[Akalabeth Angel]

Now 2 AAAs is a good fighter defense?

The Atens best fighter defense is that it's turrets appear to be out of phase or something, because most of the weapons figher aimed at its turrets doesn't seem to do anything. If it's a wing of Herc IIs against either a Fenris, or an Aten, my bets on the Hercs. Something like a Leviathan or a Mentu, has a chance though. All the cruisers can really be heaped into two categories

       Herc IIs? I don't think the GTVA had civil wars in mind when they upgraded their forces. More likely they were preparing against an inevitable second Shivan invasion. Instead of Herc 2s, why not try Maras or Astaroths or Basilisks vs an Aten.

[Mars]

Does it really make a difference?

Shivan Hornets are just as bad, even if their primaries are pretty ****ty.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

Shivan primaries are nerfed to give the player a fighting chance. If they were made stronger, all of Alpha 1's wingmen will die in two minutes.

Also keep in mind that the Kayser is derived from Shivan weaponry, so Shivan lasers should theoretically have about the same damage rates as the Kayser.

[TrashMan]

Shivan primaries are nerfed to give the player a fighting chance. If they were made stronger, all of Alpha 1's wingmen will die in two minutes.

Also keep in mind that the Kayser is derived from Shivan weaponry, so Shivan lasers should theoretically have about the same damage rates as the Kayser.

Not necesarily.
In COTS I've set all enemy weapons to be 2-3 times are powerwfull compared to stock (damage and rate of fire). It's true that you can no longer chase after a target while being shot in the rear - oh no, you better EVADE those shots mister!
However, it might be prudent to give the players wingmen a higher AI  setting. There is a difference in how long they survive, but it's a very small one.

Note than I'm testing my missions with those weapons AND a custom AI profile where the difference between difficulty levels has been greatly reduced, so the AI isn't so gimped on lower settings. Normal is the new hard (to put it mildly).
And I still can get trough missions without loosing almost any wingmen.

[Akalabeth Angel]

Does it really make a difference?

Shivan Hornets are just as bad, even if their primaries are pretty ****ty.

       Uh, Shivans have piss poor hull strengths. That's the difference. Hercules mark II has 275 hit points. Most Shivan fighters have no more than 100. All of their defensive strength is in their shields, the combination of weak hull and strong shields makes them both a challenge for the player and simultaneously makes allied ships with AAAf like the Aten effective support weapons.
       

[eliex]

Yes, its one thing I liked about the balance of FS2 gameplay. AAA beams ignore shields, Shivan weak-hulled crafts die quickly. 

[Kosh]

Does it really make a difference?

Shivan Hornets are just as bad, even if their primaries are pretty ****ty.

       Uh, Shivans have piss poor hull strengths. That's the difference. Hercules mark II has 275 hit points. Most Shivan fighters have no more than 100. All of their defensive strength is in their shields, the combination of weak hull and strong shields makes them both a challenge for the player and simultaneously makes allied ships with AAAf like the Aten effective support weapons.
       

There are a few exceptions like the Mara, which has both, but yeah, in general their hull armor is crap. SF Dragons in particular die pretty fast against almost any FS2 capship, especially cruisers.

[ShivanSpS]

When i was working in my campaing i have just increased wingmen hitpoints to make them survive more than 2 min... so you could increase shivan weapong dmg if you also increase wingmen hitpoints.

[AlphaOne]

The aten welll errr.......i dunt know perhapsh plans 1 vasudan slasher on it and 2 aaaf beams ! and make sure its engines can get it to 35 m/s speed. awesome strike cruiser

[Snail]

I'd leave it as it is, and use it in conjunction with a bomber wing.

The bomber wings go near the Aten for fighter cover with those two AAAfs and Subach's, while the bomber wing goes and eats up any capital ships.

[eliex]

I might change the Aten to a role of artillery, by sharply increasing its firepower at the cost of its all-round speed.

Having a hi-tech Vasudan reactor, the Aten can be equipped with one frontal BVas, and have a maximum speed of 5.
This new Aten may be moderately cheap, and so it can be deployed in cruiser wings.

[Snail]

I might change the Aten to a role of artillery, by sharply increasing its firepower at the cost of its all-round speed.

Having a hi-tech Vasudan reactor, the Aten can be equipped with one frontal BVas, and have a maximum speed of 5.
This new Aten may be moderately cheap, and so it can be deployed in cruiser wings.

That is one of the most overkill statements yet in this thread.

I mean, giving the Aten a BVas? That's almost as bad as the Lilith! That wouldn't be cheap by any stretch of the imagination, even with the speed decrease.

That'd be unspeakably expensive and inefficient.

[Droid803]

If you want a Vasudan monitor, use the GVC Somtus. Looks the part better.

[Rick James]

If you want a Vasudan monitor, use the GVC Somtus. Looks the part better.

Replace the Flaks on that thing with anti-fighter beams and I'd be sold. As it is Flak's lethality is debatable, and can't reliably shoot down bombs.

[Droid803]

If it had AAAs it would be OPed.
Not being able to shoot down bombs makes it more balanced. Weaknesses give ships more 'character'.

[Mongoose]

Not to mention more realism.  If you plant a big honkin' beam on a cruiser, it's unlikely that you're going to have any energy left over to power AAA beams.

...unless you're the Lilith, because the Lilith is awesome like that.

[eliex]

If you want a Vasudan monitor, use the GVC Somtus. Looks the part better.

Nice. Seems like another person got to the idea and brought it to life before me! 

[Snail]

Am I the only person who sees the ugliness of that thing!?

[Mobius]

No.

[Krelus]

I wasn't gonna say anything, but all I can see when I look at that is a giant flying wang. Never been a big fan of tubeships, myself.