What is the difference between Hornets?

Mich Angel

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The current difference between the Hornet variants is the Super Hornet and the Hornet Wildfire come with the turrets that the others do not have stock and the Super Hornet has a co-pilot seat, plus the speed difference.

The rest of the differences have no in game effects.

The differences that are currently not in game:
The Ghost is stealth, the Tracker has radar, both give up something for those abilities, exactly what, remains to be seen.
The Super Hornet is supposed to have better armor than the rest of the variants.
The Super Hornet comes with a jump engine, but all of them can equip one, even if they don't come with them. Note there is nothing definitive, that I have found, that the others don't come with a Jump Engine, only that the Super Hornet is listed, and confirmed, as coming with one.

The speed difference is due to the extra mass in the Super Hornet, which is because of the turret, or the armor, or the additional seat, of some combination of the three, but that is not an in game effect so we don't know yet.
Yes that has already been said in the thread ha ha ha ha ha..... :beers:

And speed difference is mostly due to a much different engine and power plants in the different version of the Hornets and not so much in weight

The regular Hornet and Wildfire are identical except for a paint job and as you said a ball gun turret yes same as in S-Hornet as standard.
And the stealth and Trackers tech do work but not to the full extent it was planed to work,
it is much harder to get target lock on a Ghost then the other Hornets and it is much weaker in a dogfight then the others are.
The tracker do detect targets earlier and it is easier to keep the target locked with it much earlier then the others but it don't work as it was intended not by a long shoot.

All tech on the Hornet is suppose to be exchangeable between them and most of it have been the one thing that seem to stopped working is putting the "All store box" From the regular Hornet on the S-Hornet which was possible in 2.5. but seem to lost the function after last Hornets hull update but that probably will get fixed.
So did some other functions on them as well as in the S-Hornet is now little of a glass ship if hit on the wrong spot, it explode even if all is 100% okay and no damage on it.

The Ghost seem to become much stronger suddenly than it was before, so have the Tracker as the tracker seem much more agile then the other. The regular and Wild fire did not change so much what I noticed so far, where the continuing fixing and updating on them lead is hopefully to where they suppose to be in there differences and all tech working. And I for one rather see that sooner then later... I hope..

I flown the Hornets now for well almost a year now give a couple days it's been my main fighter since the start and after countless of hours spent flying them almost every day. I have seen the changes happen in them and felt the difference in them.
As they are now if you don't need a extra seat the Tracker is the fastest and very close to being the strongest of them.

For S-Hornet have a small weak spot just above the cockpit where the co-pilot seat is before the turret, if it get a direct hit there from a laser or ballistic gun it explode instantly no warning at all. No matter how little or much damage you had prior to that hit, part from that S-Hornet is still extremely strong compared to the other Hornets from all other sides and in a dogfight you are most likely to survive in a S-Hornet if you're not to familiar with flying the Hornets in dogfights.

CHEERS! :beers: :beers: :beers:


I'll think here it would be proper to add some video of me flying some M50.. :smile:
If you get motion sick watching do not blame me :beer: :beer: :beers:

 
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Radegast74

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The current difference between the Hornet variants is the Super Hornet and the Hornet Wildfire come with the turrets that the others do not have stock and the Super Hornet has a co-pilot seat, plus the speed difference.

The rest of the differences have no in game effects.

The differences that are currently not in game:
The Ghost is stealth, the Tracker has radar, both give up something for those abilities, exactly what, remains to be seen.
The Super Hornet is supposed to have better armor than the rest of the variants.
The Super Hornet comes with a jump engine, but all of them can equip one, even if they don't come with them. Note there is nothing definitive, that I have found, that the others don't come with a Jump Engine, only that the Super Hornet is listed, and confirmed, as coming with one.

The speed difference is due to the extra mass in the Super Hornet, which is because of the turret, or the armor, or the additional seat, of some combination of the three, but that is not an in game effect so we don't know yet.
Dude, that is *way* too organized & succinct!

I appreciate you putting it together like that. Yes, I think the hard part is that everything can potentially change, and the old spec sheets are hopelessly out of date. What can a person do? Except buy more ships!
 

Radegast74

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I'll think here it would be proper to add some video of me flying some M50.. :smile:
If you get motion sick watching do not blame me :beer: :beer: :beers:

I'll have you know that I was > < that close to breaking 1 min for a lap in my M50...and I was so damn happy!
 

