Canon Oolite Ships?

[toltesi]

So what ships in the Oolite universe are considered "canon" and should be downloaded by new players looking for a universe that matches what exists in the Oolite fiction that has been written, etc.?

[DaddyHoggy]

There are no Canon Oolite ships other than those you get in the core game - which is the standard Elite ships plus the BCC and Viper Interceptor.

Basically Oolite is what you make of it - you can add the big ships, the small fighters, or both... (and the Thargoids and the Naval capital ships...)

[Gimbal Locke]

So what ships in the Oolite universe are considered "canon" and should be downloaded by new players looking for a universe that matches what exists in the Oolite fiction that has been written, etc.?

There is no agreement on what is "Oolite canon" beyond the core ships. For example, having played Archimedes Elite a lot myself, the Moccasin is "canon" to me, but it would not be to most others around here. Just create the most fun and/or interesting universe you can (for your own very personal definitions of "fun" & "interesting").

That being said, spaceships from the Ooniverse fiction is a most cool project. The most fun way to find out is by reading the stories yourself & then install the ships you've read about. Go for it & enjoy it, here are some leads:

The Imperial Courier, the Vampire, the SuperCobra (not sure about that one), the Caduceus Omega (Udian's Hammer of Sorrow) and the Vampire Mk5 (Rebecca's Spectre) play important roles in Drew Wagar's Oolite Saga (Status Quo, Mutabilis, Incursio & Finis). Some of these ships are formidable opponents, installing them may change the game balance.

When you're done with the Oolite Saga, you can start spotting spaceships in Mostly Deadly or in Alien Items (which features generation ships).

Besides ships, there are other ways to bring Oofic into your game:

The Tionisla Orbital Graveyard from The Dark Wheel is probably the "most canon" OXP of them all, and while you're at it you'll also want to install the Tionisla Chronicle Array from the Oolite Saga.

The Tianve OXP has Rebecca flying a Vampire near the pulsar, very canOon! (Sorry, couldn't resist...) And it brings a single Vampire into your game without disturbing the balance, which may be important for a new player.

The Status Quo Q-bomb OXP (Spoiler alert: don't click this link if you are reading or want to read Status Quo) makes the quirium mines behave as described by the book.

Coyote's Run is a mission based on the short story Coyote, also in the Alien Items collection. And drop the concept of "Oolite canon": it's what you make it.

[Hans Olo]

Coyote's Run is a mission based on the short story Coyote, also in the Alien Items collection. And drop the concept of "Oolite canon": it's what you make it.

Aah, Coyote was great! I'll have to check out the OXP.

As for canon ships, go for the behemoth and galactic navy oxp's (the navy needs the behemoth oxp to operate). Not technically canon, as stated before 'canon' ships are the ones that come with the game.

Also, I believe Griff has an oxp to make some non-buyable ships buyable (like the gecko, mamba, etc., if I remember rightly.)

[Wolfwood]

The Imperial Courier, the Vampire, the SuperCobra (not sure about that one), the Caduceus Omega (Udian's Hammer of Sorrow) and the Vampire Mk5 (Rebecca's Spectre) play important roles in Drew Wagar's Oolite Saga (Status Quo, Mutabilis, Incursio & Finis). Some of these ships are formidable opponents, installing them may change the game balance.

You forgot Cobra Courier from that list, which Rebecca flies for a while as well. It will not unbalance the game. But Caduceus and SuperCobra may very well do so.

[Commander McLane]

The original question was perhaps just poorly worded. "Ships mentioned in Oolite fiction" would perhaps be better.

As for canon ships, go for the behemoth and galactic navy oxp's

Behemoth yes, Galactic Navy no. As many people here on the boards already know, for me personally GalNav OXP is as far away from canon as you can possibly get. I consider it an abomination for the completely anti-canonical way in which it portrays the navy.

But that's just my personal interpretation of the Oolite canon, and everybody else can have their own interpretation.

[Hans Olo]

The original question was perhaps just poorly worded. "Ships mentioned in Oolite fiction" would perhaps be better.

As for canon ships, go for the behemoth and galactic navy oxp's

Behemoth yes, Galactic Navy no. As many people here on the boards already know, for me personally GalNav OXP is as far away from canon as you can possibly get. I consider it an abomination for the completely anti-canonical way in which it portrays the navy.

But that's just my personal interpretation of the Oolite canon, and everybody else can have their own interpretation.

Hmm.... I haven't read much fiction. What is the more canonical take on the Navy? More distant? Less friendly?

[Smivs]

What is the more canonical take on the Navy?

The only mention of the 'Navy' in Elite and core Oolite is a couple of occassions when 'Her Imperial Majesty's Space Navy' will approach you to help them. This relates to two of the in-built missions that are a part of the core game. There is no physical (visible) presence of them in the Ooniverse at all.

[DaddyHoggy]

I mention the Navy in my fiction (specifically Lazarus) but referring to Navy Asps (MKIIs as per original Elite fiction) and modified Naval Anacondas - heavily armed with turrets and missiles but I think I got this idea from Drew... (Behemoth's do not feature in my Ooniverse)

[Disembodied]

Calliope mentions the Navy, and Sector Command Thirteen being based at Inines in Galaxy 1 ... the only Navy ships referred to though are Asps. There's also a mention of the Thought Police from the Commies OXP, and a Cobra Rapier makes an appearance. Stranglehold features a large ship which is not identified in the text, although it is taken from an existing OXP. Local Midnight in the Vacuum Bar is, I think, just core ships all the way through.

[Switeck]

I have to mention the Cougar/Cat as a very rare NPC ship as a semi-canon Oolite ship. It was in the Commodore 64's version of Elite, but I only saw it maybe 2 or 3 times. Crazy fast, immune to beam/pulse/mining lasers, and didn't show up on radar, so hardly suitable or balanced as a player ship...similar in that regard as the Constrictor.

[DaddyHoggy]

I have to mention the Cougar/Cat as a very rare NPC ship as a semi-canon Oolite ship. It was in the Commodore 64's version of Elite, but I only saw it maybe 2 or 3 times. Crazy fast, immune to beam/pulse/mining lasers, and didn't show up on radar, so hardly suitable or balanced as a player ship...similar in that regard as the Constrictor.

I never did see a cougar in all my time getting to Elite on the C64 version, but I did see it on the BBC Master version (128K, with in-station cut scene post docking...)

[toltesi]

Thanks to everyone who posted...very much appreciated!