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[Gothars]

Isn't bomber handling a bit awkward at the moment? If left alone, bombers will attack a target directly in a straight line whenever they are in range. So attack vector and time are almost random. Your only tool to guide bombers is the rally strike force command that sets a static rally point somewhere.  But you have a moving target that changes not only its position but also its orientation, so the optimal attack vector is changing all the time. While it is possible to somewhat compensate by setting new rally points or shoo the target in the right position it is a lot of micromanagement, far more than any other aspect of the combat. I think the player attention to damage potential quota is really the worst for bomber management.

So here's the idea: Allow the rally strike force command to be applied to enemy ships . If set on an enemy ship, the bombers will approach the target but stay out of range of its weapons and escort ships. They will circle the target and try to stay on its rear side. If the strike order is given and all went well, they will close in from the perfect angle within the shortest possible time. Maybe call the order strike prep or something. Do you guys think that could work?

Any other ideas how bombers could be made more comfortable to use are welcome.

[firstattak1]

I agree, bombers on there own just attack what ever they feel like. With this type of command they could be a must have in your fleet.

[Gaizokubanou]

I like the the way this streamlines the control but... ships can spin so I'm not sure if this is the best way to let the AI handle it since all bombers fly too slow to effectively out maneuver any ship outside of their effective weapons range.

But I like the direction of this idea and bomber/fighters need major buff anyway due to how heavily all other ships got buffed from character tree.

[Gothars]

I like the the way this streamlines the control but... ships can spin so I'm not sure if this is the best way to let the AI handle it since all bombers fly too slow to effectively out maneuver any ship outside of their effective weapons range.

Right, the way this would work is you'd have to distract a ship and keep it from turning wildly. The moment you have it under control you can give the strike order. Bombers are not meant to be capital killers on their own, this is not a buff for their capabilities but for their handling.

[ArkAngel]

Eh as much as I like the idea couldn't you just make fighter/bomber craft not cost command points?

[PerturbedPug]

Eh as much as I like the idea couldn't you just make fighter/bomber craft not cost command points?

Like as in issuing orders to them costs no points? Also, I think that this type of order is needed +1

[Vind]

Bombers need some range bonus from sensor arrays as they have long ago. It was patched out because interceptors/heavy fighters become too powerful vs frigates with range bonuses but bombers and bombers only NEED range bonus vs large ships with tons of flak and ITUs to even launch the payload in general direction. Rally point is useless then fighters/bombers attack any ship which fly nearby as they cant ignore enemy and will pursuit them. In other words fighters/bombers now at the lowest end of usability. You need big amount of fleet points to field them AND command points to use them plus they ignore enemy missiles and will ram them as they fly around- not worth it right now.

[Jazwana]

Adding to the list of fun suggestions, one way to 'buff' bombers would be to give them a speed boost as they go in for a bombing run.  Something like a 1-time maneuvering jets usage per repair & refit.  Obviously, this would be some weird mechanic that would have to be hardcoded and probably buggy as hell but still....it kinda feels right.

[DelicateTask]

I'm thinking more Burn Drive than Maneuvering Jets. I like the idea of a bombing run where the ships fly towards their target really quickly and only veer off after delivering their payload. Besides, since Piranha bombers rely on the travel speed to accelerate their bombs, this would help the bombs travel just a bit faster and make them slightly less useless against anything with a flak cannon.

[PCCL]

also means less time to drop bombs....

maybe increased firing rate when active?

[Gothars]

A simpler alternative: Delay bombers on a "rally strike force" way point. They should wait until multiple bomber wings are ready to attack together. The right time could be either determined by a formula that regards total bomber wing number, size of target, approximated time for pending wings to arrive etc. or be a switch on the waypoint for the player to trigger when he wants the strike.

I'd like the automatic variant better. The player still had some control in form of the actual strike assignment. If that were not given, the bombers would not move from the rally point (except to evade enemies).