DescentBB

1) Magnum AHT 10.0 / 10.0

Unstoppable power. Looks intimidating. Quick when it counts. Simply Exemplary. Nuff said.

2) Pyro GL 7.6 / 10.0

For those pilots too stubborn to accept the greatness of the Magnum, but still possess some modicum of skill. Prime choice for the Second Bananas of the Descent world.

3) Pyro GX 5.9 / 10.0

Outdated; basically irrelevant. But still, a respectable ship. Gets some bonus points for being the grandfather of them all, but loses points for being the Atari equivalent of the Descent ships.

4) Black Pyro 3.2 / 10.0

The slow-witted half brother of the Pyro. Mostly just pointless and without any real impact. Feels like a cheap knock-off with a couple gimicks but no true staying power.

5) Phoenix 0.4 / 10.0

Simply the worst. Beloved by Hit and Runners, brings nothing to the table other than skippiness. Loses points for looking like the head of a shovel.

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Feel free to list your own rankings and scores. However, mine are very accurate and based on Scientific Methods that I have developed over years of studying the game.

The Hunchback is the only good one.

1. Starhwak (But Do_checkor won't update his Pyromania to the 1.5.1 version that he said that he would update in a month, 1 year ago...)

2 is a tough choice. One day, the Phoenix is my anti-GL and BP while the Black pyro is always my anti-tank and since there are always tanks around...

2. BP (Basically an upgrade of the GL with an extremely small sacrifice in shields, so small that it is irrelevent. Plus it's my tank buster. I can also get it to move like a Phoenix.

3. Phoenix (but lost by not much AT ALL) My anti-GL and BP fighter. Tank always trumps it though which is a minus.

4. Tanky (the Fat Rat) HAAAAXX!
*throws old computer monitor at tank*
Specifically geared for tunnel ratting. Usually found sitting a room and in one or two of the same levels every day of the week. Then it jumps up and has \"invulnerability\" on with the tri fusion. Can't fly fo ★■◆● on any other level. The size is actually SMALLER than the Phoenix which is a plus. (check the original .gam. Unless smaller numbers mean that it is bigger, it is ironically smaller.

4. Pyro-GX (The Classic) It looks good.

5. Pyro-GL (Standard Ship) Ehh, it's plain. Plus, Descent Equinox says that it is an older model before the GX.


The Hunchback? That old glorified trash hauler?

1) Pyro-GX

2) There are others?

Ranking by \"most powerful\" (not including the GX, which holds the position of honor by default):

1. Magnum-AHT (smallest hit sphere, fastest acceleration, overpowered weapons)
2. Pyro-GL (best balanced among the rest)
3. Phoenix
4. Black Pyro

With that said, my personal favorites are:

1. Pyro-GL (I usually fly this guy because...)
2. Magnum-AHT (... the tank is too overpowered to be fun at times)
3. Phoenix
4. Black Pyro

All the ships are pretty much neutral to me with a few exceptions:
Compact levels almost universally favor Magnums more than any other ship. The more compact the level, the greater the Magnums advantages.
The Black Pyro is weak to the Magnum in all levels, because it is sluggish, lightly shielded, and is comparatively lagging in armament. However the BPs most universal weakness is long range combat where all three other ships outperform it.
The Phoenix is extremely weak to the BP in short to medium range, its slow acceleration time combined with weak shielding make it especially vulnerable to the BPs dual concs.
The Pyro GL is neutral, except against the Magnum in compact levels for reasons stated above.

Magnum pilots rarely if ever complain about the Black Pyro, but do complain about the Phoenix in larger levels.
Phoenix pilots are the most bitter and vocal against the Black Pyro, and outright avoid flying in compact levels against Magnums.
Black Pyro pilots frequently complain about the Magnum, but rarely about the Phoenix.
Pyro GL pilots complain about everybody else, nobody complains about the Pyro GL.

Krom wrote:Pyro GL pilots complain about everybody else, nobody complains about the Pyro GL.

QFTx2brobrobrobrobrobrobrobro

I like the gl don't like fatbacks, pancakes, or doublehomerpansymachines.

Nicely said krom, I'd put the GX at top and let the dead sort out their dead.

When I fly anyone of them they are all equal to flying a turd. I think that is due to my skill set though.

Pyro-GL for me.

Bee

Phht!
I was never impressed with the D3 ships. I'm still of the opinion that creating different \"classes\" was a poor idea for multi.

I think it works OK in the single, but it breaks horribly when you play in any D1/D2ish level.

In your larger levels like Apparition or Steel Vapor or BioDome (orwhateveritis) you don't notice it as much.

Foil wrote:1. Magnum-AHT (smallest hit sphere, fastest acceleration, overpowered weapons)

You forgot "toughest shields". When compared to the other ships, the Tank sticks out the most in the wrong direction w/in D3.

Duper wrote:I was never impressed with the D3 ships. I'm still of the opinion that creating different "classes" was a poor idea for multi.

