Fighter-Explorers

Krait

Mamba

Rejigs of the Krait and the Mamba creating fighter-explorer variants for them

Overview

The core set of player ships don't really include any "classic fighters".

The Adder is nimble but slow and extremely fragile.

The Asp is fast and (arguably too) tough but steers like a freighter.

The Fer de Lance does a pretty good job but costs even more than the Asp, doesn't pitch that well and has... passenger cabins.

The closest to a fighter is arguably the Moray, a ship that was granted a non-canonical speed boost in Oolite. Its design doesn't exactly scream 'fighter' though, does it?

There are two other candidates that were given negative adjustments in translation to Oolite: the Krait and the Mamba.

Both lost most of their cargo (and missile in the case of the latter) capacity and gained little else.

Elite didn't need a varied player-ship selection but maybe Oolite could benefit from one, so if we're going to dock them most of their cargo space then maybe a good excuse for doing so would be to grant them a hyperdrive.

2 New Ships:

• The Krait Explorer
• The Mamba Explorer

Reduced energy banks and with a pulse laser by default, they are both more manouverable than an Asp and faster than an Adder.

Priced either side of a Cobra Mk I (which they are both faster than), when well equipped they make serviceable couriers, bounty hunters or even pirates. The Mamba also regains it's two missile pylons from Classic Elite.

Their other game effect is as NPCs to reduce the firepower of some pirate encounters and (especially) reduce the instances of being chased by Kraits with fuel injectors - the explorer variants are (usually) more inclined to hold fuel in reserve for their hyperdrives.

It's the manouverability that really grants the fighter experience and the hyperdrive that prevents the player from paying for it.

Equip some fuel injectors, missile(s) and a half-decent laser and enjoy!

Download

Through the in-game Expansions Manager or from here: File:Oolite.oxp.redspear.fighter explorers.oxz

Links

• BB Thread (2023)
• Author: Redspear