I've been playing this game off and on since Beta and I've currently just started on phase - my first since 2.3 dropped. I've never been burned out on it, I've just had other things in my library I'd like to get to, but I digress.
I was in the Corbin system last night in my FDL hunting pirates for a massacre mission. A threat 4 Distress Call popped up in a USS. My mission briefing said targets could show up in USS's but I was a bit leary of jumping into a threat 4. My ranking might say Dangerous but I'd only rate my combat skills as competent at best. However, Corbin was listed as a High Security system so I figured I could survive long enough for the cops to come bail me out if I got into trouble. So I slowed down and hopped into the USS.
Imagine my surprise when the ship sending out the Distress call was Farragut Class Battlecruiser, the FNV Formidable. Facing off against the Formidable was wing of 7, all Wanted (but unfortunately not Mission Targets) that included 2 Vultures and a mix of Eagles and Sidey's. I was surprised that a Farragut class, even damaged, was making a distress call against that, but I figured, "What the Hell? I'll come to the rescue." The plan was to burn down a couple of Eagles as fast as I could and then play dodge ball against the rest until the cops came in to take off some heat (surely the cops were on their way right?).
The first part of the plan went well. The pirates approached me, scanned me, saw that my hold was empty and then turned away from me (FDev should probably look at the behavior in the future). I promptly stabbed one of the Eagles in the back and burned it to ash in a couple of seconds. The next ship to line up in my sights was a Sidey instead of an Eagle. He was maneuvering so he lasted a few more seconds than the Eagle, but he still went down pretty fast. By then, the rest of the wing had come around and was shooting so I had to go evasive. As I was juking and jiving and hoping to get another small ship in my sights I heard another ship jump in. I came around and saw it - a second Farragut class Battlecruiser. My first thought was, "Man, the Feds are pulling out the big guns." I hit my burners with the intention of dragging the hostile wing under the guns of this new capital ship. Then it dawned on me that something was wrong. I'm an ally with the Feds and the Formidable was showing in my radar as green, but this new ship was showing as neutral orange. I targeted it to get a read on who it was. It's name was the "Orion" and it's affliation was listed as "Pirate".
Oh crap.
I turned and burned for the Formidable, thinking that at the very least I could use it for cover to jump out (Insurance bills are a pain, ya know?). At that moment, a big wing of federals jumped in (not sure how many) that included a Corvette and 2 Elite ranked Pythons. They burned down the hostiles that were on my tail faster than I could bring my ship around. Then another big wing of pirates jumped in, the Orion opened up on the Formidable and a conflict zone style furball kicked off. In the ensuing melee, I managed to claim part of Vulture, another Sidey and a Viper III. By the time that was down, the second pirate wing was down and the Federal wing, mostly intact, turned to engage the Orion.
At first I thought that they were just trying to cover the Formidable's withdrawal. It was definitely limping away from the flight and it was definitely wounded. I had done a flyby of it during the tussle. One of it's main thrusters was on fire and smoke was leaking out of three or four other places (I didn't think to check it's hull %). However, the Federal wing seemed to be taking on the Orion pretty effectively. They were chipping away at it's hull strength at the rate of a point or two every minute and weren't obviously taking losses. I thought of helping out (can you imagine the bounty on a capital ship!?!) but the Orion was still showing as neutral/non-hostile in my radar and, most importantly, it WASN'T Wanted (What the hell Fdev? He's a fricking PIRATE! Maybe the gov't won't authorize civilians throwing their lives away against a capital ship?). Not seeing a percentage in it and not having the time to see how it all ended, I jumped out to cash in my bounties.
TAKE AWAYS
DRAMA: The whole thing felt like a seen out of sci-fi movie. When I dragged that hostile wing into that brand new Federal wing, I was having visions of the battle at the end of Serenity. More importantly, it did feel like there was a story being told. The Formidable, not knowing that the pirates had gotten themselves a battle cruiser, is surprised by the Orion and just manages to escape. It can't sustain Frame Shift and so drops out to make repairs. However, enemy scouts find it. Knowing it won't be long before it's adversary arrives to finish the job, it sends out desperate distress signal that just happened to be picked up by one lone bounty hunter...
SMALLNESS: I play in a Vive and I just have to say MY GOD those capital ships make you feel small. But the game has said that it doesn't want the hero of the story, it wants to make you feel like you're just a person living in a larger universe. They definitely succeeded here. I definitely felt like Kurt Russell wandering into the middle of the gang war Big Trouble in Little China. Sure I got to be a participant, but it wasn't about me and at the end of it I only had a marginal clue what it was all about (even if that was just an illusion of the RNG system). How much scripting and intention went behind the whole thing, I'll never know. The illusion was compelling. Well done, FDev, Well done.
But I'm taking points away for denying me the Bounty to End All Bounties (All I want is that one big score and I can get out...)
