[Solatar]

I'm playing through the main Freespace 2 campaign for the first time in awhile, and I'm in the section where you fly for the Vasudan squadron.  Although I'm getting the hang of the Serapis as a fighter, its designation as an "Advanced Interceptor" still bothers me.  As is the case with many FS2 vessels, overclocking your speed does next to nothing; and the shields seem to be so close to the fighter that anything gets through.  I like it as a light space superiority fighter, but as an interceptor it has very little going for it.

Thoughts?

[Narvi]

Aren't interceptors in Freespace basically bomber and bomb hunters? The Serapis's speed would be pretty important for that.

[stuart133]

Yeah, but it's overly close shields kinda ruin the bomb hunting part of that. And its paper armour means that even the most useless bomber can hose you with its turret and take you down.

[Sushi]

On the other hand, it DOES mount the Maxim, which is excellent for both popping incoming warheads and taking out turrets.

[Topgun]

The serapis is a stunt plane, that's all.

[Solatar]

It's speed is nice, but it overclocks to only 78 (original 75).  Any known reason why this is?

[Snail]

The Serapis is good for hunting bombers because of the underslung dual mount which commonly mounts Maxims. Good for shooting down bombs, neutralizing turrets on enemy capships, and when coupled with a Mekhu HL-7 or anti-shield weapon, can chew through bomber wings very easily.

For everything else though I view it as mostly useless. Shields and armor are like tissue paper soaked in toilet water, honestly.

It's speed is nice, but it overclocks to only 78 (original 75).  Any known reason why this is?

Yeah that is weird. It's relatively slow without afterburners (actually a lot slower than the Horus), it's got paper thin armour and can't carry the Trebuchet. The only thing it has going for it is a relatively thin target profile (which all Vasudan fighters have) and compatibility with the Maxim...

I think I'll choose the Horus from now on... Much faster, negligible shield difference and compatibility with Trebuchet and Kayser (admittedly with limited capacity/weapon energy). Can do everything the Serapis can do, but better...

[Commander Zane]

It's speed is nice, but it overclocks to only 78 (original 75).  Any known reason why this is?

Doesn't the Bahka not overclock at all regardless of what you allocate into the engines?

[Galemp]

At least it charges your afterburners faster.

The Serapis, like the Perseus, is more of a well-balanced dogfighter and turret-killer than its FS1-era counterpart. The Horus and Valkyrie were built for raw speed to hunt sluggish bombers, whereas FS2 bombers are more manouverable and fire at longer range.

Beam turrets are also at least as dangerous as bombers, so shifting the interceptor hardware to fulfill multiple roles makes some tactical sense.

[NGTM-1R]

None of the missions in which the Serapis is default are interceptor missions, and it's fragility means it struggles with a space superiority or (god forbid) assault roll. The Horus is a much superior craft for both interceptor and multirole really; its only really noticible flaw in comparison is smaller secondary banks, and it's faster with stronger shields.

[Aardwolf]

I don't remember which, but IIRC there's at least one ship whose max overclock speed is WORSE than the normal max speed. Still, with afterburners it might not matter.

[Asakura]

Serapis is a hard one. Firstly it lacks the speed required for an interceptor. Secondly the armor is paper-thin, literally. Last but not least, for bomb-interception and turret popping it lacks trebs, and maxim does not make up for it - 1.4k less range and not the best choice for shooting down torpedoes especially since you risk damaging the ship you are defending. This is somewhat saved by the fact that you do not have to do much escort/defense in this ship.

On the other hand the ship is VERY maneuverable, and its guns are better placed than any other Vasudan fighter. Its reactor output is also relatively high, so you can actually afford to drop a notch on gun energy into shields. Personally that is enough reason to fly this on the Vasudan missions, since with the exception of the two bombing runs there is no better ship should you know how to handle this kite properly.

So on the overall, yes, the Serapis is alright as a light superiority, which works for the missions you get it in general. Maxim is a plus since you get to pop capital ships for extra points when your hands are not filled with strike craft.

[General Battuta]

The issue is that the missions frequently bring you close to Shivan warships which have a nasty tendency to skewer you with AAA beams.

[TrashMan]

It's speed is nice, but it overclocks to only 78 (original 75).  Any known reason why this is?

Doesn't the Bahka not overclock at all regardless of what you allocate into the engines?

Table bugs. [V] made a few oversights...it happens

[Narvi]

Is it fixed in the SCP?

[General Battuta]

Nope, because it's not a bug.

[Asakura]

The issue is that the missions frequently bring you close to Shivan warships which have a nasty tendency to skewer you with AAA beams.

Most of those I generally try to snipe out the AAAs with a Maxim or just use my wingmen as fodder

[QuantumDelta]

Trebs are not particularly useful against bombers, I'd rather have a maxim by far.

As for uses of the Serapis...
Scrap metal?
Horrible fighter, Horrible.
Sucks as Space Superiority unless you're talking about 1on1 TvT and you already vastly outskill your opponent (it's light enough that you'll never get touched, unless they take a loki).
Sucks as Intercept unless you blitz in and out before the bombers can turn on you (...doesn't happen on insane, just doesn't).
Sucks as Assault period.
It has one useless primary bank and one useless secondary bank, useless shields, slower than the ship it's replacing.


The ONLY thing it has going for it IS the maxim.
Well, and that awesome primary bank, but still, I'd rather fly pretty much any other ship in the Vasudan Armada.
..And that's saying something since almost all the badly designed ships are Vasudan.

They have one decent bomber, and their fighters are intensely situational with very little overlap.
And they're all stupidly big when it comes to target profile in dogfights :<
/Rant

So yea, Advanced Interceptor, because it really can't do anything else.

[Kosh]

Yeah, but it's overly close shields kinda ruin the bomb hunting part of that. And its paper armour means that even the most useless bomber can hose you with its turret and take you down.

If that bomber wing is carrying Pirahna's then your Serapis wing will die pretty fast.

[QuantumDelta]

Yeah, but it's overly close shields kinda ruin the bomb hunting part of that. And its paper armour means that even the most useless bomber can hose you with its turret and take you down.

If that bomber wing is carrying Pirahna's then your Serapis wing will die pretty fast.

Talking AI vs AI?