[Mobius]

its in the Fashion in fs1 iirc

Was it refering to...energy shields or...better armor plating?

If I remember correctly the only way that the Mara was modified was that it was changed to support human pilots and carry human weaponry. 

The GTVA doesn't always improve on shivan tech just look at shivan anti cap beams for proof.  From flying the Mara we can clearly see that shivan fighters are still plenty leaps and bound better than human fighters.

So true. Maybe, the captured Mara handles better because Shivans are big and modifying the fighter so that a Terran could pilot it meant improving some systems(more electronics and stuff like that).

[Hippo]

shields

[Hades]

It had good shields IIRC.

[AlphaOne]

what are you smoking there? those shivan fighters were like so easy to kill when i was lfyyng the mara as oposed to the herc or perseus for that matter! Also the tech briefing says they imporved it to handle even better or something then the original!

[Hades]

You have to be playing on easy dude...
They also improved the shields.

[Mobius]

Link, please!

[Hades]

You mean the ship?There is a Terran Mara in FRED2.No mods involved.

[AlphaOne]

actualy i finished the game on normal it was rather hard but those shivana maras were to me easier to fend off then before! but then again it can be just mi imagination!

[Mobius]

You mean the ship?There is a Terran Mara in FRED2.No mods involved.

No, no...a link to that FS1 thing about Pre-Grear War shields!!!

[TrashMan]

The Dis carries low-value stuff. Supplies, I suppose. It can't be loaded with reactors and/or beam components.

Where did that come from???

[TrashMan]

actualy i finished the game on normal it was rather hard but those shivana maras were to me easier to fend off then before! but then again it can be just mi imagination!

You had Keysers....and s***load of Harpoons in that missions... 4 gun poitns and a large secondary capacity.. With that loadout of course it's easy to kill Maras. Still I find Ares to be the most kick-ass fighter in FS2

[NGTM-1R]

In the race to build the better fightercraft, the GTVA appears to be winning. They also seem to be pursuing their objectives in a more coherent fashion, or simply have more coherent objectives.

[Fang_Taichou]

The Dis carries low-value stuff. Supplies, I suppose. It can't be loaded with reactors and/or beam components.

Though the shield technology became accessible to everyone, weapon systems like the Kayser are still limited in production and diffusion.

The Dis is the only Shivan freighter that hauls around that massive cargo container.  Size is about right for larger components like reactors and replacement beam batteries (or their parts).  Still, you may be right about the low-value part since those crates wreck easily.  But I'm quite sure SOC has their hands on other Shivan cargo too (they've captured SC 3, SAC, SC 5 containers, one's bound to have some nice stuff, but we don't know since it's level Omega classified...).

Oh, the SF Mara (terrans) is better than the original.  Not only does it say so in the SOC mission briefing for it, the armor and shielding values are greater (mainly armor), and its afterburn top speed is slightly better.  Check the Freespace Wiki on this site, it shows it.

[foolfromhell]

Oh, the SF Mara (terrans) is better than the original.  Not only does it say so in the SOC mission briefing for it, the armor and shielding values are greater (mainly armor), and its afterburn top speed is slightly better.  Check the Freespace Wiki on this site, it shows it.

Thats something I have never understood.
The SF Mara (terrans) has Very Heavy Armor AND Excellent maneuverability.
PLUS, they can sustain dual-Kaysers...
Maybe that means future GTVA ships will be copying that design?
I mean, the SF Mara would be the ultimate fighter if it supported more weapons...

[AlphaOne]

well lets just say there is still of room for improvemenet!

The GTVA has just started to incorporate some of the shivans tech into its own! The ares is one such thing! That thing is so sweeeeet! I like it too TMan but then again i like the mara even better! The first time i finished the game i was like why on earth would i pick a shivan fighter i mean i'l get shot down by my own ppl! Never actualy read the briefing!

[Polpolion]

  From flying the Mara we can clearly see that shivan fighters are still plenty leaps and bound better than human fighters.

The GTVA got the Mara how many missions before the end of the campaign? Let's say three to five weeks before, to simplify things. First off, they probably only had time to get the basics to convert it to terran use. Then they had to send them on a scuicide mission into the Lion's Den. They only get two back, and they are considerably damaged. Do you really think they are going to be able to get the same information out of it as a mint condition Mara? And anyways, let's say the do get good info from it, and design a crazy ass fighter with the info. Are they going to be able to design and produce that fighter in the few weeks they have left before the end of the game? No. Any change in the GTVA's fighter line-up will take place well after the main FS2 campaign.

[Ghostavo]

That is if they can reproduce the technology on the Maras. Let's not forget that the four Maras were stolen and modified, they weren't produced from scratch.

[Fang_Taichou]

  From flying the Mara we can clearly see that shivan fighters are still plenty leaps and bound better than human fighters.

The GTVA got the Mara how many missions before the end of the campaign? Let's say three to five weeks before, to simplify things. First off, they probably only had time to get the basics to convert it to terran use. Then they had to send them on a scuicide mission into the Lion's Den. They only get two back, and they are considerably damaged. Do you really think they are going to be able to get the same information out of it as a mint condition Mara? And anyways, let's say the do get good info from it, and design a crazy ass fighter with the info. Are they going to be able to design and produce that fighter in the few weeks they have left before the end of the game? No. Any change in the GTVA's fighter line-up will take place well after the main FS2 campaign.

I agree, many major changes/improvements will take place post-Capella, but they will be ready to fight off a third Shivan encounter with the total advancements (better beam cannons, ships, fighters/bombers + their weaponry..etc. maybe make stealth bombers or cloaking devices?).

Reproducing the Shivan technology shouldn't be hard, all you have to do is figure out the molecular composition of the hull parts and subsystems.  Easy to do with all the debris you made shooting them down + SOC captured Shivan cargo.

I thought Alpha 2 (Snipes' Mara) was invulnerable?  Alpha 3 and 4 were guardianed, or is this variable dependent on difficulty setting?

[wtf_cl0vvn]

Shivans seem to have much more powerful reactors...were any Shivan capital ships ever definitively captured and analyzed? I know that the Taranis was captured, but was destroyed at Tombaugh.
If Hall Fight is canonical, then an Azrael was also captured, but the boarding party was slaughtered. Depending on when Antares fell, that may have come to nothing as well.

Anyhow, the weaponry on the SC Lilith is a pretty good indicator of their reactor tech...LRed on a cruiser? Along with Shivan AF beams and, IIRC, a pretty good speed, that far outranks any Terran ship.

[Fang_Taichou]

Shivans seem to have much more powerful reactors...were any Shivan capital ships ever definitively captured and analyzed? I know that the Taranis was captured, but was destroyed at Tombaugh.
If Hall Fight is canonical, then an Azrael was also captured, but the boarding party was slaughtered. Depending on when Antares fell, that may have come to nothing as well.

Anyhow, the weaponry on the SC Lilith is a pretty good indicator of their reactor tech...LRed on a cruiser? Along with Shivan AF beams and, IIRC, a pretty good speed, that far outranks any Terran ship.

I definitely agree with you there.  What I want to know is, how exactly did SOC forces capture those SF Maras near the beginning?  The fact that they were in decent enough condition to modify for Terrans and improve upon it means they didn't damage them, so they either stole them from those large Shivan cargo containers, or what I think happened, was they successfully captured a Shivan warship which carried those fighters and hauled them back.

If they boarded a Shivan warship successfully for those Maras, then what class of warship does SOC have in its possession?  My guess is a Moloch, but when we talk SOC, Ravanas or Demon-class destroyers aren't impossible     Which would mean, in a few years, hello GTVA LReds and BFReds!