-CMDR Gabriel Sullivan
Edit: typos
I was in the Corbin system last night in my FDL hunting pirates for a massacre mission. A threat 4 Distress Call popped up in a USS. My mission briefing said targets could show up in USS's but I was a bit leary of jumping into a threat 4. My ranking might say Dangerous but I'd only rate my combat skills as competent at best. However, Corbin was listed as a High Security system so I figured I could survive long enough for the cops to come bail me out if I got into trouble. So I slowed down and hopped into the USS.
Imagine my surprise when the ship sending out the Distress call was Farragut Class Battlecruiser, the FNV Formidable. Facing off against the Formidable was wing of 7, all Wanted (but unfortunately not Mission Targets) that included 2 Vultures and a mix of Eagles and Sidey's. I was surprised that a Farragut class, even damaged, was making a distress call against that, but I figured, "What the Hell? I'll come to the rescue." The plan was to burn down a couple of Eagles as fast as I could and then play dodge ball against the rest until the cops came in to take off some heat (surely the cops were on their way right?).
The first part of the plan went well. The pirates approached me, scanned me, saw that my hold was empty and then turned away from me (FDev should probably look at the behavior in the future). I promptly stabbed one of the Eagles in the back and burned it to ash in a couple of seconds. The next ship to line up in my sights was a Sidey instead of an Eagle. He was maneuvering so he lasted a few more seconds than the Eagle, but he still went down pretty fast. By then, the rest of the wing had come around and was shooting so I had to go evasive. As I was juking and jiving and hoping to get another small ship in my sights I heard another ship jump in. I came around and saw it - a second Farragut class Battlecruiser. My first thought was, "Man, the Feds are pulling out the big guns." I hit my burners with the intention of dragging the hostile wing under the guns of this new capital ship. Then it dawned on me that something was wrong. I'm an ally with the Feds and the Formidable was showing in my radar as green, but this new ship was showing as neutral orange. I targeted it to get a read on who it was. It's name was the "Orion" and it's affliation was listed as "Pirate".
Oh crap.
I turned and burned for the Formidable, thinking that at the very least I could use it for cover to jump out (Insurance bills are a pain, ya know?). At that moment, a big wing of federals jumped in (not sure how many) that included a Corvette and 2 Elite ranked Pythons. They burned down the hostiles that were on my tail faster than I could bring my ship around. Then another big wing of pirates jumped in, the Orion opened up on the Formidable and a conflict zone style furball kicked off. In the ensuing melee, I managed to claim part of Vulture, another Sidey and a Viper III. By the time that was down, the second pirate wing was down and the Federal wing, mostly intact, turned to engage the Orion.
At first I thought that they were just trying to cover the Formidable's withdrawal. It was definitely limping away from the flight and it was definitely wounded. I had done a flyby of it during the tussle. One of it's main thrusters was on fire and smoke was leaking out of three or four other places (I didn't think to check it's hull %). However, the Federal wing seemed to be taking on the Orion pretty effectively. They were chipping away at it's hull strength at the rate of a point or two every minute and weren't obviously taking losses. I thought of helping out (can you imagine the bounty on a capital ship!?!) but the Orion was still showing as neutral/non-hostile in my radar and, most importantly, it WASN'T Wanted (What the hell Fdev? He's a fricking PIRATE! Maybe the gov't won't authorize civilians throwing their lives away against a capital ship?). Not seeing a percentage in it and not having the time to see how it all ended, I jumped out to cash in my bounties.
TAKE AWAYS
DRAMA: The whole thing felt like a seen out of sci-fi movie. When I dragged that hostile wing into that brand new Federal wing, I was having visions of the battle at the end of Serenity. More importantly, it did feel like there was a story being told. The Formidable, not knowing that the pirates had gotten themselves a battle cruiser, is surprised by the Orion and just manages to escape. It can't sustain Frame Shift and so drops out to make repairs. However, enemy scouts find it. Knowing it won't be long before it's adversary arrives to finish the job, it sends out desperate distress signal that just happened to be picked up by one lone bounty hunter...
SMALLNESS: I play in a Vive and I just have to say MY GOD those capital ships make you feel small. But the game has said that it doesn't want the hero of the story, it wants to make you feel like you're just a person living in a larger universe. They definitely succeeded here. I definitely felt like Kurt Russell wandering into the middle of the gang war Big Trouble in Little China. Sure I got to be a participant, but it wasn't about me and at the end of it I only had a marginal clue what it was all about (even if that was just an illusion of the RNG system). How much scripting and intention went behind the whole thing, I'll never know. The illusion was compelling. Well done, FDev, Well done.
But I'm taking points away for denying me the Bounty to End All Bounties (All I want is that one big score and I can get out...)
-CMDR Gabriel Sullivan
Edit: typos
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