39,327
edits
Point Defenseless: Difference between revisions
m
update links
m (update links) |
m (update links) |
||
Line 8:
This is an application of the [[Rule of Drama]]; it's far more dramatic when ''people'' have to defend a target, rather than faceless machinery. It can also be a form of [[Plot Armor]], when point defense can shoot down [[Mook|Mooks]] and [[Red Shirt|Red Shirts]] but not main characters. After all, how ignoble would it be for [[The Hero]] to get shot down by something as abrupt and impersonal as an automated turret, without even a chance to demonstrate their [[Improbable Piloting Skills]] with some [[Old School Dogfighting]]? It can be part of [[Acceptable Breaks From Reality]] if the game system explicitly intends for a [[Tactical Rock-Paper-Scissors]] scheme. At its simplest, you could have something like fighter/torpedo boat wolfpacks (INSPACE!) nibbling big-gun battleships to death, which in turn get shredded by PD-heavy escorts or screening elements, which in turn get blown away by battleships...
See also [[A-Team Firing]] and [[Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy]]. If the point defense guns blaze away at where the hero just was, that's a [[Hero-Tracking Failure]].
{{examples}}
Line 19:
** Additionally, quite a few mobile suits (including almost every single Gundam) has vulcan guns mounted in their heads or chests. These rarely ever get used, since all they're good for is taking out cameras or the occasional [[Critical Hit]]; they don't even get used to shoot down missiles, their intended function. The only subversion comes in ''[[Gundam Seed]] C.E.73 Stargazer'', where we get a very visceral demonstration of anti-personnel machineguns mounted in the [[Meaningful Name|Slaughter Daggers']] feet.
* In the ''[[Super Dimension Fortress Macross]]'' franchise, like ''Gundam'', the point-defense guns light space up like a Christmas tree without actually accomplishing much, with a few exceptions.
** In ''[[Macross Plus]]'', the latest [[Super Prototype]] goes up against the thirty year old guns on the Macross, and ends up having chunks of armor shot off.
** In ''[[Macross Zero]]'', a minor battleship Algeciras managed to shoot down at least two mooks and two missiles before being sunk by the remaining two ASMs launched by the enemy [[Ace Pilot]] and his wing(wo)man. The carrier ''Asuka'' herself has several Destroids as point-defense. Predictably, they're chow food for the baddies as well.
** In ''[[Macross Frontier]]'', Alto, also in a [[Super Prototype]], is nearly shot down (and has his FAST pack blown off) by the the CIDS on a Vajra ship.
Line 61:
== Live Action TV ==
* Generally averted on ''[[Babylon 5]]'': Many races' ships use fast-tracking "Interceptor" weapons systems, which lay down high volumes of very accurate defensive fire to neutralize incoming enemy weapons fire. Several episodes show what happens when [[Star Fighter]] pilots get too close to these systems without the support of larger warships.
** However, when there is a big enough disparity in technology or firepower, such as during the Earth-Minbari War, the weaker side will often find themselves getting [[Curb Stomp Battle|steam rolled]] without their defensive gunnery having much effect.
* This appeared to be the case for both the Colonials and the Cylons in the original ''[[Battlestar Galactica Classic|Battlestar Galactica]]'' back in the 70's. Both sides used slow-firing, slow tracking gun turrets that were easily overwhelmed by the fast-moving Raiders and Vipers, and depended on their embarked fighter wings for effective defense.
* In the new ''[[Battlestar Galactica Reimagined|Battlestar Galactica]]'' the Cylon Basestars are literally point defenseless, with sound justification. They rely on their Raiders to intercept enemy missiles and fighters (although they can shoot enemy missiles with their own missiles), as well as get in the way of enemy shells. The Raiders are even capable of faster-than-light travel, allowing the Cylons to engage the Colonials without ever bringing their motherships close. If they find themselves in a fight sans Raiders, however, the Colonial ships usually end up pounding them into scrap. The Battlestars, by contrast, have massive gun batteries to lay down [[More Dakka|Defensive Supression Barrages]] to force the Cylons to give them some breathing room.
