GTF Apollo
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| The GTF Apollo |
The GTF Apollo was the mainstay Terran fighter used during the Great War. It was the easiest fighter to use, so novice pilots found themselves first in the seat of the Apollo. After the development of the GTF Ulysses, the Apollo was destined to "collect dust" (FreeSpace Reference Bible).
Contents
Description:
FS1 Tech Room Description
The GTF Apollo is the most common GTA fighter. It is highly versatile and can perform multiple roles, including space superiority, interception and assault.
Developer Notes
Original space superiority of the GTA fleet. Highly versatile, often doubles as assault type. Low weapon compatibility.
The FS Reference Bible and opening cutscene of FS1 swap the hardpoint locations of the primary and secondary weapons, and classify it as a two-person bomber.
Concept Art
This is the actual concept that the in-game model seems to be based off of, but all three are supposedly other concepts made for the Apollo.
Command Brief Animation
Name Origin
Son of Zeus and Leto, and twin brother to Artemis, the Greek deity Apollo is among the most relevant ones in Aegean and italic mythology. The character of Apollo is linked to various forms of art, such as poetry, dance and music, as well as particular skills such as healing and archery. He is mostly known, however, for its ties to the Sun and the use of a golden chariot drawn by swans. Late in Ancient Greek history, Apollo as a deity was merged with the character of Helios.
Performance:
Statistics
| Name | GTF Apollo | |
| Type | Space Superiority | |
| Manufacturer | Han-Ronald Corp. | |
| Maneuverability | High (Fair) | |
| Max Velocity | 60 - 82 ms-1 | |
| Max Afterburner Velocity | 140 ms-1 | |
| Armor | Light (Medium) | |
| Hitpoints | 240 pts | |
| Shields | 350 pts | |
| Length | 21 m | |
| Weaponry | ||
| Primary weapons | ||
| 1st bank | 2 guns | |
| 2nd bank | 2 guns | |
| Secondary weapons | ||
| 1st bank capacity | 40 | |
| 2nd bank capacity | 40 | |
| Countermeasures | ||
| Countermeasure capacity | 25 countermeasures | |
Armaments
| FreeSpace 1 | ||
| Bank | Guns | Standard Loadout |
| 1st | 2 | Avenger |
| 2nd | 2 | ML-16 Laser |
| Compatible primaries | ||
| ML-16 Laser, Disruptor, Avenger, Flail, Prometheus, Leech Cannon, S-Breaker | ||
| FreeSpace 1 | ||
| Bank | Capacity | Standard Loadout |
| 1st | 40 | MX-50 |
| 2nd | 40 | MX-50 |
| Compatible secondaries | ||
| MX-50, D-Missile, Fury, Hornet, Interceptor, Cluster Bomb, EM Pulse | ||
Modding Resources
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| The GTF Apollo in the latest MVPs |
Retail:
- $POF File: fighter04.pof
MediaVPs:
- $POF File: Apollo.pof
- Credits: Esarai, Hades, Fightermedic
Gallery
An older MVP version of the GTF Apollo.
The "Lt. Ash" variant from the FSPort MediaVPs, based on the FS1 Intro cutscene.
Veteran Comments
This ship is vastly underrated. There is a general consensus among the FS2 community that the Apollo is worthless once you meet the Shivans. That's not true. It is highly maneuverable, in fact more agile than the later GTF Myrmidon, and although it is on the slow side, it is relatively durable and its guns are very well-placed. It can't carry the Phoenix V or Banshee, but it does carry the Prometheus, so weapons compatibility isn't as bad as many people think. The Apollo is best when you need a jack-of-all trades: it has better missile capacity and armor than the Valkyrie and Ulysses and more maneuverability and speed than a Herc. It's tied with the Herc as my favorite ship.
The Apollo is truly the jack of all trades. Anything a Hercules, Valkyrie, or Ulysses can do, an Apollo can do, though probably not as competently. The adaptability of the Apollo is its most potent weapon, and it performs far better in rapidly changing tactical situations than any of its more specialized brethren. It also fills the gaps between more specialized ships. If the mission calls for heavy firepower but the Hercules isn't quick enough, dogfighting but the Ulysses isn't tough enough, or interception but the Valkyrie doesn't pack enough ordnance, then the Apollo will take over the task and serve well.
Also, if you notice at how high the attrition rate is for the Valkyrie (especially if you don't have shields or access to the Banshee), put your wingmen in Apollo fighters and they will survive for at least half a minute to a minute longer. Almost clearly the "everyman" ship, wise usage of ETS will let the Apollo do any fighter-based role. Early on in FS1, with the ML-16 Laser and no shields, the Apollo can have most of its energy on engines, making it surprisingly swift while not feeding much power to guns.
Its secondary banks are badly placed for the use of Furies except at very short range, as the missile racks are right near the edges of the ship's sides.
If you look at the tables, you can also see that the Apollo turns faster than the Valkyrie, it does do barrel rolls at a slower rate.
