[Colonol Dekker]

JAD 2 solves that with pork and apples.

[Dilmah G]

In freespace, all blocades IIRC are in front of the node. No-one is on the sides, or behind. Which is really stupid.
wistler: Perhaps sathanases are small.

When have blockades ever been in front of the node in Freespace? In Endgame the Monitor is slightly to the side, in the first Raptors mission the destroyer is down to the left.

[eliex]

In freespace, all blocades IIRC are in front of the node. No-one is on the sides, or behind. Which is really stupid.
wistler: Perhaps sathanases are small.

It's true that the blockades are in front of the node, but not directly in front of it; they are placed on the sides to bring maximum firepower and survivability when catching an enemy ship when it jumps in-system.

[Liberator]

Thinking back to the first Artemis mission...the blockading ships are in front and off to the side/bottom/ect.

Because of the way subspace works, if you were behind the node, you're targets would be out of range of most weapons a couple of seconds.

Capital ships have to coast in, unlike fighters and bombers which have less mass and less inertia.

[Janos]

In a war like FS, any force sufficiently large and coordinated becomes de facto invulnerable if they are more concentrated than the enemy: they can jump in and out at ease, assault nodes at will, and depart before any retaliation is possible. They apparently cannot drop out of hyperspace at will either, making them extremely vulnerable to ambushes and something FS neglects at its peril: passive defences. A single destroyer, aware of it's surroundings, can jump in, destroy a target craft and jump out in a matter of minutes, the only thing limiting that being the defences of the target and response time.

They are also dependant (maybe on supplies and) reconnaisance because otherwise they would be flying blind, extremely vulnerable to similar mass assault tactics, almost noncapable of stopping any major force in the same system sans a complete blockade of a node (all or nothing is never something a military commander wants) and slow. Two forces of a similar size wouldn't probably risk destruction if they can choose. Because: the enemy can jump in anytime at anyplace, you can only counter them either with numbers or superior technology, losing ships in one system would probably doom the entire system etc.

It's an impossible war that is only fought the way it is because we're talking about a computer game. Why not use long-range missiles? Why to have the most powerful ships carry fighters which have inter-system jump capabilities? Why no mines? Why not to build a cruise missile with hyperdrive to bombard enemy planets? Why...

[Spoon]

It's an impossible war that is only fought the way it is because we're talking about a computer game. Why not use long-range missiles? Why to have the most powerful ships carry fighters which have inter-system jump capabilities? Why no mines? Why not to build a cruise missile with hyperdrive to bombard enemy planets? Why...

Long range missiles, easily intercepted
Fighter pilots need to take a piss at times ya know.
Mines have already been discussed before and since space is VAST, it's kinda hard to lay down an effective mine field
Because hyperdrive cruise missiles would be very costly to produce most likely. Also, the shivans have their own method of glassing a planet and the GTVA doesn't know if the shivans even Have planets.

[Aardwolf]

Since when do nodes have a definite front, anyway?

[William Wolfen]

Since when do nodes have a definite front, anyway?

since in missions always have ships come through in the same direction, but theoretically there isnt a defined "front".

[NGTM-1R]

Why not to build a cruise missile with hyperdrive to bombard enemy planets?

Such a missile will be the size, and expense, of a fightercraft. Fightercraft are therefore more cost-effective, being able to strike numerous times as compared to a missile's only once.

Since when do nodes have a definite front, anyway?

Since they've never been depicted otherwise ingame. Entry is possible from any angle, exit from only one.

[eliex]

Since they've never been depicted otherwise ingame. Entry is possible from any angle, exit from only one.

This might go a long way in preventing subspace-node traffic accidents abeit in the ones depicted in Homesick and Sync.

[headdie]

Mines have already been discussed before and since space is VAST, it's kinda hard to lay down an effective mine field

actually mining a jump node would work nicely, but i think that would be the only regularly feasible application.

In a war like FS, any force sufficiently large and coordinated becomes de facto invulnerable if they are more concentrated than the enemy: they can jump in and out at ease, assault nodes at will, and depart before any retaliation is possible. They apparently cannot drop out of hyperspace at will either, making them extremely vulnerable to ambushes and something FS neglects at its peril: passive defences. A single destroyer, aware of it's surroundings, can jump in, destroy a target craft and jump out in a matter of minutes, the only thing limiting that being the defences of the target and response time.

I disagree, All this is based around the missions in the "End Game" period

smaller groupings would probably be able to remain undetected longer based on two things
1 Bosh uses several rallying points
2 it took a "Recon" flight to locate the rallying point the player hits

Also freespace tactics are mostly guerrilla based, although each fleet has a small number of large ships mostly battles are fought with fighters and bombers, jumping in, assaulting target ships, and jumping out.  Big ship combat seems very rare and only mentioned occasionally.  also battles resolved by fighters I believe are often credited to the carrier ship.

[Colonol Dekker]

Quite right. As evidenced in command briefings. Can't remember which but meh.

[Killer Whale]

In freespace, all blocades IIRC are in front of the node. No-one is on the sides, or behind. Which is really stupid.
wistler: Perhaps sathanases are small.

