Wing Commander Fleets

Re: Re: *clears throat*

Originally posted by TC
Well, it depends on the era, and the source you're looking at... It's more of a game thing than anything else... In WC1 you changed ships when you changed wingmen, which made sense.
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Hmm, I can expand on this point. In WC1, each fighter type was assigned to a different squadron - the Killer Bees flew Hornets, Blue Devils flew Scimitars, and Star Slayers flew Raptors. When the Rapiers arrived, the Black Lions squadron was formed to fly them. These squadron assignments were apparently pretty flexible, though. Blair changed squadron... well, every time he changed ships, obviously, and the others changed squadrons at least once or twice between WC1 and SM1/2.
 
As someone in the WCRPG once put it, "Origin wasn't kind enough to give us a big book of things we never explained"
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Keep WC club issues over there, in the fan club message boards.
 
A Coupla New Questions...

All I'm saying, psych, is that there's alot of stuff that Origin never explained about the WC Universe as a whole, which leaves us wondering about a good number of things.

Two more questions now (a big hearty thanks to TC for handling so many of the tough ones).

First, is there any evidence that the Nephelim are in fact the Mantu?

Second, would transports also handle the transfer off food and fuel and spare parts? Escort carriers transfer the fighters, but what about the basic supplies that the carriers need? Fuel is covered partially by scoops, though I haven't really seen any evidence that WC3 WC4 WCP and SO ships have scoops (anyone know the answer to that?) I assume that they do...what about food and water, or medical supplies? The ship obviously "sails" with a number of these supplies but they can't carry enough forever, can they?

Still asking away,

-Jason Ryock
 
Re: A Coupla New Questions...

Originally posted by Jason_Ryock

First, is there any evidence that the Nephelim are in fact the Mantu?
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No, and Origin people have told us, repeatedly, that they are definitely not the Mantu.

Second, would transports also handle the transfer off food and fuel and spare parts? Escort carriers transfer the fighters, but what about the basic supplies that the carriers need?
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Transports deliver all of the above at various times... The also carry replacement fighters in pieces that need to be assembled once on the carrier. There are tankers around, too, for those times that fuel is, for various reasons, needed.

Fuel is covered partially by scoops, though I haven't really seen any evidence that WC3 WC4 WCP and SO ships have scoops (anyone know the answer to that?)
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Fuel is covered by scoops almost entirely for capital ships. They run, if anything, at a fuel surplus and not a deficit... And yes, they're definitely around in all the games

I assume that they do...what about food and water, or medical supplies? The ship obviously "sails" with a number of these supplies but they can't carry enough forever, can they?
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They have a bunch, but they are also replenished by transports or by stopping off at bases or colonies every once and a while.
 
Re: ????

Originally posted by Jason_Ryock
Origin has told us they aren't the Mantu???? Got any links to that???
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Nope, the more official method of communicating it was in the ICIS manual, where Confed said it wasn't the Mantu...

People have also told us in conversation... I'd find a better worded denial, but Byydo pasted this into #wingnut the other day to laugh at NDB, so I'll just use it, even though it isn't as general as it could be:

<Deathlok> To set the record straight... The alien ship in the CGW article is currently called the Manta... it is not a misspelling nor some error involving the Mantu from the novels
<PaladinCBF> ITs the Mantu!
<Deathlok> Palidin - why do you keep saying that... I told you it is not.


Deathlok being Mark Day

The Murphy-class Destroyers carry fighters...anyone know how many?
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As far as I am aware, it has yet to be stated
 
Wow, more proof that CBF was a complete idiot...


btw, Murphy-class destroyers do carry fighters. There's a breifing in SO that says "Excaliburs from the Foehammer"...
 
I assumed the same thing, but I was reading through the game guide for SO and it referred to a ship that linked to the Murphy-class Destroyer, the TCS Foehammer.

https://www.wcnews.com/guides/wcsotalos.shtml
(The mission in question is Talos 3: Hidden Foes)

It also states that you will be escorted by fighters from the Foehammer...is this a mistaken link, as in, the Foehammer is not a Murphy-class Destroyer, or does the Murphy carry fighters?
 
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The Murphy

I thought the same thing about the Murphy-class, but in the Game Guide for SO it talks about linking up with the TCS Foehammer, which is linked to the Murphy-class Destroyer in the ship section.

https://www.wcnews.com/guides/wcsotalos.shtml
(Talos 3 : Hidden Foes)

Does the Murphy-class (whose description at the CIC site reads that it carries a "light" complement of fighters) carry fighters, or is the Foehammer not a Murphy, and this link is incorrect?
 
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Oh, I didn't mean it doesn't have fighters. I meant that it hadn't been stated how many there are... however, looking in my notes it says 8, so I was probably mistaken about that.

I should really start writing down sources in these notes... I have a horrible memory and can never remember where these things come from if I actually have to see if it's written down somewhere on my computer...
 
Hrm... probably something to do with playing all the games, reading all the books and watching the Wing Commander community on the internet since 1995 or so...
 
Jason_Ryock said:
Okay, alot questions...first, are the Ranger-class carriers still active during Prophecy? (haven't played the game) And the Vesuvius-class, are they active, and if so, how many? Does anyone know how man fighters they carry? The Plunkett-class gun cruiser is also listed as carrying fighters? Does it? And if so, how many? What about the Ajax and the Vesuvius, and the Ranger too, for that matter, how many fighters do those ships carry? I'm quite at a loss for those numbers as well as for hard numbers on what the Cerberus carries.

