about the ammo - it is a global value - 70 means that ALL things requiring ammo will use an ammo of 70. if that ammo amount was lowered, missiles could be made a lot tougher, cause their use would be a LOT more restricted then.
so - lets think about it ... if the global ammo was set to 6 instead of 70.... every one of those 6 missiles could have a high chance to hit - along as a good range and a supeior damage / tracking. - after all - you d only have 6 missiles.
what effect does that have?
a one on one would mean that both opponents would probably shoot their missiles and after a few seconds one of them would be dead ( or both ).
another problem is - that such things like countermeasure droppers had only 6 shots, too - aswell as mines and .... CDs!
it is not possible to alter the ammo value other than as a global value. currently, its useful to use different missiles instead of a dual launcher, because you d have twice as much ammo then. ( using a sidewinder + cannonball means you have 70 salvos // using dual cannonballs means you have 35 salvos )
I said they are not useless at all . They compliment guns for a skilled pilot... looks like some people want to change then to "I win because I hit the button first".
They can be improved, but they don't need to be drastically improved. And yes there is a short activation period on the start.
Igiss says: Martin, you give them a finger, they bite off your arm.
Quote:using dual cannonballs means you have 35 salvos )
Yeah, I figured that out when I went out of dock the first time. disheartening really.
But as for the limitations. Set the ammo limit to maybe 15. the CM's are going to take a hit, but the CD's can be made to disrupt for a longer time that 5s. Scramble the circuits, 30s per shot maybe? you're more than 1/4 ing the ammo, up the "disruption" effect by the same amount.
which gets me thinking. Why can't the missiles hit with the same accuracy as a CD? Same basic idea, you're shooting something out of a launcher. Has this been thought of?
Quote:a one on one would mean that both opponents would probably shoot their missiles and after a few seconds one of them would be dead ( or both ).
Either that, or in 1-2 passes, all the bats,bots,missiles, and CM's are gone. Mines too probably. Sure would make PvP fights a bit shorter wouldn't it?
edit Tested myself, see below
Edit:
Quote:I said they are not useless at all . They compliment guns for a skilled pilot... looks like some people want to change then to "I win because I hit the button first".
Not necessarily. I don't want them to be the uber-weapon, I don't even want them to replace guns, I like my guns. But, a little improvement in tracking...ok, a more than little improvement...would make them more useful to the average pilot.
Missiles are good, but they could use a bit of a boost.
Not damage, but maybe speed or tracking.
Damage would be bad against vanilla, so CB could instant kill Sabre for example.
Lucendez Wrote:
It is every Corsair's responsibility to die a beautiful death in defense of Crete, regardless of how OORP or how capwhoring the opposition is. Launch your fighter, joust the battlecruisers and die a beautiful death. Then, drink it down in the bar.
If armour was taken away, as was suggested as a remedy for shortening dogfights, missiles wouldn't really need a change.
But as it stands now, missiles do. But not the slower ones. A cannonball is supposed to be just that. A big, almost unguided packet of destruction.
Missiles from the stalker series, however, do need a boost, in speed, by about 100 m/s and improved tracking. Whenever I see a missile on someone, there is usually just one, and its a Cannon. Not a bad thing, I just never see Firestalkers. So I think that the stalker series needs a boost, but not the Cannon, Catapult etc....
@ CMFalconer: NPC AI changes when you start launching missiles, which means they move more erratically and try to stay away from you...
Yes, i tend to agree.
For some reason, Cannonball even hits better then the Stalker series.
Whenever you'r head to head with an enemy, 400m range, CB has bigger chances of hitting then Stalkers or winders.
Maybe winders are supposed to be fired from bigger distance, or smtn, but that itself makes it less usable.
Yes, CB is good already, others are not.
I must add paralyzers here, because people just keep forgetting those.
Lucendez Wrote:
It is every Corsair's responsibility to die a beautiful death in defense of Crete, regardless of how OORP or how capwhoring the opposition is. Launch your fighter, joust the battlecruisers and die a beautiful death. Then, drink it down in the bar.
' Wrote:If armour was taken away, as was suggested as a remedy for shortening dogfights, missiles wouldn't really need a change.
Ehm... if it was taken away then you could instant kill all vanilla ships with Sidewinders and maybe even Firestalkers.
I would like to see a better fuse, very often they just fly right next to the target without exploding. But off course if tracking can be improved it would do the same.
Igiss says: Martin, you give them a finger, they bite off your arm.
I did some testing last night, and had some interesting things happen.
First, I loaded (on a private server) a Slipstream with 1 Cannonball, 1 Firestalker, 1 Lancer, and 1 Neutralizer. Yes, a Missile Ship. Then I popped around to different systems (NY, Rheinland, Omegas, Gamma) and tried to "pop" off some NPC's.
As a Missile Ship, It works GREAT on Transports and Trains. Pretty good on freighters. On the lighter fighters (StarXXX series), good. Anything else, they're terrible. I fired an entire salvo at a Titan taht I was flying behind. All 4 missiles hit, and I swear I saw the pilot laughing at me. Took down all the shields (thanks Neutralizer), and maybe 3 nanobots worth of hull. With THAT much explosive power at you, you should be space-dust.
Another problem was tracking. Once you hit someone with missiles, they don't much like you. OK. But then it pretty much becomes impossible to hit them. Me in a light fighter, I sidled right up behind the NPC's and launched a salvo. The missile wouldn't fly straight. the rocket trails (?) were erratic right out of the launcher...as the NPC ship flies true. And when you could swear all 4 were flying in formation with the ship, the missiles just keep going straight, the NPC pulls an inhuman 90 degree turn, and...no proximity boom either.
And just for kicks, I put 2 Cannonballs, 2 Sidewinders, and 2 FireStalkers on an Eagle to take some big damage potential to some Nomads. Dont bother. You have better luck with 6 Fury5's.
Took the same loadout to NY just to test on some Gunboats. Again, don't bother, didn't leave a scratch. You'd have to fire your whole compliment (35 missiles) to bring down anything...if they all hit.
All I see needing change is tracking for stalker series, but freelancer is in a new age of weaponary and I think the energy cannons should be primaries for most. If your going for that RoboTech feel of a one hundred missle launch with every single one slamming into target then you probally can still do with Raven Claw and various missle mount 8 hard points most Ive seen in game. Sorry tired and dont know what I'm getting at but Stalker series better tracking needed. I'd also like Rapid fire launchers like the Apache Hellfire, but thats a different weapon. LIght ndamage sure fires would be neat too.