** A first season episode with Galactica's Viper wing launching a raid on a Cylon asteroid base subverted this trope. Even when using a [[Kansas City Shuffle]] to fake out the Cylons' Raider defenders, and Wild Weasel tactics to suppress the Cylon anti-<s>air</s>space defenses, the Viper pilots still get swatted like helpless flies due to the [[More Dakka|sheer volume of enemy fire]]. While the Redshirts are dying, however, {{spoiler|Lee manages to pull off an [[Airstrike Impossible]] by flying through a tunnel to get inside the base's defenses.}} In Galactica terms, this would be called "Pulling a Starbuck".
* Zig-zagged in ''[[Andromeda]]'', the titular ship has both Point-Defense Lasers and remote drones but enemy missiles still manage to hit it often.
Line 86:
** ''Battlefront II's'' Space Combat mode avoided player immunity to AA by having the automated turrets of capital ships shoot exploding lasers (don't think about it). This made up for their poor accuracy by making it extremely difficult for small fighters like A-Wings to fly within range of them, lest they run into a flak barrage and explode uselessly.
* Mostly averted in ''Privateer 2'', in which even cargo freighters are at [[Gunship Rescue]] level thanks to their relentless, targeted, and high-powered turret fire. Either you're constantly evading, you get out of range, or you get shredded. Depending on the ship, you might be able to take it out by getting into that blind spot.
* Capital ships in ''[[Homeworld]]'' almost invariably need escorts against waves of fighters, as they have little or no point defense. This is a deliberate part of the [[Tactical Rock-Paper-Scissors]], and a few capital ships are effective against fighters at the cost of not countering what capital ships normally counter -- Missile Destroyers, for instance, will shred fighter fleets. On the other hand, the Mothership itself is armed with some serious point defenses that can repel anything short of a massed bomber attack.
** In ''Homeworld Cataclysm'', most of the ships end up subverting this trope. All of the larger capital ships are at least armed with homing energy cannons or precise guns that severely negate the usefulness of fighter squadrons against them. The Somtaaw capital ships carry missile launchers in addition to the rest of their guns, killing off any chance of a serious fighter attack.
*** Cataclysm also brings us a whole new way of averting this trope - the little Sentinel defense pods, which are armed with a single (upgradable) gun. A full dozen of them are needed to fully shield a ship, but when you achieve that the ship's shield itself [[More Dakka|dakkas]] attacking fighters with frightful effectiveness.
Line 112:
* In ''[[Infinite Space]]'', AA lasers avert this in that they can and do shred fighters, but they're just not as useful as having a fighter complement of your own since the game prevents you from moving if you're under attack from fighters. One instance where this is best averted is in your first fight with Oisin, where he shoots tracker mines that keep your ship from moving and just blow up your fighters, whereas using your AA lasers finishes the fight in a few seconds.
* ''[[Starcraft]]'' plays it straight with the [[Airborne Aircraft Carrier|Protoss Carrier]] which launches waves of small drones to attack the target, but itself has no weaponry of any kind, then SC2 averts it with the Terran's new Raven, which is able to deploy a Point Defense Laser drone to hover over your forces shooting down a good percentage of enemy missile/beam attacks until it runs out of energy.
* In ''[[
** Even then, there's still the fact that big ships take longer to lock on to targets than small ships. The best defense is to have some smaller ships in your fleet. Any fleet commander worth his salt will ensure this.
* Possible in the [[X (video game)|X-Universe]]. Some ships may have only larger guns that can't track faster fighters or missiles. In X3 the Kha'ak suffer from [[Crippling Overspecialization]] where, while their [[Frickin' Laser Beams|weapons make great point defense]], they don't scale well and their capital ships can't stand up to their peers.
| |||