Questions and things version 3.0

[Plywood Fiend]

Evening all. I figured it was about time i did another of these things, and as per usual i've forgotten all my questions. Give me a second.

(Many seconds later)

1. Do you think that Thrakhath would enjoy Skateboarding? (With a suitibly large and re-enforced skateboard of course)

2. If you were the head of the Kilrathi board of engineering types around the WC1/SM1 era and it was up to you whether to abandon the Dralthi program or redesign it, what would you do?

3. Is there any explination for the fact that in WC2 cap ships, (according to legend), were beastly, virtually impenetrable things which could only be destroyed with a torpedo or two. And in WC3 you could take out cap ships with guns again?

4. I have an idea for a fan fiction which is basically wing commander meets 'In a mirror darkly' (Enterprise mirror universe episode). Basically its a terran carrier thrown into a mirror universe in which the Empire of humanity is at war with the Kilrathi Assembly of clans. Anyone have any possible ideas as to how a carrier might jump to an alternate dimension?

That's all for now.

 

[Dragon1]

1) /\/ o

2) The Kilrathi engineers appear to have done both. After the Dralthi II, we see the Drakhri, then production of the Dralthi III, later. Of course, this proves little to nothing, because the Drakhri could have been in production even prior to the Dralthi II or enlarged Dralthi I.

3) The advancement in weapons technology from WC2 to WC3. In WC2, a single laser cannon did 1.8 cm of damage. A 3000 cm phase shield recharges at 300 cm / second. At that rate, there is no fighter weapon that could cause enough damage before the enemy shields could recharge. In 2669, a laser cannon that would have done 1.8 cm of damage earlier, did 18 cm of damage. With ships like the Thunderbolt VII doing up to 268 cm of damage with a single volley, Capship phase shields were again overwhelmed, like WC1.

Notice the jump in armor figures from WC2 to WC3. Fighters of the WC1/WC2 period (2654-2668) could still be armored with durasteel and be ok. All of the sudden a medium fighter (Hellcat V of 2669) is protected with 100 cm forward
whereas as a medium fighter of just two years prior (F-44) had 6.5 cm of forward protection. We know the Hellcat must be a refit because it is actually older than the F-44 (remember the statue of the Hellcat in WCA). Hell, the Hellcat and Corsair probably were the direct replacement for the Wildcat, like the direct parallel in WWII (F4F Wildcat replaced by F6F Hellcat and F4U Corsair).

All this evidence means one thing.....the firepower of all weapons in 2669 was drastically increased.

4) Carriers and all other starships move through alternate dimensions all of the time (jumpspace). It is the standard method of interstellar travel in the Wing Commander Universe.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

3. Is there any explination for the fact that in WC2 cap ships, (according to legend), were beastly, virtually impenetrable things which could only be destroyed with a torpedo or two. And in WC3 you could take out cap ships with guns again?

Shields and weapons are in a constant developmental struggle. Before 2634, per Action Stations, capital ships were completely invulnerable to fighter-based weapons. The torpedo was introduced at the start of the war and changed this... and the technology behind guns and missile caught up to a point, by 2654, that they could be used against ships of the line.

The same process occurs again in the middle of the war, the period you're referencing. Shields after 2656 (commonly "phase shields") improve above the ability of guns and missiles to damage them by 2665. Over the next few years, guns improve and by 2669 they can damage ships again.

The same process continues after the war. Consider Wing Commander IV - you can damage all the 'war era' ships with your guns and missiles... but the *new* ships, like the Vesuvius, are vulnerable only to torpedoes. In the next game, this trend has continued and torpedoes are again the only way to damage a shielded ship... until the end of Prophecy, when the Confederation begins to arm fighters (the Devestator) with guns (the plasma weapon) that can again knock down capital shields.

It's all a big cycle.

4. I have an idea for a fan fiction which is basically wing commander meets 'In a mirror darkly' (Enterprise mirror universe episode). Basically its a terran carrier thrown into a mirror universe in which the Empire of humanity is at war with the Kilrathi Assembly of clans. Anyone have any possible ideas as to how a carrier might jump to an alternate dimension?

If you actually do this it should certainly be based on the Squadron Proposal.

In 2669, a laser cannon that would have done 1.8 cm of damage earlier, did 18 cm of damage.

Well, that's how the game treats it -- but the actual fiction says that the gun does "18 armor units" of damage, and then defines an armor unit as .1 cm armor equivalent.

Of course, this proves little to nothing, because the Drakhri could have been in production even prior to the Dralthi II or enlarged Dralthi I.

Agreed. The whole 'Drakhri is a Dralthi' argument has no basis in fact; it's something FMV-era-introduced fans wanted desperately to believe when in order to create a "every game has a Dralthi!" cute... ism.