I think it works OK in the single, but it breaks horribly when you play in any D1/D2ish level.

x2

Each ship has its own merrits. The smaller the level, the bigger the tank gets -- hence the "bow to Bi3" by all the tankers The BP bashing is kinda funny, it's actually a very good tank cracker if you know how to handle it.

Sadly for beh'moth his ship makes no difference, he still levels it all
:p

Behemoth wrote:Sadly for beh'moth his ship makes no difference, he still levels it all
:p

Just exactly where is your ship?


Perhaps it needs a beat down.

Ships doesnt matter, pilot inside the ship matter.

I dont care what you fly or what I fly. I would recomend though, that you fly different ships from time to time. Makes you develop a diversity of tactic and styles.

This unbalanced ships in D3 is a myth.
It's difficulte to measure the balance when players are on different skill level.
To measure it accurately, player need to be at the same level of skill, and they need to understand how to take advantage of the different characteristics of the ships.

For me in D3, it's as follows:

1. Pyro

Agile, balanced, generally fun to fly. To LEON's point: I've been flying Pyro a lot lately and at my best I am just as effective as I am in Magnum (with stats to prove it).

2. Magnum

Powerful, resilient, lethal

3. BP

Spray and pray

4. Phoenix

I really dislike this lagtastic flapjack but it does come in handy in Veins.

GL: Balanced, dificult to slow down from magnum to adjust for aiming and dodging, but easily possible after 2-3 games, Better shielding than phoenix and since it has a smaller hitsphere is extremely agile when pocket dodging during dogfights.

BP: Haven't had much experience with this ship, but seems like the perks of double homers and super fast plasma dominate the players that usually pilot it, along with the triple omega, double speed microwave, all around it's kinda crappy to me.

Phoenix: An excellent ship IMO when getting warmed up for using tank, because the hitspere is larger than tank it grabs more shots in tight areas, but if you pilot it right and know how to dodge it can be a very nimble, QUICK and lethal tool in the mines. I've often times went into a packed indika game with tankers and came out on top with this ship, to discredit it on LAG would be like saying \"Hey, it's online but we want it to be LAN\", Crybaby.

Magnum: Definietly the choice tank among those who are serious about competition play in D3, it's only common sense that the biggest ship with the strongest shields and biggest weapon payload would be the optimal choice for giving it your best shot, i generally play with a defensive style but there are times when i like to flush them out of their comfort zones as well, all around this ship feels the closest in physics to the GX, which is my personal reason for flying it so much, but i love fusion too, and theres nothing wrong with a third party in that soup of death

And finally.

PYRO GX:
This is THE ONLY true pyro in my opinion, the GL is a sad comparison, considering the fact that the REAL pyro had no afterburner, No headlight, and you had to fly around with Lvl 1 lasers killing any opposition until you EARNED your weaponry, the fusion, plasma, quad 4s/supers, spreadfire AND vulcan were all masterfully crafted to be harmoniously even while still deadly in their own rights, which puts this ship on the top of my list.

Hope t'was informative.

My experience overall:

Classic Pyro GX - totally awesome, especially with those nice green quad lasers. Very well balanced between all the primaries, and well balanced against all the other Classic Pyro GX's it runs into.

Feenie - weak shields, weak weapons, big hitsphere. At its best in huge spaces (outdoor levels or oversized rooms) or in situations where speed really matters (flag-running or chasing; missile-boating hit-and-run chucker levels like Subway). A Feenie pilot who can do well in a mid-sized primary-dominated anarchy level will impress me.

Pyro GL - solid all around. Small hitsphere, good speed, good agility. In levels that aren't dominated by trifusion or uber-missiles, it's the ship I most fear a good pilot in.

Black Pyro - super-microwave is ridiculous. Many BP pilots rely too heavily on plasma, which is a decent but not great weapon even with the speed boost. Extremely slow without a cooler, somewhat fragile, but good turning rate and small hitsphere. Vauss is highly effective from a BP (definitely better than plasma) and makes a nice combo with double homers.

Magnum - heavy shields, heavy weapons, very good acceleration and maneuverability. At its best in smallish levels where opponents' speed advantages are neutralized, or where you can easily predict where an opponent will be (good tank pilots are hella dangerous in Halcyon.) Feels the most like the old-school D1 Pyro.

How I rank them depends on circumstances, which IMO is a sign that they're at least decently balanced.

Waltzn'Matilda anarchy: GL, Tank, BP, Feenie
Veins CTF: Feenie, GL, Tank, BP
Skybox: BP if micro enabled, Tank, Feenie, BP if micro disabled, GL
Indika: Tank, Feenie, GL, BP
1v1 in a Kata-like level: depends on the pilots and the opposing ship choice.

I prefer phoenix in regular descent for its maneuverability
Blackstar in pyromania is just plain win

I give them all a 10 out of 10 because they're all fun to fly.

