Squadron Reporting - Ship Talk #3 'Fighters' Part 2
For Part 1 of this Talk go here. Because this is Part 2 I'll just presume no one read the first one and skip right to the Descriptions and Roles. Of note, these pictures were taken before CIG finally did away with the 'class' of hardpoints and just started naming where they go such as fixed, pylon, gimbal etc.
Thoughts on the Ships
General Thoughts on Stats
First let me acknowledge again that these stats and listed equipment are all subject to change. However, unless something drastic occurs in testing I would expect these stats to still give a good general direction and capability for each ship. Below is a link to a composite picture I made with all the stats listed from the RSI site and ordered by power plant size of all things but it worked out well enough:
All Stats for Part 2 Ships
Descriptions and Roles
ps I know the pic says Focus instead of Role but the plural of Focus(Foci) just sounds awful when read over and over.
The first ship to kick off Part 2 is the 325A, or "I'm just a better 300I". The 325 boasts an advanced weapons payload over the 300I and sports a custom targeting system made just for the ship which makes it perfect for its intended Interdiction role. The Hornet, at least the civilian version presented here, is a very tough and dedicated little fighter and the hammer of UEE naval might. The Civilian Hornet is very customizable and able to meet the play style of any individual while fulfilling its role of close support.
The Avenger is up next. Its Roles include Interception and interdiction which it seems to be able to accomplish with a much larger than normal engine. As an older design it may not be the most shiny piece of equipment to fly but it has been used for a long time by the UEE Advocacy which should indicate it is a very reliable ship.
Last but not least we come to the big daddy, the Super Hornet. This thing is as close as you can get to the UEE military version without being in the military. It sees a return of the ball turret to the space behind the 2nd pilot for additional firepower. The 2nd pilot can coordinate the many weapons to leave the first pilot free to concentrate on flying. Overall a very deadly opponent for its Role as space superiority.
Structure and Propulsion
A quick note on all of these ships, each one has a radically different silhouette when viewed from the side, front and top. While this is obvious to everyone it is important to know what angle you present to the enemy and show them the last amount of 'skin' to shoot at.
Interesting enough the 325A and SH share the same length at 24 meters. When we look at cargo capacity we see that all of these ships carry a generous beer cargo except for the SH that trades the cargo capacity for a 2nd pilot. TEST pilots have been known to strap a keg into the 2nd seat and fastening the harness around it so nothing happens to it while running a line to the front seat to sip on in the thick of combat. Anvil Aerospace does not recommend doing this as it voids the warranty.
All ships except the Super Hornet hold a class 3 power plant while the SH has a class 4 due to its increased weapon loadout and being based on the actual military version of the Hornet. For thrusters the 325A wins out again with 12 thrusters as opposed to 8 on the other ships which may make the 325A the most maneuverable of the lot but not the fastest. That potential winner goes to the Avenger which has less mass and a whopping TR5 engine compared to the TR4 of the others. As far as protection goes the 325A and Avenger both can hold a size 3 while the Hornets have a size 4 shield which lines up with their roles nicely. The 325A and Avenger are faster but the Hornets can take more of a hit and keep going.
Weapons
Click Click Boom. Weapons. Starting with the 325A its hard to see what advanced weapons payload it actually carries when looking back at the description. It isn't a bad weapons load out by any means and can certainly take things down but it also doesn't scream that it is there to really kill things despite its Interdiction Role. On the other hand the 325A comes equipped with the color Red which by Ork logic makes it go even faster.
Moving right we see the Hornet. In an interesting twist it carries no forward fixed weapons and instead mounts everything on gimbals and turrets while also having missiles. Though smaller in size than the 325A they can still do some damage. It is interesting to note that the ball turret form the military version is replaced with a cargo box for light loads.
Remember when the Avenger had that huge nose cannon on it? Remember how it was taken of for being too big. Well if you want it back go get a Vanguard. The weapons on the Avenger, like the 325A, are nothing too special but there may be an actual in fiction and real world reason for this and that which I'll get to below in the wrap-ups. It does carry the same size 3 missiles as the 325A to give it some extra punch over the Hornet.
Reaching the end of the list is the Super Hornet. Orks like this ship because of all the dakka it presents a person. Sporting the most weapons of any ship in this Talk it is a force to be reckoned with and with a good pilot and gunner combination it will rip apart anything of the same size and smaller. The weapons themselves are on gimbals and turrets meaning it has great strafe and circling potential while keeping it clear of fire. Just don't get in front of it and hope the pilot is a bad shot and you may live after the first volley.
Equipment
Rounding out the attributes is Equipment. There isn't much to look at here but here we go. The 325A supposedly has a custom weapons system that I'm still looking for but it doesn't come through on the stats. If anyone has information on this please post about it. To the right for the Hornet is the cargo box that takes the place of the Hornet's center ball turret allowing it to refuel wayward TEST members. The Avenger carries prisoner holding cells which rounds out its Interdiction and Interceptor role quite nicely.
Lastly the Super Hornet features a Jump Engine making it capable of leaving the system in its stock state but it has a limited fuel capacity meaning you will need to stop constantly before going to the next system. It has been said by SIG that all of these ships can be equipped with Jump Engines with the exception of the snub fighters so this isn't that big of an advantage when first buying it.
