Piranha... bites!

D

Deacan

Commodore
Looking all over the threads about the different fighters I just miss my fav: the F-106A...

This was the fighter I'm looking for since the time of the old Ferret from WC2! No massive weapons, no super shields - but a fast, nimble and great looking vessel...

Deacan
 
I have to agree she is wonderfull in flight, handles like a dream, looks great, and is fast.

But, she's no use in a real battle. she can fly a patrol, dish out some shots(not mutch), and outrun the tailing enemies. It's in my opinion we never see them flying again after we get involved in serious conflict with the bugs.

She is a great ship for peacetime patrols, or airshows...
 
Aside from the obvious gameplay reasons for having the player start with a simple ship, the Piranha is a great demonstration of the new design philosophy of specialised fighters in the WCP era. Of course it's practically useless against the Nephilim once all the Stormfire ammunition and missiles have been expended, but for the purpose it was designed for - "a short-range, lightweight escort and reconnaissance fighter" - it excels.
 
We only got to fly them once or twice, but the piranha left a good impression on me. Lots of people didn't like it, but you should never underestimate the power of a light fighter with a stormfire.

The only room for improvement, in my opinion, is the standard gun armament. I think it might be a better fighter with a tachyon gun and a pair of lasers rather than the laser and pair of ions. Might go through the capacitor too fast, I'll have to try it!
 
The Piranha was a good light craft, but the Stormfire seemed to be an afterthought. If they wanted another gun-with-a-punch, why not a single charging mass driver? It's not like she didn't have the maneuverability to use it, and it wasn't as ammo-limited.

If I'd wanted limited ammo for a single weapon on a scout fighter, why not toss a 'fire and forget' MIRV onto a special pylon? Shoot, then run.
 
Haesslich said:
I would have taken the Hornet design over the Ferret for a light fighter - the guns don't ever need ammo, it has some missiles for punch, is fast and maneuverable, and can get out of Dodge in a hurry.
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Mass drivers don't use ammo and missiles miss, and I think the Ferret is faster.
 
Dyret said:
Mass drivers don't use ammo and missiles miss.
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If I remember one novel quote right, they reported that they were sending fighters out with half loads for the mass-drivers in End Run. We just don't run out during missions. Stormfires just don't need gun capacitor power the way mass drivers do, but at the expense of REALLY limited ammo. And while missiles miss... guns do so too, but more often. Missiles also can be self-guiding, which means you can shoot, then try to escape while the other guy tries to shoot down or dodge the missile.

Edit: it was near the end of Fleet Action, on the run back to Landreich space after transmitting the Hakaga shots. Right ship, wrong book.
 
We fight alongside Piranhas in Secret Ops on several occasions and they manage to be highly survivable in the face of the horde. That always impressed me.
 
Haesslich said:
If I remember one novel quote right, they reported that they were sending fighters out with half loads for the mass-drivers in End Run. We just don't run out during missions.
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So obviously they don't run out of ammo quickly enough for it to be a problem on a standard mission. :)
 
That's all semantics. In Wing Commander 2 you can tape the fire button down, come back in three weeks and your mass drivers will still be firing.

Mass drivers do not need ammo. Never are they simulated as needing ammo.
 
Deacan said:
The Piranha... bites!
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My vacuum cleaner really sucks too.

Nomad Terror said:
That's all semantics. In Wing Commander 2 you can tape the fire button down, come back in three weeks and your mass drivers will still be firing.

Mass drivers do not need ammo. Never are they simulated as needing ammo.
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You could say "that's just gameplay mechanics" too. You have to consider all the official information when trying to paint a complete picture. A lot of stuff is not simulated in the games for obvious reasons. There are also unique types of mass driver weapons presented in the novels that may operate differently from those in the games, and if I remember right, the comment in Fleet Action might refer to one of them.
 
overmortal said:
Was it in Freedom Flight where I read that mass driver rounds were the size of marbles?
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Mass Drivers of this type are mentioned in ER and FA I believe. The references are about handheld weapons and anti-torpedo weapons. They might be in FF but it's been a while.
 
Having two ions and a single laser kind of feels like a step down from the Arrow's twin ions and twin lasers. I would have liked to see just twin tachyons, or else stick with the old twin ion/twin laser.
 
I think those who are suggesting 'better' guns for the Piranha are forgetting the purpose of the fighter. Don't forget that the reconaissance Excalibur that Major Washington flew into Kilrah only had lasers - no missiles or other weapons.

Too, I think the Tachyon Cannons and Mass Drivers in WCP were rather slow to refire, even if they packed more of a punch. I didn't find the Tachyon replacing the Stormfire in the Black Devastator to be of much use.
 
Well, the wepons seems to be part of the basic tactics of the Piranha: long range guns - so you don't need to go to cloose on the enemy but still get a chance of the first hit...

It's sad but true, we never had any chance flying this ship for it's destiny: get out of the hangarbay, searching for the enemies, make some scanns and get back to the base, calling for the heavier guns...

(PS: on the other side: Lady Stiletto was figthing against a rebelbase inside a 106, and she won, recording to the Prophecy's hintbook)

Deacan
 
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