Hellcat = Piece of Junk

Sonntag

Spaceman
If this has been discussed before, simply ignore this post :).

I just wanted to hear what you think about the Fighters you are using in Wing Commander 4. I played every part of Wing Commander from the Beginning and must say that I loved every game, but WC4 is very close to be an exception. I simply was annoyed about that the two worst Spacecraft from WC3 were taken over to WC4 when flying for the Confed. I never liked the Hellcat in Wing 3 and I think it is inferior to every other Fighter in Wing 4. It is getting even worse when I see that the enemy is using Thunderbolts or even Excaliburs (!). And even though this, it seems to be that everybody onbord the Lexington is stating that they are equipped with the newest equipment... NO THEY ARE NOT

Why the hell can't I fly a Excalibur :-(
 
When did the crew on the Lexington say they had
"the latest equipment?"

No Bearcats, no excaliburs, no Dragons ... doesn't
seem very advanced to me!

Respectfully,

Brian P.
 
Sonntag, you are speaking words of wisdom (IMHO). I felt the same embarresment when I saw that the fighters I liked least from WC3 were taken for WC4 as player ships on Confed side. I found it very very very very very very low that you could not fly the Excalibur. But luckily you switched soon enough to the BW where you get new fighters.
BTW, the last day of the week in Denmark is named Sonntag, like in Germany? What a coincidence! :)
 
The Hellcat a pice of junk?.?.?!!! I beg to differ! True the Excalibur was far superior, but that Hellcat wasnt exactly a vintage craft either. That ship kicked arse in WCIII as well as WCIV. I would have to agree about having the latest equipment or weapons. But the Hellcat had good enough guns and shields. In fact, until you get your hands on the Dragon (or Lance for those who didnt pay attention to the ship loadout screen), the Hellcat IMO is the best craft in WCIV. :)

RFBurns
 
Originally posted by RFBurns
until you get your hands on the Dragon (or Lance for those who didnt pay attention to the ship loadout screen), the Hellcat IMO is the best craft in WCIV. :)
Exactly, it's the best untill you get your hands on the Lance... and the Banshee, and the Bearcat, and the Avenger.....:)
 
i would much fly even an arrow than a hellcat there the worst fighter wc3 i havent played all of wc4 yet so i dont about that
 
Oh forgot about the Banshee and Bearcat and Avenger! Those indeed are great craft! Everyone might think im crazy (Im really not!) but I wouldnt mind going a round or two in WCIII or IV with the good ol Centurion with a weapons compliment to the Thunderbolt! :D

RFBurns
 
The Bearcat is still a prototype that not in full production and as for the DRAGON is a very early (and expensive) prototype that is keep hidden by Tolwyn and its only found in the Black Lance arsenal.
As for Excalibur, I fell the same, but my guess is that the designers of the game belived that it was too powerfull as a fighter to be used so early, so you cannot fly it.
The Hellcat of WC III is terrible but its better in WC IV, I like flying on it that in the Banshee.
The Longbow is bad BECAUSE ITS A BOMBER, also there are very few missions were you can only fly it (the pirate frigate, the BW cruisers and fly with seether), I am very good at flying with it.
Now keeping both the Arrow and the T-bolt out of your hands is bad but Arrows, T-bolts and Excaliburs are now downgraded from their War time variants, only the Hellcat and the Longbow keep their missile loadouts intact.

[Edited by Dragon on 03-16-2001 at 14:20]
 
Originally posted by Mekt-Hakkikt

BTW, the last day of the week in Denmark is named Sonntag, like in Germany? What a coincidence! :)

Well, actually it is not... It is called Søndag. The reason why my nickname is "Sonntag" is that I am German (as you are :)), but my Danish classmates could not say my name, so they told me Sonntag. Doesn't make any sense, but no one knows where it came from. So I sticked to call me Sonntag in Wing Commander, too (ok maybe a bit strange as callsigns normally are English, but I think Sonntag should work well enough even for English speaking personnel abort a TCS cruiser)


By the way I own a Wing Commander Prophecy with Swedish (!) manuals, which is really strange indeed as normally products in scandinavia are completely English with English manual, as well (the Game itself is the US Version).
The package even includes the Universe Map (in English), very interesting piece. And I legally bought it for only 50 kroners, that are 13 DM!! (7 USD!!!)
 
The Hellcat is a perfectly fine middle-of-the-road fighter... just right for the kind of work it does -- definately cheaper to produce than something heavier like a T-Bolt or an Excalibur or something exotic like a Lance or a Bearcat.

Dragon: Please don't make a point of starting Dragon/Lance arguments -- I hate having to win those. :)

The Bearcat *is* in full production -- we see it being produced by robots in Wing Commander IV. The Bearcat is designated F-104.

My personal favorite fighter in WCIV was the Vindicator -- it did everything, even if it didn't do it all particularly well. (I think one of the purposes behind having us fly the 'unpopular' ships was to inspire us to switch sides in WCIV...)

(Sidenote, the Lexington herself is equiped with Arrow and Thunderbolt squadrons -- we just don't fly with them. She also has a compliment of Project personell, with advanced Hellcat upgrade prototypes...)
 
LOAF, the Lexington also have Excaliburs at least on the game it have.
Also the Dragon/Lance can be called both way (The game say Dragon, the official Guide say Dragon, The CIC database say Dragon, only the novel say "Lance"..."Lance" *gasp*)
I now about the Bearcat being manufactured on that shipyard but by Wilford conversation, were he said that that shipyard its gearing up for war that must nean that the shipyard is in full production after the Lexingtion leaves ConFed HQ or just before that.
I did not mind the Vindictor but a little more in the armor would not hurt him (and somebody put a better rear turret gun on it, that laser is only good for shooting birds).
 
No the Lexington didn't have Excals.:)

As for the Vindicator's turret, it's strong enough to cause us, the players, some trouble... even though it sucks when we use it.
 
The novel also *explains* why everyone else calls it the Dragon, though -- so the fact that it's listed as Dragon everywhere else is a non-issue.

The Excalibur's that appear in Silenos aren't based off the Lexington -- she doesn't have an Excal squadron.
 
I try to shoot down missiles with it some times... only when my decoys are gone though (and never with much success:)).
 
Originally posted by Bandit LOAF
The novel also *explains* why everyone else calls it the Dragon, though -- so the fact that it's listed as Dragon everywhere else is a non-issue.
Somehow, I musta mised that.... :) Can you tell us where in the novel this explanation might be found, LOAF?

On the issue of the fighters on the Lexington, what makes some of you think that the Confed fighters we encounter are necessarily from the LEX? It's Confed-controlled space, so it stands to reaosn that they could be coming from about anywhere.

Personally, I never particularly minded the Hellcat. In fact, in WCIII, I often choose it over the Arrow, especially when I know I'll encounter Vaktoth heavies and Paktahn bombers; the Arrow's guns are simply too weak for my liking against anything heavier than a medium fighter.

My three pennies....
 
I personnaly like the arrow. It's speed more than makes up for its lack in firepower. Plus, it has more missles.
 
There isn't any explenations that can be pointed out Phoenix, you just have to rake all the little bits of info we see in the novel and put it together...

Among members of the Black Lance, Dragon refers to Dragon Wing/Squadron, one of their four Lance wings. The Confederation and Border Worlds refer to the fighter by it's common callsign, Dragon - the name 'stuck' because it seems appropriate. Similar to the A-10 being called the Warthog rather than its official name, Thunderbolt II.

The fighter was *designed* as the Lance class heavy fighter - a name that makes sense because it is an offshoot of the Excalibur program.





[Edited by Earthworm on 03-16-2001 at 15:45]
 
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