 

[PopsiclePete]

4. I have an idea for a fan fiction which is basically wing commander meets 'In a mirror darkly' (Enterprise mirror universe episode). Basically its a terran carrier thrown into a mirror universe in which the Empire of humanity is at war with the Kilrathi Assembly of clans. Anyone have any possible ideas as to how a carrier might jump to an Alternate dimension?

Heeek. When there is already Star Trek for such Alternate-Dimention-Space-Travel-Phasing-Stuff kind of stories, why make such a story in the WC universe ?

Where Star Wars is about an old mystical power used by wizard-knights, Star Trek about pseudo-scientific anomalies/philosophy/politics, Wing Commander is about humanity's desperate war against a terrifying alien, WWII style.

 

[Plywood Fiend]

Heeek. When there is already Star Trek for such Alternate-Dimention-Space-Travel-Phasing-Stuff kind of stories, why make such a story in the WC universe ?

Where Star Wars is about an old mystical power used by wizard-knights, Star Trek about pseudo-scientific anomalies/philosophy/politics, Wing Commander is about humanity's desperate war against a terrifying alien, WWII style.

Lots of little reasons really. A kilrathi t-bomb strike against Earth? Maniac being a tirgger agent who 'defected' to the Kilrathi? (On second thought ignore that one, and the first one for that matter), its basically an oppertunity to call attention to the point of Kilrathi and humans being more similar then different, also i can piss about with characters and universe.

Admiral Tolwyn could have a liking for botany.
Lucanda IV could take the role of Ghorah Kar.
The Scimitar could have a top speed of 520KPS.

The possibilities are endless.

P.S. What exactly is this 'Squadron proposal'?

 

[PopsiclePete]

Have you read Wing Commander 4.123106 ? If you wanna "piss about with characters and universe" as you say, that's the way to go. If you can write someting just half as funny and refreshing as this one, I'll applause and eagerly read it .

 

[Plywood Fiend]

Hmmm, this whole thing's going to require a lot of thinking over. Truth be told i only came up with the idea 1 and a half hours ago.

 

[PopsiclePete]

P.S. What exactly is this 'Squadron proposal'?

If you would have read it, you'd have understood that it's the original game design proposal for a video game that was later renamed "Wing Commander"

 

[Dragon1]

Well, that's how the game treats it -- but the actual fiction says that the gun does "18 armor units" of damage, and then defines an armor unit as .1 cm armor equivalent

Perhaps the definition of "Armor Unit" itself changed throught the timeline. Earlier, an "Armor Unit" was .1 cm of durasteel. As the armor changed, perhaps the value of the "AU" (not "Astronomical Unit") changed as well.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

P.S. What exactly is this 'Squadron proposal'?

It's the original proposal for Wing Commander I (which was originally 'Squadron' and then 'Wingleader' before settling on the name we know and love). It's relevant here because it created the background for a "Terran Empire" instead of the Confederation.

PopsiclePete's complaint is well founded, though; directly cribbing "Mirror, Mirror" is an odd practice that science fiction fandom seems to accept for some reason.

What Enterprise did, though, actually might be more relevant -- an "alternate universe" story that doesn't actually involve the ordinary 'good guys'. Writing "alternate Wing Commander" instead of "Wing Commander meets alternate Wing Commander" might be a bit more appropriate.

Perhaps the definition of "Armor Unit" itself changed throught the timeline. Earlier, an "Armor Unit" was .1 cm of durasteel. As the armor changed, perhaps the value of the "AU" (not "Astronomical Unit") changed as well.

I don't think Armor Units show up until Victory Streak.

 

[Dragon1]

I don't think Armor Units show up until Victory Streak.

Oh, ok.

What Enterprise did, though, actually might be more relevant -- an "alternate universe" story that doesn't actually involve the ordinary 'good guys'. Writing "alternate Wing Commander" instead of "Wing Commander meets alternate Wing Commander" might be a bit more appropriate.

It would be interesting to see the Confederation 100 years down the line. This is why I really hoped Wing Commander Online (or Privateer Online) would have come to fruition. The problems of post-war Confed seem to have been 'fixed' in Prophecy. Although I am sure many of the colony worlds would want a former, lost independence that they enjoyed prior to the war. A hundred years later, I doubt that there would be a Melek like figure to keep the Kilrathi clans all in line. Nephilim invasion, the Mantu, the Lance remnants, any number of things would make for good reading (or playing).

 

[Wulf]

Nephilim invasion, the Mantu, the Lance remnants, any number of things would make for good reading (or playing).

That brings about another question I've always had....but I'll put it in a separate thread.