After playing through most of the UE main and simulator missions, I have found that the game captures the original feeling of the ships quite well.
Border Worlds Ships:
Ferret: Combining unmatched speed with moderately light shields and armor, I think that this ship is great to fly unless you are surrounded by heavy opponents such as Mantas. It has the lightest missile loadout with only 2 DF/2 HS, but its rapid-fire energy-efficient Mass Drivers pack a good punch at close range.
Nitpick: I wish the Ferret had autoslide like the Epee does (Yes, I know that you only fly it in the simulator missions, but I still wish it had autoslide).
Epee: A little slower than the Ferret, but with a slightly higher turning rate. True to its memory, the Epee has paper-thin armor, barely more than half as much as the Ferret. Flying this fighter means that you have to take special care never to get hit. It packs a bigger offensive punch than the Ferret, with an additional pair of HS missiles and the single Heavy Stormfire cannon.
Nitpick: the single light topredo that is carries means that I have to keep nearly all of my wingmen alive to take down a capital ship (such as the Fralthi and Ralari in the first two missions). I would like to see it carry two light torps instead, or maybe a single heavy torp.
The Ferret and Epee are well-balanced against each other, with the Ferret having the superior defense by virtue of its heavier armor and greater speed, and the Epee having greater offensive punch.
Scimitar: Just like Icemen said in WC1, it handles "like a Centaurian mud pig". It is the slowest of the non-bombers, but its comparatively heavy armor and fast shield regeneration makes it survivable as long as you don't let anything heavier than a Moray get on your tail. The Viper cannons can shred enemies faster than anything in the game except the Stormfire, and the 4 DF/4 HS missile loadout is adequate, although barely so.
Nitpick: The gun capacitors take too long to recharge on the Scimitar. It has kickass guns, but after you fire them you have to dodge around for twenty seconds before you can use them again.
Banshee: Upgraded from its WC4 stats, it has good shields and armor, and a powerful missile loadout-- 2 DF/8 HS/4 IR/2 HARM. It has good speed and agility--only slightly below the Epee, and it has quad Lasers for taking on light ships and dual Heavy Stormfires for taking on heavier opponents (the Lasers are NOT reccommended against Mantas or heavier).
Nitpick: The HARM missiles are never used except against the turrets of the destroyer at the Venice jump point in mission 9. I would prefer to replace them with a pair of dumbfires, changing the loadout to 4 DF/4 HS/4 IR.
Bearcat: This ship has slightly heavier shields and armor than the Banshee, but has about the same speed and agility, plus autoslide. The quad Light Tachyon cannons are enough heavier than the Banshee's Lasers that it doesn't need to have the Heavy Stormfire cannons to take on heavier enemies, plus it has a decent missile loadout.
Nitpick: This is the only BW fighter that doesn't mount Dumbfires!
Avenger: The dual Ion and dual Viper cannons make for a good gun loadout, and the 6 IR/6 FF/4 Hvy Torp loadout is good as well. The shields, armor, speed, and turning rate have all recieved a mild upgrade over the WC4 version as well. Given that the Viper cannons are capable of damaging capship components once you have used up your torps, it makes for a good medium bomber.
Nitpick: The heavier rear turret with its dual Ion cannons seems not to auto-fire while you are in the front cockpit, as opposed to the regular WCP laser turrets. Having the turret auto-fire and protect my rear is worth more to me than the heavier guns. Does it not auto-fire for the rest of you as well, or is this just me? If it does not auto-fire, then I think I would prefer to have a normal turret instead.
Kilrathi Ships:
Salthi: With thinner shields than the Epee and less offensive punch with its dual Lasers and lighter missile loadout, the Salthi is a piece of junk not worth flying. Good thing you never actually fly it outside of the simulator.
Nitpick: Hell, just skip flying this thing altogether unless you love being outgunned.
Dralthi: The Dralthi has shields and armor just slightly better than the Epee, and its speed is about halfway between the Epee and the Scimitar. Its missile load and the dual Laser and single Tachyon cannon give it an offensive punch about halfway between the Epee and the Scimitar as well. It is a fairly good light/medium fighter in the right hands.
Nitpick: This thing is too slow to be a light fighter, but too lightly shielded to be a medium fighter. Either boost its speed to 500 kps cruise /1350 kps afterburner or give it an additional 20 armor and 40 shields.
Vaktoth: This fighter has the heaviest gun loadout in the game with dual Particle Cannons, dual Ion Cannons, and a single Tachyon Cannon. It also has a turret. Speed is slightly greater than the Scimitar, with a decent missile loadout.
Nitpick: This thing has a bomber turret but no torps! Give it a pair of light torps.
Grathra: The Grathra is comparatively slow, but its 6 DF/6 HS/ 2 Hvy Torp/4 Lt Torp missile loadout and its dual Mass Drivers and Tachyon Cannons mean that anybody caught in front of it is in deep trouble. Quite nice as a light bomber.
Nitpick: Give this baby a turret and I'll take it over the Shrike any day!
Kha'ha'haf: Speed and agility are comparable to the Scimitar. It carries sixteen mines, which are great to dump in an enemy's face, and its Ion Cannons and Mass Drivers chew up enemies. Plus, you can't beat the camoflage! Just an innocent little hunk of rock...NOT!
Nitpick: The asteroid fighter, despite all its benefits, carries no dumbfires!
All in all, I think that the fighters are well-balanced against each other, although they seem slightly underpowered against the Nephilim ships, especially the Mantas--I have found it difficult to kill Mantas at all without resorting to missiles or Stormfire guns unless I am flying the gun-heavy ships (Vaktoth, Kha'ha'haf, Avenger).
