Small fighters in Elite Dangerous

[lysan]

Hello Commanders,


I would like to discuss the small fighters in ED. We haven't seen any yet, however we know they will be in at some point.

How will they fly? the flight model should not be as with the bigger ships, they should be very nibble and fast turning so they can avoid the fire from the bigger ships.
This could open up a different gameplay. The small fighters could be a a new experience of dog fighting.

FDEV has done a brilliant job until now with the controls and how the ships handle. I am very interested in how the small fighters will behave in the game.

Any ideas?

 

[aspiringexpatriate]

The F63 Condor and the Imperial Fighter are the snub fighters of the game. They're no capable of inter-system FrameShift jumping, and as far as we're aware, they are also not planned to be flyable by CMDRs. Personally, I want to try it sometime. I'm assuming it'll have a Class 1 FSD, which would only be capable of intra-system FrameShift. I'm not sure I've ever seen one of them with shields, so it's possible they are entirely stripped down to a couple of small pulse lasers and thrusters.

From watching NPC snub fighters, they do not appear to have any special flight mechanics or model. It's a nice theory, though.

http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/F63_Condor

http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Empire_Fighter

 

[TiberiuS]

Is the Eagle not small enough for you? It is per definition a 'small fighter'.

 

[lysan]

Is the Eagle not small enough for you? It is per definition a 'small fighter'.

LOL, no its still a big chunk of metal I would like, even if I can't jump with it, to be able to get into a small snub fighter and fight, with fast turns and screaming sounds

[video=youtube;4PrzYDsLdno]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PrzYDsLdno[/video]

 

[Deleted member 38366]

--- Deleted ---

 

[TiberiuS]

LOL, no its still a big chunk of metal I would like, even if I can't jump with it, to be able to get into a small snub fighter and fight, with fast turns and screaming sounds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PrzYDsLdno

The Eagle is around 20m long and wide, which isn't really much bigger than modern fighter craft. And lore says it is the smallest jump-capable fighter there is.

But the point here is, the Eagle is damn fragile. My Clipper kills one (without the shields) in what... 1s (with shields 2s)? Nobody uses it because of this (and because the weapons are really weak and jump range is zero).

And you actually want an even smaller and more fragile fighter? Like a BSG Viper?

I admit a fight 1 on 1 in those things with fixed weapons can be fun, but vs. the other ships that are in-game it is just a fly that is squished instantly.

 

[Vasious]

The F63 Condor and the Imperial Fighter are the snub fighters of the game. They're no capable of inter-system FrameShift jumping, and as far as we're aware, they are also not planned to be flyable by CMDRs. Personally, I want to try it sometime. I'm assuming it'll have a Class 1 FSD, which would only be capable of intra-system FrameShift. I'm not sure I've ever seen one of them with shields, so it's possible they are entirely stripped down to a couple of small pulse lasers and thrusters.

From watching NPC snub fighters, they do not appear to have any special flight mechanics or model. It's a nice theory, though.

http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/F63_Condor

http://elite-dangerous.wikia.com/wiki/Empire_Fighter

Get a close enough look at the F63 and you will see the power cables from the generator to the guns are on the outside of the hull.
So I would imagine they would be very stripped down, cheap and easy to manufacture
Note that even the sidewinder has size two parts as I think the size one modules are for the fighters.

 

[TiberiuS]

Get a close enough look at the F63 and you will see the power cables from the generator to the guns are on the outside of the hull.
So I would imagine they would be very stripped down, cheap and easy to manufacture
Note that even the sidewinder has size two parts as I think the size one modules are for the fighters.

Yes, maybe we get to fly those two, when we have multi-crew ships. E.g. an Anaconda with two F63 in the shuttle bays.