On another topic, why don't we ever see Wing Commander Carriers operating with any kinds of fleets or support vessels? I know we see the TCS Victory being escorted by a Cruiser and two Destroyers, but that's just about the only time, unless it happens in Prophecy...if it does, would someone mind telling me what ships are escorting it?

Occasinally I've seen information suggesting the Confederation has some sort of Corvette type ship, but I have yet to find any detailed information on it (Short of the CIC Database, which is good for numbers but not for general information) so any help there would be great too.

And...does anyone know what a typical combat wing is composed of? At various fan sites, and even in the books I hear a wing referred to as a number of differant things. In WC3 for example (my primary experiance with WC is with WC 3-4) you fly almost every ship on every mission meaning that (unlike the Star Wars universe) squadrons are based more on groups of pilots and less on groups of ships.

Also in WC4 a jump point is held open long enough for fighters to make it through, is it possible for a ship like the Midway which has the ability to hold a jump point open long enough for the ship to get through (because it's a big ship) to hold the jump point open for fighters to get through? Or can the fighters just flit through it before the Midway jumps through?

(basing that information on the FAQ on jump points found in the articles section of this page)

The last thing (I know, I'm another obnoxious newbie asking alot of complex questions) does the Seahawk have any kind of Electronic Warfare options? I know it does have AWACs capability.

Any help on these topics would be great guys. I'm interested in developing some realistic fleet plans for some missions I'm working on as part of a campaign in Secret Ops and I want to make sure everything is a realstic as possible fleet wise, escort wise, and so on.

Thanks alot to anyone who takes the time to read this, thanks even more to anyone who responds.

A very curious,

-Jason Ryock
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Here's a suggestion - READ the thread. You'll get answers to your questions there.

To sum up:

1) Rangers are retired by this point. This was mentioned earlier in the thread.

2) We've seen TCS Eisen in WCP, and it's noted there are other Vesuvius-class Supercarriers in existence, though these were the revelation of Captain Johnny, and not seen in game. This was mentioned earlier in the thread.

3) Concordia had its own Destroyer escort, as did Victory. Lady Lex in the WC4 novel had its own escort destroyers. WCP shows the Midway operating alone during its shakedown cruise, but by SO it has its own support ships. This was mentioned earlier in the thread.

4) The stats on various fighter complements for each class of ship are in the CIC Ship Database. Some of these were also mentioned earlier in this thread.

5) If you ever played WC1 or WC2, you'd see the Venture class corvettes. One makes is a prominent part of the first story in the novel End Run, 'Milk Run'. They were also mentioned earlier in the thread.

6) Typical combat wings are shown in the WC3 novel, and are also shown to some extent in WCP. They include interceptors, point-defense, heavy fighters, and bombers. This was mentioned earlier in the thread.

7) In WCP, they have Jump Buoys which can open jump points for fighters. This was mentioned elsewhere in the forums, and easily found by doing a search via the button at the top of the forum.

8) Every craft seems to have some ECM capability, though they are mostly in the form of decoys. The Seahawk has 48. Read the Ships Database.

Here endeth the lesson:

Read the thread before posting, and do a search, lest ye be treated like a fool.
 
Haesslich said:
Read the thread before posting, and do a search, lest ye be treated like a fool.
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Well, not exactly... the lesson here is that you should take note of the thread order :). Replying to the first post in a thread by advising the poster to read the thread that resulted from that first post might very well result in you being treated like a fool :).
 
Jason_Ryock said:
In WC4 a jump point is held open long enough for fighters to make it through (Including Blair's Thunderbolt and Marshalls Hellcat which don't have jump engines). If the information in the Jump FAQ at the main CIC - site - articles section is correct, then a large ship (such as a Midway-class carrier) has to hold a jump point open longer then other ships would...does this mean they can open it or hold it open long enough to let fighters travel through?
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Unless I'm mistaken, Blair and Marshall didn't make it through the jump by themselves, instead they made a sloppy landing on the Intrepid literally seconds before the carrier entered the jump node (something repeated by Casey in his Wasp during WCP).

I still don't recall any non-jumpdrive-equiped fighter making it through a jump node, even with the aid of a carrier. Despite the belief by many, I think it necessary for a ship to generate a certain force by a jump drive to transfer through a node.
 
Quarto said:
Well, not exactly... the lesson here is that you should take note of the thread order :). Replying to the first post in a thread by advising the poster to read the thread that resulted from that first post might very well result in you being treated like a fool :).
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LOL maybe he was confused with the new interface,cause by default the older posts come first ! he he :p
 
"I still don't recall any non-jumpdrive-equiped fighter making it through a jump node, even with the aid of a carrier. Despite the belief by many, I think it necessary for a ship to generate a certain force by a jump drive to transfer through a node."

Near the end of the Kilrathi War, there was a black project involving capital ships with special equipment that can open up a rift in a jump point for non-jump capable fighters to cross into other systems for raiding. In WC4, the Border Worlds have managed to get a hold of one such technology, putting the special equipment on an obsolete corvette.
 
I thought jump buoys were just buoys showing where a jump gate is, not something that can help a fighter craft jump into another system. Plus, don't ships need a jump navgating computer to get to the jump gate or is that another error in the movie?
 
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