Mad_Nordmann Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 After having played for a while I've noticed some discrepancies in the UFO detection size. -Please note, the size (small, medium) is based on sizes as seen in the initial detection message. The comparison size is based on the size of the UFO in relation to each other in the Air Combat screen. -At first I encountered the scout, labeled small. -As it should be, the scout is a small ship. -Then I met the fighter, size medium. Ok, it's a bit larger than the scout, although not a whole lot. -Along came the larger scout, still labeled small. Almost the same size as the fighter. At what aprox. size does it jump from small to medium? -Send my interceptors out after the next medium ship; it's a corvette and it's a lot larger than the fighter! While the fighter (medium) is almost the same size as my planes the corvette (medium) could swallow my planes and still have room for desert. There is a much larger jump in size from the (medium) fighter to the (medium) corvette, than from the (small) scout to the (medium) fighter. -Then I see a medium ship with two small escorts. Intercept: It's a (medium) corvette and two (small) fighters. Why are the fighters labeled small when they are escorts and medium when they come alone? Are there two different UFOs named fighters, one small and one medium? If we can put numbers to the sizes, I can imagine them looking something along these lines (I'm at work now so I can't accurately compare the sizes): F17 - Size 1, baseline MiG32 - ~1,2 just larger than the F17 Scout - ~1,5 Just a bit larger than the MiG - Labeled small Large scout - ~1,8 A small step up from the scout - Labeled small Fighter - ~2 Another small step up - Labeled small if escort, labeled medium if alone Corvette - ~ 5? Huge step up from the fighter - Labeled medium Has anyone else thought about the jump in size from the fighter to the corvette, while still being in the medium category? Sending out a flight of MiGs to shoot down what you think is a corvette turns out to be way overkill if the ship you find is a fighter (both fitting into medium). This could all make more sense when the bigger ships appear and they turn out to be huge! But seen from the perspective of the xenonauts as they are classifying the new arrivals into their airspace, I would have put the corvette up one size class from the fighter. If I'm decoding my radar display and I see a blob maybe five times larger than the fighter, fighter being comparable in size to a large transport plane, I would caution my pilots that there is something larger out there this time. Also, if the sizes of UFOs reported by radar operators is based on the comparison between all the alien ships, from the smallest scout to the largest battleship, fitting them into predetermined categories, this would mean that the xenonauts know the sizes of all aliens ships in orbit already. Maybe we could have a comparison chart pointing out the sizes of ships fitting into each category, the same one the radar operators must have? Small being from X to Y in diameter, medium from Z to B, large from This to That and so on. That way we could easily tell what kind of ship to expect. Of course, after having played a few games you'd know anyway, but for the new player and the realism of the game it would be practical and make sense. The chart could maybe be a research project available from the start of the game. Before it's complete we just get told that there is a UFO out there? Or could the size of the reported UFO be based on the UFOs encountered before? - At first we encounter the scout and label it small as it is roughly the size of our interceptors. When the Fighter arrive we label it medium as it is a bit larger than the scout. When the corvette arrives it's labeled large, as it is a lot larger than the fighter. When the next, larger UFO arrives and is common, it takes over the classification large and the corvette and fighter are bumped down a class (to medium and small), showing that they are less of a threat than the new arrivals, and in comparison more fitting into a lower class of ship. Maybe the most confusing of it all, with the system of today, is that fighters fall into both the small and medium categories depending on their role. Come alone and it's medium, but act as an escort it's small? Is this as it was intended or is it a bug? If the size of ships fitting into the medium category can span from the fighter to the corvette, and maybe beyond, I sure don't want to meet the biggest ship in the large or huge categories! It could be just me thinking about this, and in all fairness it's a minor issue (if one at all) in an otherwise great game! Just my two cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 -At first I encountered the scout, labeled small. -As it should be, the scout is a small ship.-Then I met the fighter, size medium. Ok, it's a bit larger than the scout, although not a whole lot. -Along came the larger scout, still labeled small. Almost the same size as the fighter. At what aprox. size does it jump from small to medium? "Medium" was referring to the Corvette, not the fighter. Escorts aren't even classified as they never appear alone. Only the ship they're guarding matters. So scouts are small, the corvette is medium, all is well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad_Nordmann Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 I think you misunderstood what I meant. A fighter by itself is described as medium size. A corvette by itself is described as medium size. A corvette flying with two fighters for escort is classified as: Main ship: Medium, Escorts: small, small. So when the fighter is flying alone and when the fighter is acting as escort the classification of its size is different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Fighters shouldn't be able to fly alone iirc but if you did encounter one and it was medium then it would be a typo/bug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad_Nordmann Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 I've had fighters swarming all over the world, all by themselves. It got so bad I ignored all medium ships for weeks as the fighters either got destroyed or crashed into sea, no matter where how far from the sea they were (reported as a bug). First time I encountered the corvette was when I saw a medium UFO with escorts and got curious as to why the fighters had scout escorts.. And realized it was a corvette with fighter escort. That's also when I started wondering why fighters are both classed as medium and small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPyro Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 In the last build I played (9.1) solo fighters turned up all the time; it's an aerial superiority mission I think, as the moment I launched aircraft the UFO dived straight towards me. Yeah, it's probably just a typo somewhere. Maybe flag it in the Bug Reports section as that way Matthew the QA guy is more likely to see it and add it to the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad_Nordmann Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 Ok, then it probably is a bug. I've made a new thread in the bug reports section regarding the fighter size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorlom Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Also, if the sizes of UFOs reported by radar operators is based on the comparison between all the alien ships, from the smallest scout to the largest battleship, fitting them into predetermined categories, this would mean that the xenonauts know the sizes of all aliens ships in orbit already. Mad_Nordman: in the iceland incident the humans already encounter an alien ship described as "big as a battleship" (iirc) So there is an Idea of atleast one size that humans are expecting from the aliens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad_Nordmann Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 Ah, thanks Gorlom, I realize that. Are the humans assuming that the ship from the Iceland incident are the largest ships the aliens are bringing? And thusly classifying it as huge/large, and everything else based on that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorlom Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Dunno, but you can allways class even larger ships as something bigger then "large". "XXL" perhaps? =P "Very large"? "enormus" "City size? "the aproximate size of Texas" "Sun eclipsing" "small moon"... "mothership-sized/class" would be the only classification you can't top that way since it denotes the largest vessel in the fleet/armada. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gauddlike Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 If you read the first bit of research it shows that the alien fleet has been spotted and different sizes of ship have been identified. Individual ships or ship types have probably not been picked out though. The fighters should definitely be classed as small sized contacts though, I would assume that's a bug when they show as medium. It is likely to be a left over from an earlier build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 Yup I noticed this myself when trying to balance the early game. It's a bug, hopefully one we can fix for the next release. Not being able to tell the difference between fighters and corvettes is annoying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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