Nobody has ever done spaceflight correctly. I guess it's not that big a deal because it's just a game but in space the ships would not have an atmosphere to bank against. Spaceships in these games always fly like airplanes and that just ain't kosher.
I've never been sure if it's because the people who make the games don't understand or if they think the players wouldn't understand if they did it correctly. Oh well.
In these games, it's because they take their cue from the movies which take their cue from the old serial "space" shows like Flash Gordon. Also, I believe Lucas wanted battle to be like dogfighting.
It's something the watcher can immediately grab on to and it's exciting.
Star Wars isn't science fiction, it isn't trying to be realistic, it's trying to be fun and exciting.
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I feel SyFy channels remake of Battlestar Galactica was very believable when they did the Viper piloting. I can't begin to count the times a Viper would flip 180 degrees using maneuvering thrusters to end up facing the ship chasing them, while still maintaining foward momentum.
Realism is an awful excuse for putting something in a game. What about the Star Wars universe is realistic? The hovering vehicles and droids? The ships? Games meant to be played and fun. Clamoring for realism misses the entire point of good game development.
Realistic space combat would be a garbage game. I don’t know if this Star Wars game is good, but I know dog fighting is going to be far more enjoyable then computer controlled automated weapons fire over a long distance.
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Nobody has ever done spaceflight correctly. I guess it's not that big a deal because it's just a game but in space the ships would not have an atmosphere to bank against. Spaceships in these games always fly like airplanes and that just ain't kosher.
I've never been sure if it's because the people who make the games don't understand or if they think the players wouldn't understand if they did it correctly. Oh well.
It's because aircraft physics make the game better.
It doesn't matter that in reality space battles would likely be either super-long range exchange or fire, or an engagement where at least one side would spent hours accelerating for high-speed bypass, when aircraft -like dogfights make for much more fun game.
All games are abstractions. To be a good game it has to be a fun abstration for a bunch of players. And Star Wars was always space opera, modeled on wwi/wwii flight styles. So in that arena, the game hews close to its film source.
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.
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I can't begin to count the times a Viper would flip 180 degrees using maneuvering thrusters to end up facing the ship chasing them, while still maintaining foward momentum.
--John Ruskin
If you are holding out for the perfect game, the only game you play will be the waiting one.