Depends on how you want to rank them…

Most powerful…Magnum

Most fun to fly…BP

The one to fly if you don’t want to be nagged…Pyro

Mission specific…Phoenix/Magnum

I think it would have been a good thing if the game had only allowed one type of ship at a time. You would have had the fun of extra ships without all of the bull ship (pun intended).

Phoenix. The only one that fits with my... theme (a fox shot out of a cannon). All the other ships are so slow they're frustrating and unfun to fly. I don't mind the BP so much, as long as I have an AB Cooler.

Pyromania... I get the most kills with the Griffin.

I only like the Pyro GX in D2X-XL with the keyboard ramping turned off (and sometimes with friction turned down a bit).

The first custom ship in Lost Levels was awesome too (I haven't got the second one yet). DFW should make some multiplayer levels with the Lost Levels mod (or give someone else permission to do it).

A picture is worth a 1000 words

Am i the only one that knows D1 is MEANT to be played and enjoyed with kb ramping on?
geez, new things kill games.

Keyboard Ramping & Reduced Friction????? in the classics???

in Descent 3 Ramping gets turned off instantly, useless feature...... Mouselook too,! What's next a 180 flip ( orb users rejoice )

D3 has a ramping setting in it.

iirc, D1 and D2 ramping was done in windows settings?? Back when slow keyboard response was an issue.

/me slaps Duper with his keyboard

IIRC - you need to shush! Windows.. Ramping... LOL!! Sigged!

It doesn't matter what ship you fly... Be afraid... be very afraid!

My experience with the BP is that when I'm on my game it's almost like cheating. I would love to get a video of the BP being used to its fullest. I've only done it once or twice. Even magnums don't stand a chance.

I liked the Magnum some time before the magnum was cool (connection?). I remember when people used to think of the Magnum as slow. I believe that's where the nickname 'Tub' stems from. Initially it's a challenge being able to handle a slower ship, but in the hands of an experienced Magnum pilot it really brings the pain. You get knocked around less, and some of your weapons are more deadly. That's a winning combination in the hands of a pro.

The Pyro was my lone choice for some time, starting off in D3. It's a great ship, and anyone that thinks it needs to be strictly inferior to a Magnum in a game hasn't seen some of the better players flying it.

The Phoenix is a great runner, and has a nice wide weapons spread. I have used the Phoenix's speed to stay just outside of a Magnum's line-of-fire, in a close space, while hammering away with primaries. Literally using the enemy ship as the center of my rotation. It's a trick I only pulled off successfully probably 3 times in total (you've got to be really quick!), and it caused an experienced opponent to leave the game!

In the end I'll fly any of the ships anywhere.

Good topic!

Duper wrote:D3 has a ramping setting in it.

iirc, D1 and D2 ramping was done in windows settings?? Back when slow keyboard response was an issue.

yeah that's right. the trick was to turn up repeat rate as high as it could go to cut down on the internal ramping inside D1 and D2.

Ferno wrote:

Duper wrote:D3 has a ramping setting in it.

iirc, D1 and D2 ramping was done in windows settings?? Back when slow keyboard response was an issue.

yeah that's right. the trick was to turn up repeat rate as high as it could go to cut down on the internal ramping inside D1 and D2.

SEE?!


Yup Ferno. Technically it isn't "ramping" like D3 lets you, but it came in handy with those old IBM keyboards.

BUBBALOU wrote:
A picture is worth a 1000 words

failll.

Behemoth wrote:failll.

Pyro-GX is Fail? Stop using your brothers login, Korpse !

Behemoth wrote:PYRO GX:This is THE ONLY true pyro in my opinion

no, not the pyro bubbadude
the slogan underneath, dxx-rebirth is rubble.
btw it's mark, korpze does not use my account for the billion and 1st time.

Behemoth wrote:no, not the pyro bubbadude
the slogan underneath, dxx-rebirth is rubble.
btw it's mark, korpze does not use my account for the billion and 1st time.

DXX owns your D2X. Some of us like playing the actual Descent game, as we played it 15 years ago

i dont play d2x newbie.

Behemoth wrote:i dont play d2x newbie.

He still uses a 266 PII.. nuff said
when he finally gets out of the stone age he will convert or actually play something else

but he does enjoy the old open source d1x and d2x with their broken netcode...........

BUBBALOU wrote:

Behemoth wrote:i dont play d2x newbie.

He still uses a 266 PII.. nuff said
when he finally gets out of the stone age he will convert or actually play something else

but he does enjoy the old open source d1x and d2x with their broken netcode...........

better that than your hacked piece of crap rebirth.

d1x and d2x with their broken netcode....

Pretty much sums it up.

Behemoth wrote:

BUBBALOU wrote:

Behemoth wrote:i dont play d2x newbie.

He still uses a 266 PII.. nuff said
when he finally gets out of the stone age he will convert or actually play something else

but he does enjoy the old open source d1x and d2x with their broken netcode...........

better that than your hacked piece of crap rebirth.

No! For this you must wear the cone of shame!

flip wrote:

d1x and d2x with their broken netcode....

Pretty much sums it up.

It is being worked on.