He doesn’t know how to use it though, and according to Nyrah he’s in no condition to try anyway… Also using it while on his ship will very quickly ruin said ship if last time is any indication
Like I’ve been saying, this commander is a bloody minded warrior. He’s going to worst case scenario and he’s right on the money this time. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Hit the command ship, the biggest threat first, then clean up the rest when they’re disordered and afraid. That’s the theory, anyway. Putting theory into practice is where every battle is lost, though. But I love this page. So much is happening, and all of it is relevant. Say Tim, if you’re going to do fleet battles, may I suggest listening to the Patric O’Brian books… Read more »
Say Tim, I just noticed that Green Jeans doesn’t have a visible nose. Are his species mouth breathers, or do they have another method? And can they tell when someone ripped one in the elevator?
If you’re going to do that, then your go-to series is The Lost Fleet, by Jack Campbell. He thinks through his battles in three-dimensional space and accounts for inertia and even engagement at near-relativistic speeds, though this web series seems to be more of the Star Wars / Trek bent, and having ships engage at “cinematic” speeds and distances.
I prefer the David Weber Honorverse and how it takes into account relativity and gravity interactions.
Also, Odysseus Rising from Evan Currie treats space battle like big submarine battles, where hiding from the enemy and overpowering surprise attacks are the norm.
Thing about SPACE FIGHTS is that most of them involve being out in the open. Unless they are in an asteroid field, there aren’t nearly as many ways to perform sneak attacks.
Granted there is a stealth aspect but it isn’t nearly as explicit or feasible as many other forms of warfare.
Martin
5 years ago
I find it hard to believe that the Grin takes the effort to hardwire the engine control (as he is apparently aware of that this can be controlled remotely) yet seems to be surprised when his weapon systems require authorisation / are taken over by the feds at a crucial moment. Seems like a rookie mistake to me..
I don’t think he’s surprised so much as frustrated that (a) they were able to and have turned off the guns, and (b) he’s meters away from killing Cort, yet can’t trigger the weapons to make it happen.
Honestly, the space battle was all going to happen anyway, the situation Cort is in would be slightly different if we had run directly or switched who went to the controls, but overall we still would have been here at the end of the day.
I think considering it’s a run down junk ship used mostly for smuggling and other minor things, not meant for combat in the first place, and probably sorely in need of repairs considering how poor Cort is… we can safely assume that any space battle is not going to be in Cort’s favor unless Speck can out-pilot them. Which he probably can… in a 1v1 or 2v1… but in a battle royale with warships and stuff? No way
Melkior
5 years ago
Looks like I’ve called it so far. Now I wonder if the rest will be similarly true. Possibly not, but the next few strips should tell. 🙂
Looks like no-nose at least has the sense to recognise an attack when he sees one, even if his judgement in other matters is questionable.
I wonder if he’s going to survive to be court-martialed for disobeying orders?
Or cort will escape then the bad guys will go after him and no-nose will survive and say cort brought his buddies and killed lots of people escaping lol.
I was more concerned about the sentence “Is move to attack”. Unless that’s actually a 5? And he’s telling unit I5 to move to attack? Not a big deal though haha.
The “gear-up” sentence does make sense though.
Gear Up, is an appropriate term for raising landing gear, even in aviation. Wheels up is less common, whereas gear-up is the standard term. I assume the main reason for this, is because some aircraft use skis or floats, instead of Wheels, depending on the surface where the plane is landing. For spacecrafts, they likely have magnetic skids, wheels, or both, depending on the role of the spacecraft.
We say “gear-up” in the aviation industry. I suppose it makes sense that you didn’t understand, though; I probably wouldn’t have made sense of the words 20 years ago, either. Certain phrases just look silly without understanding the context, but in this case it is certainly correct. 🙂
Bob
5 years ago
Why do people keep designing spaceships with underbellies? It doesn’t need to float!
