They're heading for the Medical Frigate! <- Click for Link

New Blog Post is up. This time it's all about the Nebulon B, a ship that's just starting to get a bit of love around here, after being the joke to many a Gladiator's punchline. There's been a lot of good discussion up here on how best to use it, so hopefully I got everything in there. Let me know if I'm missing anything.

(Again, full disclosure, normally an Imperial player)

I name all my ships "medical frigates" and paint red crosses over them. That way, I can make excellent propaganda videos on how oppressive the empire is. And I can abuse some peoples morals and slip the warships past defenses.

Yay ethics!

(Okay, now to read the article)

(But do you really think it was a medical frigate? And why would they bring a hospital ship full of wounded into a potentially dangerous warzone?!? They were assaulting the freaking death star! What did you expect to happen Admiral!?!)

The way I figured it, they were probably launching SAR (search and rescue) units from the medical frigate in the middle of the battle to pick up any downed starfighter pilots / escape pods. Faster turn-around time for rescue crews if the evacuation location / definitive medical care was already in the battle!

Actually, fluff has the Redemption as THE medical frigate, and defending it from a TIE Bomber run (with Interceptor Support) appears in the X-Wing book series as a difficult scenario to teach new X-Wing pilots.

incredibly tiny nitpick, but a neb's preferred range to a GSD is anything but close range. Medium range is still peachy, given GSDs don't get blue dice.

As a neb, I certiantly don't want to be in close range of a Glad.

Unless I have a swarm of B's ready to be activated and will shoot twice.

Then I want to be buddy-buddy with that Glad.

incredibly tiny nitpick, but a neb's preferred range to a GSD is anything but close range. Medium range is still peachy, given GSDs don't get blue dice.

It wasn't close range, was it?

Also Long Range is best because you won't be in Close Range after you finish shooting and have to maneuver.

The way I figured it, they were probably launching SAR (search and rescue) units from the medical frigate in the middle of the battle to pick up any downed starfighter pilots / escape pods. Faster turn-around time for rescue crews if the evacuation location / definitive medical care was already in the battle!

Actually, fluff has the Redemption as THE medical frigate, and defending it from a TIE Bomber run (with Interceptor Support) appears in the X-Wing book series as a difficult scenario to teach new X-Wing pilots.

Yeah that training scenario was one of the early missions in the original X-Wing PC game. One that led to much cursing at the stupidity of the allied AI by me when I was young. For some reason the programmers set the mission so the player couldn't issue orders to any of the allied fighters in the area so three of the X-Wings present just sit and watch while the player is running like mad trying to destroy one attack wave then get into position to intercept the second wave before it kills any of the shuttles or the corvette..It w as TIE Fighters escorting TIE Bombers not Interceptors with Bombers in both game and book though.

I'd have sworn it was a Squint that Tycho was flying in the book, but it's been quite a few years and a lot of people borrowing the book to the point where I don't know where it is.

I think I would have like to have seen a bit about the Nebulon Rumba. Beinng the Left Yaw x 2 Right Yaw x 2 side slip it can do. Speed 3 and a Nav Command makes this work well in not just being at the optimum range as shown but staying there for a few turns more.

I'd have sworn it was a Squint that Tycho was flying in the book, but it's been quite a few years and a lot of people borrowing the book to the point where I don't know where it is.

I know in the game it was Fighters and Bombers because I remember being grateful that the creators weren't sadistic enough to make it Interceptors and Bombers. Maybe the book was different. My copy is in the back room and mom needs to wake up earl so I'm not going to risk disturbing her to get it. I'll check tomorrow.

I think I would have like to have seen a bit about the Nebulon Rumba. Beinng the Left Yaw x 2 Right Yaw x 2 side slip it can do. Speed 3 and a Nav Command makes this work well in not just being at the optimum range as shown but staying there for a few turns more.

I'll have to do an article on movement soon.

I recall that mission in the X-Wing PC game...ridiculously tough, essentially had to drop all power to engines, race to the bombers, dumb fire proton torps without missing a single one and then leg it back to the group approaching from the other direction hoping that there was enough energy left in your shields to power your cannons to take them out when you got there.

Was a nice tie in with the Xwing novels to see it appear as a training mission.

Yeah I still find it weird that you could send orders to the shuttles that are part of the transport group but not the fighters in your own squadron. (Yes I know it was cheating but on my first playthrough after sending weeks trying to get by that mission I didn't care.)

Oddly enough I never played the original X-Wing computer game for very long. TIE Fighter though...