'conda more agile than FdL

[Dr Roly]

I've just got my conda up to a just-passable combat spec and done a few hour's RES hunting. I noticed pretty quickly that it's easier to keep the nose pointed at targets than with my FdL. My conda only has 7D thrusters. The result is the big ship can bring it's guns to bear much more quickly in close combat

I think this is because the turn rate is not very different between the two ships, but the conda has a much lower cornering velocity so you avoid overshooting your targets. Why can't you just fly the FdL slower? Because you drop out of the sweet spot and loose even more turn rate.

I got back into my FdL to confirm things. Yep. It feels like a thrown house brick compared to the conda. Very fast, but still a brick.

I've finally worked out this is why I don't enjoy using the FdL in open against other players.

You know what's coming next: FD please give the FdL a small agility buff. Sure, it's supposed be a lead sled, but it shouldn't get out-manoeuvred by an Anaconda.

 

[Brujah]

I personally find it pretty difficult to keep out of the firing line of an Anaconda. More so than a Python even. So I suspect you're right about them being pretty nimble relatively for their size.

 

[Jypson]

Yeah, it didn't used to be that bad, but they buffed the 'Conda heavily when they launched 1.3. AND they're going to make it even more invincible in 1.4, too... Apparently the Conda is going to be the god-ship until the Corvette and the (possibly?) Cutter come out.

Not trying to put words in your mouth, but I don't think Anaconda buffs are a bad thing. When a ship costs a half billion credits, it better be a damn fine ship!

 

[Brimstone]

Why do people feel it's necessary to drop the 'Ana'? It sounds and looks absolutely silly. It reminds me of Honda.


The Anaconda drifts everywhere in combat, but fortunately it has decent enough pitch and yaw rates, similar to the Clipper.

 

[yul7896]

I've been flying an FdL since a week or so before Power play started. I've never flown a Conda.

After fighting several CMDR's in Anaconda's, I was curious about their direct turning relationship. However, the FdL seems to turn really well, with FA OFF, 4 pips to engines, and boosting. How does a Conda turn without Flight Assist?

 

[Brimstone]

I've been flying an FdL since a week or so before Power play started. I've never flown a Conda.

After fighting several CMDR's in Anaconda's, I was curious about their direct turning relationship. However, the FdL seems to turn really well, with FA OFF, 4 pips to engines, and boosting. How does a Conda turn without Flight Assist?

You don't really need to use FAO with the Anaconda. Many ships, like the Python or FDL, have a certain characteristic when pitching hard after a boost. After the initial boost is over, your pitch rate dramatically decreases unless you turn off flight-assist. The Anaconda just keeps pitching and never really slows down.

 

[Gully Foyle]

Why do people feel it's necessary to drop the 'Ana'? It sounds and looks absolutely silly. It reminds me of Honda.


The Anaconda drifts everywhere in combat, but fortunately it has decent enough pitch and yaw rates, similar to the Clipper.

Not to mention difficult to enter the toaster, IMO.
It's only an abbreviation, like FdL, CMDR Brimstone.
o7

 

[Brimstone]

I don't know man, stripping three letters from a name doesnt really turn it into an abbreviation like FDL.


The Anaconda becomes suprisingly easy to maneuver through the docking bay once you get used to stopping it's momentum, and buy it the best thrusters.

 

[Brimstone]

And it is, and was... even before it could turn with a Sidey. I think it's kinda ridiculous... and I normally hate nerfs... AND I own a 'Conda. So that's saying something. I liked the 1.2 'Conda just fine.

- - - Updated - - -



Because it takes less time to type that way. Edit: OOOH OOH! Honda Conda! I love it!

Clipper? Noooo, I wouldn't go that far. It's closer to the Sidewinder... a bit slower than the sidey really. But yeah, faster than the FDL I think. Of course, it can't slide or move the way the FDL does, but... I do think it's a bit too much of a space turret now. I have turrets on it from before, but I don't need to use them anymore.

Congratulations, you've shaved a pointless amount of time off of your overall typing session by dropping 'Ana'.


I was comparing the Anaconda to the Clipper because they share very similar characteristics, that when you pitch for an extended period of time, the ship will just give up trying for a moment and you will be drifting backwards.

 

[CMDR Hagglebeard]

I think rapidly turning Anaconda freight ships (read Elite 1984 manual ) is a little ridiculous, if what you all say is true.

I don't think my idea will be very popular, but I think that the Anaconda's armor, shield strength and weapons should be buffed, but maneuverability dramatically decreased. Perhaps only slightly more maneuverable than a T9. I also think it should rely completely on turrets except in the case of the class four hardpoint (good for other large ships), and perhaps the two front-mounted medium hardpoints, for mining lasers. Maybe even torps?

Reason is, I see the Annie as a cruiser, a huge frigate, not a fighter jet. I think it should behave that way. I also believe that it will come closer to this vision with 1.4 or 1.5, because having a Condor in the docking bay for self defense against fighters must come in handy sometimes

 

[Banana's_Are_Good_For_You]

Creating a "God" ship is gonna be a really bad idea, much in the same way of having any kind of OP weapon or perk is in a FPS game.
Everyone will end up wanting it and that will be to the detriment of the game as a whole.
If a ship costs a lot of money, it shouldn't be easily destroyed but it should never be able to out perform other ships more suited to their roles, like fighters.
Much in the same way, a small fighter shouldn't really be able to do much against a much bigger target 1v1, unless they have help.

