Broadsword and lack of afterburners.

DyNaMiX

Spaceman
I've been revisiting Wing Commander 2 lately (since I'm having a break from Capitalism 2 and World of Warcraft) and there was something that crossed my mind that I didn't really think about the first time through, the Broadsword's lack of afterburners.
I realised it when I went to increase my speed a little and noticed the tab key did nothing. But why is this? I'm assuming that it's simply because the ship is so large (heck it has 3 gunners as well as the pilot), that the afterburners are just innefficient. Also since it's so focused on bombing, the maneuverability is left for it's fighter escort.
That then brings me to my next point, the Longbow had afterburners and it was a pretty large craft. On a slightly related note, did the Longbow have a gunner in the tail or was it a remote/pilot controlled/auto turret similar to the one in the thunderbolt. The reason I ask this is because the Sabre heavy fighter needed a gunner for the tail.
 
I've been revisiting Wing Commander 2 lately (since I'm having a break from Capitalism 2 and World of Warcraft) and there was something that crossed my mind that I didn't really think about the first time through, the Broadsword's lack of afterburners.
I realised it when I went to increase my speed a little and noticed the tab key did nothing. But why is this? I'm assuming that it's simply because the ship is so large (heck it has 3 gunners as well as the pilot), that the afterburners are just innefficient. Also since it's so focused on bombing, the maneuverability is left for it's fighter escort.
That then brings me to my next point, the Longbow had afterburners and it was a pretty large craft. On a slightly related note, did the Longbow have a gunner in the tail or was it a remote/pilot controlled/auto turret similar to the one in the thunderbolt. The reason I ask this is because the Sabre heavy fighter needed a gunner for the tail.


No afterburners on the Broadsword. See, back in 1991 a computer game was supposed to be hard and engrossing... and then by 1994 a computer game was supposed to be for everyone and their three legged dog to feel good about being able to win. :)

The idea was that the Broadsword was a World War 2-style strategic bomber in space, and if you wanted to blow up capital ships you had to play the game very differently from the missions where you'd go around dogfighting in a space Mustang.

The Longbow and Thunderbolt do have gunners; we know because there's a part in the Wing Commander IV novel where in a last minute scramble Blair has to use a computer instead of a gunner in his Thunderbolt.
 
I suppose that makes sense. The torpedo locks took a while. There'd be no point using afterburners when you gota fly slow and steady.
Same reason you wouldn't see someone dogfighting in a Flying Fortress. :)
 
The Longbow isn't a small craft.. but the Broadsword is freakin huge. They're about the same length, but the Broadsword is five times as massive. You do run into the issue with the Crossbow's mass, but it's at least faster than the Broadsword.
 
Even without afterburners, the Broadsword was one of my favourite ships in WC2. Battles lasted longer, but thanks to the huge armor and shields you could withstand lots of hits before finally being able to dispatch the annoying light fighter tackleing you :)
 
Yeah, Broadswords are fun and challenging! The only time I gritted my teeth in one was where you had to beam in a communique pod while next to a Ralatha.
 
Although the Broadsword was a massive tub that had a horrible turn ratio and no afterburners...I rarely had problems tangling with Kilrathi fighters thanks to the great shields and armor and three neutron turrets. Unfortunately, if you tried to take a Broadsword in the vision engine (ala Standoff) you'd be toast in seconds without afterburners. But in WC2 it was a joy to fly.
 
I always killed the Ralatha and its fighters before beaming in the data pod. ^_^

The only fighters I had major trouble with were the Strakha stealth fighters--you really have to jump from turret to turret to kill them since they will disappear before you can turn to face them.
 
The data pod mission is really hard. The big guns un the ralatha always fry me while I try to kill the pesky Sarthas. That would a good time to have an afterburner or an escort.
 
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