Mich Angel

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I'll have you know that I was > < that close to breaking 1 min for a lap in my M50...and I was so damn happy!
Oops! me bad... :upside_down: :beers: :beers:
But trust me when you finally break that one minute wall it all changes after that, it was my nemesis for a long time then one day I got that AHaa! And after that it all changed.
:blush:
 
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Shadow Reaper

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The rest of the differences have no in game effects.
The SH comes with a larger reactor and especially if you are running big shields and energy weapons, the reactor would make a difference both in performance, and in the EM and IR signatures you put out. Likewise, the reactor in the Ghost was supposed to have been chosen to minimize EM and IR, at the cost of lower usable energy output. This is the trade all ships will face when choosing custom equipment, but the difference with the Ghost is designed to be more dramatic.

The Ghost's armor is really the thing I wonder about. There has been much mention of "Void Armor" available to some other or perhaps all other ships, that reduces the radar cross section ("RCS"--what active sensors pick up on, and most missiles track on). The Void Armor has been on the speadsheet for ages, so you can see where CIG wants to go with it. At present it is designed to reduce not only RCS, but cuts EM and IR in half. Since radiation flux is inverse quadratic with distance, half the signal registers as one quarter the signature at the same distance, so Ghost armor should be extremely effective, essentially making stuff 4X harder to see, or making it appear at 1/4 the distance normally required. At least that is how I am reading the Void armor, line 8 on the armor tab here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11B81QpGLgc2GeFsfLnVQLxGrqIfhKDKW1BiZ44E2HV8/edit#gid=201594147

Note the Sabre armor (line 14) has no such modifier yet, so that is all to come. My guess is the modifier for the Sabre will be identical or similar.

What I want to know is can we move armor on and off a ship like any other component. Still no word on this. Note line 42, specific mention again of Void Armor, but with no data on the table. This is all to come.
 

Mich Angel

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The SH comes with a larger reactor and especially if you are running big shields and energy weapons, the reactor would make a difference both in performance, and in the EM and IR signatures you put out. Likewise, the reactor in the Ghost was supposed to have been chosen to minimize EM and IR, at the cost of lower usable energy output. This is the trade all ships will face when choosing custom equipment, but the difference with the Ghost is designed to be more dramatic.

The Ghost's armor is really the thing I wonder about. There has been much mention of "Void Armor" available to some other or perhaps all other ships, that reduces the radar cross section ("RCS"--what active sensors pick up on, and most missiles track on). The Void Armor has been on the speadsheet for ages, so you can see where CIG wants to go with it. At present it is designed to reduce not only RCS, but cuts EM and IR in half. Since radiation flux is inverse quadratic with distance, half the signal registers as one quarter the signature at the same distance, so Ghost armor should be extremely effective, essentially making stuff 4X harder to see, or making it appear at 1/4 the distance normally required. At least that is how I am reading the Void armor, line 8 on the armor tab here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11B81QpGLgc2GeFsfLnVQLxGrqIfhKDKW1BiZ44E2HV8/edit#gid=201594147

Note the Sabre armor (line 14) has no such modifier yet, so that is all to come. My guess is the modifier for the Sabre will be identical or similar.

What I want to know is can we move armor on and off a ship like any other component. Still no word on this. Note line 42, specific mention again of Void Armor, but with no data on the table. This is all to come.

You can actually start up the different hornets in free flight and see they do have different EM signature and they do attract missile different as it is now but not by far as it is intended.
The same is with the Sabre it have a much different and lower EM signature same as the Ghost it's fairly hard to get a early decent missile lock on it. You need to get close to get a stable good lock before fire or missile will most likely just miss.

Yes I do hope that the hull armor will be modular at some point I know it have been discussed but I never heard a final result in whether that is more a which and random idea swapping talk than actual ideas that is planed to be put in to the game... but it shore would be damn cool..

:smile:
 

Shadow Reaper

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Yes I do hope that the hull armor will be modular at some point I know it have been discussed but I never heard a final result in whether that is more a which and random idea swapping talk than actual ideas that is planed to be put in to the game... but it shore would be damn cool.
I am particularly interested in the specific ranges any given ship will see a Ghost, Sabre or similarly armored ship. For instance, if a ship with S2 sensors like a StarG can see a Vanguard at 20 km, and when you put Void Armor on the Vanguard it cannot be seen until it is at 5 km, it will be of interest to load an attacking Void Vanguard with weapons that attack from outside 5 km. You can do this, and this would be a reason to choose a big laser over a ballistic cannon for the S5 chin mount on the Vanguards.

