Snug as a Bug in a Rug (June 13, 2020)

ChrisReid

Super Soaker Collector / Administrator
We've got a new poll up today that asks what ship you felt the best defended in. There's a lot of bombers on the list, although the options aren't exclusively limited as such. From time to time we might find ourselves in a heavy fighter or even merchant ship that feels extremely secure, and there are some good options for those tough craft! What's your favorite?








As many people seem to be growing tired of social distancing, it seems our old poll has run its course. It asked about the best way to get away and stay away from anyone who might be carrying a nasty virus. Of course, in the future that could take the form of anything from Watson's Disease to the Nephilim bio rash that might make you want to self quarantine. Signing on with the Exploratory Services to chart the frontier seemed to be the most popular option, and it was followed closely by being tucked away on a quiet ISS station for a few years. The Lexington's self-sufficient one-way trip got quite a few votes too, as did Angel's covert mission to the Kilrah asteroid belt. All potentially seem like better options than joining the crowds out there today!

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Original update published on June 13, 2020
 
Kinda surprised the Devastator and Longbow are so close on the Broadswords tail, I felt WC2 captured the bomber/flying fortress fantasy the best. The bombers in Armada and out felt too much like fat fighters, though I guess all the bombers were if you wanna be reductive about it. They were all fun to fly, but the Broadsword has a special place in my heart.
 
I gave my vote to the Galaxy as it was tough as nails in a dogfight, but with the right engine mods could easily outrun pesky Church of Man Talons if outnumbered or wanting to make a quick buck on a patrol mission.

If it were included, I would have given my vote to the Thunderbolt. Three guns could quickly rip anything apart and the single torpedo made quick work of any surprise capital ships.
 
The bombers in Armada and out felt too much like fat fighters, though I guess all the bombers were if you wanna be reductive about it. They were all fun to fly, but the Broadsword has a special place in my heart.

We talked about that before including them - they actually technically are fat fighters, not bombers, even though they carry a couple torpedoes. We included them here amidst many other bombers because of the relative pounding that they can take in the game. They're more sturdy than many bombers in other games.

If it were included, I would have given my vote to the Thunderbolt. Three guns could quickly rip anything apart and the single torpedo made quick work of any surprise capital ships.

Yeah, we've done variants on that poll many times. This one's not about the guns or ordnance here. The question revolves around the defensive side rather than offense. The Thunderbolt was okay as far as that's concerned, but many games have hot fighters with heavy armaments and mediocre armor/shields.
 
I chose the Devastator for obvious reasons. Plasma cannon, best shielding, most turrets, best missiles, possibility of loading mirv missiles, etc. If I had my choice though I'd choose the F-107 Lance/Dragon. Much greater fuel capacity with antimatter engines, shields just as strong as the Devastator, flashpacks, automatic tracking weapons, good missile loadout, fission cannons, fast with a 500/1200 kps speed, can jump, can cloak, I could go on and on. The only thing that can come close is the Excalibur with a faster afterburner speed and somewhat better gun loadout, though it suffers in the shield department and fuel capacity compared to the Dragon.

Edit: Before anyone brings it up, I realize the Freij Mk II or the Danrik could end up better in some situations with the much better guns available in the future, not to mention the customization available with different modules, nukes, etc. But for one reason. I don't consider Privateer 2 a Wing Commander game. :D
 
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K...quick question because it might have a bearing on the answer: is the poll referring to the A-20 or the F3V? From context I'm assuming the A-20, but my mind went to the F3V first...which I certainly liked more than the other Border Worlds fighters in all honesty.
 
Based on the question and the other ships in the list and assuming the f3v is the ubw light fighter I'd say the A-20.
 
Yeah, we briefly considered adding a disambiguation in parenthesis, but none of the others needed one, so we left it off. Given that, I suppose you could choose whether you are voting for either the Banshee Light Fighter or the Banshee Heavy Fighter, but only one option makes sense here. :)

If I had my choice though I'd choose the F-107 Lance/Dragon. Much greater fuel capacity with antimatter engines, shields just as strong as the Devastator, flashpacks, automatic tracking weapons, good missile loadout, fission cannons, fast with a 500/1200 kps speed, can jump, can cloak, I could go on and on. The only thing that can come close is the Excalibur with a faster afterburner speed and somewhat better gun loadout, though it suffers in the shield department and fuel capacity compared to the Dragon.

Ditto with my Thunderbolt comment above. We've asked what everyone's favorite badass super fighter is many times, so this is an opportunity to approach the question from a different angle.
 
In which ship do I feel best protected?

Tiger's claw, it had oodles of escort flying around it at any given point.
 
The Armada Arrow ... light, fast, maneuverable, superiour speed ... can outrun any ship at any time (except Wasp with booster)...
... if you can outmaneuver or outrun it... why not?

And yes, the ship is not intended to kill carriers... killing Gorans in Armada with my Arrow was fun nevertheless...
 
While it certainly has a completely different feeling than the other options, my truthful answer to the question is the Freij MK II. The other options sure gave the impression of being flying fortresses but were so slow and sluggish relative to the enemy opposition that almost always the enemy got though my shields and to the armour. Much less so in the Freij who really felt like a super fighter on par with the Lance: it just had it all speed, agility, heavy offense and heavy defense. I hate such ships (at least the Freij Mk II was ugly) but I felt very safe in it. Second safest probably the Crossbow with obscene shield and armour for a WC2 ship. The Broadsword gave the most unique game play experience and I love the Devastator's Plasma cannon.
 
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