Dundradal said:I can agree, it is done just for game dynamics (I mean who doesn't have fun blowin the crap out of carrier every 7 or 8 missions?) I forget how many kat carriers get toasted in the novel but I think it's only 2 or 3, could be even less. but the fact that the kats had so many and confed so few (I would guess at less than 12 or 10 after the battle of earth) the destruction of a few kat carriers still doesn't affect the odds enough in confeds favor.
Edfilho said:It bothered me in the games (esp. WCIII) when you singlehandedly toasted 4 or 5 carrier groups in about 3 missions, and it had little to no effect in the war! That kats sure churned cap ships like nothing in this universe.
Actually IIRC, Confed had closer to 5-6 fleet carriers 'operational' after the Battle of Terra.Slawter said:Surely. But if losing BILLIONS of carriers(Only at WC II, i remember cripling at least 30 capships ALONE) don't cripple the kilrathi, what would do?
As with any situation in life, do a little homework before giving an opinion if you want it to be given even the least bit of weight. You don't engage that many carriers during the Kilrathi War, and when you do it usually has a pretty good reason behind it (ie not just for game dynamics).
You don't even engage a true carrier until WC1:SM2 (the carrier-conversion Fralthi apparently carry only 20 fighters, which isn't even up to later 'light' carrier standards). When you do, you 'engage' 5 new Snakier Heavy Carriers in the span of a few days. The reason being is that the Kilrathi fleet is bringing their best and brightest for the little picnic that is the Sivar Ceremony, so why wouldn't the Elite of the Empire be on the best, new carriers in the fleet? You engage one as it arrives in the Firekkan system. The next 2 your only supposed to target to get info on them and return to base (but who follows orders in this place? ) and not even engage them. No matter if you waste those 2, you engage another returning to the Firekkan system after your mock withdrawl (stands to reason that they'd send a carrier to chase you out of the system) and then another while your hauling it out of Firekka after your glorious return (stands to reason that you definitely stirred up a hornets nest now). My personal feeling on this is that the 2 snakiers you see later are actually the ones you targeted in the earlier mission, bringing the total down to 3 for the entire Firekkan crusade. Be it 3 or 5 carriers, either number wouldn't be stretching it considering the reason for their presence (the Firekkan Sivar ceremony).
On to WC3 for more carriers (as we never engage one during all of WC2). We engage 4 carriers in WC3, all after about midway through the game. We take on 2 Bhantkaras in the Ariel system. A logical reason for their presence is that Ariel was a trap (remember the shrouded jump-point? No stretch of the imagination since I believe the WC3 novel and game points it out specifically as a trap) So what better way to ensure the demise of a light carrier that carries a pilot known for toasting capships? I believe 2 carrier groups with full air wings would do nicely from a purely statistical standpoint. Next instance is in Freya where you meet up with a single carrier battle group. Your 2 jumps from Kilrah, I really hope that the Kilrathi Home Fleet dispatches something to try and stop you before your on their doorstep. The final carrier you meet on your run to Kilrah is in the Hyperion system. Again, on Kilrahs doorstep, I seriously hope that the Kilrathi Home Fleet is worried by now.
We really don't have time to see what these carrier loses would have done to the Kilrathi War effort as we nuke Kilrah a few days later, but I seriously doubt it would be much. Consider that the Kilrathi have around 2-3 Hakagas remaining after the BoT, probably quite a few more Bhantkara's, and probably several other fleet and light carriers we don't even know about left (not to mention the Dreadnaughts in the wings). The Kilrathi are a purely military society; every resource they have after the bare necessities is put into building capships, fighters and other weapons of war.
(most information was either retreived or verified from a 5 minute search through the online CIC game guides)
You do toast alot of capships during the Kilrathi war, but almost all of them are cruiser or below, all of which the Kilrathi war machine churns out at record pace.
Alright, rant over. Morale of the story, everybody's got an opinion . . . you just usually have to make it an educated one before anyone will even bother listening (and also to keep from looking like a jackass ).
C-ya