GTF Ares
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| The GTF Ares |
The GTF Ares is a heavy fighter class during the Second Shivan Incursion. It is an upgraded version of the GTF Hercules Mark II with more missiles and thicker armoring. The Ares's production was limited because of its high specifications and maintenance cost.
Contents
Description:
FS2 Tech Room Description
The GTF Ares class of fighters is a radical upgrade of the Hercules II fighter. The power plant has been completely replaced with the newer, more powerful Nankam NA-27f model. Depleted uranium shielding has been added atop critical subsystems, making the Ares harder to incapacitate. Two primary weapon banks have been added, for greater firepower than the Herc II. This greater punch and protection come at a cost, however, as the Ares handles like a potato.
Developer Notes
None
Name origin
In Greek mythology, Ares is the god of war, slaughter, and bloodlust. He is the son of Zeus and Hera. Ares's half-sister is Athena, who is also considered to be a war deity. While Athena was more like a strategist and relied to precise calculations, Ares preferred more straightforward methods of warfare. The Roman for Ares is Mars.
Performance:
Statistics
| Type | Strategic Assault |
| Manufacturer | Nankam Aeronautical |
| Maneuverability | Poor |
| Yaw, Pitch, Roll | 50.0 - 62.0 s |
| Max Velocity | 120.0 ms-1 |
| Max Afterburner Velocity | Ultra Heavy ms-1 |
| Armor | 425 |
| Hitpoints | 650 |
| Shields | 20 |
| Length | {{{10}}} m |
Armaments
| Freespace 2 | ||
| Bank | Guns | Standard Loadout |
| 1st | 2 | Subach HL-7 |
| 2st | 4 | Prometheus R |
| Compatible Primaries | ||
| Subach HL-7, Akheton SDG, Prometheus R, Prometheus S, Morning Star, UD-8 Kayser, Lamprey, Circe, Maxim | ||
| Freespace 2 | ||
| Bank | Capacity | Standard Loadout |
| 1st | 90 | Harpoon |
| 2nd | 100 | Hornet |
| Compatible Secondaries | ||
| MX-64, Emp. Adv, Harpoon, Tempest, Hornet, Tornado, Trebuchet, Infyrno | ||
Veteran Comments
The Ares is for those times when you just want to sit back and lob missiles at people. It also makes a decent bomber substitute against heavily defended convoys of transports and cruisers. Standard usage of an Ares defensively is to load up with GTM Trebuchets, park next to what you're defending, and blow people away with paired hits at maximum range. Never try to dogfight; it is an exercise in futility.
This fighter is ideal for those who need firepower instead of maneuverability and speed. It can be armed with more missiles and is much tougher than the GTF Hercules Mark II. In fact, this fighter is tough enough to survive a glancing hit from the main beam of a Fenris at lower difficulties. Being a heavy attack fighter, it is vulnerable against faster-moving fighters. The Ares needs fighter escorts otherwise they are easily destroyed by more agile opponents. The Ares is compatible with a wide range of weapons, including the most destructive GTW Maxim and GTW UD-8 Kayser.
This fighter is essentially tailor-made for the final missions of the main FS2 Campaign, where large numbers of bomber waves predominate, as these missions are more-or less written for the player to respond to nearly everything with massed GTM Trebuchet fire and finish off the crippled survivors with GTW UD-8 Kaysers. In most respects however the Ares is actually more a light bomber than a fighter.
There is something special about this fighter,first of all, its .pof file is called Bonus... second of all, You only get it if you complete the Into the Lion's Den SOC Mission (which probably everyone has done).
Though I'm not overly fond of the Ares for my own use, it is a brilliant ship to give a CPU controlled wing. Set them up with Maxim guns and Kaysers, and give them lots of Tornadoes, then point them at cruisers and corvettes. They'll survive longer than almost any other fighter in that situation, and longer than most bombers, since they aren't quite so vulnerable to enemy fighters.
When you can use it--do so. Loading the Ares with a low-power primary on the first bank (I prefer the GTW Subach HL-7) and a high-power primary on the second bank (I prefer the GTW UD-8 Kayser). Yes, it handles horribly. Yes, it is very slow. Yes, it has an excess of shields and hull. And yes, it's a bomber's worst nightmare. Load up secondaries with only the GTM Trebuchet and be ready to take on some AI enemies. Fighters or bombers beware--the Ares is the sniper of the GTVA. Even against fighters on Hard or higher difficulty, it was very possible to take out 80% of fighters and 90% of bombers (except for the Nephilim--which will require more thank just two Trebs to kill). If anything survives, it's probably badly damaged and can be finished off quickly with primaries. The AI doesn't seem to know how to use this fighter properly, so you're probably better off loading it with a configuration adjusted for the AI--use high-power primaries, shorter-range secondaries, and be ready to order coordinated attacks.
The Ares has exceptional primary energy recharge, greater than any other craft including the Terran Mara. Its reserves are slightly below the Terra Mara's, but equal to or better than anything else.
As mentioned above, the Ares is an excellent choice for the final missions of the campaign, especially when loaded with massed trebs. In my opinion, however, primary banks should consist of a Kayser in the second bank, for standard fighter killing, and a Maxim in the first bank. The Maxim serves several roles: it's good for finishing off crippled bombers (since they'll usually have no shield on the side that just took the trebs), it's excellent for shooting down any bombs they -do- manage to fire, and it's good for dealing with small capships, helping you to conserve trebuchets.
Why on Earth do they make a bomber without bombs?
