Wing Commander Fleets

Jump buoys are for marking jump points and for allowing communication across them. They don't have anything to do with opening/closing a jump point for a ship.
 
Another Question or Two

So...on the cover of uhm...*checks* Fleet Action! What the heck are those ships? I don't think I've ever seen anything like them in my (admittedly) limited WC experiance...
 
Happy said:
a stupid question, couldn't a jump bouy get sucked into the worm hole if it were opened big enough?
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I've yet to see a jump node suck anything into it. Although it does have the characteristics of a black hole, with the vortex and all, the "pull" you see on the ships when they enter the node is caused by their entrance into the wormhole itself. Jump Bouys keep stationary, and are probably far away from the node itself to counteract any possible gravitational effect. Then their is the theory that only craft with jump drives can enter the nodes.. Even though a buoy can activate a jump node, it doesn't necessarily have the equipment installed to pass on through.
 
only craft with jump drives can open the jump point.
there is no required equipment to enter a jump point.
thus, if a jump bouy could open a jump point, it could enter it.
but if a jump point exerts no gravity, then no, i guess it wouldn't suck anything in.
 
I'm thinking it has to do with antigravitons -- the ship has to surround itself with them to enter the jump point... so a jump bouy wouldn't, under normal circumstances, do that. (G)
 
So once again...the reason for the limits on large ships such as the Midway was that the jump point couldn't be opened long enough for the entire ship to get through. Obviously this has changed, which means that the jump point can be held open longer....could the Midway, or another large ship with similar capabilites hold the jump open long enough for fighters to get through?

That is, to do exactly what the Border Worlds Corvette does in WCIV, but without the specalized equipment?

And, if all WCP/WCSO fighters are jump capable, why do the Carriers always deck up all the fighters before making a jump? Wouldn't it make sense for a few to fly through on point? What stops them from doing that?
 
The size of a jumping object is limited to the natural characteristics of an antigraviton. A jump field can only be generated when antigravitons can go all the way from where they're generated to the entrance of the jump point. Because of their half life and speed, this gives you a 500 meter radius around a jump point with which to place a ship (before 2669, at least -- the Kilrathi overcame this with the Hakaga-class.)

Check out the Jump FAQ for crazy detailed information: https://www.wcnews.com/articles/jumpfaq.shtml
 
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Okay, a jump point can only be 500 meters in radius? This reminds me of a question I came up with but never asked. In the novels, capships go through jump points one at a time and even that's dangerous. In WC3 we see the Victory Battle Group going through the jump point all at once. How is this 500 meter rule observed in this situation and is this another novel/game difference that can't be explained?

C-ya
 
Erm...thank you LOAF, but since I still have the same question...can you maybe try again with a new answer?

And *points at the other question asked after his* it would be nice to see an explanation for that too. According to Fleet Action, Confed Standard Operating Procedure is to have a full minute between jumping.

I still have the same question, WHY aren't fighters sent through jump points before carriers? Personally I'd rather lose a flight of fighters then jumping without them and having my carrier caught with it's pants down.
 
I still have the same question, WHY aren't fighters sent through jump points before carriers? Personally I'd rather lose a flight of fighters then jumping without them and having my carrier caught with it's pants down.
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I think it's an easy answer -- they often do. We fly that exact mission a couple times in WC2 -- jumping ahead in a Broadsword to patrol the system. We see them talk about it in WCA and we see things like the SWACS patrolling a system ahead in WCP. It's only when a jump has to be done quickly (ie, retreating in WCP) or when a system is supposedly known to be safe (Tamayo in WC3) that this isn't necessarily observed.

And *points at the other question asked after his* it would be nice to see an explanation for that too. According to Fleet Action, Confed Standard Operating Procedure is to have a full minute between jumping.
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I think we can take two things from this:

- That it couldn't have been done differently for dramatic reasons -- like when fighters get blown up more quickly in FMV, it'd just be boring to watch a jump video that lasted eight minutes. :)

- That it's possible to have more than one ship jump at once -- it's just not SOP.
 
Well, as long as jump holes and ship sizes go...

Panther: "A ship that size... has no other option"

Blair: "But a ship our size has other options!"
 
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