[X3:AP] Griffin Sentinel Turret Coverage

[Klord]

In all my previous X3 ventures, I ended up flying a Hyperion almost all the time (after capping one of course). Its a perfect player ship! Fast for an M6, good weapon choices (except for rear turrets) and generators, excellent shielding and it can dock 2 fighters! What else do one need?

But this time around, warming up for FL. I decided to try Griffin Sentinel as my player ship. This is the first time I tried Griffin and have to say I am impressed. Its reasonably fast, excellent shielding, can dock a small wing of fighters and heck it is small as an M6! Im loving it.

Only worry I have is, it doesn't have side turrets, it seems, those pesky fighters sometimes escape the wrath of my flak cannons. I tried to check whether the top and bottom turrets are capable of firing at side targets. But I simply cannot comprehend it.

Enough ranting.
My query is, is there any tool or site or something which shows turret coverage of specific ships? So I can rest easy and fine tune my Griffin with Pandora boxes without any worries in my head. I remember I toyed with something like that (an editor or something), but cant remember exactly where.

Thanking in advance. .. ...

[Alan Phipps]

Turret coverage display is a function in Exogenesis' excellent 3D Models and Stats Viewer here but I cannot recall if it were ever properly updated for X3AP or not.

[Klord]

There seem to be a workaround to get the mini app work on AP. It involves copying game files to addon folder. Will that tag my save game as modified? Im trying an unmodified game this time to complete achievements.

[Alan Phipps]

No, the viewer itself shouldn't mark game/saves as modified (you can try it and check anyway as the viewer is easily removed and any unlikely affected saves could be deleted).

I do recall that its performance in X3AP even when correctly positioned may have issues with some 'newer' X3AP ships not in X3TC (maybe M7C for example?). I think that is why the author has not declared it suitable for X3AP in the linked S&M thread.

[Klord]

Noted. Will try it out then. Thanks.

[Fulgrymm]

Question, would the TC version of the Griffon give useful data wrt turrets? Just in case it doesn't work for AP.

[Klord]

Griffin was actually available in that app. Probably the TC version. I think its more or less same as AP version. Isnt it?

[Fulgrymm]

TC Griffon is the same as AP Griffon Sentinel, yes.

[Klord]

Then my problem is solved. Thanks.

[Pol8]

I've been using the Griffon as a player ship in both TC and AP, and I've never had an issue with lacking FAA coverage. I run 2X FAA up, down and back, and it covers the whole ship quite nicely, including the front. The TC/AP laser gen is large enough to power the FAA in a combat scenario with no problems. Anything that "threads the needle" through the small side gap will invariably pull into a fire zone as it ends the attack run, and will promptly get obliterated. The biggest issue is not fighters getting in through the side, but heavy fighters taking a long(compare to a Cerberus, Deimos et..) time to kill. However, because you're so small and fast, anything that gets through will be missing a good chunk of it's shots, and just tie up the guns for a bit as they chew through the bigger hulls in AP. My FAA is set to a custom command in AP to engage missile first, and then fighters. With some careful flying, I've been able to ignore missile barrages from bombers and missile frigates. My front turret is set to 2X CIG/2X CFA, and those do a nice job of hitting hard and covering the very front of the ship.

Congrats on being converted to the Griffon line! It seems to be a low-key popular player ship, that few people mention for some reason. Shame it got nerfed in FL, but I expect to keep using it.

[Klord]

Absolutely. As you said, the Griffon is the pinnacle of anti fighter warfare. Its turret coverage is excellent and it got above average laser energy and regen to sustain the fire for the most part.

I use it on FL as well. I wish for that missing 1 GB shielding as speed and steering can be tuned indefinitely through crates.

[Le Boron Chétif]

Another Griffon fan reporting in!

I did something a bit dodgy and used the initial weapon transfer glitch to install 8 GC on mine (cockpit + front turret). Interestingly, the 1.1 update removed the GC from the cockpit, but not from the turret! So this leaves me with the following setup: 4 CIG (cockpit), 4 GC (front turret), 6 FAA (sides and rear). This combined with a speed of 405m/s and 9rpm, it's *really* fun to fly. The 4 GC make it possible to deal with Ks and Js without too much hassle (I cleaned up a Xenon sector without even having to fly back and forth to regenerate shield, though there was no I around), and the cargo bay is big enough to contain ample ammo and energy cells.

To make it perfect, I wanna build myself an escort of 9 Spitfyres (as the only fighters that can match the speed of my Griffon), but haven't found the blueprints yet...

[Edit] Oops, I thought I was in the FL section, sorry, not relevant to AP then! (Though I also did fly a Griffon as main ship in AP )

[Klord]

What would be the best M3 for IS battles?

I have heard that even though the Spitfires are fast, AI doesnt handle them well.
Im looking for a small fighter escort for Pteranodon.
Thinking of going for Fenrir, Falcons or Aemon Prototypes. I dont like to go through the trouble of replacing lost fighters constantly, I am just looking for a durable fighter who can fend off other M3s as Ptera is terrible at dealing with fighters.

[Le Boron Chétif]

So, for OOS I would recommend whatever has the highest shielding. For IS though, I guess you'd want a mix of good shielding and powerful frontal weapons. The IA tends to shoot in short bursts so generator may not be that important, nor cargo space. But whatever you choose, you'll have casualties or repairs to do after every real battle. I would probably go for Fenrir, or Eclipse Prototype (assuming they can be replicated..) / Notus with full PBG. Best is to try and see!