WC4 Missiles

Originally posted by Bob McDob
Just out of curiosity, where is the T-Bolt refered to as the "Thud"? In the novel?

IIRC, it comes from being the nickname for the F-105 Thunderchief.
 
Okay, I can describe a certain situation that can tell why a Hellcat will win over a T-Bolt. Have you ever seen birds fight in mid-air? I've seen crows, hawks, and other birds be taken down by sparrows, even, LOL, finches! The T-Bolt just doesn't have the maneuverability for all-out dogfighting. I could counter every move it could make w/ a Hellcat, for instance. However, Thunderbolts would be excellent bomber escort craft, because they have the firepower to keep attackers at bay from a distance, while another can defend a bomber when an enemy trails one, plus they can assist in cap-ship attacks using their one torp. But again, they would suck in CAPs.
 
Originally posted by Battler Hawke
Try using heat seekers that they fire at you to damage them.

If you get a HS on your 6 find a enemy fighter and fly by it from the rear. In wc1 it works with larger ships.
Hmm, I've never noticed that working before. Of course, I usually ignore missile in WC1-WC3, I don't even bother with evasive action or decoys. :)
 
It would have been cool if there was thrust vectoring in WC games; I could pull all kinds of crazy s*** maneuvers in Jane's sims!
 
It's technical nonsense for the WC ships not to have thrust vectoring, or they should have at least additional thrusters in all flight axes. You can't exactly use control surfaces to turn a ship in space, or stop a ship by cutting thrust.
A 'real' spacefighter would be capable of much wilder manoeuvers than WC allows. Going straight up and down and reversing being a few of the less interesting ones (btw, don't we see a Hellcat take off vertically in the WC4 intro?).
And they also shouldn't be speed limited if you keep your thrusters up, and flying at max speed continuously shouldn't take fuel unless you change direction, etc. etc. etc.
Doesn't one of the WCP ships visibly use thrust vectoring with two independant, rotating thruster nozzles alongside the ship?
 
Yeah, I didn't think about the Panther or Vampire when I posted here last; they have engine nacelles that move, so that counts. Anyone ever play Colony Wars? The flight physics for it were somewhat on par with what you'd expect in space.
 
Regardless of what I expect of real space flight physics, Wing Commander does not deliver. But the real question is: do I care?!?
I think the fact that I am here is enough of a clue to answer that... :D
 
Good point, because I really didn't care about the physics either. All things aside, nothing can take away the immense pleasure I've had out of playing the WC games. :)
 
Originally posted by Unforgiven
BTW, don't we see a Hellcat take off vertically in the WC4 intro?
Yes. Repulsorlifts? I don't recall seeing wheels on any WC fighter.

I like space flight because you can have nonsense physics like WC and get away with it. Only just recently, I finally figured out how to play Strike Commander. Feels a bit like Privateer on Earth. :)
 
Just what is Strike Commander like, anyway? I can't play it, so I will have to rely on word of mouth.
 
Like Wedge said, it feels a bit like Privateer on Earth, except that it's not open ended *g*
You play a guy who's part of a mercenary F-16 squadron... you choose missions to fly for cash to buy new equipment (and eventually you even get to fly an F-22 :)) but there's also a main plot to follow, and although I don't recall it being too interesting (I can only remember some trouble with a femme fatale of sorts and someone from your squadron dying under misteryous circumstances. The coolest part is that is has kind of a noir atmosphere to it, IMHO :)), the fun gameplay and cool characters make up for that. This is one game that I'd love to be able to free enough DOS memory for :(

--Eder
 
hehe, thanks for explainin' Eder, I was just about to ask what the heck it was before I got to your post :)
 
Anytime, Mav. If you have an old computer around, get your hands on SC someday, it's lots of fun... a flight sim with actual characters, wow!! ;)

--Eder
 
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