BTW, this will be of major concern again, with the big-ass guns mounted on the Prowler. In general you would not want to announce your arrival by shooting with those guns if you were planning to board, but there are other things a Prowler is good for. A stealthy package with such long range weapons has some pretty striking advantages in several situations. Prowlers are not the one-trick ponies people have made them out to be.
 

Mich Angel

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I am particularly interested in the specific ranges any given ship will see a Ghost, Sabre or similarly armored ship. For instance, if a ship with S2 sensors like a StarG can see a Vanguard at 20 km, and when you put Void Armor on the Vanguard it cannot be seen until it is at 5 km, it will be of interest to load an attacking Void Vanguard with weapons that attack from outside 5 km. You can do this, and this would be a reason to choose a big laser over a ballistic cannon for the S5 chin mount on the Vanguards.

BTW, this will be of major concern again, with the big-ass guns mounted on the Prowler. In general you would not want to announce your arrival by shooting with those guns if you were planning to board, but there are other things a Prowler is good for. A stealthy package with such long range weapons has some pretty striking advantages in several situations. Prowlers are not the one-trick ponies people have made them out to be.
This are things I am thinking of as well but it is fairly easy to try stuff out in private MP free flight with the biggest map or in unpopulated area of the PU and see how detection is difference when it is possible to see and when to target a ship and at what distance it is on from ship to ship...
But then at the moment as it is not all fully functional as intended it might be a waste of time..
But would be a thing to test when 3.0 drops then we know which of our ships is best to sneak around in and which is not so good at that..
That could be a big advantage to have that info at hand.
:D
 

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BTW, this will be of major concern again, with the bug-ass guns mounted on the Prowler. In general you would not want to announce your arrival by shooting with those guns, if you were planning to board, but there are other things a Prowler is good for. A stealthy package with such long range weapons has some pretty striking advantages in several situations. Prowlers are not the one-trick ponies people have made them out to be.
I still want a Prowler. I shouldn't, but I do.
 

Richard Bong

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Yes that has already been said in the thread ha ha ha ha ha..... :beers:

And speed difference is mostly due to a much different engine and power plants in the different version of the Hornets and not so much in weight

The regular Hornet and Wildfire are identical except for a paint job and as you said a ball gun turret yes same as in S-Hornet as standard.
And the stealth and Trackers tech do work but not to the full extent it was planed to work,
it is much harder to get target lock on a Ghost then the other Hornets and it is much weaker in a dogfight then the others are.
The tracker do detect targets earlier and it is easier to keep the target locked with it much earlier then the others but it don't work as it was intended not by a long shoot.

All tech on the Hornet is suppose to be exchangeable between them and most of it have been the one thing that seem to stopped working is putting the "All store box" From the regular Hornet on the S-Hornet which was possible in 2.5. but seem to lost the function after last Hornets hull update but that probably will get fixed.
So did some other functions on them as well as in the S-Hornet is now little of a glass ship if hit on the wrong spot, it explode even if all is 100% okay and no damage on it.

The Ghost seem to become much stronger suddenly than it was before, so have the Tracker as the tracker seem much more agile then the other. The regular and Wild fire did not change so much what I noticed so far, where the continuing fixing and updating on them lead is hopefully to where they suppose to be in there differences and all tech working. And I for one rather see that sooner then later... I hope..

I flown the Hornets now for well almost a year now give a couple days it's been my main fighter since the start and after countless of hours spent flying them almost every day. I have seen the changes happen in them and felt the difference in them.
As they are now if you don't need a extra seat the Tracker is the fastest and very close to being the strongest of them.

For S-Hornet have a small weak spot just above the cockpit where the co-pilot seat is before the turret, if it get a direct hit there from a laser or ballistic gun it explode instantly no warning at all. No matter how little or much damage you had prior to that hit, part from that S-Hornet is still extremely strong compared to the other Hornets from all other sides and in a dogfight you are most likely to survive in a S-Hornet if you're not to familiar with flying the Hornets in dogfights.

CHEERS! :beers: :beers: :beers:


I'll think here it would be proper to add some video of me flying some M50.. :smile:
If you get motion sick watching do not blame me :beer: :beer: :beers:

I am not saying you are wrong, but when it comes to facing AI I haven't seen a difference between the C and the CS (The two I have). Yes the readout says the emissions are lower on the CS, but the reaction appears to be the same, at the same ranges, in both AC and on the ICC/Com Sat missions. If there is a difference, in 2.6.3, it is definitely subtle. :) I don't spend much time in PVP, and in those cases I am usually getting jumped and quickly blown out of the sky, or getting a couple of hits in before getting blown out of the sky. LOL. Which Hornet I am flying, doesn't appear to make a difference.

