Military frame progression question

[Crow]

Working my way through the military frames, on the Evoch now and it's awesome. I'm wondering if the military frames follow a linear upgrade of the same idea (NOT A PROBLEM) or if there's a substantial difference in size and handling characteristics like later civilian frames?

[Vice]

Generally speaking, they increase in size in a linear format for each type, but their performance isn't necessarily linear. For example, a Pulsar may be significantly more maneuverable and faster than the larger Firestar, but the Nighthawk stands out in terms of agility and speed, even among the lower class types. So although size is generally linear in the list, performance has some exceptions.

[Crow]

Much appreciated, I've certainly got my eye on the Nighthawk.

[Serayl]

Here's an example of what Vice means from my own experience.

I gave the Avenger a whirl a couple nights ago against the Vonari both out of curiosity and to take a small break from my ever-present Nighthawk. As a heavier, more massive frame, it flies quite differently from the Nighthawk: I had a lot more staying power, both in terms of defense (more armor) and offensive ability, with the Avenger's bigger battery being a help in some situations. At the same time, I couldn't pull off a number of the maneuvers I've grown accustomed to when hustling from one area of a battle to another or going from flying backwards at 2000 to charging down a damaged target at >3000 in the span of a few seconds. Missiles were a bigger threat in the Avenger (thus requiring more awareness and CM usage) than they are in the Nighthawk due to the lower acceleration of the Avenger, stemming from its higher mass.

So while some characteristics do scale in a fairly linear manner, even a small difference in mass & agility between two frames, or even the same frame configured differently can produce noticeable changes in handling and overall combat usage. That being said, it does take some actual fighting to reveal this.

[hank]

I'm guessing the Nighthawk (in Legacy) is the roughly the same ship (performance-wise) as the Mercenary version of the Evoch-E.

I noticed with mixed emotions that when I unlocked the Nighthawk, I also unlocked all the Military frames. In Mercs I enjoyed flying the Shrike and Chimera a lot - I like the armor and size of those ships. So, I'm happy but I was expecting more grinding to get to the big frames.

But, no complaints here.

thanks for the best space combat sim in the universe

[DaveK]

I'm just interested but ... more grinding is good?

What aspect disappointed you with having access to all the mil frames? In EM, achieving the status of Captain unlocked al the rest of the frames. I thought the same happened in Legacy - your rank rather than which of the unlocked frames you happen to choose.

Of course you could always set your own achievement targets before you allow yourself to access the next frame ... though I suspect it would require a superhuman dose of self control!

[hank]

I'm weak of the flesh and mind. I could not set a personal goal before opening up the Chimera and setting off on a mission. I did not recall unlocking higher tier mil spec ships after I reached the rank to unlock the Evoch-E. But I'm old and forget things sometimes.

No complaints. I've built a big station in solo mode, and will soon visit an open server and start one there. Its become fun now that I figured out how to move station module, parts and pieces into place to get a station that's all connected (except the defense turrets).

Thanks and have a nice day