[Euth]

Hello

I was curious, do any post-Capella campaigns have storylines or instances where the GTVA frequently uses Shivan ships?

(I don't mean one-off missions like Into the Lion's Den [ITLD] from the original Freespace 2 campaign.)

My thinking here is that, consider how powerful the Terran-modified Mara was in ITLD---huge loadout, good speed, good armor, etc.   And Shivan bombers have turrets and payloads far exceeding those of GTVA bombers.

Why wouldn't the GTVA have begun producing modified Maras and other ships in large numbers after the Capella supernova?  They seem superior in many ways to conventional GTVA ships, and given the GTI Hades incident, we know Terrans and Vasudans are capable of large-scale production and use of Shivan technology beyond just shields (reverse engineering, etc.)

(This assumes Shivans construct their ships mostly from common materials that the GTVA has available, which seems plausible because the Shivans had supply depots and functioned in the same galaxies as the GTVA for lengthy periods.)

Just curious if anyone has thoughts on this topic or knows of a campaign that might incorporate such a continuity.

Imagine the Shivans' surprise if they returned for a Third Incursion and found themselves facing Maras and such.

Best,

- Euth

[Stormkeeper]

Reverse engineering takes a lot of time, and is dangerous at best. Let alone where a Shivan ship is concerned. And mass-producing Mara-equivalents will be prohibitively expensive. They might use the same base materials (which I doubt), but still the cost for producing Maras will be high enough that you'll probably only see them deployed in limited numbers, in crack squadrons most likely.

[ssmit132]

SGWP2.

More seriously, one chapter of Into the Depths of Hell had Terrans and Vasudans taking and using Shivan ships.

[Colonol Dekker]

I made a campaign back before I got internet and registered at the VBB. It was based on a captured Moloch used by the soc. But it's long gone and was a technical exercise at best.

[Black Wolf]

Capturing Shivan capships has proven extremely risky in the past. Tends to draw the bigger ships.

[Colonol Dekker]

Yeah I remember Tombaugh. . . .
 
It was the eponymous first campaign we all make within a week of opening Fred thinking it'll change the world. Where as in reality there are dodgy backgrounds, the Erinyes from mission 1 with 999 trebs available and no beams freed.
 
 
 
Have you (OP) played the Shivan mod?

[Stormkeeper]

It was the eponymous first campaign we all make within a week of opening Fred thinking it'll change the world. Where as in reality there are dodgy backgrounds, the Erinyes from mission 1 with 999 trebs available and no beams freed.

I daresay we've all been there before.

[Qent]

Reverse engineering Shivan bombers might be worthwhile (Sekhmet), but given the huge differences between the Shivan Mara and the Terran one, I suspect that mass-producing Shivan fighters would not be cost-effective.

[Lucika]

ToD came to my mind.

[Iranon]

We only fly them, we don't need to service them

Shivan ships retrofitted to use GTVA weaponry - or even just accomodate Terran and Vasudan pilots - may cause a lot of work... compatibility problems and so on. The stats of the Terran Mara are very different from the Shivan one... I especially find the discrepancy in hull strength interesting. I assume those were an attempt to have the best fighters possible for a few select missions, rather than something that would be practical for normal duty year after yar.

*

Campaign-wise, I'm be more interested in flying standard Shivan ships, with their paper-thin hulls and inferior weaponry rather than introduce overpowered combinations. One thing I like about the way things are handled in Freespace is that most ships are useful - even retired ones like the Valkyrie, Athena and Amun would have their place in FS2 (whether with their old weaponry or modern equivalents).

[headdie]

We only fly them, we don't need to service them

Shivan ships retrofitted to use GTVA weaponry - or even just accomodate Terran and Vasudan pilots - may cause a lot of work... compatibility problems and so on. The stats of the Terran Mara are very different from the Shivan one... I especially find the discrepancy in hull strength interesting. I assume those were an attempt to have the best fighters possible for a few select missions, rather than something that would be practical for normal duty year after yar.

*

Campaign-wise, I'm be more interested in flying standard Shivan ships, with their paper-thin hulls and inferior weaponry rather than introduce overpowered combinations. One thing I like about the way things are handled in Freespace is that most ships are useful - even retired ones like the Valkyrie, Athena and Amun would have their place in FS2 (whether with their old weaponry or modern equivalents).

FS1 where you fly the SF Dragon comes to mind about how hard retrofitting shivan tech is

[Nuclear1]

Titan Rebellion.

One mission involves using a mass of captured Shivan ships--Maras, Nahemas, and a Moloch.

[NGTM-1R]

Journey to Epsilon Pegausi had a captured Moloch, IIRC.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

Droid803's Tides of Darkness mod has Terran pilots flying with the Shivans, using Shivan ships and weaponry. Whether it's post-Capella or not is anyone's guess.

Reverse-engineering was in its infancy back in FS1. Despite that, the GTA was still capable of reverse-engineering a Dragon that actually flew in the space of one mission, which probably speaks volumes about how good they are with prototype technology. It appears to have gotten better in FS2, with the UD-8 Kayser and Mara, but bear in mind that GTVI had several months at least to retrofit the Maras, and the Kayser is stated to have been part of an intense study into Shivan weaponry.

Also, if you take ST:R into account, the UD-1 Volz that the GTI pilots use is reverse-engineered Shivan weaponry.

[Lucika]

Droid803's Tides of Darkness mod has Terran pilots flying with the Shivans, using Shivan ships and weaponry. Whether it's post-Capella or not is anyone's guess.

 

They're talking about Bosch, aren't they? 

[Droid803]

It's post-Capella, if you read the tech entries and whatnot.

[Colonol Dekker]

Who says the SOC had several months? That's never stated. . . .

[Androgeos Exeunt]

My estimation (which can suck a hole).