[lostllama]

We need one of those big whiteboard-type things like on Top Gear split up into sections titled sub-zero, cool, uncool, seriously uncool, not worth a mention...

Yea. But where would we put it ?

....Dunno.

Maybe the results of the above poll could be used to generate an online version of a board like that. On the FS Wiki maybe. Or make another poll using the Top Gear 'standards.'

Or maybe it's a bad idea. 

[Iranon]

May I suggest the Loki for the sub-zero section, for being the only real performance craft that doesn't seem out of place in a heavy firefight? Also, there's the old school appeal, the covert operations history and the simple fact that I always wanted sharks with fricking laser beams, attached to their heads or otherwise.

[Stormkeeper]

I've always found the Loki to be somewhat lacking. Like a ship that's neither here nor there. Its has weak shielding, small secondary bank. Maybe its cause I depend on secondaries for most of my kills, but small secondary banks tend to put me off.

[Iranon]

Good and cool aren't the same things; I think the Loki is both. The lack of secondaries makes it obviously less good, but imo even more cool - you need to dogfight the hard way instead of relying on your weaponry to do your job without your help.

For giggles, here an attempt to emulate the highly subjective - and often unfair - classification according to coolness:



Sub-Zero

Loki - for all the reasons mentioned above.

Thoth - for cramming an unreal amount of firepower into a nimble and tiny package. Deadly to enemies and its pilot. Accept no substitutes if you have the stones.



Cool

Ulysses - quirky and distinctive handling as far as that's possible in this game ; would be sub-zero if it didn't have to compete with the Loki.

Hercules Mk II: Handles nicely for its class, does its job well without pretense or attempting to chase records. Understated, but cool.

Pegasus: Fast, nimble, stylish. Reeks a little too much of high-tech to be sub-zero (really cool people don't need that sort of thing).

Seth: Dogfighting in these is like taking a classic roadster against modern performance cars... sure you're at a disadvantage, but your sleek lines (and correspondingly good profile) and surprising performance when you let your afterburners roar will impress anyone who appreciates the classics. Performing much much better than it should, which is cool in itself.

Serapis: Cool because this tiny ship can do any job and combines excellent handling with ourageous amount of power.



Uncool

Hercules - The craft for people who don't go with the times and will pick anything with firepower when no advanced crafts are available. Great War veterans are excused if their main reason for picking this is nostalgia.

Erinyes - Anything which derives all its attractiveness from firepower is uncool. Good craft, and it can be satisfying to oblitterate enemy fighters in seconds... but you might be asked if you're trying to compensate for something.

Perseus - Flies well and would be cool... if it wasn't a Valkyrie bastardised for pansies who'd rather cower behind solid shields instead of relying on superior speed and acceleration.

Myrmidon - awkward. Feels like a (bad) light fighter with additional weapons bolted on. This would be cool if some grizzled privateer had duct-taped it together, but merely seems badly designed as a production vehicle.

Horus - Yes, this is the fastest craft in the GTVA ever. Yes, it does its job as an interceptor well. It still doesn't have the feeling of precision and responsiveness that the Valk had, nor does it have the satisfying endurance on afterburners.

Tauret - Solid. Balanced. Boooring.

Ptah - Pegasus clone without the style. Also, when picking from a line of Vasudan fighters it seems a coward's choice... 'I'm too scared to fight the lightly-shielded alternatives'



Seriously Uncool

Ares - if your idea of being a hotshot fighter pilot is sitting stationary lobbing missiles at anything that moves, this is the craft for you. Its best defence against manoeverable targets is to come to a full stop and pretending to be a gun turret for crying out loud. Do you want to fly fighters or operate gun turrets, pilot?

Mara - 'Mummy is an admiral and issues me anything I ask for'. Who needs skill if you have this?




Yes, I have a definite bias towards light craft, and towards underdogs that are surprisingly rewarding if you give them a chance. I'm sure more than one person would want to rearrange the wall with a chainsaw.

[tifi]

I'd make a list thingy, but it wouldn't be very good as everything would be in 'Sub-Zero' except for the Myrmidon which would be on the wall all the way round the studio and over the road from the 'Seriously Uncool' end

[Molybdenum]

  Well played. But do you think flying a Loki to pick up Kristin Scott Thomas or Fiona Bruce to impress her? 

