1 cap vs 10 sub-cap

[Aramil]

Your all obsessed with blind spots.. lol

you have 10 "fighters"/smaller craft (assuming you don't have pea-shooters for weopons), group them into groups of 3 , 3, 4, (or 2, 2, 3, 3-depends on the makeup of the smaller craft) and overwhelm single points (your faster and more manuverable, pick your points wisely) with formation staffing runs against the turrets, in/out, make a hole. A single turret can only engage one of you.

As for the Capital pilot taking instruction from a turret during an engagement to move a single turrets FoF (field of fire), if he/she did they would have multiple gunners shouting to go in opposite directions, Moving to much or suddenly will effect the target tracking of your own turrents. And it's not like the more agile craft could not strafe to match your turn rate.

The pilot will be trying to get it's main guns on high value targets to obliterrate them, or manuvering to a less expossed possition.
In the heat of battle the capital ships pilot will have plenty to be doing without pandering to turrets.

As smaller craft you would want to overwhelm a section making it ineffective, it's not like every turret on the Cap ship will be shooting at you.

I know some people feel that Cap ships are massive, indestructable, unbeatable gun platforms, but without any fighter support (as per the OP), they lack the ability to break up an organized attack, it's just to easy for the smaller craft to pull out, and regroup, for another set of runs.

The Cap ship needs, support, whether thats a snub craft or some smaller frigates, something to draw some of the fire so it's not all on you, or something to disrupt their runs and regrouping, by sweeping in behind and expossing their rear.

 

[FZD]

Well, yes, obviously I wouldn't rely on a single fighter trying to take out the shields alone. Even if the pilot would be this ace of spades that manages to stay in the blindspot for eternity whilst blasting away at the shields, the Polaris can just quantum away after few minutes of not being able to shake off the Hornet. But knowing where your ship / the enemy ship potentially has a spot for a good fighter pilot to chip away your shields at could have it's uses.

Come to think of it, what if you had couple of ships with tractor beams come to both sides of the Polaris, to the engine blindspots. Those could slow down the ship, perhaps even stop it from Quantuming away from the battle, hindering it's fighting capabilities. The rest of the fighter squadron could then blast away at the rear guns, taking them out and creating a larger blindspot in the rear.

 

[Printimus]

I think that all is correct, but would note the Polaris was designed to kill fighters. You're going to need a much better plan to kill it with fighters. Just getting past the 3S missiles is going to be a huge challenge.

Easy day, countermeasures. Chaff, Flares, Decoys.

 

[Shadow Reaper]

In the heat of battle the capital ships pilot will have plenty of be doing without pandering to turrets.

Yes but what combat pilot would blithely putter along NOT turning the ship and so allow any attacking fighter to fit into a blind spot no larger than the fighter? That's what we're talking about--putting a Hornet into the Polaris tiny blind spot, and as soon as the Polaris turns in any direction, the Hornet will crash into it or be exposed to the large turrets at point blank range. This has bad idea written all over it. How would you even fit your ship into the blind spot without crashing into the Polaris? You would need to be able to approach at speed and stop on a dime and even the most nimble fighters cannot do this.

Come to think of it, what if you had couple of ships with tractor beams come to both sides of the Polaris, to the engine blindspots. Those could slow down the ship, perhaps even stop it from Quantuming away from the battle, hindering it's fighting capabilities.

According to CR, tractors can only be used on ships smaller than the one using them without damaging the user. however, there are S4 "interdiction weapons" that supposedly fit on the Bucky, that can drop ships out of quantum, etc. I think that's what you're interested in.

Easy day, countermeasures. Chaff, Flares, Decoys.

According to CR, the larger the missile or torpedo, the less susceptible it is to countermeasures. Against fighters the S3 missile is the hardest to shake. Those two S3 launchers on the Polaris form a serious threat out to about 14 km.

 

[Printimus]

Yes but what combat pilot would blithely putter along NOT turning the ship and so allow any attacking fighter to fit into a blind spot no larger than the fighter? That's what we're talking about--putting a Hornet into the Polaris tiny blind spot, and as soon as the Polaris turns in any direction, the Hornet will crash into it or be exposed to the large turrets at point blank range. This has bad idea written all over it. How would you even fit your ship into the blind spot without crashing into the Polaris? You would need to be able to approach at speed and stop on a dime and even the most nimble fighters cannot do this.

According to CR, tractors can only be used on ships smaller than the one using them without damaging the user. however, there are S4 "interdiction weapons" that supposedly fit on the Bucky, that can drop ships out of quantum, etc. I think that's what you're interested in.

According to CR, the larger the missile or torpedo, the less susceptible it is to countermeasures. Against fighters the S3 missile is the hardest to shake. Those two S3 launchers on the Polaris form a serious threat out to about 14 km.

I dont recall CR saying that about countermeasures... do you have a source for where he said that?

 

[Aramil]

Yes but what combat pilot would blithely putter along NOT turning the ship and so allow any attacking fighter to fit into a blind spot no larger than the fighter? That's what we're talking about--putting a Hornet into the Polaris tiny blind spot, and as soon as the Polaris turns in any direction, the Hornet will crash into it or be exposed to the large turrets at point blank range. This has bad idea written all over it. How would you even fit your ship into the blind spot without crashing into the Polaris? You would need to be able to approach at speed and stop on a dime and even the most nimble fighters cannot do this. *snip*

I was not saying that any pilot would just putter along in a straight line.... not even once.

Why would any experienced "figther" pilot in a wing of nine other fighters try hide in such a small area, during the middle of a battle. Fighters are fast and agile, and in groups give multiple hard to track tragets, and bring multiple weopons to bear on a single point/area, why give up that advantage? The spot will move and you either hit hulls or be expossed at low velocity, not what you would ever want in fighter craft.

I can see the logic on a very large craft with a big rear blindspot, or a craft you have made a large blind spot on, but not as the main gambit for success.

I was responding to how "just blindspotting" would be a poor tactic in the OP's Question.

 

[Sportsvee]

Wouldn't the blindspot only really be used by EMP craft. To give them time to charge and emit?

Logically if it's there, a fighter could use it to exploit a weakness, but if it's in the To Hard basket then the strafe & run method would be best and as mentioned above, to many targets, not enough guns.

Great debate though and good to read.

 

[FZD]

I was not saying that any pilot would just putter along in a straight line.... not even once.

Why would any experienced "figther" pilot in a wing of nine other fighters try hide in such a small area, during the middle of a battle. Fighters are fast and agile, and in groups give multiple hard to track tragets, and bring multiple weopons to bear on a single point/area, why give up that advantage? The spot will move and you either hit hulls or be expossed at low velocity, not what you would ever want in fighter craft.

I can see the logic on a very large craft with a big rear blindspot, or a craft you have made a large blind spot on, but not as the main gambit for success.

I was responding to how "just blindspotting" would be a poor tactic in the OP's Question.

Well, I brought the blindspot up, and whilst doing so I did acknowledge that it's not a strategy to win by itself. This "obsession" about the blindspot was just about whether or not it existed in the game. I'm fairly sure we reached the answer that yes, there are blindspots, you could fit few ships in some, some might be harder to maintain, some you might have a chance at maintaining, but as long as the capital ship can just quantum away, it doesn't matter if you can stay in that blindspot for eternity chipping away at the shields. But hey, maybe one day the blindspots could be used for something, probably as a part of grander strategy. At least, if you're good enough a fighter pilot, you can seriously troll a stronger force by hanging around in that blindspot.

 

[Aramil]

Sorry i though the thread had strayed a bit from the OP's request
Blindspots are a good place for latching on boarding craft, as part of the grander stratergy :thumbsup: