked against the Kilrathi 10-20 years before that. The cats would have been toast, damn near all of them. We could have sent ships in and just ate away at them, planet by planet. Talk about gameplay! Fighting your way to a planet, dropping some genocide canisters, and then getting the hell out of Dodge, that would be a cool mission. But if wishes were fishes......

------------------
HTML Assistant: WC Space Command
Administrator: UBW 5th Fleet
Member of the LMG and hating it (Disgruntled Man)
I might be right, I might be wrong, but then again, I just might not care either. Got a problem with that?--Me.

 

[Quarto]

Oooh, this is getting interesting

.

First of all, in regards to flammability of organic stuff; how do you know the bugs have any oxygen onboard? They might not need it at all. And no oxygen, no fire. Furthermore, they might be silicon rather than carbon based. Does silicon burn well? Hmm... why don't you set fire to a beach, and get back to me on that one?

In regards to the Flash-Pak, Dragon, et al. Somebody mentioned that the civvies would get irritated, but they're not the ones flying. Well, don't forget that they're the ones who cough up the cash for the equipment. Also, they're the ones with the votes. The Senate wouldn't dare do anything to irritate the civvies. Ergo, no FP, no Dragon. And the Dragon is not just another weapon, which can (and has) be used for both good and bad. It's a stark reminder of gullibility, stupidity, insanity, and of course genocide. Think about the uproar about the naming of the Hades class. Now, if there was so much uproar over a mere name then can you possibly imagine the uproar if Confed wanted to keep using Dragons? Eek.

 

[Quarto]

Eek, Knight, you'd like to participate in genocide? That disturbs me on so many levels.

 

[Meson]

Oooh, this is getting interesting

.

First of all, in regards to flammability of organic stuff; how do you know the bugs have any oxygen onboard? They might not need it at all. And no oxygen, no fire. Furthermore, they might be silicon rather than carbon based. Does silicon burn well? Hmm... why don't you set fire to a beach, and get back to me on that one?

B]

There are many reactions that produce some kind of fire. A lot of which don't need oxygen. We just live on a planet where most reactions, especially organic one, use oxygen as a catalyst. The bugs may not need oxygen, but they will still need a catalyst of some kind. There will still be fire, but it might not look like fire.


------------------
Robert "Meson" Stukowski

Wing Commander is more than just a game. It is a lifestyle.

 

[steampunk]

There are many reactions that produce some kind of fire. A lot of which don't need oxygen. We just live on a planet where most reactions, especially organic one, use oxygen as a catalyst. The bugs may not need oxygen, but they will still need a catalyst of some kind. There will still be fire, but it might not look like fire.

A catalyst by definition is something that speeds up a chemical reaction but does not take part in the reaction. So oxygen is a reactant and not a catalyst.

As for fire, it's probably more accurate to talk about burning, which is an oxidation reaction and thus you do need oxygen to burn.

And as for Quarto's reasoning about silicon based life forms and sand burning: Take a very soft grade of pencil (say 6B) and try to burn the lead. It won't go up in flames. Yet there's a tonne of carbon in it. But we're carbon-based life forms and we burn considerably easier. So being silicon-based doesn't mean you won't burn.

And sand is what you'd get if you tried to burn silicon. It's silicon dioxide

------------------
Mess with the best, die like the rest.

[This message has been edited by steampunk (edited April 30, 2000).]

 

[Quarto]

Hey, I never said I knew what I was talking about

.

 

[Knight]

First of all, in regards to flammability of organic stuff; how do you know the bugs have any oxygen onboard?

Because Dekker and his men didn't need their own air supply when they were on board, and they were there an aweful lot.

Second....

There are many reactions that produce some kind of fire. A lot of which don't need oxygen. We just live on a planet where most reactions, especially organic one, use oxygen as a catalyst. The bugs may not need oxygen, but they will still need a catalyst of some kind. There will still be fire, but it might not look like fire.

Ok, This is coming from a guy who knows about fire (I've taken a bunch of classes), fire needs three things, fuel, a gas, and heat. In all our basic firefighter materials, it uses Oxygen as the primary, but really most gases will do. Hydrogen, Helium, those are all I can remember right now, but if I had a periodic table I could tell you more. There are some that won't burn, but there are more that will. It'll all look like fire, just not the 300-400 degree fires most are used to, probably talking 1000s of degrees depending on the gas. (Oxygen and Acetyline(SP?) will make over 2200 if I'm not mistaken.) The bugs may not need it, but its evidently present on their ships, since Dekker and the marines can breath freely. I'd suspect that if we see another game, we'll learn about them, and learn that they are more crustations (SP?) than bugs, and use Oxygen. Sorta like independence day, the movie, where those weird looking assholes are very similar to us. This is kinda longwinded, so I'll shut up.

------------------
HTML Assistant: WC Space Command
Administrator: UBW 5th Fleet
Member of the LMG and hating it (Disgruntled Man)
I might be right, I might be wrong, but then again, I just might not care either. Got a problem with that?--Me.