The Let's Play Archive

Escape Velocity: Nova

by Decoy Badger

Part 59: Ships Part 02 - Vipers

Let's Meet the Vipers!

Vipers are one of the most common ships in the game, and serve as cannon fodder. They're light, weak, and fast, and only present a danger if you get yourself surrounded in a slow ship. If player-flown, their maneuverability can completely shred some ships - if you survive the initial approach.

Threat level: 3/10 for a typical variant, 5/10 for the Rebel Gunboat class. If that thing shows up, it can't be ignored. Their tendency to swarm can be easily exploited, however.
Combat rating: 4/10. The high speed lets you pirate freighters and take on fighters with ease, but the low weight means you'll be forced to run from any well-turreted ship, as you will be constantly pushed out of weapons range.

Comara Racing Viper


The Shipyard posted:

With the rapid development of space flight, it was inevitable that sports (particularly racing) would come to fruition sooner rather than later. Power Sled racing stood up to the challenge. A few intrepid hot-rodders noted that one particular sled, the Viper, took very well to a bit of extra weight in the form of armour and armament. With a little engine tweaking, these modified Vipers, designated F-23, were selected by the Federation as the mainstay of their fighter wings. This model is a civilian shell by Comara Racing.
The basic viper, it's fast and maneuverable but suffers from very thin armour, low armament and even less energy than a basic Shuttle. The Heavy fighter and Auroran Outfits variants fare better with heavier armament and faster performance, but pale next to the non-civilian variants.

F-23 Viper (Pirate Upgrade)


The Shipyard posted:

As soon as Comara released the Viper frame on the general market, a few shiploads of frames were bought up by notorious pirate shipwright Olaf Greyshoulders. He and his crew have totally refitted the shell, and the familiar shape of its advanced armour plating hides a wealth of minor and major improvements to the basic idea. But, as with all Greyshoulders upgrades, there is a hefty price to pay for the improved model. It's up to you to decide whether it's worth it.
Slightly slower but better armoured, the only notable variant carries a Thunderhead Lance beam weapon - but Vipers are so light that they're easily pushed away, rendering it useless.

Federation F-23 Viper

(Official game art! Behold the majesty of 2002's state-of-the-art Mac game graphics.)

The Shipyard posted:

With the rapid development of space flight, it was inevitable that sports (particularly racing) would come to fruition sooner rather than later. Power Sled Racing stood up to the challenge. A few intrepid hot-rodders noticed that one particular sled, the Viper, took very well to a bit of extra weight in the form of armour and armament. With a little engine tweaking, these modified Vipers, designated F-23, were selected by the Federation as the mainstay of their fighter wings.
Fed Vipers are slightly slower than stock and, oddly, lighter-armed than the civilian variants for more cost. Given the combat requirements for the Federation storyline, odds are you will never find yourself in one.

Rebel Viper


The Shipyard posted:

With the rapid development of space flight, it was inevitable that sports (particularly racing) would come to fruition sooner rather than later. Power Sled racing stood up to the challenge. A few intrepid hot-rodders noticed that one particular sled, the Viper, took very well to a bit of extra weight in the form of armour and armament. With a little engine tweaking, these modified Vipers, designated F-23, were selected by the Federation as the mainstay of their fighter wings. This Viper was appropriated from Federation stocks on an unnamed supply world.
Rebel Vipers are the fastest, most heavily armoured and most heavily armed variants out there. The Light Gunboat Class can hold 6 times its weight in cargo and weaponry, boasting medium blasters, beam weapons and seeking missiles that make it a threat to any stock ship.

Viper Racing
Gambling on Viper races is a popular fruitless pastime. The expected payout of the game is $0, and the commentary and videos never change. Why bother?
Here (Youtube) are all the Viper Race videos, in all of their 256x128, 20fps Quicktime glory. Seriously.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0jZrrIU8kI