Heres my go for Bombers:

Sub-Zero

Ursa - the most badass looking ship in Terran history. Having bombed the Lucifer gives it bonus points. You can feel the power at your hands as you fly it at 30m/s. I choose it over any FS2 era bombers when I'm allowed to and see the smug faces of my wingmates as I score the Ravana kill in style.

Cool

Zeus - you got to have the balls to fly this one. Switching from nuking cruisers to dogfighting is good but gets your ass shot off frequently.

Sekhmet - oh sure we're ripping off Shivans now. How original. Its unused in the FS2 campaign, you learn to respect this one after playing Procyon Insurgency. In this case its simply good = cool.

Athena - this Assault Fighter is more nimble and better at dogfighting than the Herc 1. Someone tagged it as a bomber however and thus it lands here because its a pretty awesome ship.

Medusa - once again a smoking hot Great War relic but there is only room for one of those in Sub-Zero.

Uncool

Boanerges - begins the utterly disgusting array of visuals that the new FS2 Bombers display. A flying slug, utterly defenseless against any bird with functioning primaries. If you are intercept, the usual rule "don't go head-to-head against bombers" doesn't apply.

Osiris - pretty bad really.  Fires its bombs sometimes.

Amun - better but looks like a transport and you don't really fly it so who cares.

Artemis D.H. - the alternate paint job redeems it, a little. It still look pretty pathetic, see below.

Seriously Uncool

Artemis - I know its good but it looks like your kids potty for crying out loud! They could only have painted it pink to make it look less menacing... i bet the first NTF pilot to have encountered it were laughing right up to the moment when their ship blew up. Very embarrassing to fly and changing it is not an option most of the time in the campaign.(well actually it is but you die if you do)

Bakha - meh, its not really more maneuverable than to Sekhmet. Only two secondary banks are a PITA. It has to cheat in order to carry Helios in Bearbating which makes it even more lame.

[Stormkeeper]

Where would Shivans be in this list?

[Mars]

The persues is much more like an apollo than a valkyrie

[Iranon]

@ Mars: Fair point since it is almost a strict improvement over the Apollo. However, the discontinuation of the Valkyrie, the classification of the Perseus as an interceptor and the tech room description indicate it's meant to replace that as well. I will gladly admit that the Perseus is a good craft and that my verdict is coloured by personal bias... but isn't that the whole point in the first place?

@ Stormkeeper: Is there any campaign that allows you to pilot Shivan craft, including multi-directional thrust and Shivan primaries? I'd rather not comment without first-hand experience flying the things -  table entries aren't everything when it comes to coolness.

[Stormkeeper]

Not sure about the multi directional thrust, but I know Flaming Sword just released his Shivan Mod. Its over at this link. Bear in mind its still a work in progress, but I like the initial impressions I have of it.

[Snail]

You know, this is going to go badly because one tall person's opinion is going to overrule all other opinions, so us short people won't be able to get our say.

Like, I think the Loki should be in seriously uncool and the Ares should be in sub-zero.

[Molybdenum]

You are entitled to your opinion, however, the nature of the cool wall is that it is completely subjective.  And yes I put the stickers so high that you can't reach it and that counts.

[Harbinger of DOOM]

Ares or (if it was on here) Apollo.


I'm nostalgic, so sue me.

[tinfoil]

Shieldless Apollo kicks ass - up points if you are using furies and ml-16's

if you have none of those kicking around go for the erinies because 40 kills in a single mission is just awesome

with the ares if you fly it moving or not the difference is minuscule and i hate slow ships

[Titan]

probably for me... it would be herc2, loki, or a next-gen version of the loki (something nobody has truly done)

[Mars]

The Pegasus kind of was a next gen Loki, especially considering the Loki was basically a ****ty valkyrie

[Snail]

You are entitled to your opinion, however, the nature of the cool wall is that it is completely subjective.  And yes I put the stickers so high that you can't reach it and that counts.

What's the point in doing this again?

[Rodo]

I find it amussing just re-playing the campaign with the ****tiest craft you can ever choose, and doing so I learned that I love using ****ty craft, just like the loki or the seraphin...
And I dare to tell command that it's concepts about war are completelly wrong! what's that about... "surviving is half the battle"??

I say surviving is all the battle

[Stormkeeper]

Seraphim ? The Seraphim is a Shivan bomber. I presume you mean the Serapis, which is in no way a ****ty craft. Not to me anyway.

[Retsof]

The funnest thing to do in a Loki is to twist the stick and make yourself dizzy with it's super-fast roll.