[Lorric]

That Terran vs. Cyrvan screenshot could be anything from a history-cutscene of the war, over a rebellion in which the Cyrvans help out, destroying a ship that got captured by aliens a simulated fleet battle or even a nightmare of the player character. I'm not going to interprete too much into it for the time being without more information.

Yeah, I did say extenuating story circumstances. However, like you, I also thought of some such scenarios. My personal favourite would be a faction of Cyrvan supremacists. Can you just imagine the dialogue, when normal Cyrvans have varying degrees of that smug superiority? It would make you enjoy blowing them up so much!

[Flak]

Or maybe Cyrvans vs Pirates or perhaps terrorists?

[FrikgFeek]

I'm just going to point out that we haven't seen a single Cyrvan die in the series so far(And we've seen plenty of Terran ships get owned by the Hertak). It's all because of Spoon's elf fetish. So I doubt that we'll actually get to blow up some smug space elves.

[Dragon]

I'm just going to point out that we've only seen a few Cyrvans get significant screentime in the "series" so far. There were a total of two of them directly involved in action in WoD. Stranded also didn't have that many. All of the notable ones were main characters, too, and WoD isn't exactly the kind of series that likes to kill those off. I'd expect some CSA redshirts to appear eventually, especially since they have capital ships now.

[Spoon]

I'm just going to point out that while the elf fetish part is totally true, Dragon points out a good point. And as a final point, Slyphia could in fact die in stranded.

[Lorric]

I think it's more a question of circumstance than design that we haven't got to shoot up any Cyrvans yet. Because they haven't ever been our enemy. For not dying, he was constrained by the story saying they only had two Aestivals. So those Aestivals couldn't get blown up in missions, they had to be invulnerable. But the Guardian Angel can still go down in missions, with Crystal, Luna, and the other three unnamed Cyrvans onboard dying with the rest of the crew.

I did get a chuckle when thinking about it though thinking that iirc Droid and his Cyrvan fleet went unmolested throughout the course of the forum game, as in never got attacked on the Hierarchy turn... Plus, I bet Spoon wanted to show off those Cyrvan ships!

I think that too was perhaps out of circumstance though, to not have to deal with the question of how Cyrvans can resupply in Terran systems. He also spent a good number of turns out of the action anyway.

[Dragon]

CSA fleet appeared too late in the forum game to really see much action. It was an important strategic asset, but it really didn't do that much. Had the game lasted longer, perhaps it would have taken loses. The Hierarchy didn't really have a reason to attack it, it was one of the strongest fleets in play. They were really better off taking their chances with other fleets that were shorter on supplies, which they did (especially that by that point, Hierarchy fleets already took a beating as well).

GA could be downed in WoD, just like Aestivals could, if you were flying one of them. But seeing as it was a game-over, I wouldn't count that. The only Cyrvan death that still led to a proper (though there was a better one) ending was in Stranded.

[Lorric]

CSA fleet appeared too late in the forum game to really see much action. It was an important strategic asset, but it really didn't do that much. Had the game lasted longer, perhaps it would have taken loses. The Hierarchy didn't really have a reason to attack it, it was one of the strongest fleets in play. They were really better off taking their chances with other fleets that were shorter on supplies, which they did (especially that by that point, Hierarchy fleets already took a beating as well).

Strength didn't have any influence on defence though. So they would have been the most desirable target to take down. I'm not complaining though. Especially when it would have deprived us of being able to see the fleet in action. I never saw any pattern to who got targeted in the game. Spoon had his fleets gang up on individual fleets, but I wonder if the target was chosen at random. It's probably for the best that way, as if you had one of the stronger fleets and he targeted the strongest, that would make the game pretty unfun for those of us with the stronger fleets, while those with the weaker fleets would be able to stay on the frontlines turn after turn.

[Spoon]

January has pretty much passed now, and lo and behold, no release. <yet>
Some things that are holding it up, the fact that I apparantly severely underestimated the time it would take to write the last VN segments. I, the amateur, took the art of writing lightly.
And there is also that I want to have my friends that I play D&D with to play test it first, but setting a date for this was turning out to be a bit more troublesome that I had expected. Right now we finally set a date, but it'll be two weeks from now.
So realistically speaking, it'll probably be sometime in march before I actually feel confident that its been tested more than enough for release.

First accept my deepest apologies and second this screenshot of the new Caliburn. Model by Hades, based on a Gundam Corefighter design.


And here's the 'original three' fighters, all in their new updated forms next to each other

(Not pictured, the DD Kaze-H with its ridiculously large cannon.)

[niffiwan]

Nice models 

(and don't worry about the release date, it's done when it's done )

[-Norbert-]

Nice fighters.

But why is one of the KAZE called PAGE? What does that stand for?

[Lorric]

No, Spoon! You set another release date! That means because it's Hard Light you'll miss that one too!

I'm glad you posted the group of fighters together, because looking at the Caliburn on its own, I didn't think it looked like a heavy fighter, but next to the others, now it does look the part. Especially the one with the camo, makes it look tough. Very nice design as well just on its own merits.

Is there anything different about the Kaze-Page vs. the normal Kaze aside from the paint job?

