Pumpkinhead Posted July 18, 2004 Share Posted July 18, 2004 I just realised something that made me consider just how crap the Skyranger is: It can't even out-run the setting sun! It takes roughly 900 knots to match the speed of the setting/rising sun, and the Skyranger's max. speed is only 760. It reminded me of the days when I was just starting out in UFO and would race for a ground mission, hoping to reach it while there was still some sunlight, yet the stupid Skyranger went so damned slow that it was night by the time I got there. I really hated when that happened Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faskalia Posted July 18, 2004 Share Posted July 18, 2004 Totally agreed. And the only reasen to build a lightning: Its fast enough, to take you to a mission, during daytime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlakSpek Posted July 18, 2004 Share Posted July 18, 2004 But the must Skyranger has in the Lightning is the fuel capacity. The Lightning is always out of fuel before reaching the destination. Is for that, that I directly pass form Skyranger to Avenger. All others is lost of time, money and Elerium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jman4117 Posted July 18, 2004 Share Posted July 18, 2004 The Skyranger is great, you just gotta get the timing right. Crash sites and terror sites will stay as long as something is intercepting them. If you can't make it til after dark, send an interceptor or two out to buy a little time. As for the landed UFOs, they don't stay around for more than a few hours, so not much point in waiting for the sun to come out if it's near your base or even getting a fast ship like the Avenger to get to it if it is on the other side of the world. And the best part.....FREE FUEL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkinhead Posted July 19, 2004 Author Share Posted July 19, 2004 The OSG says: Although each case is slightly different, the following list shows the typical amount of time each type of ground assault site remains on the map: Crash: 1-4 daysLanding: 4-12 hrs (highly variable)Terror Site: 4-10 hrs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NKF Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 Speed isn't everything. The Skyranger's not fast, but that's all it's really bad at. It's still a very reliable ship and will always be ready to launch. - NKF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JellyfishGreen Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 NKF has, of course, sent a "flying brick" Skyranger in as a damage soak/decoy while Interceptors attacked a battleship. Truly versatile... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 Don't forget that the Skyranger has the second best fuel economy of all the X-COM ships! (First comes the Avenger, followed closely by the Skyranger). The thing that sucks about the Skyranger is the speed! When you need to get to a site ASAP the Skyranger takes too long to refuel. The Avenger uses less fuel and therefore refuels faster. It also has blazing speed and acceleration for getting to that site before it disappears or falls into darkness! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox Posted July 20, 2004 Share Posted July 20, 2004 760 knots is pretty good for an aircraft carrying 14 heavily equipped soldiers and all their gear, in such a relatively small craft, that can stay in the air for as long as it can. Not to mention it can handle holding 3 mini-tanks. Don't forget this craft was designed off of pre-existing Earth technology, no advanced alien stuff. Height of human engineering. I use the Skyranger a lot in my games. I usually keep about 3 'Ranger squads throughout the world at all times. If the Elerium is running short, just use Skyrangers. Remember as long as a terror site, UFO crash site or landing site is targetted by a craft (preferably a slow skyranger), the site WILL NOT disappear. So if you are ever waiting for an opportune time to strike a site, just have a couple of craft go back and forth targetting, but not landing. One must always be kept in the air. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 Remember as long as a terror site, UFO crash site or landing site is targetted by a craft (preferably a slow skyranger), the site WILL NOT disappear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NKF Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 If there's one trait about the aliens I've always liked is that they're very polite and won't start opening fire on the civilians until you arrive. So, they'll wait patiently as long as they know a ship is on its way and won't complain. But they do have their limits. At least while a ship is on its way, your arrival is tentative. If you find out that your enemy's ships have decided to head back home after waiting for several days, well, you'd get ticked off too! - NKF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 Aliens may be polite before the mission starts, but they are a real pain in the arse during the mission! They are like a bunch of ill-mannered soccer hooligans vying to pick a fight wherever and whenever possible. Only difference: these alien hooligans have Heavy Plasmas! I'll be staying home for the next World Cup game if aliens are ever invited to watch in the stands! He He! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomb Bloke Posted July 24, 2004 Share Posted July 24, 2004 I noticed that terror sites (and indeed, any other mission type) will not disappear whilst troops are on the way, but concerning the time the terror mission will stay on the map; It doesn't seem to be on a timer, as specially timed. The aliens seem to like starting the mission at dusk; and then they leave as soon as dawn breaks. Which means that if you just send the Skyranger that way without any thought, you're near guarentied to be fighting in the dark. The solution is to work out how long it takes to send the skyranger certain distances. Wait untill near morning, then send the ranger off. With any luck, it'll arrive in the middle of the day. If the terror mission is a long distance away, though, it might pay to send the ranger immediatly, as delaying it might end up with a night mission anyway - but on the following night. Given that there is no real urgency to get to the missions, the only real factor of importance is whether it is day or night, it seems more practical to learn the timing of the skyranger then to build something else. You only really need craft speed for intercepts. Given my bad luck concerning elerium over the last few games (hardly enough to build any flying armor!), I generally build an avenger, a bunch of flying armor, and then throw them in cold storage till I'm off to Cydonia. For the rest of the entire game, I use Skyrangers and Interceptors. It seems to work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JellyfishGreen Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 If there's one trait about the aliens I've always liked is that they're very polite and won't start opening fire on the civilians until you arrive. So, they'll wait patiently as long as they know a ship is on its way and won't complain.Alternatively maybe they're rampaging through the city, block by block, and the local militia only set up a defensive perimeter when the Skyranger