On 2004-03-08 23:34, plungedjet_01*2RA* wrote:
bomberdreads are now the most useless ship in the game....and I excelled at bombing....but after this attempt...not even going voice what i think about the "gameplay improvement",

On 2004-03-08 23:02, -=~NubMarine~=- wrote:
Was in the metaverse today with a fleet of 20 some odd ships: this is only in the system I was in. After about of Bickering, we finally got a slightly functioning command structure working, and decided to actually attempt to cap a planet.

We were pretty sucessful in removing the UGTO fleet from Ooi in BD. Now the problem was actually capping the planet. Now, I for 1 don't mind a challenge, but this was next to impossible, at least without bringing in 3 or 4 stations and trannys. We initially had a station and a tranny, but we didn't have enough inf, especially with the enemy consistently adding inf to the planet, either by SY spawning and dropping, or by jumping in and dropping. Sooo, we decided to bomb instead.....

After a few initial attempts to bomb the planet with a stream, we kept adding more and more bombers to see if we could tire out the defense bases, you know, business as usual. We kinda overlooked the change that now makes planets rotate, thus making it impossible to tire out the d-bases on 1 side. Thats ok, I enjoy a challenge. So we now decided to attempt to do a mass stack of bombs on the planet. With the new bombing limitations, 1 or 2 bombers can't amass more than 18 mirv bombs per ship, at least with ICC bomber dreads or destroyers (k'luth can pump out 30 with a clavate though). So, heck, we decided to get 4 bombers (3 dreads and 1 dessy), and 4 supplys to attempt this mass stack bombing. thats 8 ships, 8, attempting to bomb 1 planet. This 1 planet happens to have ugto defense bases( no more than 5 or 6), and 2 shield generators.

Total bomb payout was "supposed" to be 4 x 18 bombs per ship = 72 bombs, plus whatever pcms we threw at it. 1 bomber didn't line up with the dreads properly (the dessy), so it was actually only 54 bombs plus 9 pcms. The pcms were mostly shot down by the planet defenses, except for mine which i fired after the d-bases started firing. I'm not sure how many hit, maybe 2. I covered my bombs with my ships so all 18 of my bombs apparently hit. I can't say in any certainty how many of the other ships bombs hit, but the other pilot died trying, so i'm sure a few....

And the end result you ask: the planetary shields never dropped below 80%.....80%! I was in shock. This whole ordeal went on for well over an hour AFTER we had removed the UGTO from the planets proximity.



So the point: What the heck is the point of bombing when 8 ships working together couldn't get through a few plantary shields. In 1.480, a bomber and supply or a well versed solo bombing UGTO command dread pilot could get through a planet with 6 or 7 shields. Too easy, perhaps. But it's damn near impossible now. Especially with the enemy in the area disrupting operations. I know the SY warping will change tomorrow, so i guess it's be a LITTLE better. You know, you'll only need 40 inf or so to take a planet. thats only 4 stations worth.......

Just give us back the old bombing. It was hardly exploitable. It's the classic best option when there are too many inf to cap it with your fleet, especially if you have no FAs on your team at the time. My final point, is with the amount of ships we had and we STILL didn't cap the darn planet by the time I quit. I don't quit easily, trust me, so we were at it for quite a while. 8 players is more than we were ever able to get in the last days of the old 1.480 metaverse, yet we could still get a small group together and bomb an entire system to dust. It was one of the most fun parts of the game the way it was, and I just wish it was still like that.

Anyone else that agrees with me or has a better idea, please add on at will.

On 2004-03-08 23:02, -=~NubMarine~=- wrote:

...snipped...

So the point: What the heck is the point of bombing when 8 ships working together couldn't get through a few plantary shields. In 1.480, a bomber and supply or a well versed solo bombing UGTO command dread pilot could get through a planet with 6 or 7 shields. Too easy, perhaps. But it's damn near impossible now. Especially with the enemy in the area disrupting operations. I know the SY warping will change tomorrow, so i guess it's be a LITTLE better. You know, you'll only need 40 inf or so to take a planet. thats only 4 stations worth.......

Just give us back the old bombing. It was hardly exploitable. It's the classic best option when there are too many inf to cap it with your fleet, especially if you have no FAs on your team at the time. My final point, is with the amount of ships we had and we STILL didn't cap the darn planet by the time I quit. I don't quit easily, trust me, so we were at it for quite a while. 8 players is more than we were ever able to get in the last days of the old 1.480 metaverse, yet we could still get a small group together and bomb an entire system to dust. It was one of the most fun parts of the game the way it was, and I just wish it was still like that.

Anyone else that agrees with me or has a better idea, please add on at will.