Border Worlds Ships:
Ferret: Combining unmatched speed with moderately light shields and armor, I think that this ship is great to fly unless you are surrounded by heavy opponents such as Mantas. It has the lightest missile loadout with only 2 DF/2 HS, but its rapid-fire energy-efficient Mass Drivers pack a good punch at close range.
Nitpick: I wish the Ferret had autoslide like the Epee does (Yes, I know that you only fly it in the simulator missions, but I still wish it had autoslide).
Epee: A little slower than the Ferret, but with a slightly higher turning rate. True to its memory, the Epee has paper-thin armor, barely more than half as much as the Ferret. Flying this fighter means that you have to take special care never to get hit. It packs a bigger offensive punch than the Ferret, with an additional pair of HS missiles and the single Heavy Stormfire cannon.
Nitpick: the single light topredo that is carries means that I have to keep nearly all of my wingmen alive to take down a capital ship (such as the Fralthi and Ralari in the first two missions). I would like to see it carry two light torps instead, or maybe a single heavy torp.
The Ferret and Epee are well-balanced against each other, with the Ferret having the superior defense by virtue of its heavier armor and greater speed, and the Epee having greater offensive punch.
Scimitar: Just like Icemen said in WC1, it handles "like a Centaurian mud pig". It is the slowest of the non-bombers, but its comparatively heavy armor and fast shield regeneration makes it survivable as long as you don't let anything heavier than a Moray get on your tail. The Viper cannons can shred enemies faster than anything in the game except the Stormfire, and the 4 DF/4 HS missile loadout is adequate, although barely so.
Nitpick: The gun capacitors take too long to recharge on the Scimitar. It has kickass guns, but after you fire them you have to dodge around for twenty seconds before you can use them again.
Banshee: Upgraded from its WC4 stats, it has good shields and armor, and a powerful missile loadout-- 2 DF/8 HS/4 IR/2 HARM. It has good speed and agility--only slightly below the Epee, and it has quad Lasers for taking on light ships and dual Heavy Stormfires for taking on heavier opponents (the Lasers are NOT reccommended against Mantas or heavier).
Nitpick: The HARM missiles are never used except against the turrets of the destroyer at the Venice jump point in mission 9. I would prefer to replace them with a pair of dumbfires, changing the loadout to 4 DF/4 HS/4 IR.
Bearcat: This ship has slightly heavier shields and armor than the Banshee, but has about the same speed and agility, plus autoslide. The quad Light Tachyon cannons are enough heavier than the Banshee's Lasers that it doesn't need to have the Heavy Stormfire cannons to take on heavier enemies, plus it has a decent missile loadout.
Nitpick: This is the only BW fighter that doesn't mount Dumbfires!
Avenger: The dual Ion and dual Viper cannons make for a good gun loadout, and the 6 IR/6 FF/4 Hvy Torp loadout is good as well. The shields, armor, speed, and turning rate have all recieved a mild upgrade over the WC4 version as well. Given that the Viper cannons are capable of damaging capship components once you have used up your torps, it makes for a good medium bomber.
Nitpick: The heavier rear turret with its dual Ion cannons seems not to auto-fire while you are in the front cockpit, as opposed to the regular WCP laser turrets. Having the turret auto-fire and protect my rear is worth more to me than the heavier guns. Does it not auto-fire for the rest of you as well, or is this just me? If it does not auto-fire, then I think I would prefer to have a normal turret instead.
Kilrathi Ships:
Salthi: With thinner shields than the Epee and less offensive punch with its dual Lasers and lighter missile loadout, the Salthi is a piece of junk not worth flying. Good thing you never actually fly it outside of the simulator.
Nitpick: Hell, just skip flying this thing altogether unless you love being outgunned.
Dralthi: The Dralthi has shields and armor just slightly better than the Epee, and its speed is about halfway between the Epee and the Scimitar. Its missile load and the dual Laser and single Tachyon cannon give it an offensive punch about halfway between the Epee and the Scimitar as well. It is a fairly good light/medium fighter in the right hands.
Nitpick: This thing is too slow to be a light fighter, but too lightly shielded to be a medium fighter. Either boost its speed to 500 kps cruise /1350 kps afterburner or give it an additional 20 armor and 40 shields.
Vaktoth: This fighter has the heaviest gun loadout in the game with dual Particle Cannons, dual Ion Cannons, and a single Tachyon Cannon. It also has a turret. Speed is slightly greater than the Scimitar, with a decent missile loadout.
Nitpick: This thing has a bomber turret but no torps! Give it a pair of light torps.
Grathra: The Grathra is comparatively slow, but its 6 DF/6 HS/ 2 Hvy Torp/4 Lt Torp missile loadout and its dual Mass Drivers and Tachyon Cannons mean that anybody caught in front of it is in deep trouble. Quite nice as a light bomber.
Nitpick: Give this baby a turret and I'll take it over the Shrike any day!
Kha'ha'haf: Speed and agility are comparable to the Scimitar. It carries sixteen mines, which are great to dump in an enemy's face, and its Ion Cannons and Mass Drivers chew up enemies. Plus, you can't beat the camoflage! Just an innocent little hunk of rock...NOT!
Nitpick: The asteroid fighter, despite all its benefits, carries no dumbfires!
All in all, I think that the fighters are well-balanced against each other, although they seem slightly underpowered against the Nephilim ships, especially the Mantas--I have found it difficult to kill Mantas at all without resorting to missiles or Stormfire guns unless I am flying the gun-heavy ships (Vaktoth, Kha'ha'haf, Avenger).
.The idea was to upgrade the old fighters to a state of flyability in the WCP era, but we were careful about not fixing the flaws of the original designs. So, none of our ships are anywhere close to perfection. All of them could benefit from little touches like increasing the Scim's gun recharge, for example.
. Since they both appeared in WCP, their 2681 stats had been pretty much established.