They're all really great designs. Can't wait to see them in action.

[Dragon]

If you want an additional tester, I might be available... about two weeks from now, give or take. Depending on how bogged down I get in college stuff, mostly. Sadly, it's the days when I had enough free time to help out on half the projects on this forum are long gone, but for something like WoD I'd definitely try to muster some of it.

The ships sure do look wonderful, but what I'm really excited about are the VN segments (having gotten a sneak-peek of the technology a long time ago, now I can't wait to see more of it).

[Spoon]

But why is one of the KAZE called PAGE? What does that stand for?

Is there anything different about the Kaze-Page vs. the normal Kaze aside from the paint job?

The CRF ship naming scheme is one of titles. The bigger the ship, the more important its title. The medieval Page was basically an apprentice squire, so yeah, not really high up there. The CRF didn't produce any of their own second generation fighters and their first attempt at a 3rd generation one, the Esquire, was... not great. So they started licensed production of the Ray MkIII and the Kaze, but as the Commonwealth's economy continued to struggle, the CRF found itself forced to bring down the production costs. So they designed their own variations without the expensive 'subspace storage module' and while they were at it, they adjusted the Kaze's thrusters to give it a more balanced performance.

What this translates into for gameplay terms is that the MkIII has 2 banks of 6 medium guns that it cannot link, but will allow it to bring two sets of guns for greater versatility. The same for the Kaze except it has 2 banks of 6 light guns. The Kaze-page variant instead has one bank of 2 medium and one of 4 light guns. In terms of rotation times, the Kaze has 1.5 3.5 values and the Page 2.4 2.6.

The DD on the other hands found the Kaze to better fit their military doctrine if it had somewhat heavier armament.


So they put a massive cannon on it.

[Lorric]

Thanks Spoon. But I don't actually understand if this means the Kaze is better or worse. The subspace storage module, is that just fluff, or does it mean something?

And the guns, are you saying the regular Ray can fire all guns at once but only have one type, while the CRF Ray can only fire half at once but have 2 types? And the same for the regular Kaze firing all 6 light guns, while the CRF Kaze-Page has to choose between firing 4 light or 2 medium?

And the thrusters being more balanced... does that mean it's better or worse?

And the rotation times, is that rate of fire? Sorry for being so ineffective at comprehending the information you've given me.

The DD variant is interesting, I could see the DD Kaze hitting and running with the big gun if it has a slow rate of fire.

[Spoon]

Okay so, the subspace storage module is the ability for a ship to have two primary banks using the same firing points, but you can't link the two banks. Whereas the CRF variants can link their banks, but their setup is different. The normal Kaze will always fire from 6 points, no matter what bank is selected, wheras the Page will have one bank of 4 and one bank of 2 which it can choose to link or not.

The rotation times is ship rotation, pitch and yaw. The time it takes the ship to do a 360 degree motion on one axis.

[FrikgFeek]

So, the LSF fighters basically have a hammerspace inventory. Also, aren't there supposed to be 3 different rotation times? Yaw, Pitch, and Roll.

[Lorric]

Okay so, the subspace storage module is the ability for a ship to have two primary banks using the same firing points, but you can't link the two banks. Whereas the CRF variants can link their banks, but their setup is different. The normal Kaze will always fire from 6 points, no matter what bank is selected, wheras the Page will have one bank of 4 and one bank of 2 which it can choose to link or not.

The rotation times is ship rotation, pitch and yaw. The time it takes the ship to do a 360 degree motion on one axis.

I'm still really confused. Linking the banks means you can fire all the guns at the same time, right? And does same point mean the guns all fire at the same point? They'd all hit the middle of the targetting reticule? I must be missing something, because with the subspace storage module it sounds like you're saying you can fire all guns at the same point but can't fire all guns at the same time, without it you can fire all guns at the same time but can't hit the same point.

But thankfully I do now understand what you mean about the rotation and why the Page is more balanced.

[Commander Zane]

The firing point is the point of origin for the projectile. A normal Kaze has two weapons that share the same six firing points, meaning both weapons produce projectiles from the same location. The CRF Kaze has one bank that uses four of the six total firing points, and a second that uses the remaining two.

A normal Kaze acts like the Uriel in WiH, it cannot link its primaries. The CRF Kaze can link its primaries like a normal FS ship.

[Lorric]

The firing point is the point of origin for the projectile. A normal Kaze has two weapons that share the same six firing points, meaning both weapons produce projectiles from the same location. The CRF Kaze has one bank that uses four of the six total firing points, and a second that uses the remaining two.

A normal Kaze acts like the Uriel in WiH, it cannot link its primaries. The CRF Kaze can link its primaries like a normal FS ship.

So is it like having 6 guns and shooting one type of bullet from all 6 guns and then switching to a different type of bullet and shooting that type of bullet from all 6 guns? And the Page can shoot both types of bullet at the same time, but can only shoot one type from 4 guns and the other type from the other 2 guns? That does make sense.

I haven't played WiH so I can't relate. But I think I understand. The Uriel can fire all guns but can only shoot one type of weapon from those guns at a time, yes?