So I searched the forums for anyone who plays(ed) Star Fleet Battles. Glad to see there are a few of you folks about :). So, I thought I’d throw a Wild Weasel module into the mix. It is a fighter based module that drinks a lot of juice and is expensive, only is just a little quicker and more accurate than the cruiser version (my logic being that this module is specifically designed and uniquely specialized). I’ve play tested it a bit and it seems to work pretty well IMO. Your mileage may vary.
IMPORTANT SAFETY TIP: The Wild Weasel module occasionaly makes GSB crash on my Dell Studio 1537 laptop. However, it works fine on my desktop computer. I apologize in advance if the Weasel makes your GSB crash. No warranty is expressed or implied. Delete the .txt file, any fighters you created with the WW module and make your own module if you like the idea.
Speaking of SFB, I’m working on a Pseudo-Fighter mod and play-testing a low-yield, one-time shot plasma for fighters. So far, a fire interval of 20000 seems to be the way to go. More news as events warrant.
Lastly, I am a CG artist. I own and, (arguably) more importantly, know how to use LightWave, Softimage and Maya. While I’m not in a position just now to do a whole lot of mods, I’d be willing to help folks translate models and textures from one program to another. Send me a PM if you like.
Polygonwrangler, welcome to the forum. It’s a pleasure to have another person here who knows his Hydrans from his Lyrans.
The WW is a very powerful piece of hardware. I look forward to seeing how your implementation of it functions within GSB. Thank you for sharing this mod with us!
Archduke, my WW module seems to take care of about 20-35% of incoming projectiles depending on whether the commands are set for escort or formation. Of course, WW fighters tend to be destroyed pretty quickly because of the opportunity cost of the module.
And I always deployed Hydrans because Hellbore was such a cool name for a weapon :).
heh. i already know the cause of the crash. you need to change the “Name” line in the .txt file to some like “Fighter_Wild_Weasel”. otherwise you get a crash. Archduke had the same problem with his federation dreadnought.
20,000 isn’t nearly long enough. I have a “long lance torpedo” mod I have messed with and my delay is set to at least 120,000 (it’s not in front of me) and they fire multiple times per engagement (about every 4-5 minutes I think).
The trouble is that weapons do not seem to start the battle warmed up, but rather randomized. Watch a weapon that is slow firing. Select it to see the range circle, and see that it starts to warm up only when a target comes into range. With a fighter, this would be very bad.
We really need the ability to limit the number of shots on some weapons.
20,000 was working pretty well for me since fighters tend to get shot down relatively quickly, tater; but yeah, I do agree that there could be a little more subtlety to the weapons with load-outs and arming etc. That’s just me though, I’d have no problem micro-managing a fleet. Maybe it could become an option in a later update.
Yeah, I hadn’t considered fighter lifespan—set it too long so it actually only fires once, and it might never even fire the first time. PITA.
A WW fighter is a cool idea, though. Another thing might be to make larger fighter bays to do CVs better. The key would be that the biggest CA should be able to support 80-100 fighters, and still have slots left for at the very least defensive weapons.
I’m thinking of building an Space Control Ship (Super CV) mesh in Lightwave or Softimage (I hate Maya’s modeler) and splitting the loadout GUI into fore and aft sections as an experiment/proof of concept. I’m just not sure how off balance the gameplay might become with fighter super-swarms.
Proper wild weasel modules for ships, or even wild weasel drone/shuttlecraft are on my ‘todo’ list, and have been for weeks.
Whether they end up in a patch or a sequel or an expansion is anyone’s guess for now.
A proper Wild Weasel would attack active sensors specifically on enemy ships (radar-seeking missiles—HARMs—being their primary weapon). Not really sure how this would work in GSB.
FWIW, there is no reason at all in space combat for active sensors, except, perhaps, at very short ranges for PD (all energy generated by ships has to be radiated into space one way or another, so the passive (mostly IR) signature for ships making gigwatts of power is huge).
I can see calling a fighter-based guidance scrambler a Wild Weasel, though, even if that’s not technically what a WW actually is.
Archduke had the same problem with his federation dreadnought.