Mekt-Hakkikt
Mpanty's bane
Hi!
I love WC Armada – especially because you can fly for the Kilrathi. But the graphics were also nice, it has some of the best sound effects in my opinion, a nice manual and the armada/campaign mode was exciting as well. At first I was annoyed because the manual had so different stats for the ships than they had in the game but I learned here that the manual was printed long before the game was finished, so that explains it.
Since it has been years since I played it, I recently digged out the official playtesters’ guide and read it. It’s a nice book but still I have to wonder: those playtesters also always talk about the ships as if they had the stats out of the manual and not the ones actually in the game: talking about how the Dralthi’s Mass Accelerators do more damage than the Arrow’s lasers or that the Shok’lar mounts Matter Disruptors and so on.
Now I’m asking myself if they ever really played WC Armada as the term “playtester” implies. Or did they play “old versions” where the stats from the manuals still were correct?
Another point that seemed odd to me: the playtesters’ also talk about how balanced the two sides are and that it’s only a matter of style. But I think that the Kilrathi fighters are mostly inferior to the Confed fighters. While that’s in line with the other games I find it a bit odd on a game which was supposed to be played against other human players.
Why is the Kilrathi laser weaker than the Terran laser? Why the Kilrathi HS weaker than the Terran one? (if the manual is correct about that one).
If I recall correctly:
The Arrow has superior speed, manoeuvrability, guns, better shield recharge and stronger fore and aft shields. The Dralthi only has better armour (which I think is less worth than stronger shields) and better protection on the sides – I can’t remember that my side shields were ever penetrated in any ship.
The Shok’lar is superior to the Phantom (the worst ship in all WC games in my eyes), no doubt.
The Wraith has better protections, overwhelming missile superiority, including the Leech, more chaff pods and slightly higher gun damage. While the Jrathek’s centered Photon Guns are nice, the Flux guns are crap.
The Gladius has far more missiles, is faster, more manoeuvrable and better protection on the front and rear and better guns because of the longer range. The Kor-larh has better protection at the sides, wow. The damage output is slightly higher but the range is just too short, especially in light of the Kor-larh’s slower speed.
The Banshee has far superior guns (the Goran’s damage output is less than the Jrathek’s), is faster and more manoeuvrable. The Goran has far better protection where it counts and it’s missile loadout is superior but its damage output is just so bad for the heaviest Kilrathi fighter, it isn’t compensated by the other advantages.
I admit, those are comparisons by stats only – I only played Armada against a human player once or twice. Still, I think the Kilrathi fighters are inferior thus the sides are not balanced.
But even if you disagree with my analysis above, (maybe because in your eyes better protection at the sides really is as much worth as at the front and rear.), as far as I recall, the Kilrathi fighters are also more costly than their Terran counterparts on average. I am not 100% sure but I think the Dralthi costs 1 ressource less than the Arrow (but is useless), Shok’lar and Phantom cost the same but the Jrathek, Kor-larh and Goran all cost more than the Wraith, Gladius and Banshee even though they are not better than those fighters. So even if you say
Point of this post? I guess I am asking you if you had other experiences, maybe because you played more often against human opponents and found hidden qualities in the Kilrathi fighters that I have overlooked.
P.S.: Yes, I know that with a little effort, I could play Armada, maybe even against human foes. But for some reason, I don’t seem to find the time to play PC games. I haven’t really played for over a year now any PC game.
I love WC Armada – especially because you can fly for the Kilrathi. But the graphics were also nice, it has some of the best sound effects in my opinion, a nice manual and the armada/campaign mode was exciting as well. At first I was annoyed because the manual had so different stats for the ships than they had in the game but I learned here that the manual was printed long before the game was finished, so that explains it.
Since it has been years since I played it, I recently digged out the official playtesters’ guide and read it. It’s a nice book but still I have to wonder: those playtesters also always talk about the ships as if they had the stats out of the manual and not the ones actually in the game: talking about how the Dralthi’s Mass Accelerators do more damage than the Arrow’s lasers or that the Shok’lar mounts Matter Disruptors and so on.
Now I’m asking myself if they ever really played WC Armada as the term “playtester” implies. Or did they play “old versions” where the stats from the manuals still were correct?
Another point that seemed odd to me: the playtesters’ also talk about how balanced the two sides are and that it’s only a matter of style. But I think that the Kilrathi fighters are mostly inferior to the Confed fighters. While that’s in line with the other games I find it a bit odd on a game which was supposed to be played against other human players.
Why is the Kilrathi laser weaker than the Terran laser? Why the Kilrathi HS weaker than the Terran one? (if the manual is correct about that one).
If I recall correctly:
The Arrow has superior speed, manoeuvrability, guns, better shield recharge and stronger fore and aft shields. The Dralthi only has better armour (which I think is less worth than stronger shields) and better protection on the sides – I can’t remember that my side shields were ever penetrated in any ship.
The Shok’lar is superior to the Phantom (the worst ship in all WC games in my eyes), no doubt.
The Wraith has better protections, overwhelming missile superiority, including the Leech, more chaff pods and slightly higher gun damage. While the Jrathek’s centered Photon Guns are nice, the Flux guns are crap.
The Gladius has far more missiles, is faster, more manoeuvrable and better protection on the front and rear and better guns because of the longer range. The Kor-larh has better protection at the sides, wow. The damage output is slightly higher but the range is just too short, especially in light of the Kor-larh’s slower speed.
The Banshee has far superior guns (the Goran’s damage output is less than the Jrathek’s), is faster and more manoeuvrable. The Goran has far better protection where it counts and it’s missile loadout is superior but its damage output is just so bad for the heaviest Kilrathi fighter, it isn’t compensated by the other advantages.
I admit, those are comparisons by stats only – I only played Armada against a human player once or twice. Still, I think the Kilrathi fighters are inferior thus the sides are not balanced.
But even if you disagree with my analysis above, (maybe because in your eyes better protection at the sides really is as much worth as at the front and rear.), as far as I recall, the Kilrathi fighters are also more costly than their Terran counterparts on average. I am not 100% sure but I think the Dralthi costs 1 ressource less than the Arrow (but is useless), Shok’lar and Phantom cost the same but the Jrathek, Kor-larh and Goran all cost more than the Wraith, Gladius and Banshee even though they are not better than those fighters. So even if you say
Point of this post? I guess I am asking you if you had other experiences, maybe because you played more often against human opponents and found hidden qualities in the Kilrathi fighters that I have overlooked.
P.S.: Yes, I know that with a little effort, I could play Armada, maybe even against human foes. But for some reason, I don’t seem to find the time to play PC games. I haven’t really played for over a year now any PC game.