Oh and my Stealth is running Tarantulas, while my C is either running Panthers or Tarantulas. Both usually running a flashfire and a C788.

I have only flown the CM once, a friend's, and it was early days for me, so I wouldn't have noticed any difference. :)
 

Blind Owl

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Well if you melt your Vanguard and fly the Hoplite you get as a loaner for the Prowler. . .you don't need to spend THAT much more. I dunno though, if you can use your BUK on the Hoplite to get your Harbinger back.
Nothing can get melted in my fleet. All my ships are in multi-ship game packs. I was thinking of turning something into a prowler, one of my larger ships, just so I didn't have so many large ships, haha. But I think I've licked that issue. I'm down to a Reclaimer, Cat, 600i, Redeemer for multicrew ships, although think I'll be able to manage the last two solo. That's more manageable to me then a fleet of large ships. So long as I can avoid buying a Carrack (I've always loved her) I'll be OK.


I think, haha.
I'm still not certain about keeping the Reclaimer over the Carrack though. Ships are hard.
If I could mount the Avenger Stalker pods in the Prowler, and carry a Dragonfly, it would be ideal for Bounty Hunters.
Damn, that would be sweet.
 

Mich Angel

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I am not saying you are wrong, but when it comes to facing AI I haven't seen a difference between the C and the CS (The two I have). Yes the readout says the emissions are lower on the CS, but the reaction appears to be the same, at the same ranges, in both AC and on the ICC/Com Sat missions. If there is a difference, in 2.6.3, it is definitely subtle. :slight_smile: I don't spend much time in PVP, and in those cases I am usually getting jumped and quickly blown out of the sky, or getting a couple of hits in before getting blown out of the sky. LOL. Which Hornet I am flying, doesn't appear to make a difference.

Oh and my Stealth is running Tarantulas, while my C is either running Panthers or Tarantulas. Both usually running a flashfire and a C788.

I have only flown the CM once, a friend's, and it was early days for me, so I wouldn't have noticed any difference. :slight_smile:
For 1500+ hours I been playing this game.. darn I gotta get a life, no wait SC is my life.. ha ha
So no I am not wrong. :wink: :beers:

The radar detection and missile lock do not work same from Ai side they are scripted to attack you when you enter a area got nothing to do with the tech in the ships they do not think and there is no Ai subsumption they follow a random scrip and fly pattern and would attack and detect you even if you flew in a area engines off in decouple mode. They lock missile on you and attack as long as you are in pilot seat or when getting in or out of ship no matter what condition the ship you are flying is in..

The tech work player vs player ship PVP all Ai in game at the moment is just scripts running reacting on player is in specific area so ships function have very little to do with that at all. Shore your shield and such work against Ai bullet, laser fire and missile after they got fired toward you but that is against the bullet, laser and missile it self not the Ai in the ship. As long as you are in the are they will attack you relentless of your status on your ship.

I will gladly do some MP Private Flight dogfight training with you and you can see how the tech is working and when it's working, might help you getting out or defend your self in fights when you get jumped by other players.

:beers: :beers: :beers: :beers:

Some fact: I have done Vandul swarm and Pirate swarm all on my own in both SP and Co-OP MP and I won all 18 waves. Several times.. :upside_down:

And a tip: when picking what missile to use only use CS "cross section" and preferably strike missile (not proximity missile), the flare and shaft do not work against CS missiles. So once you get a stable lock and fire as close you can to target they are very hard to get away from. A good pilot know this and use afterburner and out run the CS missile and strike missile only explode when actually hitting the hull target so once they hit they do most damage, but yes they are some what harder to get a good lock with but that is worth it when you see the result.





CHEERS! :beer::beer::beer::beer::beers::beers::beers:
 
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Mich Angel

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If I could mount the Avenger Stalker pods in the Prowler, and carry a Dragonfly, it would be ideal for Bounty Hunters.
As owl said, damn that would be sweet :beers:
But then the Blue Cutlass is made to apprehend and capture bad guys as in bounty hunting..
even got that tractor beam thingy thing if they keep that on it.
We are OWL! :beers:
 
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Blind Owl

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For 1500+ hours I been playing this game.. darn I gotta get a life, no wait SC is my life.. ha ha
So no I am not wrong. :wink: :beers:

The radar detection and missile lock do not work same from Ai side they are scripted to attack you when you enter a area got nothing to do with the tech in the ships they do not think and there is no Ai subsumption they follow a random scrip and fly pattern and would attack and detect you even if you flew in a area engines off in decouple mode. They lock missile on you and attack as long as you are in pilot seat or when getting in or out of ship no matter what condition the ship you are flying is in..

