GTF Hercules Mark II

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File:Herc2.jpg
The GTF Hercules Mark II

The GTF Hercules Mark II was the advanced version of the original Great War-era GTF Hercules. It is advanced in almost all aspects of the original Hercules, except for primary firepower. This sacrifice had to be taken to save up more space for secondary weapons.

Description:

FS2 Demo Tech Room Description

The second generation of the Hercules fighter. It is faster, more maneuverable, and still carries a decent payload.

FS2 Tech Room Description

The GTF Hercules Mark II is the next generation of Terran heavy assault fighter. Introduced during the Great War, the original Herc's balance of firepower and maneuverability made it the most versatile strike fighter in the fleet. Some military historians have claimed the Hercules won the Great War, citing its deployment in key battles near the end of the Shivan conflict. Implementing recent advances in fusion drive technology, the Mark II improves the assault fighter's speed and maneuverability without sacrificing loadout capacity.

Developer Notes

None

Performance:

Statistics

Type	Heavy Assault
Manufacturer	RNI Systems
Maneuverability	Average
Yaw, Pitch, Roll	55.0 - 65.0 s
Max Velocity	120.0 ms-1
Max Afterburner Velocity	Heavy ms-1
Armor	275
Hitpoints	610
Shields	17
Length	{{{10}}} m

Armaments

• Gun Mounts

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

• Missile Banks

Freespace 2
Bank	Capacity	Standard Loadout
1st	80	Harpoon
2nd	100	Hornet
Compatible Secondaries
MX-64, Emp. Adv, Tempest, Hornet, Tornado, Harpoon, Trebuchet, TAG-A, TAG-B, Infyrno,

Veteran Comments

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The Herc II flies okay. My only complaint is with the weapons placement, as having the primaries set side by side makes shooting a fleeing target with horizontal deflection tricky. The secondary max loadout is a blessing, sometimes I like to load out on nothing but Harpoons and be a mobile SAM launcher.

I like all the Hercs. Good armour with large missile capacity, although a bit on the slow side, but decent maneuverability.

The Herc II gets introduced rather cruelly to you; in your first mission in the fighter you are thrown against Shivan Maras and Astaroths, both of which can outmanuver and outrun you with ease. A Lion At The Door demonstrates the problems with the Herc II in rather brutal fashion on high difficulties.

The problem with the Herc II is the early missions, where it's the required fighter, often just aren't well suited to pure heavy fighter forces, which leaves some people with the impression it is a inferior ship overall. It really isn't. It's quite a good ship for Clash of the Titans II or Dunkerque for instance, and its my prefered ship for Proving Grounds

Extremely large ordinance capacity with decent maneuverability, a true heavy assault. Don't let Dragons get on you though, because you can't shake them.

While in the main campaign the Herc II is pretty much useless, in user-made campaign missions with lots of enemies, the Herc II is a godsend (provided that you have the right weapons, and no other ships like the Erinyes are available). Its thick armour and shielding is enough to get you through the fiercest of battles.

"Once, my friend died her hair purple, and it was positively radiant for almost a week. Following that, however, it faded to an awkward shade that was neither definitively brown nor purple; or anything else really. It was a truly awkward color. That's basically how I feel about the Herc II. I give it that it does have cavernous secondary banks, but for me it still doesn't have the firepower that makes a good heavy assault fighter; and it most certainly doesn't have speed to make up for it. I simply find this ship-awkward."