Continued Below....
For Part 1 of this Talk go here. Because this is Part 2 I'll just presume no one read the first one and skip right to the Descriptions and Roles. Of note, these pictures were taken before CIG finally did away with the 'class' of hardpoints and just started naming where they go such as fixed, pylon, gimbal etc.
Thoughts on the Ships
General Thoughts on Stats
First let me acknowledge again that these stats and listed equipment are all subject to change. However, unless something drastic occurs in testing I would expect these stats to still give a good general direction and capability for each ship. Below is a link to a composite picture I made with all the stats listed from the RSI site and ordered by power plant size of all things but it worked out well enough:
All Stats for Part 2 Ships
Descriptions and Roles
ps I know the pic says Focus instead of Role but the plural of Focus(Foci) just sounds awful when read over and over.
The first ship to kick off Part 2 is the 325A, or "I'm just a better 300I". The 325 boasts an advanced weapons payload over the 300I and sports a custom targeting system made just for the ship which makes it perfect for its intended Interdiction role. The Hornet, at least the civilian version presented here, is a very tough and dedicated little fighter and the hammer of UEE naval might. The Civilian Hornet is very customizable and able to meet the play style of any individual while fulfilling its role of close support.
The Avenger is up next. Its Roles include Interception and interdiction which it seems to be able to accomplish with a much larger than normal engine. As an older design it may not be the most shiny piece of equipment to fly but it has been used for a long time by the UEE Advocacy which should indicate it is a very reliable ship.
Last but not least we come to the big daddy, the Super Hornet. This thing is as close as you can get to the UEE military version without being in the military. It sees a return of the ball turret to the space behind the 2nd pilot for additional firepower. The 2nd pilot can coordinate the many weapons to leave the first pilot free to concentrate on flying. Overall a very deadly opponent for its Role as space superiority.
Structure and Propulsion
A quick note on all of these ships, each one has a radically different silhouette when viewed from the side, front and top. While this is obvious to everyone it is important to know what angle you present to the enemy and show them the last amount of 'skin' to shoot at.
Interesting enough the 325A and SH share the same length at 24 meters. When we look at cargo capacity we see that all of these ships carry a generous beer cargo except for the SH that trades the cargo capacity for a 2nd pilot. TEST pilots have been known to strap a keg into the 2nd seat and fastening the harness around it so nothing happens to it while running a line to the front seat to sip on in the thick of combat. Anvil Aerospace does not recommend doing this as it voids the warranty.
All ships except the Super Hornet hold a class 3 power plant while the SH has a class 4 due to its increased weapon loadout and being based on the actual military version of the Hornet. For thrusters the 325A wins out again with 12 thrusters as opposed to 8 on the other ships which may make the 325A the most maneuverable of the lot but not the fastest. That potential winner goes to the Avenger which has less mass and a whopping TR5 engine compared to the TR4 of the others. As far as protection goes the 325A and Avenger both can hold a size 3 while the Hornets have a size 4 shield which lines up with their roles nicely. The 325A and Avenger are faster but the Hornets can take more of a hit and keep going.
Weapons
Click Click Boom. Weapons. Starting with the 325A its hard to see what advanced weapons payload it actually carries when looking back at the description. It isn't a bad weapons load out by any means and can certainly take things down but it also doesn't scream that it is there to really kill things despite its Interdiction Role. On the other hand the 325A comes equipped with the color Red which by Ork logic makes it go even faster.
Moving right we see the Hornet. In an interesting twist it carries no forward fixed weapons and instead mounts everything on gimbals and turrets while also having missiles. Though smaller in size than the 325A they can still do some damage. It is interesting to note that the ball turret form the military version is replaced with a cargo box for light loads.
Remember when the Avenger had that huge nose cannon on it? Remember how it was taken of for being too big. Well if you want it back go get a Vanguard. The weapons on the Avenger, like the 325A, are nothing too special but there may be an actual in fiction and real world reason for this and that which I'll get to below in the wrap-ups. It does carry the same size 3 missiles as the 325A to give it some extra punch over the Hornet.
Reaching the end of the list is the Super Hornet. Orks like this ship because of all the dakka it presents a person. Sporting the most weapons of any ship in this Talk it is a force to be reckoned with and with a good pilot and gunner combination it will rip apart anything of the same size and smaller. The weapons themselves are on gimbals and turrets meaning it has great strafe and circling potential while keeping it clear of fire. Just don't get in front of it and hope the pilot is a bad shot and you may live after the first volley.
Equipment
Rounding out the attributes is Equipment. There isn't much to look at here but here we go. The 325A supposedly has a custom weapons system that I'm still looking for but it doesn't come through on the stats. If anyone has information on this please post about it. To the right for the Hornet is the cargo box that takes the place of the Hornet's center ball turret allowing it to refuel wayward TEST members. The Avenger carries prisoner holding cells which rounds out its Interdiction and Interceptor role quite nicely.
Lastly the Super Hornet features a Jump Engine making it capable of leaving the system in its stock state but it has a limited fuel capacity meaning you will need to stop constantly before going to the next system. It has been said by SIG that all of these ships can be equipped with Jump Engines with the exception of the snub fighters so this isn't that big of an advantage when first buying it.
Continued Below....
