GVF Tauret

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File:Tauret320x240.jpg
The GVF Tauret

Description:

FS2 Tech Room Description

The GVF Tauret is replacing the Seth as the Vasudans' heavy assault fighter. While integrating cutting-edge technology developed in collaboration with the Terrans, the Tauret boasts a distinctly Vasudan design. Its unusual configuration was inspired by the Apsu-Hek, a creature that once inhabited the deserts of Vasuda Prime. The Apsu-Hek has become an emblem of the Vasudan diaspora, and the Tauret continues the tradition of symbolic design. Armed with four gun mounts and two missile banks, the Tauret has the speed and firepower to challenge both fighters and warships.

Developer Notes

None

Performance:

Statistics

Type	Heavy Fighter
Manufacturer	Sahr Corporation
Maneuverability	Poor
Yaw, Pitch, Roll	65.0 - 75.0 s
Max Velocity	135.0 ms-1
Max Afterburner Velocity	Medium ms-1
Armor	300
Hitpoints	530
Shields	17.5
Length	{{{10}}} m

Armaments

• Gun Mounts

Freespace 2
Bank	Guns	Standard Loadout
1st	2	Mekhu HL-7
2nd	4	Mekhu HL-7
Compatible Primaries
Mekhu HL-7, Akheton SDG, Prometheus R, Prometheus S, Morning Star, UD-8 Kayser, Lamprey, Circe

• Missile Banks

Freespace 2
Bank	Capacity	Standard Loadout
1st	100	MX-64
2nd	100	MX-64
Compatible Secondaries
MX-64, Emp. Adv, Tempest, Harpoon, Hornet, Tornado, Trebuchet, Stiletto II, TAG-B, Infyrno

Veteran Comments

Please read the Veteran Comments policy before editing this section.

The Tauret is an exceptional Vasudan heavy assault fighter, in the same family as the Hercules Mark II but better in almost every way. It carries an additional pair of guns (6 mounts total), moves faster, and has larger missile bays. It's still not a really good dogfighter, but for its given role it's probably the best you could ask for.

The Tauret has the qualities that make a heavy assault fighter attractive (thick shields, tough hull, near-bottomless secondary bays), yet it also has speed and maneuverablity that are closer to those of a space superiority fighter than an assault. In the hands of a skilled pilot the Tauret can fight on even or nearly even terms with just about any other fighter in the game. Lastly, roll this thought around in your head for awhile: 160 Tornados. That's the ability to kill 20 enemy fighters or light bombers outright before touching the primaries button.

Small profile except from below or above.

Cannot carry the Maxim gun, thus reducing the effectiveness of this ship against capital ships. Otherwise, this is a decent Vasudan stand-in for the GTF Erinyes.

This is probably one of the best Vasudan fighters, if not the best. That "Poor" maneuverability rating is rubbish; this fighter can act as an interceptor, no problem at all! It even has more missile space than the GTF Ares. Compare this: both missile banks of the Tauret can hold 80 Tornados each, while that of the Ares can only hold 72 in the first bank, and 80 in the second. If Hornets were just as good as Tornados, this ship can literally obliterate anything below corvette class.

The Tauret is let down by its primary energy supply. Its recharge is respectable, the same as either Hercules' and greater than the Myrmidon's even if only a little more than half that of the exceptional Ares. However, its energy reserves are scarcely more than half that of the Hercs or Ares and two thirds that of the Myrm. This is a common weakness of Vasudan craft and limits their ability in extended engagements.

Don't fly this fighter like a Herc II. The Tauret has less shielding than the Herc, has slightly better acceleration, and is slightly less maneuverable as well, but is faster by about 10 m/s when cruising or afterburning. Also as was mentioned before, although it can recharge just as fast as the Herc II it has an additional two guns, and its weapon energy reserves are 2/3 the size, so don't put in quad Kaysers like you would in an Ares. It does, however, has exceptional firepower, with six primary and two 100 Hornet slots. Honestly I'd much prefer losing this fighter and its small speed and firepower advantage for the stamina and hardiness of the Herc II.

Maneuverability is better than stated, speed is still slightly slow (but faster than the Herc II), can't carry the Maxim cannon (but can still carry the Kayser and Prometheus S), cavernous missile banks (both are the same size as the Ares' largest bank!)... Load up with Harpoons, Trebs, or Hornets/Tornados and Kaysers/Mekhu HL-7s, fly like a space superiority, and watch your kill count skyrocket.

Man, if only this ship was offered as an option on Clash of the Titans II and Apocalypse, this would be the best Non-Shivan Ship to fly! The Herc II doesn't have good enough primary firepower; you HAVE to occupy a missile bank with Tempests if you want to help your primaries take out enemy bombers quickly at short range. It's a waste, but you'll find out when reading the next paragraph down. Most bombers that come into Clash of the Titans II are Seraphim or Nephilim. While you can use double Trebuchets on them, it's not likely to kill him with one hit on higher difficulty levels; you also have to wait for the very long rearm time as bombers keep coming in, and the amount that come in will quickly use up your Trebuchet reserves. (The AI won't fire Trebuchets, either.) The Herc II also just doesn't have enough juice in terms of speed to really cover the long distances required to take down Bombers.

This means you need something faster. The Erinyes is faster, and has extra guns, which means that if you arm both slots with Subach HL-7s, one of those slots can fulfill the role of the Tempest Dumbfire, which means you will save a missile bank for something more useful, like Harpoons--to be used on those annoying dragons that come when the Bastion gets closer to the node--along with your Trebuchets, for taking out the turrets on the Shivan Cruisers in Apocalypse [the following mission]. This weapon setup was mentioned in the Clash of the Titans walkthrough on this site. (Since there is no need to make use of Tempests because of the extra gun banks, your guns can recharge...no need to call in a support ship to refill Tempests over and over again.) However, the Erinyes doesn't have a very large missile capacity.

However, the Tauret would be the absolute best ship to use if it was offered in this mission (unless you were offered an SF Mara (terrans) instead). The Tauret has the same speed as the Erinyes, with better primary firepower AND better secondary firepower than the Herc II, not to mention arming it with Mekhu HL-7s in both slots (see the walkthroughs at http://freespace.volitionwatch.com/techfs). One of the more obvious disadvantages is that the left and right sets of gun points on the Tauret are spaced a bit far apart, perhaps allowing smaller fighters like Dragons to fall between those two sets of gunpoints and the shots miss.

Small target profile aside, this is no dogfighter. Its turn rate is less than that of a GVB Bakha, and similar to that of a GTF Ares. Its primaries have a small capacitor, so load Kaysers at your own risk. It cannot carry the GTW Maxim either. That said, the Tauret has an obscene missile capacity and a good top speed. Between the Herc II, Tauret, and Ares, I would pick the Ares.