When have blockades ever been in front of the node in Freespace? In Endgame the Monitor is slightly to the side, in the first Raptors mission the destroyer is down to the left.

Off to one side slightly, but not (in relation to the node) 90 degrees off, which is what I meant by the side. And a sath can fire at pretty much any of the positions they put their blocade ships at in FS2.

[galonrever]

Jump nodes are obviously the most important element in a FS universe. If you're defending, its a choke point you know the enemy have to brave to try and deploy in the system, or if you're attacking, you need to have it secured, or you will be cut off.

In a real solar system, planets move, and assumably so do installations, due to a suns gravity. This makes front lines redundant, as the 'front' rotates around a star. Also, subspace travel, as discussed, further removes the theory of a 'front' from a FS system battle.

So, it's safe to say that a fleets first priority on attack/defence is to secure the nodes leading into/out of the system. After that, secure planets and infrastructure that can support/hinder you; shipyards, supply depots, communication arrays, etc. Throughout this, you would be want captial ship superiorty - if you've secured/defending a supply depot with a cruiser or two, and a destroyer drops in you're up the creek without a paddle. This could be gained either through straight combat - destroying the enemies ships, or tying up the enemies resources with harassing tactics, forcing them to spread out and defend as much of their 'territory' as possible.

As for subspace travel within a system, you'd have to scout most positional movements with recon fighters to make sure you weren't jumping into an ambush. Lead scouts seems an obvious choice.

[Snail]

Yeah, jump nodes are definitely the way to go on a system-wide scale.

[FS2_playa613]

If you want to engage a ship, jump out in front of it so it can't escape. (Feint! Parry! Riposte!) Maneuvering in FS usually takes too long to evade some serious beam volleys.

You mean like what the Phoenecia  did in bearbaiting? you know... the one that stood in front of a sath to block/delay its escape? the DESTROYER that lasted a total of ONE beam volley from said sath? I agree with your tactic if and only if the ship you are trying to block isnt incredibly front-gun-heavy like a ravana or sath, or doesnt have a significant mass and structural advantage on the blocking ship (ie orion blocking a collie  (feint parry riposte post-collision: "damage is minimal here command") although large ship jump speed tends to be really fast so the mass/size advatage would probably be a bit bigger, maybe like deimos vs collie.

[Liberator]

In all honesty, you'd really expect most every jump node in high value systems to have 2-4 defense platforms with multiple heavy beams cannons for capital ship destruction and lots of room for anti-small craft action as well, perhaps something corvette sized, possibly even destroyer sized.  The Mjolinir strikes me as a proto-type weapon that was undergoing field trials during the first Artemis mission, and isn't really ready for prime time, it's too soft and way too easy to spot.

Granted such a platform would be vulnerable to massed fighter/bomber attack or multiple capital ships from standoff ranges, but that's not what it would be in place for, it would be in place to interdict incoming and outgoing hostiles who would be more interested in escaping the node to strike high value targets deeper within the system.  I honestly wonder why there is a "customs" station at each entry and exit point also.

[NGTM-1R]

The problem is that jump node defenses like that are more or less useless. In addition to being a logisitical drain, they are of no practical use if that particular node is not the one being assaulted; in that case they actually become a liablity because they aren't designed to defend against assault except from the node and can be siezed to deny your forces access.

The final nail in the coffin is the Shivan ability to use routes of which the GTVA may not even be aware. Such things are just not flexible enough to be of use. The Mjolnir, which is a considerably more flexible, transportable, can be put away when not in use sort of thing, is a vastly more rational approach.

[Liberator]

I agree completely of course, perhaps a purpose built transport that can jump in and move it to a different location.  That's the GTVA's failing, they have great small craft/transport of same, but they really lack the ability to project the kind of fire power you'd think they'd expect in the face of even the Great War era Shivans.  But, Pride go-eth before the Fall.  Hmm, I just had the sinking feeling that if FS3 were to come about, we'd probably see a "proper" falling of Mankind somehow, not just the loss of the Homeworld.

[headdie]

The problem is that jump node defenses like that are more or less useless. In addition to being a logisitical drain, they are of no practical use if that particular node is not the one being assaulted; in that case they actually become a liablity because they aren't designed to defend against assault except from the node and can be siezed to deny your forces access.

The final nail in the coffin is the Shivan ability to use routes of which the GTVA may not even be aware. Such things are just not flexible enough to be of use. The Mjolnir, which is a considerably more flexible, transportable, can be put away when not in use sort of thing, is a vastly more rational approach.

I agree, mass deployment of SW Goliath style deference platforms at every node would be a wast of resources but placing them along choke points in galactic transit routes it gives the alliance strong points to mount defenses from

The Mjolinir strikes me as a proto-type weapon that was undergoing field trials during the first Artemis mission

I believe the command brief states the platform as a prototype.  the advantage the Mjolinir has over the fixed station is that with two Tritons you can set up a testing defense screen anywhere probably in a an hour or two so you have the flexibility in your blockade strategy.  if you give the platform engines you might as well position a corvette or destroyer there anyway