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Fighter-Explorers OXP

Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2023 11:15 pm
by Redspear
The core set of player ships don't really include any classic fighters.
    • The Adder is nimble but slow and extremely fragile.
      The Asp is fast and (arguably too) tough but steers like a freighter.
      The Fer de Lance does a pretty good job but costs even more than the Asp, doesn't pitch that well and has... passenger cabins.

      The closest to a fighter is arguably the Moray, a ship that was granted a non-canonical speed boost in oolite. Its design doesn't exactly scream 'fighter' though, does it?
There are two other candidates that were given negative adjustments in translation to oolite: the Krait and the Mamba.

Both lost most of their cargo (and missile in the case of the latter) capacity and gained little else.
Elite didn't need a varied player ship selection but maybe oolite could benefit from one, so if we're going to dock them most of their cargo space then maybe a good excuse would be to grant them a hyperdrive.

2 New Ships:
  • The Krait Explorer
  • The Mamba Explorer

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Reduced energy banks and with a pulse laser by default, they are both more manouverable than an Asp and faster than an Adder.
Priced either side of a Cobra Mk I (which they are both faster than), when well equipped they make servicable couriers, bounty hunters or even pirates. The Mamba also regains it's two missile pylons from elite.

Their other game effect is as NPCs to reduce the firepower of some pirate encounters and (especially) reduce the instances of being chased by Kraits with fuel injectors - the explorer variants are (usually) more inclined to hold fuel in reserve for their hyperdrives.

It's the manouverability that really grants the fighter experience and the hyperdrive that prevents the player from paying for it.
Equip some fuel injectors, missile(s) and a half-decent laser and enjoy 8)

Available from the download manager.

Re: Fighter-Explorers OXP

Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 4:12 pm
by Cholmondely
Now up on our wiki: https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Fighter-Explorers

Could not but notice the discrepancies between the Oolite RS sheets and the data on our wiki pages for the Krait and the Mamba (Cargo Hold: 2TC or 4TC for the Krait?). And there seem to be a plethora of different standards between the in-game Ship Library, the Oolite RS and the wiki pages for judging such things as shields, agility, etc.

It has never really mattered to me (when one's combat skills are lousy, it makes little difference whether one faces the unarmed Krait from the tutorial or an Asp - one still ends up getting marmalised...)

Re: Fighter-Explorers OXP

Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:39 pm
by hiran
Cholmondely wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2023 4:12 pm
Now up on our wiki: https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Fighter-Explorers

Could not but notice the discrepancies between the Oolite RS sheets and the data on our wiki pages for the Krait and the Mamba (Cargo Hold: 2TC or 4TC for the Krait?). And there seem to be a plethora of different standards between the in-game Ship Library, the Oolite RS and the wiki pages for judging such things as shields, agility, etc.

It has never really mattered to me (when one's combat skills are lousy, it makes little difference whether one faces the unarmed Krait from the tutorial or an Asp - one still ends up getting marmalised...)
I guess the reference sheet has been created out of nostalgy. While the keyboard mapping is quite useful, the other information is not. At least to me.
Does anyone really read/use that?

Re: Fighter-Explorers OXP

Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 6:10 pm
by Cholmondely
hiran wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:39 pm
Cholmondely wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2023 4:12 pm
Now up on our wiki: https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/Fighter-Explorers

Could not but notice the discrepancies between the Oolite RS sheets and the data on our wiki pages for the Krait and the Mamba (Cargo Hold: 2TC or 4TC for the Krait?). And there seem to be a plethora of different standards between the in-game Ship Library, the Oolite RS and the wiki pages for judging such things as shields, agility, etc.

It has never really mattered to me (when one's combat skills are lousy, it makes little difference whether one faces the unarmed Krait from the tutorial or an Asp - one still ends up getting marmalised...)
I guess the reference sheet has been created out of nostalgy. While the keyboard mapping is quite useful, the other information is not. At least to me.
Does anyone really read/use that?
Yes! When I downloaded Oolite back in May 2020 and started playing, one of the first things I did (other than seriously study the tutorial) was to print out the OoliteRS and read through it several times (eg. on the London Underground). My copy is now quite dog-eared and coffee-stained!

Re: Fighter-Explorers OXP

Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 7:31 pm
by Redspear
Cholmondely wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2023 4:12 pm
Thank you once again.

hiran wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:39 pm
I guess the reference sheet has been created out of nostalgy.
The krait had a whopping 10TC in elite!

Cholmondely wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2023 6:10 pm
one of the first things I did (other than seriously study the tutorial) was to print out the OoliteRS
Although a veteran elite player, in the early days of my oolite 'career' this was a regular reference for me too (and kind of exciting as I thought it looked fairly polished at the time...)


Just to add... the ultimate authoritative source (for oolite anyway) has to be shipdata.plist I think. It's what all of the documentation is supposed to reflect by design and indeed purpose.

Re: Fighter-Explorers OXP

Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2023 11:50 pm
by Cholmondely
hiran wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2023 5:39 pm
I guess the reference sheet has been created out of nostalgia. While the keyboard mapping is quite useful, the other information is not. At least to me.
Does anyone really read/use that?
Hiran, did you ever read the original Elite manual? It is quite superb (despite Cody's critique). See here: https://wiki.alioth.net/index.php/The_S ... ing_Manual

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