Because maybe even if most of us want to fly in compact, useful ships, MAYBE some of us want to fly in a giant Dragon-whale thing, and MAYBE some of us think that we should do that, not because it makes sense, but because in our hearts it feels RIGHT!
This. What’s it been – 4 to 6 weeks of this junk? Not a fan of this or the console wars. I close the tab every time I see one of those. Everything else on the site is great.
I’m a huge fan of this! And Console Wars. And I can’t wait for more of The Campaign. Or Analog and D-Pad. I’m not as nostalgic for Ethan and Lucas as most as I’m a bit of a newb, but it’s all great!
I am the exact opposite. Console wars is the cherry on top for me.
(Well, I don’t actually close any tabs, so I guess exact opposite is inaccurate, but I do like some parts better than others, and this issue of starcaster has been fantastic)
24
Ooh, yay a space battle! And are heroes are right in the midd-… oh. Cort, you now have many more problems than two seconds ago.
But Cort has a Starcart, I think he has the “Biggest Weapon” right of way
He doesn’t know how to use it though, and according to Nyrah he’s in no condition to try anyway… Also using it while on his ship will very quickly ruin said ship if last time is any indication
Starcaster, damn autocorrector
lol that’s one good autocowreck
ah, good call
This is gettin’ goooood!
Like I’ve been saying, this commander is a bloody minded warrior. He’s going to worst case scenario and he’s right on the money this time. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Hit the command ship, the biggest threat first, then clean up the rest when they’re disordered and afraid. That’s the theory, anyway. Putting theory into practice is where every battle is lost, though. But I love this page. So much is happening, and all of it is relevant. Say Tim, if you’re going to do fleet battles, may I suggest listening to the Patric O’Brian books… Read more »
Say Tim, I just noticed that Green Jeans doesn’t have a visible nose. Are his species mouth breathers, or do they have another method? And can they tell when someone ripped one in the elevator?
If you’re going to do that, then your go-to series is The Lost Fleet, by Jack Campbell. He thinks through his battles in three-dimensional space and accounts for inertia and even engagement at near-relativistic speeds, though this web series seems to be more of the Star Wars / Trek bent, and having ships engage at “cinematic” speeds and distances.
I prefer the David Weber Honorverse and how it takes into account relativity and gravity interactions.
Also, Odysseus Rising from Evan Currie treats space battle like big submarine battles, where hiding from the enemy and overpowering surprise attacks are the norm.
Thing about SPACE FIGHTS is that most of them involve being out in the open. Unless they are in an asteroid field, there aren’t nearly as many ways to perform sneak attacks.
Granted there is a stealth aspect but it isn’t nearly as explicit or feasible as many other forms of warfare.
I find it hard to believe that the Grin takes the effort to hardwire the engine control (as he is apparently aware of that this can be controlled remotely) yet seems to be surprised when his weapon systems require authorisation / are taken over by the feds at a crucial moment. Seems like a rookie mistake to me..
I don’t think he’s surprised so much as frustrated that (a) they were able to and have turned off the guns, and (b) he’s meters away from killing Cort, yet can’t trigger the weapons to make it happen.
when everything else fails, just crash on target
Ramming Speeed!
And so, every decision made comes together in one great and glorious opera of a space battle. The result?
We fucked.
Honestly, the space battle was all going to happen anyway, the situation Cort is in would be slightly different if we had run directly or switched who went to the controls, but overall we still would have been here at the end of the day.
Except the space station would still have external shields online if we hadn’t sabotaged the station to cause some chaos.
And we would have had to deal with 20 guards chasing us to the ship rather than 1
This would be a FANTASTIC time to know the dimensions of the Aphelion compared to most pirate craft!
Um
2
“two what?”
“um, speed”
Speed Fahrenheit or speed Celsius?
