Don´t you hate Maniac...

Primate said:
Did it for sure? I kind of thought Blair was just teasing him.

I thought so too, but some feel the novels trump the games for what officially happened even if it doesnt make too much sence. In this case I didnt really know if he was teasing or not so for me its not too much of a leap to think he wasnt just teasing.
 
Col Halcyon said if Maniac caused me any trouble I could shoot him down, as long as I used ships guns and not waste missles.

So I did.
 
t.c.cgi said:
I don't think any of the wingmen were very good until WC3. And even then Maniac was still a wiseguy.

"What are you, my mother?"

I don't know, If you fly slow and careful and just play backup for your wingman they will get alot of kills. In WC1 for SNES on the first mission, I watched Spirits back and she killed almost every Cat in the level. I think final tally was Spirit 8 kills and me 4 kills. I flew like that alot and the wingmen I got actually took care of themselves pretty good. Except for Maniac. (see previous post)
 
Blair probably was just teasing, since when we next see Maniac (in WCP) he's still a Major, though I think there is enough time inbetween the two games for Maniac to be promoted and demoted, I dont think anything is mentioned in Maniacs bio in the WCP guide book about it.
 
Iceman16 said:
Blair probably was just teasing, since when we next see Maniac (in WCP) he's still a Major, though I think there is enough time inbetween the two games for Maniac to be promoted and demoted, I dont think anything is mentioned in Maniacs bio in the WCP guide book about it.
He might have done something to get his promotion before WC4 but didn't do anything before WCP.
 
Like Blair continualy reminds Maniac and others, Maniac leads a charmed life. So yeah he can be a good pilot on occasion (though to be honest, I've yet to see it!) But even so, does being a good pilot stop you from being an asshole?
Look at Tolwyn, he was probably a pilot at some point-look how he turned out
 
As far as being a good pilot goes, Maniac supposedly has marginally more kills than Blair, according to Victory Streak.
 
Does he? I don't remember that -- Blair ends up 11th highest ranked Confederation ace to Maniac's 14th, in the Prophecy material.
 
Bandit LOAF said:
Does he? I don't remember that -- Blair ends up 11th highest ranked Confederation ace to Maniac's 14th, in the Prophecy material.


How long does Maniac spend out of commision in the psych ward? Isn't it the implication that out of the academy maniac actually *is* a more skilled pilot than Blair but becomes cocky and irresponsible... especially after events like losing Rosie and and that transport thing (I don't remember the details). But it seems that his later flying style is more because He no longer (did he ever?) cares... about anything and maybe even his own life. But it seems for all the show, the pressure *does* get to him and he tries for a while to sort of wash out of the military..,
 
I wouldn't say Maniac is a better pilot than Blair, he just has more luck and is good at evasive maneuvres when the heat's on him.
As far as kills, Maniac has been in the cockpit longer than Blair since Blair got promoted to Commodore...shame that he lived longer as well
 
How long does Maniac spend out of commision in the psych ward?

Just "a few months". His time on the front line is limited in a manner similar to Blair's, though -- he spends the rest of his career alternating between combat tours and test pilot assignments.



Isn't it the implication that out of the academy maniac actually *is* a more skilled pilot than Blair but becomes cocky and irresponsible... especially after events like losing Rosie and and that transport thing (I don't remember the details). But it seems that his later flying style is more because He no longer (did he ever?) cares... about anything and maybe even his own life. But it seems for all the show, the pressure *does* get to him and he tries for a while to sort of wash out of the military..,

That is the implication. He was first in his class at the Academy in Marksmanship and Simulator Scores (so, far head of Blair).

At Flight School, he and Blair were competitors for first place. Blair edges out Maniac in the flight column, but loses at marksmanship.

Blair-
Flight - 96.2 - 1st (of 314)
Marksmanship - 93.4 - 2nd
Safety - 100 - 1st
Navigation - 100 - 1st

Maniac-
Flight - 91.1 - 2nd
Marksmanship - 95.1 - 1st
Safety - 64 - 311th
Navigation - 88 - 22nd

Their respective academic careers are interesting, too... because Maniac comes out significantly ahead of Blair in the classroom.
 
Bandit LOAF said:
Does he? I don't remember that -- Blair ends up 11th highest ranked Confederation ace to Maniac's 14th, in the Prophecy material.

Do we know anyone else on this list?
 
Bandit LOAF said:
Blair-
Flight - 96.2 - 1st (of 314)
Marksmanship - 93.4 - 2nd
Safety - 100 - 1st
Navigation - 100 - 1st

Maniac-
Flight - 91.1 - 2nd
Marksmanship - 95.1 - 1st
Safety - 64 - 311th
Navigation - 88 - 22nd

Blair's edge on Flight is pretty impressive, he's 5.1 points ahead of the second place. Maniac bested him on Marksmanship for just 1.7, so it was more of a close call. This score also tell us that 3 people were actully worst than Maniac on Safety! Yikes. I suppose navigation is pretty important on WC, even if on the games all we had to do is press "A".
 
Maniac is OK

Its been a long time since I've played WC 1 and 2 so I wont comment on the flying style of Maniac in there. But I just recently played through WC3 and I found Maniac to be a pretty decent wingman. I tended to use him in missions that required a lot of aggressiveness and a willingness to tackle overwhelming odds. Some of the best missions with him, in my opinion, are escort missions. Send Maniac off to engage multiple fighters/bombers while I would play pick up and stay closer to the transports or capital ships. Seemed to work pretty well for me. But his comments are annoying at times.
 
Maniac is great for when you want somebody to let loose and go fight kats unattended, but he's no good when you need somebody to watch your own back. I like using him when I need a good diversion to keep the kats busy.
 
yesterday i heard that maniac had a mission to escort some drayman transports to the jumppoint. as he encountered a squadron of kilrathi fighters, he killed the first one with guns, and as the other was rungunning to the transporter, maniac shot a heatseaking missile after the kilrathi.

the kilrathi, instead of shouting about honor while dying a horrible by burning and exploding into a mess alive, just made a fastturn, so the missile lost the lock.

then the missile caught up on the transporters thrust emissions, and bam!

well, maniac wasnt court martialed only because no one died. the transport was crippled, but the crew could escape in escape pods...
 
Ijuin said:
Maniac is great for when you want somebody to let loose and go fight kats unattended, but he's no good when you need somebody to watch your own back. I like using him when I need a good diversion to keep the kats busy.

Thats why I eventually favored Cobra as my wingman. She was as aggressive as Maniac and would follow your orders without question.
 
I love using maniac in all wing commander games.. you tell him break and attack, and then cover his butt :p

man do you rack up some kills following his lead :D
 
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