[DarthWang]

I tried to explain this earlier in the "easy way to take down a Sathanas" thread but it was locked, so I want to explain something I've discovered. I call it the "Doorstop Strategy". First you take a capship (corvette, usually Sobek, works best) and place it right in front of a Sathanas, so close that it's actually in the space between the "arms". It will be too close for the BFReds to target, and the Sathanas will be unable to turn without colliding with it, which will keep it stuck in place until the corvette is destroyed (hence the "doorstop" name). This leaves the Sathanas open to attacks by capships on its other flanks!

This takes a lot of trial and error to set up, but it does work.

[The E]

This could be a major "breaking the fourth wall" moment, however. If I understand you correctly, your method is based on the AI's behaviour when confronted with a possible collision between two capships. A real Sathanas wouldn't really care about squashing a Sobek and just plow it under, IMHO.

[Rodo]

that's way difficult if not impossible to acomplish in real life (if FS could be real someday).

how can you make the corvette come so close to the sathanas without coliding and without being powned by the forward beams first?...

and even if the corvette can reach that blind spot.. what will impide shivans to throw a hole lot of bombers to blast it to hell?... or turning the sath and coliding it with the corvette itself... it's not like the shivans would really care about one single sath IMO, and also a single corvette does not have the firepower to destroy the sath by itself... it would be like don quijote against the windmills.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

that's way difficult if not impossible to acomplish in real life (if FS could be real someday).

how can you make the corvette come so close to the sathanas without coliding and without being powned by the forward beams first?...

and even if the corvette can reach that blind spot.. what will impide shivans to throw a hole lot of bombers to blast it to hell?... or turning the sath and coliding it with the corvette itself... it's not like the shivans would really care about one single sath IMO, and also a single corvette does not have the firepower to destroy the sath by itself... it would be like don quijote against the windmills.

To add to this, remember what the Lucifer did when it arrived at Tombaugh Station as stated in the FreeSpace Reference Bible?

Spoiler:

It collided into several fighters that were in its way.

Given that logic, I'm certain the Shivans will do the exact same thing to a corvette if it tries to block a Sathanas.

Ahem ... CRRRUSH him like a cockroach!

[The E]

Yeah...The problem with this concept is that Shivans do not seem to care about losses, AT ALL (Capella notwithstanding ).

[Aardwolf]

Considering the relative sizes and top speeds, and assuming the AI would let it and the physics were simulated more smoothly, the Sath wouldn't really 'plow through' the Sobek, it seems to me that it would be more like a go-cart running into a rubber boot hydrant at 5mph.

Edit: I meant a rubber boot. I was originally going to say compact car + fire hydrant and messed up while changing it, but I'm leaving it for the lulz.

[General Battuta]

Now this would be a great place for Mobius to talk about the difference between game and universe, because here it fits well.

[Droid803]

The Sath would just flak it to death with it's two LR Flaks...
...or it'd attempt warp out and SMACK the Sobek for MASSIVE DAMAGE.

[Aardwolf]

Warping out, I hadn't considered. We know a fighter won't warp out if something is in the way (at least the computer will abort if you try to), but we don't know how much smaller that something could hypothetically be in that context, or whether that's not a 'subspace' issue as much as a "you're an idiot I'm not going to let you smash into the ship" on the part of the computer (or the game designer).

Edit: I just saw a picture in the "A Celebration of FreeSpace" thread, and I may have to revise my theory. A *destroyer* might be sufficient to 'doorstop' a Sathanas, but the Sobek is so itty-bitty-small...

[Androgeos Exeunt]

The Sobek's a corvette, and you can't stop a 6 km warship with a 0.6 km pea-shooter.

[Mongoose]

All you'd be left with are a bunch of itty-bitty Sobek pieces and a Sathanas with a mild scratch to its front paintwork.

[Rodo]

yeah... remember the repulse??? so..... what kind of damage did the Colossus sustained after a full speed collition with an orion??

[Androgeos Exeunt]

140 000 hull damage.

Keep in mind that the Orion was 2 km compared to the Colossus's 6.

[ssmit132]

yeah... remember the repulse??? so..... what kind of damage did the Colossus sustained after a full speed collition with an orion??

That was an unrealistic collision, though. The Repulse just exploded when it collided with the Colossus. If it was real, the Repulse would probably end up embedded about half a kilometre inside the Colossus' head.

But FreeSpace isn't realistic, so we can ignore that.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

Actually, ssmit, the Repulse does end up inside the Colossus before it explodes. My only guess to this is that the Orion's pivot point has to touch the outside of the Colossus before the explosion occurs.

[Snail]

Alternatively the Colossus beams the Repulse to death before it even gets there.

[Androgeos Exeunt]

Alternatively the Colossus beams the Repulse to death before it even gets there.

The damage done is still the same, though.

[Pred the Penguin]

Maybe that was damage from the explosion?

[Polpolion]

Maybe the FS engine doesn't support that kind of collision and Volotion counted on the Colossus killing the Repulse before they would've collided?

[BlueFlames]

Debris impacts cause a lot more damage than ship-to-ship collisions.  Usually, when the Colossus destroys the Repulse, pre-impact, the front end of the Repulse smacks the Colossus, doing damage comparable to the kamakazi attack.