Star Fleet game

[Shane]

I might be talking rubbish but I thought there was a third type of EDF fighter that featured in the series. I'm a little hazy about it but I'll have a look at a few episodes this evening just to try and find proof.Shane.

[Crash]

Ahhh yes forced perspective, that would explain it. So do we actually see those pterodactyl things shoot at all? If so what does their weapons fire look like? I thought those fighters shooting out their noses was a little odd during their little attack run on the Skull, but could it be that they always do that and those cannons on the front are just sensors or whatever? Anyway it doesnt make that much difference in the context of the game (it's only 2D). Brightening images? They look okay to me, it is space after all.Another fighter? Great!Thanks again for all your help, you guys are legends!

[AndyThomas]

I think the Ptero fighters just launch little rockets, as mentioned - no laser effects as such. The torpedo under the hull always seems to stay where it is, but it does look quite missile-y in some of the shots.Shane, kudos to your artist's eye. I've had a look through my grabs and there are indeed three unique EDF fighter styles. The first we see launched from Pluto base. The second is the roving Ocean Fleet that engages the phantom Imperial Fleet. The third is the Mars based astrofighters from episode 6 which also appear (I think, grab wasn't great) in the penultimate episode defending Earth. Although types two and three look similar in passing, there are definitely differences - struts in their intakes horizontal vs vertical and wing tips are different too. Here's a comparison graphic:

[Shane]

Great stuff. I knew I wasn't dreaming.I guess the Pluto Base Defender and AWACS models are for short range combat and recon, while the Mars and Ocean fleets are for longer range engagements maybe?Shane.

[Crash]

Great that's exactly what I need, little rockets - not a bad guess huh?Ah I see what you mean about the other astrofighter, looks absolutely devastating. As for the model (I presume it's a model) It's a really faithful reproduction of what's above it (except from the dish of course). No i really like that new Mars one - it's got more guns that's the main thing.Well done guys I could never have noticed that in a month of Sundays. Right-o I'll leave you in peace now. After my week of putting my "X-Project" on hold due to the unbelieveable amount of work Ive had to do I now shall enjoy a weekend of entirely uninterupted programming.Thank you both so much.

[AndyThomas]

Yup, I'd go with that. The Mars/Ocean types seem like more of an out and out space superiority sort of design while the Pluto/AWACS style ship looks a little older somehow. Also, the size of its tail fins suggest it might be better at in-atmosphere combat, although I think we see both types launch from planetary hangars, so...

[Shane]

Star Fleet Command sends out the "defender" and the "Mars" model fighters from earth based hangers in the final episode, so I guess the Mars model isn't exclusive to Mars. Check out the "launch all fighters" in the Star Fleet vid section on my site.The Mars model is likely to be medium range and the ocean patrol fleet speaks for itself in it's long range capabilities, just as you said Andy.It would appear the Japanese makers put a lot of thought into this, you've got to admire the detail. They could have just stuck with one generic ship that could fly anywhere and eveywhere, but theres a real tactical patern to the military kit used in the show which I really like.The info on this thread would make a great EDF fleet list wouldn't it?Oh yeah on the subject of video games, here's a screenshot to my aborted sequel to Star Fleet Asteroids:It would have been a side scrolling shooter as you can probably tell. The whole of the first level works but there's just no music of effects.Shane.

[AndyThomas]

Heh. "Kewl". R-Typetastic! As I may have mentioned a few weeks back, I've been thinking about giving my ships section in the overview part of SFXB its own section because it's the sort of thing I could ramble about very easily! I'm not sure what I'd call it though - it'd be a sort of Technical Manual I suppose? I would call it just "ships" but I'd aim for something a bit broader than that because there are a number of land vehicles in the show which could also get a mention. There's also a split between military, civilian and support craft as well - and that's just for the EDF! If people would be interested in my having a crack at it, then I might give it a shot...

[Shane]

R Type, cor that was a hard game, I wasted some serious coinage on that machine in the 80's. I think a technical manual style approach would be great. Go for it.Shane.

[AndyThomas]

Ah. It was free on the Amiga!