Wondering which Terran ship to get after the Katana [Albion Prelude]

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Fenris321
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Wondering which Terran ship to get after the Katana [Albion Prelude]

Post by Fenris321 » Wed, 4. Nov 15, 17:44

I'm playing the Terran Commander start which starts you off in the Katana and I'm ready for an upgrade. From my experience (which is not much for Terran Ships, this is my first real try at playing Terrans) the Katana seems to do pretty well against other M6's with it's low profile, 5 x 200 MJ of shields (finally :)), and the fact that I think it may be possible to fire all weapons indefinitely. The down side; I absolutely hate having the forward weapons spaced so far apart. Against fighters this is a real pain as most of my misses come from having half the weapons fire just to the right of the fighter and the other half fire just to the left of the fighter. So a lot of times I find myself firing just off to one side of the fighter to hit it depending on range.

The Springblossom looks pretty awesome on paper and I will probably eventually pick one up, but from what I've read it looks as though the weapons on the Springblossom are spaced even further apart than those on the Katana. So for now the Springblossom is out.

So now I'm looking at the Vidar and the Vali. I like the extra turret coverage on the Vali and the extra 200 mj shield. But I'm leaning towards the Vidar because of the forward fire power, more speed, much better steering, lower price, and slightly bigger cargo hold.

I should mention at this time that all of my experience with Terran ships (other than the Katana) comes from the wiki, so if some statements about ships are off ... blame the wiki :D.

From looking at the wiki it does appear as though I'll eventually need Matter/Anti-Matter launchers and a good supply of ammo if I choose the Vidar. I am running the Terran Revitalization Project mod, so hopefully buying ammo wont be a problem and if it is I'll just make some factories (which I'll probably do regardless).

Well, after writing this out and proofing it to the best of my ability it appears as though I've already chosen the Vidar :D. But like I said almost all of my Terran ship experience comes from the wiki, so any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jimmy C
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Post by Jimmy C » Wed, 4. Nov 15, 17:55

As a longtime Springblossom user, I can tell you that the weapons spacing on that ship won't be a problem as long as you have

a. aim assist on.
b. the target is at least 1km away.
c. the prototype SSCs installed in all gun slots.

For doing anything significant in Terran space, this ship is essential.

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Earth Ultimatum IV.
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Post by Earth Ultimatum IV. » Wed, 4. Nov 15, 19:26

Personally I used the Katana for most of the time in X3TC. Only until I jumped to the Osaka which was the endgame, haven't used it for too long.
Because it's simply a great ship. Beautiful too.

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Morkonan
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Post by Morkonan » Thu, 5. Nov 15, 03:46

I'm on my first play-through of AP, but am very familiar with X3TC ships. (I think there have been some changes I am probably not aware of.)

The Vidar, at least in X3TC, is almost "overpowered." Some people avoid it for that fact. If it's similarly ranked in stats in AP, then you can't fail with it as a choice. But, you'll need to be sure to secure a source of MAML ammo for it's main firepower.

The Springblossom is just below the Vidar in desirability for an M6. It's real bonus is its speed and a nice cargo hold. In X3TC, a Springblossom was never a bad choice. However, a Vidar is more capable of taking out capital ships, if that's your thing. Otherwise, you'll have to work more on your dodging skills and leave no room for error when avoiding turret fire.

For myself, the Vidar is my favorite ship in X3TC. Relatively fast, decent cargo space, outstanding firepower and great shielding. In my Katana (am also starting out as a Terran Commander in AP) I'm impressed with its durability, but less than enthusiastic about my current firepower. (Gotta upgrade from the starting loadout, yet.)

Don't forget your missile loadout capabilities, either. (This might be the decision point you need.) The Vidar can carry the Wraith missile, the Springblossom can not. Wraith missiles are scary-effective extremely long-range heat-seeking swarm missiles. They are deadly against large, slow, ships. They are perfectly deadly when fired with a protective screen of Poltergeists, to draw anti-missile turret fire.

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Zaitsev
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Post by Zaitsev » Thu, 5. Nov 15, 11:06

The only significant changes between TC and AP is that the hulls are thicker in AP and that M6 weapon generators got a rather significant boost. I also think steering was improved a bit, but it's been so long since I played anything vanilla that I can't say for sure.

Sidetracking aside, if you can get a reliable supply of MAML ammo I would definitely recommend the Vidar. The M/AM projectiles are a bit slow, so hitting fighters take some practice (or some help from auto-aim), but if you plan on going up against capitals the Vidar will truly be a force to be reckoned with. If you're a decent pilot there are very few things you can't kill in a Vidar, and I have routinely gone up against M7s and reduced them to dust, by lingering at the edge of my weapons range and blasting away with my MAMLs.
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