somthing diffrent then the tug

Well I'm out in the cluster, doing good deeds for everyone from The Kong to the Governor -- I even wore the Governor's IFF code so I would be attacked though his ship was far superior to mine, but strangely everyone seems to know how to get Corvettes except me.

Even the backwater Stepsons are flying 'vettes. I've been to every system in the Badlands, saved countless convoys from destruction, and even blown a Marauder LDSi super-generator ship sky high, and all they give me is the same junk I get by shooting out the thrusters on Maas freighters.

"Oh, Cal, you saved us! Here's your reward!"

Great, just what I need, front-end loaders and edible fungus. Woopie. Pile it with the other junk.

The lousy Kong in their slick Corvettes didn't send a single trade offer my way though I saved them from nuking the wrong people, those ungrateful S.O.B.'s. How about a blueprint for those fancy Corvettes you guys fly? Huh? Just one lousy blueprint. If you guys really mean all that crap about how great I am how come I'm not worthy of one stinking blueprint? But of course they hop in their 'vettes and fly off after thanking me profusely. How touching. I'll just fly home basking in the glow of their approval IN A TUG.

I can bring home massive hauls of cargo, but it's pointless, because I can neither buy, trade, build, nor steal a stinkin' ship.

Act 2 has great ships, all right: remote fighters! Yay! I can't wait to see what Act 3 has in store ... let me guess: remote turret fighters? I'll be the envy of tug pilots everywhere! (All 3 of them who have not yet upgraded to Corvettes ...)

MY KINGDOM FOR A SHIP!

it wont be long be patient, you get all the player flyable ships before act3, but cmon man, really, the tug aint so bad:D

"Faith lies in the ways of sin"

Two words for ya, pal: Corvette Envy!

(I just got the MCA Convoy Mission, which I've heard hopeful things about ...)

ya but no 'vette, you get the advpatcom, in my opinion much better than the slow and cumbersome 'vette, but some people like slow power better than speed and agility;)

"Faith lies in the ways of sin"

I also gotta defend the tug. Once you get the other ships, especially the advanced PatCom, the game becomes, well...almost too easy. And that ship is so fast and manoeuverable it flies like a fighter...which isn't what I was going for in a larger ship space sim. So I spent most of my time in either the tug (armed to the teeth, it can put up quite a fight), or the Heavy Corvette, which is how a big-arsed space ship should feel imho. I was totally fed up with the tug after being forced to spend so much time in it, too. Once you get all the other ships...and they come in kind of a rush...you'll look back on your old Spider-class tub with fondness. You'll find yourself loading the game to play through it again with JUST the tug, because that was the only ship that made the game really challenging...even after you've fired up the elite mod (which should be renamed 'spank-the-player' mod it's so stinkin' hard at times).

Then again, everyone has their own preferences...I'm just one of the slow heavy ship types.

--
Hot4Darmat

I'm going to unleash the furies on Maas -- who I just know is secretly funding and equipping the Marauders -- in honor of my new PatCom! Woohoo!

Pine away for the old crate all you want, but I'm tired of it. I spent the entire first half of the game stuck in that lunch pail. That's not to say, however, that the Tug shouldn't be taken seriously.

In terms of the Tug's spaceworthiness, I can say from fighting many different opponents that the Tug is very dangerous in battle because of its heavy armaments. If you're up against a Tug, take it out fast, or it will soon do the same to you!

Its biggest weakness isn't so much its sluggishness or lack of speed but its PROFILE. It's shaped like a great big bullseye target! I shudder when I imagine seeing my old Tug through the eyes of my opponents ...

Weapon dissipation notwithstanding there is virtually no range at which one cannot hit a tug. While 'vettes are streamlined enough that it's worth holding fire on those 6-10 km profile shots to charge up for a burst on the aft, bow, or at closer range, there is almost no way to shoot at a tug without hitting it.

Against the gat this difference really shows. Nothing can stand against the gat, of course, even if only 1 in 10 rounds hits, but against an evasive-flying 'vette at medium-long range you can chew through upwards of 400 rounds before it finally blows, missed shots eating away your ammo. Tugs pop like soap bubbles after maybe 20 shots.

I can only assume my unashamed use of the "Newtonian Escape" is the only thing that kept me alive during the dark days of my own Tugdom ... that and the myopia that must've come over my opponents, chasing after that big, juicy target-shaped booger whilst my wingmen (women, rather) plinked away at them in their nimble turret fighters. Give the girls gats and you'll really see some fireworks ... for a little while, anyway ...