The tech work player vs player ship PVP all Ai in game at the moment is just scripts running reacting on player is in specific area so ships function have very little to do with that at all. Shore your shield and such work against Ai bullet, laser fire and missile after they got fired toward you but that is against the bullet, laser and missile it self not the Ai in the ship. As long as you are in the are they will attack you relentless of your status on your ship.

I will gladly do some MP Private Flight dogfight training with you and you can see how the tech is working and when it's working, might help you getting out or defend your self in fights when you get jumped by other players.

:beers: :beers: :beers: :beers:

Some fact: I have done Vandul swarm and Pirate swarm all on my own in both SP and Co-OP MP and I won all 18 waves. Several times.. :upside_down:

And a tip: when picking what missile to use only use CS "cross section" and preferably strike missile (not proximity missile), the flare and shaft do not work against CS missiles. So once you get a stable lock and fire as close you can to target they are very hard to get away from. A good pilot know this and use afterburner and out run the CS missile and strike missile only explode when actually hitting the hull target so once they hit they do most damage, but yes they are some what harder to get a good lock with but that is worth it when you see the result.





CHEERS! :beer::beer::beer::beer::beers::beers::beers:
Very good information here. Thank you @Mich Angel. Makes me want to run Pirate Swarm again. Is the Pirate Caterpillar still available after beating PS? Would be helpful to have an extra, just in case my current Pirate Cat becomes a Carrack, haha.
As owl said, damn that would be sweet :beers:
But then the Blue Cutlass is made to apprehend and capture bad guys as in bounty hunting..
even got that tractor beam thingy thing if they keep that on it.
We are OWL! :beers:
Haha, I hadn't thought about that. I would hate for my Blue to become obsolete.
 
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Richard Bong

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As owl said, damn that would be sweet :beers:
But then the Blue Cutlass is made to apprehend and capture bad guys as in bounty hunting..
even got that tractor beam thingy thing if they keep that on it.
We are OWL! :beers:
The cells take up too much space. :) I would need to take someone with me to carry the ground vehicles I figure will be important for the better bounties. :) MISC and Aegis collaborated for the Freelancer MIS, perhaps I could throw the Stalker pods in the forward cargo hold of my Freelancer. :)

I have a Cutlass Black, just in case the new Blue is better suited, and goes on sale again.
 

Blind Owl

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The cells take up too much space. :slight_smile: I would need to take someone with me to carry the ground vehicles I figure will be important for the better bounties. :slight_smile: MISC and Aegis collaborated for the Freelancer MIS, perhaps I could throw the Stalker pods in the forward cargo hold of my Freelancer. :slight_smile:

I have a Cutlass Black, just in case the new Blue is better suited, and goes on sale again.
I like your idea about the MIS. I wonder if that would be feasible. Thoughts and things. Dammit. I need to be done buying ships.
I have a couple Black and Red CCU's, as I am a huge Drake fanboy. I own every Drake ship ATM, except the Black and the Red. Although they may become part of my fleet sooner rather than later. My original thoughts were that the Blue could do everything the Black could. But if the cells aren't removable from the Blue, then I may need that Black in my hanger. Heavy on the 'need'.


I have a problem.
 

Mich Angel

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Very good information here. Thank you @Mich Angel. Makes me want to run Pirate Swarm again. Is the Pirate Caterpillar still available after beating PS? Would be helpful to have an extra, just in case my current Pirate Cat becomes a Carrack, haha.

Haha, I hadn't thought about that. I would hate for my Blue to become obsolete.

Well yes you got the caterpillar skin automatic if you beat the pirate swarm next time the skin is available.. but for now it's not avail and who know when it is next time. But for me it's a pretty lame reward since I am totally uninterested in the pirate skin for I think it look like shit to be honest...

Same with the Claive I access to it all the time in store both a 48 month insurance version and a LTI version, problem is for the moment they are out of stock LMAO ha ha ha... but I do get access to them automatically every time they are avail in store.
:D
You do get access to the Claive in REC store after you win Vandul Swarm so you can always rent it and try it out... the cat tho is not avail until next sale or when ever they put it out next time.. humm....

:beers: :beers: :beers: :beers: :beers:
 
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