UFO:Alien Invasion

General => Tactics => Topic started by: TumbleWeed on February 03, 2008, 04:18:59 pm

Title: Pilots?
Post by: TumbleWeed on February 03, 2008, 04:18:59 pm
Is there a reason to assign a single soldier into an interceptor, as a pilot presumably? Or is this something that hasn't been fully done yet? Stilettos seem to do fine job even when unmanned.
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: kracken on February 03, 2008, 07:06:24 pm
Is there a reason to assign a single soldier into an interceptor, as a pilot presumably? Or is this something that hasn't been fully done yet? Stilettos seem to do fine job even when unmanned.

This is not implemented yet: atm there's no difference whether your stiletto has or not a pilot ;)
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: EuchreJack on February 03, 2008, 07:13:57 pm
Actually, there's a big difference...

Using your soldiers as pilots will exasperate the soldier shortage.  :D
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: Cro on February 05, 2008, 05:47:27 pm
why is there saracen interceptor when stilleto is better?
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: EuchreJack on February 05, 2008, 09:03:55 pm
The saracen is faster (at least is should be) and may have greater range (but I'm not certain on the second part).
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: DaCheetah on February 06, 2008, 11:31:01 am
Nope, turns out its neither.  I've noticed also that Harvesters and Supply Ships run away from my Saracen, but often engage my Saracens.
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: mrwiggles on February 11, 2008, 09:15:44 am
Actually, I find myself using the Stiletto myself more then the larger one. With the same amount of space used for the large hangar, I can have four or so interceptors. I find having them swarm on one target with mass rockets or HIE rounds to be effective so far. If they can converge on the target at once. I generally only use one or two.
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: shevegen on February 14, 2008, 03:55:29 am
I think it would be cool if stats were displayed more easily on the flying aircrafts
so that one does not forget that i.e. this is a "very fast vessel" and that other
one "can take a great many hits" visually
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: Starship_Yard on February 15, 2008, 12:07:04 am
In 2.2 I can store 2 Interceptors of any type in each small hanger.  Haven't had to build any large hangers for Interceptors.  Have found the Saracens to be significantly faster on intercepts than the Stilletos, and longer range.

Brett
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: kracken on February 15, 2008, 08:01:29 am
Haven't had to build any large hangers for Interceptors.

Large hangars are only needed for Dropship.
Title: Saracen size
Post by: Doctor J on February 16, 2008, 03:21:59 pm
Large hangars are only needed for Dropship.

Thanks for clarifying that.  The UFOpedia says the Saracen needs a large hangar, so i guess this could be considered a bug?
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: TroubleMaker on February 16, 2008, 04:10:12 pm
By the way, could naming of aircrafts be implemented, as it already done with personnel and bases?
It should give more convenient control, if I could see "Firebird #1", "Stiletto #2/Russia", "Saracen w/pilot/Africa" etc instead of simple generic names.
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: JonDough on April 07, 2008, 10:26:15 am
Yeah I'd find naming the fighters useful. For me the Saracen works better than the Stiletto too. I only use one fighter per ufo though. I've found it somewhat possible to manoeuvre the crafts manually by sending them aside from the track of an incoming enemy missile. They(enemy missiles) do home in on your interceptor but sometimes you can actually avoid them. It has happened to me a couple of times. I'm not sure but I have a vague memory of the guidance of the hostile missile actually stop when the UFO is shot down...
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: Doctor J on April 07, 2008, 06:32:04 pm
The saracen is faster (at least is should be) and may have greater range (but I'm not certain on the second part).

It is should be on both counts.  The UFOpedia somehow got updated before the actual craft stats did.  In upcoming versions the Saracen will be three times faster and go five times farther than the Stiletto, and will require the larger hangar.  For now, the only reason to use a Saracen is that the 'store' is out of Stilettos.

I think it would be cool if stats were displayed more easily on the flying aircrafts
so that one does not forget that i.e. this is a "very fast vessel" and that other
one "can take a great many hits" visually

You can get an abbreviated readout of craft stats [including speed] by clicking on the craft in the geoscape.  Presumably when craft get hit points that will become part of the display.  Also, i seem to recall reading somewhere that the devs are considering adding a 'tooltips' type feature to the geoscape so that hovering the cursor over a craft will give you information.
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: TroubleMaker on April 08, 2008, 04:28:39 am
I have a vague memory of the guidance of the hostile missile actually stop when the UFO is shot down...
Hmm... let me propose simple explanation.

Self-guided (smart) missiles are more expensive than host-guided "dumb" ones. More... it is a real story.

Somewhere in mid-90th airplane's control systems were compared. USAF's one was built with heavy use of ICs and other microelectronics. Nearby nuclear explosion or another source of heavy EM radiation ruins that electronics into useless handful of silicone and copper. Similar Russian systems were built using special vacuum tubes, whose are immune to EM radiation, or almost insensible to it. (Do not tell me about weakness of a glass and so on - I know it)

As to missiles, smart ones have another drawback: lesser warload - dumb ones MAY have larger a bit load of explosives or jet fuel. Let us imagine that aliens use mostly host-guided missiles - their bionics tactical computers are capable to track multiple targets without degrading of performance. But when tactical computer has been powered off because of shot down craft, the dumb missile becomes even more dumber piece of metal, flying according last given directions. And it may also have self-destruction mechanism, which will blow it after the loss of connection to host just to not harm allies.
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: Doctor J on April 08, 2008, 06:15:59 am
I've found it somewhat possible to manoeuvre the crafts manually by sending them aside from the track of an incoming enemy missile. They(enemy missiles) do home in on your interceptor but sometimes you can actually avoid them. It has happened to me a couple of times. I'm not sure but I have a vague memory of the guidance of the hostile missile actually stop when the UFO is shot down...

On reflection, i think we may be barking up the wrong tree.  On the geoscape we see missiles leaving the UFO and heading towards our interceptors.  However, i think the missile image is being used because we don't have an image for the particle beam, which is the weapon actually being carried on the UFO.  Being a beam, i don't see how it can be guided.  In fact, i've only seen them follow a straight line path.
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: SpartanMarine88 on April 08, 2008, 08:52:45 pm
I would want to be able to name my drop ships too, as i hate accidentally sending our the one with wounded because i clicked the wrong one.
Title: Re: Pilots?
Post by: Captain Bipto on May 14, 2008, 02:06:04 am
Wow. I ditch the stiletto asap and buy me some Saracens.. I gear them up with ecm/targeters and two missile racks.  I prefer sicking at least two saracens on ANY ufo I see.  Their range is awesome too, as long as you have good radar coverage they are nice for long range hits. In one of my earlier games I kept a stiletto for short range attack but mostly to defend the base.