Confed Corvettes

frostytheplebe

Seventh Part of the Seal
Throughout WC history, it seemed that the Kilrathi seemed to have more numerous squadrons of Corvettes. Confed only had them appear in WC1, though there is evidence of them existing later, it was always the Venture class. Is there any evidence that the Confederation built any other classes of Corvette or was it a dying class of ship by WC1 much like the battlewagon?
 
I can not declare myself a great expert of WCU history, but I'd love to share my opinion of the subject with you.
The opinion is the following:
Firstly, judging from the books, corvettes in no way were 'dying', as they were actively used as patrol craft, long-range scout craft, and so on.
Secondly, kilrathi corvettes do surely earn their pay. They do so in WC2, they do so even better in WC3... They're very capable, I'd say. And if cats did have capable corvettes, why would Confed dispose of them?
Guess it's a matter of game scenario, and nothing more, for had we Venture moved to WC2/3 - they'd be very deadly, too.
And as for their weakness in WC1... Do we have ANY capship in WC1 who could defend itself?
 
I guess they just aren't deployed where the player is. In the thick of front line battles, that is. I have no idea why, since they seems to be fairly useful there. Apart from the Fralthi II, the Kilrathi corvette was the ship that gave me the most trouble in all of WC3.
 
I always thought that Confed corvettes deserved more attention as well. And actually we see two Confed corvette classes. I've seen refernces claiming that the Paradigm-class are Destroyers but they're weapons ard armor are far too similar to the weapons and armor on the Kamekh-class Corvettes that the Kilrathi use in Gemini for me to believe that.
 
I don't pay the lack of corvettes any attention in the same way that I don't pay the lack of non-military traffic any attention. It's there in the background somewhere, fine... now let's fight a war.
 
Throughout WC history, it seemed that the Kilrathi seemed to have more numerous squadrons of Corvettes. Confed only had them appear in WC1, though there is evidence of them existing later, it was always the Venture class. Is there any evidence that the Confederation built any other classes of Corvette or was it a dying class of ship by WC1 much like the battlewagon?

The Corvette TCS Brack lead one of the first strike groups to investigate the Nephilim incursion at the beginning of Prophecy.

I always thought that Confed corvettes deserved more attention as well. And actually we see two Confed corvette classes. I've seen refernces claiming that the Paradigm-class are Destroyers but they're weapons ard armor are far too similar to the weapons and armor on the Kamekh-class Corvettes that the Kilrathi use in Gemini for me to believe that.

I actually don't recall the Privateer Kamekh ever being called a corvette. Where applicable, it's listed as a "capital ship." Obviously it's much faster and has much stronger offenses and defenses than the WC2 Kamekh, so it's possible that the Priv version is a destroyer. Obviously since there are (more than) two distinct Kamekhs, that's a more plausible scenario than suggesting that the Paradigm is not a destroyer when we have supporting quotes like this:

The Paradigm is one of the Confederations most advanced destroyers. Featuring almost impregnable armor and shields, it more than compensates for its lack of speed and maneuverability. The Paradigm also has a deadly array of weapons at its disposal, making an attack of any sort extremely dangerous. It carries an astonishing variety of blasters, ranging from meson blasters to ionic pulse cannon. Multiple missiles can deter even the most aggressive Kilrathi aces.
 
I guess they just aren't deployed where the player is. In the thick of front line battles, that is. I have no idea why, since they seems to be fairly useful there. Apart from the Fralthi II, the Kilrathi corvette was the ship that gave me the most trouble in all of WC3.

Well, that was exactly the point -- corvettes were the ships that *least* needed fighter escort... so we were much less likely ever to be assigned to defend them. In fact, End Run says that's one of their major roles: patrol missions in all the areas where the Confederation *can't* deploy entire carrier groups. It makes sense that we don't see them very often.

I actually don't recall the Privateer Kamekh ever being called a corvette. Where applicable, it's listed as a "capital ship." Obviously it's much faster and has much stronger offenses and defenses than the WC2 Kamekh, so it's possible that the Priv version is a destroyer. Obviously since there are (more than) two distinct Kamekhs, that's a more plausible scenario than suggesting that the Paradigm is not a destroyer when we have supporting quotes like this:

While I don't think 'these ships are similar, they must be the same' is an especially compelling argument for turning a previously-classified corvette into a destroyer, the Kamekh *is* so-called in the Privateer manual. The 'how to attack a capital ship' chart refers to it as a destroyer.

... that said, there's another level of confusion, since the Paradigm was 'originally' designed as a *frigate* rather than a destroyer (which may be what the previous poster is referencing.) The internal workings of the game continue to refer to it as such, though nothing published does (so, future analyists - this is simply interesting history...)
 
If a Paradigm is supposed to be a top-of-the-line frigate or destroyer then why is it's armor so light? I haven't seen destroyers with armor that light since WC1.
 
If a Paradigm is supposed to be a top-of-the-line frigate or destroyer then why is it's armor so light? I haven't seen destroyers with armor that light since WC1.

Her armor is light but her weapons are top knotch. My guess is that you have to take away from one place to add anywhere else...
 
You can't compare armor ratings to other games, it's unreliable because games are balanced individually. After all, you're a civilian. Imagine how unfun it would have been if the Paradigm had 1000cm of armor and impenetrable phase shields... and you can't find an anti-matter torpedo for any price. It'd eliminate the option of playing as a pirate.

Besides, when's the last time you shot at a Paradigm or Kamekh? Those things take a long time to take down unless you're using the cheats.
 
Besides, when's the last time you shot at a Paradigm or Kamekh? Those things take a long time to take down unless you're using the cheats.

Perhaps its a Police destroyer? Like a coast guard cutter? Not designed for heavy combat but more for insystem security?
 
If a Paradigm is supposed to be a top-of-the-line frigate or destroyer then why is it's armor so light? I haven't seen destroyers with armor that light since WC1.

What did I *just* say about the Paradigm being a frigate? I made a special note in my post specifically to avoid people repeating this... and yet, one post later...
 
Don't know why everyone likes the 4 Tachyons. I personally love doing either 2 tachyons, and 2 plasma guns. Not to mention the kind of havoc wrot by 4 plasmas.

Power consumption. Plasmas are hogs when it comes to gun energy and the fact that Priv takes AB power from the same energy pool makes more energy-efficient gun layout a wise decision.
 
The other problem with combining plasma guns with tachyons (or pretty much anything besides neutrons) is that the bolts travel significantly slower, which means that if you are aiming so that one pair of guns will hit, then the other pair of guns will probably miss because their bolts don't reach the target at the same time.

What exactly distinguishes a frigate from a destroyer in Wing Commander, anyway?
 
The other problem with combining plasma guns with tachyons (or pretty much anything besides neutrons) is that the bolts travel significantly slower, which means that if you are aiming so that one pair of guns will hit, then the other pair of guns will probably miss because their bolts don't reach the target at the same time.

What exactly distinguishes a frigate from a destroyer in Wing Commander, anyway?

When/where besides standoff do we actually see a frigate anyway? It was always Corvette, Destroyer, cruiser, carrier, Dreadnought.
 
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