OT for Gadge - I don't know if the GOG rerelease of X-Wing/Tie Fighter are available in the UK, but I've been playing both on Windows 7 with my friend's old joystick (and sucking a lot, hah, but I have improved quite a bit). It's pretty great.

Yep its the version im playing now (1998). its a real pig remapping the controller as the controls it *thinks* you should have are bonkers when you plug in a controller (xbox style controller makes it a doddle to play as you've got so many button option to hand you hardly ever have to touch the keys).

I've reset it for left stick flgith control, left triggers are throttle up and down, right triggers are weapons related. Target locking, shield and power toggles etc are you 'triangle/circle/square or ABXY type buttons' not started mapping out the Dpad yet as its time consuming as i like to change one or two then test them. I'm considering mappling the left stick for external views or left right and back view but i never used them before so i think its a waste.. might be better using it to toggle laser/shield power for later ships.

I wonder if they even really have lasers. I mean I suspect people just assume because it's a Tie it has the trademark lasers under the cockpit and never really look close enough to see they aren't there. I know I didn't.

I suspect they weren't really supposed to have lasers in the first place and it makes more sense that way. Imperials are in love with the "disposable" fighter idea. Ties don't have anything but what they absolutely need to dogfight. It only makes sense that Bombers don't have anything but what they absolutely need to perform an attack/bomber role. And that's a pilot, flight and the ability to drop bombs or fire missiles. Why jack up the cost with superfluous lasers on a bomber?

It's sorta the F-4 Phantom thing in space.

starting at 3:00

Yeah - the lasers in the game are clearly meant to be on the wings - problem being, there's no evidence of them in any model or illustration I've seen (other than the one linked in this thread, which I still think is either fudged or not very clear).

I think it makes sense for the Bomber to have lasers if you take any part of the Legends into account - the primary weapon of ship to ship combat is lasers, and the beefed up cockpit of the bomber can certainly support it.

As I said before, the central pylon laser arrangement makes most sense to me, especially if you take into account the arguments people have had in this thread for centralizing the lasers in one place, and the rotational element.

I think it makes sense for the Bomber to have lasers if you take any part of the Legends into account - the primary weapon of ship to ship combat is lasers, and the beefed up cockpit of the bomber can certainly support it.

Yeah but bombers weren't meant for dogfighting. Imps have Tie/ln and Interceptors for that. Bombers exist because they wanted something to fire missiles or drop bombs.

I don't think there's quite enough non-Legends material to indicate that the Empire envisioned it as a bomber to the exclusion of dogfighting capabilities.

It could be a module in the port fuselage. The laser cannons are moved into posistion when either missiles or torpedos are not loaded.

So, they shoot from the hole in the front where the ordinance fires from.

Ppl... plz ...

Just watch this video

That would be a pretty cool way it would work - but possibly a bit tricky with the rotational issue mentioned before.

I did check out Bombers in Tie Fighter, and I'm not completely convinced - after all, the stats of all these ships change depending on the game and balance needs.