I think considering it’s a run down junk ship used mostly for smuggling and other minor things, not meant for combat in the first place, and probably sorely in need of repairs considering how poor Cort is… we can safely assume that any space battle is not going to be in Cort’s favor unless Speck can out-pilot them. Which he probably can… in a 1v1 or 2v1… but in a battle royale with warships and stuff? No way
Looks like I’ve called it so far. Now I wonder if the rest will be similarly true. Possibly not, but the next few strips should tell. 🙂
Looks like no-nose at least has the sense to recognise an attack when he sees one, even if his judgement in other matters is questionable.
I wonder if he’s going to survive to be court-martialed for disobeying orders?
Or cort will escape then the bad guys will go after him and no-nose will survive and say cort brought his buddies and killed lots of people escaping lol.
“once we’re gear up”…? Tim? You ok?
I’m fine. How are you?
Also, starship landing gear does not have wheels, so “wheels up” wouldn’t be a colloquialism in use here.
I was more concerned about the sentence “Is move to attack”. Unless that’s actually a 5? And he’s telling unit I5 to move to attack? Not a big deal though haha.
The “gear-up” sentence does make sense though.
I think that just comes back to the commander’s species not using pronouns. It’s probably something similar here.
They’re specifically raised to not use pronouns to screw with Xenolinguists
If you think of it like he’s speaking with a bad Hollywood Russian accent, you could interpret it as, “It is a move to attack.”
He could just be slurring the Its- maybe Not-English is his second language and his teacher spoke quickly?
Gear Up, is an appropriate term for raising landing gear, even in aviation. Wheels up is less common, whereas gear-up is the standard term. I assume the main reason for this, is because some aircraft use skis or floats, instead of Wheels, depending on the surface where the plane is landing. For spacecrafts, they likely have magnetic skids, wheels, or both, depending on the role of the spacecraft.
We say “gear-up” in the aviation industry. I suppose it makes sense that you didn’t understand, though; I probably wouldn’t have made sense of the words 20 years ago, either. Certain phrases just look silly without understanding the context, but in this case it is certainly correct. 🙂
Why do people keep designing spaceships with underbellies? It doesn’t need to float!
Because maybe even if most of us want to fly in compact, useful ships, MAYBE some of us want to fly in a giant Dragon-whale thing, and MAYBE some of us think that we should do that, not because it makes sense, but because in our hearts it feels RIGHT!
Screw that I wanna be the sea urchin of outer space. Guns in ALL directions baby! XD
Alright, looks like it is time for tango in space with explosions!
another week with no ctrl-alt-del… at least not good one.. hope this is soon over
Good news everyone! I’m extending this issue by a week!
You need to add “Like” buttons in the comments section =P
This. What’s it been – 4 to 6 weeks of this junk? Not a fan of this or the console wars. I close the tab every time I see one of those. Everything else on the site is great.
This is part of the site. You don’t have to like it, but you do have to accept that its part of the deal.
I’m a huge fan of this! And Console Wars. And I can’t wait for more of The Campaign. Or Analog and D-Pad. I’m not as nostalgic for Ethan and Lucas as most as I’m a bit of a newb, but it’s all great!
I am the exact opposite. Console wars is the cherry on top for me.
(Well, I don’t actually close any tabs, so I guess exact opposite is inaccurate, but I do like some parts better than others, and this issue of starcaster has been fantastic)
The escape is the climax?
Fairly anti-climatic for “A GALAXY IMPERILED!”
Still, I’m not expecting the VDFD for another few issues.
at least you have a good sense of humour, and I like it..
I read this in the voice of prof. Farnsworth.
I will say this, I love all of your content.
I also love your sarcasm. So, please don’t ever give in to the whiny b.s., and please continue to respond when you feel so inclined.
Awesome! This will go down in history as the time Tim finally gave us longer more awesome starcaster episodes!
Awesome 🙂
Auto-playing Snapple with Vodka video ad… bah!
Please enter authorization code to override.
# 1234
Code Accepted.
Weapon Systems Reactivating…
Suitcase override activated.
God, I love Mel Brooks….
This page seems awesome.
Full of action, suspense and a bit of humor with that second panel lol.