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Good call guys, I'll get on it :) will be by Christmas for sure, I just have to figure out / make the base!

Awwwww . . . that's so sweet.

I just observed something interesting with ShadowHyena. In either vanilla 58.1 or sniperpackets, he can't play with long packets. Both ships just sit still -- while they rotate, they don't move. There's some base Rebirth bug with the long packets and his system -- I can't imagine what.

We were able to play with sniperpackets + short packets, though, and it worked out okay. The ships felt a little 'off' compared to what I've gotten used to in the last 24 hours (I'm spoiled now!), but that could easily have been the connection (which wasn't great). The sniper packets still work, though, and we still had the extra-deadly vulcan. Extra-deadly fusion, too, judging from the scorch marks on my pyro.

So that's an option.

Speaking of extra-deadly vulcan, I've been hearing that the new vulcan might be too deadly. I know it'll take some time for that all to shake out, but I would really like to hear the opinions of our top pilots on that.

Speaking as a middlin' silver pilot, I don't think the vulcan is too deadly. It can definitely stand up in a dogfight, which it didn't really used to be able to do unless it was coming from DKH . . . but it's not dominant. I'm still finding I use plenty of different guns, and my vulcan loses to fusion often enough.

On the whole, I like it. But I'm really anxious to hear from the larger community. That was the one thing I was worried might be a negative effect of the sniper packets.

It's not that different, just a bit more accurate, It's not a problem for me I just have to move a bit more or stay away! hehe

It's different!
It's so deadly that I find myself exhausting the bullets even in dog fights. Instantly pepper someone from any distance. It's a highly deadly weapon all of a sudden.

I'm OWNING people with it and getting owned by it as well. You can not dodge it, u can not get out of its way. It feels a bit more gauss like than ever before.

I think it might have changed the dynamics of the game going forward and I'm not entirely sure that I'm in love with that idea.

I have only played a 4 games with long-sniper packets. One felt great (until bahamut fixed his FPS issue and creamed me... but even then it was much easier to aim). One felt not so great (the kff game with 6 people). The other 2 games were better than the average 0.57.3 game.

Having said that, I felt the vulcan was quite a bit more deadly, both on the giving and receiving end. I'm sure we'll figure ways to deal with it, and adapt. I don't know that it will change the game that much. Especially because ammo is limited in D1. My real concern is in D2 with gauss though. It already felt somewhat overpowered when the person using it couldn't aim. I don't know that I want to see it now.

Just played Bahamut in Blubird, and . . . on the one hand, I can kinda see what Jeds is getting at. The vulcan WAS very powerful. Once I'd reached for it, I really didn't have a reason to put it away . . . at least, until I won or lost the life. On the other hand, it's not the weapon either of us called out as decisive. I'm just not sure how this will shake out.

But apart from the vulcan, I looooove the accurate shots.

The Vulcan is good. It is supposed to be like this... It is not all of a sudden a game changer. People are using it more because it was discussed as being more accurate with sniper packets. I have always used Vulcan as my weapon of choice in dogfights because I was able to be effective with it in close range. Honestly if there is a difference in accuracy, it is not significant in my game. I have always been accurate with Vulcan because that is how I play - high precision!

How soon will we as a community agree that game play is good enough? Isn't it time already to move forward and just be happy with what we have and play it relentlessly in a state of perpetual joy? I know I'm tired of all the nit-picking. It's a game, let's not forget that, enjoy it while people still want to play it. --DKH

I agree DKH, I haven't changed my technique at all, maybe i use it a little more during dogfights but i did that before, didn't I?
It's definitely possible to dodge/avoid vulcan, you just have to know how to fake your opponent out.

My vulcan sucks so this is bad news for me :P but I'll make the tradeoff to have more accurate shots in general!

DKH raised the question as to whether vulcan slowing your movement / freezing you in place is original behavior.

Ryusei and I tested original D1 (not even D1x . . . Descentr 1.4a) in Dosbox multiplayer. Vulcan freezes you in the original, too. The effect seems to be intermittent, but it was intermittent in Rebirth 0.58.1 as well.

We tested spreadfire as well. It also slows you down in the original game.