[Androgeos Exeunt]

Well, this thread's only one day old, you know.

[Ziame]

When I'll finish on insane, my thought will be "Damn i'm so good" and then i'd return to normal to pwn a tiny bit more ^^

[eliex]

Given that you've already played BP, I don't suppose you've noticed that the Shivan warheads in BP are a hundred times more dangerous than the canon firecrackers we've had then.

Before I died for the 5th time in Forced Entry, nearing the Seraphim bombers I was constantly checking my shield levels. When I finally died - again - I was thinking "This game is rigged."

But I guess it had to be so since a Cyclops is apparently more powerful than a modern nuclear bomb. 

[Bob-san]

I have played extensively on Insane mode. Slaying Ravana I only survived (in an Ursa, no less) by circling around the Ravana far out of weapon range. I let the Sobek deal with it while telling bomber friendlies to engage (and fighter friendlies to protect my ass). Overall, the Ravana isn't a threat if you stay a few KM away. Not really the point of being a bomber then though. I've been killed by AAA's a few times before reverting to the "run and hide!" tactic. Besides that, stay away from the back side of the Sobek. Waiting 1km off and away from the Ravana nearly ensures survival. Oh, and if you dare be close to it as it goes off, you ought to have high hull and good timing. Riding the shockwave is a good way to avoid being killed at the last second by fighters.

[Killer Whale]

Tip for all interceptor pilots, ramming bombs is not the best way to destroy them.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

Playing on Insane is not for the newbie, definitely. There was one time I accidentally started a mission on Insane without realising that it was Insane. Died ten seconds in.

[Fenrir]

I need to do this next time I play through the main campaign. I remember trying it way back when and dying so many times that I gave up.

[General Battuta]

I have played extensively on Insane mode. Slaying Ravana I only survived (in an Ursa, no less) by circling around the Ravana far out of weapon range. I let the Sobek deal with it while telling bomber friendlies to engage (and fighter friendlies to protect my ass). Overall, the Ravana isn't a threat if you stay a few KM away. Not really the point of being a bomber then though. I've been killed by AAA's a few times before reverting to the "run and hide!" tactic. Besides that, stay away from the back side of the Sobek. Waiting 1km off and away from the Ravana nearly ensures survival. Oh, and if you dare be close to it as it goes off, you ought to have high hull and good timing. Riding the shockwave is a good way to avoid being killed at the last second by fighters.

If you neutralize the flak guns on the rear of the ship there's a blind spot you can hide in above the engines.

Assuming you're quick enough to kill enemy fighters, you can take out the Ravana from there.

[Charismatic]

Tip for all interceptor pilots, ramming bombs is not the best way to destroy them.

Nice.

[Nemesis6]

I don't see the point. FS2 on normal is hard enough, then again, if you like clicking "DO NOT SKIP THIS MISSION" again and again and again, I guess a higher difficulty is your thing.

See the thing is, I could probably play on higher difficulty, but there would have to be a compromise: I need teammates that are not bloody idiots; I shouldn't have to return the fighters to my wing just because one fighter is flying in a straight line and is being raped by the entire enemy force. Would be interesting if they maneuvered like the enemy does. 

[Androgeos Exeunt]

I don't see the point. FS2 on normal is hard enough, then again, if you like clicking "DO NOT SKIP THIS MISSION" again and again and again, I guess a higher difficulty is your thing.

See the thing is, I could probably play on higher difficulty, but there would have to be a compromise: I need teammates that are not bloody idiots; I shouldn't have to return the fighters to my wing just because one fighter is flying in a straight line and is being raped by the entire enemy force. Would be interesting if they maneuvered like the enemy does. 

They do. You haven't tried cheating through it yet, have you?

[General Battuta]

I don't see the point. FS2 on normal is hard enough, then again, if you like clicking "DO NOT SKIP THIS MISSION" again and again and again, I guess a higher difficulty is your thing.

See the thing is, I could probably play on higher difficulty, but there would have to be a compromise: I need teammates that are not bloody idiots; I shouldn't have to return the fighters to my wing just because one fighter is flying in a straight line and is being raped by the entire enemy force. Would be interesting if they maneuvered like the enemy does. 

There were only a few missions I had to replay. *shrug* It was certainly easier than the various Halos on Legendary.,

And the wingmen AI is really quite good. They evade just like the enemy does. Not sure what's going on on your end -- maybe you gave them bad orders? You need to be careful about how you command your squadmates.

From now on Insane will be my default difficulty for retail. It probably depends on your experience with the game.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

Insane without cheats is really for the very best pilots. With cheats, it's a rollercoaster ride for everyone.

When I first tried the FS2 demo on Insane, all my wingmen and reinforcements died in the first five minutes.

[General Battuta]

Your wingmen don't die 'too fast' on insane. They die at a reasonable rate given the odds against them. They're really pretty solid.

With good wingman commands, you can keep your fellow pilots alive for most of a mission. (Focus-firing one enemy fighter at a time is quite a strong tactic.)

[Narvi]

I don't see the point. FS2 on normal is hard enough, then again, if you like clicking "DO NOT SKIP THIS MISSION" again and again and again, I guess a higher difficulty is your thing.

There's a "never show this again" option, you know.

[General Battuta]

I don't see the point. FS2 on normal is hard enough, then again, if you like clicking "DO NOT SKIP THIS MISSION" again and again and again, I guess a higher difficulty is your thing.

There's a "never show this again" option, you know.

The only missions I ended up clicking that on were 'Slaying Ravana', 'Their Finest Hour' (oddly difficult), and, um, a few others...can't remember what.

[Snail]

The only one I used that one for was Bearbaiting, and in FSPort Playing Judas.

[General Battuta]

Oh, I don't mean that I skipped them -- I played every mission. I just hit 'don't show me this again' after failing five times and kept going unto success.

...however, I can see how Playing Judas might require that.

Bearbaiting wasn't that hard once we took out the forward flaks. I left two beam cannons for the next mission.

[Snail]

The reason I skipped Bearbaiting is because I did practically everything (destroyed all the beam cannons, practically all the flak guns and killed the Beleth) but I warped out before the second wave of Gemini arrived.

[Commander Zane]

That's why we've got Infyrnos and Piranhas.

Piranhas are bloody useless

One thing Fast Mod didn't do was make child weapons (Cluster Baby and Cluster Baby Weak) have a high turn rate and velocity like the other missiles did, give them the same variables as the Harpoon and Piranhas wipe out EVERYTHING.
Do the same to the MX-52 and it becomes an effective swarm weapon.