arrives. As per SOP, the Ranger sets down in the middle of the block currently under attack. However many citizens were mindblasted or killed before you arrive is not actually known, but the streets ARE pretty empty by the time you arrive. The lack of cars is a little unrealistic, though. Still can't rationalize that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neorapsta Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 The lack of cars is a little unrealistic, though. Still can't rationalize that one. Maybe its taken away as scrap for toothpicks or something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 Bomb Bloke Posted on Jul 24 2004, 04:32 AM The solution is to work out how long it takes to send the skyranger certain distances. Wait untill near morning, then send the ranger off. With any luck, it'll arrive in the middle of the day. For those of us playing the game without reloading this could be a problem. You would have to know when the Terror mission starts and how long it lasts to act appropriately. In order to guarantee a mission in full daylight, you might have to send the Skyranger out hours before the site is detected! This is good advise: get to know your craft. Well. Really well. My advise? When dealing with Skyrangers, allow for plenty of time. Always accept the possibility that getting to a site within daylight hours just may not be feasible. And be prepared when you have to go on a night mission. Bring along Electroflares and incendiary ammunition to turn darkness into light. Bomb Bloke Posted on Jul 24 2004, 04:32 AM If the terror mission is a long distance away, though, it might pay to send the ranger immediatly, as delaying it might end up with a night mission anyway - but on the following night. According to the OSG, Terror missions only last from between 4 to 10 hours total. If a delayed mission on the following night would be possible, the Terror mission would be around a minimum of 28 hours! (24+4=28) Assuming a particular terror site sticks around for 4 hours, you could gain some daylight by waiting an hour or so to send out the Skyranger. Those 4 hours could work in your favor: by turning dawn into daylight, or against you: by turning dusk into night. It might also have no effect: either darkness 4 hours later, or daylight 4 hours later. One problem remains. This is still a guessing game no matter how well you know your craft. You may know it will take the Skyranger exactly 5 hours to reach a particular terror site. And getting to any spot on the globe will require a maximum of about 14 hours with a Skyranger. But, you will not know if the terror site is only slated to be around for 4 hours - in which case the site is gone by the time you get there! This can't be right, can it? There may be terror missions you cannot get to, simply because your Skyranger is too slow. Has anyone not been able to assault a terror mission because by the time you got there with the Skyranger the site is gone? I'll have to test this out sometime to see if this is possible. In any case, the game should give you some chance of getting to a site if you send out the assault craft right away. Shouldn't it? Maybe the time a terror site stays around depends on how close your nearest base is, and what landing craft are stationed there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zager Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 One problem remains. This is still a guessing game no matter how well you know your craft. You may know it will take the Skyranger exactly 5 hours to reach a particular terror site. And getting to any spot on the globe will require a maximum of about 14 hours with a Skyranger. But, you will not know if the terror site is only slated to be around for 4 hours - in which case the site is gone by the time you get there! You're forgetting that a terror site will not disappear as long as it has been selected as a destination of a craft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zombie Posted July 29, 2004 Share Posted July 29, 2004 Oops. Sorry, I did forget about that! So in reality, the terror mission will remain "active" as long as a ship is being sent there. Like Fox said, just keep sending different craft to the terror site. When daylight nears, send out your "Official" assault craft and clear out the mission in broad daylight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomb Bloke Posted July 30, 2004 Share Posted July 30, 2004 I don't care what the OSG says, if day breaks over an untargeted terror site, it will dissapear. I don't reload! If I misjudge the flight times and end up with a night mission, so be it. I always send electroflares for that reason. But it is quite possible to send a Skyranger alone to any terror site, and to have it arive during daylight. Practise makes perfect. Night terror missions aren't that bad anyway, unless you have to deal with psi. If all you have to worry about is floaters, mutons, or snakemen, then it's a breeze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Photon Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 Sometimes to save slots I bring an AC Cannon with IC shells, just in case, it's an interesting alternative (altough it has its disadvantages of course) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jormugand Posted July 31, 2004 Share Posted July 31, 2004 No- the telephone poles are taken away for that. The cars are scrapped for some of the metals in alien alloys... oops... i should always remember to check ALL pages of a topic. sry Anyways... just a quick question. I know that Floaters use Reapers and Sectoids use Cyberdiscs. How do the other alien associations work? (Posts collated by BB - Use the edit button!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullAuto Posted August 1, 2004 Share Posted August 1, 2004 Ethereals and Sectopods.Snakemen and Chryssalids.Mutons, Silacoids and those horrible kidney-looking things that wibble across the battlescape. Can't remember what they're called. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkinhead Posted August 1, 2004 Author Share Posted August 1, 2004 ... and those horrible kidney-looking things that wibble across the battlescape. Can't remember what they're called.https://ufopaedia.xcomufo.com/pics/celatid.gif Celatids? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pumpkinhead Posted August 1, 2004 Author Share Posted August 1, 2004 Back on topic a little, I tried last night to test how long each could fly to try and work out fuel consuption, and found that the Interceptor could fly for around 14:45 hrs and the Skyranger for around 77 hrs. I didn't do as much testing with the Skyranger. I got slightly different figures each time, so I'm not sure exactly how flight time works. I was hoping it would be a simple 15hrs each time or something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trooper Posted August 1, 2004 Share Posted August 1, 2004 Ethereals and Sectopods.Snakemen and Chryssalids.Mutons, Silacoids and those horrible kidney-looking things that wibble across the battlescape. Can't remember what they're called. You've forgot the sectoids and the cyberdisk! The cyberdisk give me the creeps every times when I see one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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