I agree with what the Fishybeard, Pirate guy says above.

 

[Brimstone]

I think rapidly turning Anaconda freight ships (read Elite 1984 manual ) is a little ridiculous, if what you all say is true.

I don't think my idea will be very popular, but I think that the Anaconda's armor, shield strength and weapons should be buffed, but maneuverability dramatically decreased. Perhaps only slightly more maneuverable than a T9. I also think it should rely completely on turrets except in the case of the class four hardpoint (good for other large ships), and perhaps the two front-mounted medium hardpoints, for mining lasers. Maybe even torps?

Reason is, I see the Annie as a cruiser, a huge frigate, not a fighter jet. I think it should behave that way. I also believe that it will come closer to this vision with 1.4 or 1.5, because having a Condor in the docking bay for self defense against fighters must come in handy sometimes

I know what you mean, but if its got the thrust capability, it would handle the way it does now. But this could open a whole other can of worms like flight models and realistic physics and it could get bloody.

 

[CMDR Hagglebeard]

Creating a "God" ship is gonna be a really bad idea, much in the same way of having any kind of OP weapon or perk is in a FPS game.
Everyone will end up wanting it and that will be to the detriment of the game as a whole.
If a ship costs a lot of money, it shouldn't be easily destroyed but it should never be able to out perform other ships more suited to their roles, like fighters.
Much in the same way, a small fighter shouldn't really be able to do much against a much bigger target 1v1, unless they have help.

I agree with what the Fishybeard, Pirate guy says above.

Fishybeard!? I'll rip your innards out and feed 'em to me dog, mate!

 

[Brimstone]

I actually have a lot of fun putting two fixed beams in the lower large and huge hardpoints.

 

[h347h]

I actually have a lot of fun putting two fixed beams in the lower large and huge hardpoints.

For fun I like to use that little camera thing at the very nose as a gun sight, and use a frag cannon in the top two C3 slots. I turn off the hud UI and shoot them like a double barrel shotgun.

 

[Jypson]

Actually it's more like a heavy gunship, or a very light corvette. It's no cruiser or frigate; with the scales we're seeing in 3301, even a frigate would probably be in the 10 k-ton range at least, and the Majestic and Farragut classes are cruisers.

That said, it should definitely handle like a small corvette. Actually I guess I can't really complain about the maneuverability it has; it still calls for gimballed weapons, not fixed imho, and it handles about like Corvettes in other major games (X series, Iwar). So I guess I'll join the crowd that think they should make the FDL quicker, though I say not just in turn rate but in straight line speed too. After all, the FDL is extremely expensive for its overall general effectiveness (still, despite them cutting the price in half just after it was first released); making it more maneuverable would be a good way to improve that, since changing its weapon mix would require a major mesh overhaul.

I would definitely say Heavy Gunship, though it is supposed to be a shipping vessel. Anyway, I think the FDL could use a maneuvering buff, I'm really not a fan of the flight model, feels like I'm driving on ice.

 

[Carradin]

I think this is because the turn rate is not very different between the two ships, but the conda has a much lower cornering velocity so you avoid overshooting your targets. Why can't you just fly the FdL slower? Because you drop out of the sweet spot and loose even more turn rate.

That is exactly the reason. A slower speed with the same turn rate will result in a tighter turning circle. And yeah, that does rather bias the game in favour of slower ships. It is also one of the reasons the Vulture and the Eagle feel so incredibly agile compared to everything else: They are not only agile, but also fairly slow, giving them a compounded advantage. At the other end, faster ships such as the Cobra and Viper are particularly hurt by it, despite their small size suggesting they should be at least moderately agile, which makes FA-off turning and jousting more likely tactics for them.

I personally wish the 'blue zone' would extend down to much lower speeds, making it so that fast ships actually have an advantage in being able to turn reasonably at higher speeds if they want to, but also have the option of slowing down to match the likes of Anacondas without suddenly becoming a brick. It would also help to rebalance the game a little bit back in favour of the small-ship fights we had so many of (and had such fun with) during the beta, when few if any could afford anything bigger than an Asp. Big ships would still have the advantage, but at least smaller ships would have a fighting chance of annoying them by using their agility to fire from blind spots and the like, unlike now where big ships will just plain match their turning ability in many cases.

 

[Banana's_Are_Good_For_You]

Fishybeard!? I'll rip your innards out and feed 'em to me dog, mate!

Bu...but I'm a Space Banana, I have no "innards"...
Just potassium fueled goodness.

 

[Darrett]

Rather than an FDL maneuverability buff, I'd prefer a drop in the turning rates of the larger ships. They should be lumbering beasts, difficult to destroy, but not able to keep up with smaller ships.

 

[h347h]

Rather than an FDL maneuverability buff, I'd prefer a drop in the turning rates of the larger ships. They should be lumbering beasts, difficult to destroy, but not able to keep up with smaller ships.

Sounds like a group of people who find out that US wrestling is fake for the first time. Sure the combat isn't as romantic as you thought but come on, should be lumbering beasts? They should just work how ever the physics ends up working them out. If they were lumbering beasts they should remove the handi caps for turrets and turrets should do the same damage as fixed weapons.