| Factional variants of the Lightning | |
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| Civilian | Rebellion |
The Rauther Power Industries Lightning is a civilian ship in Escape Velocity Nova. This ship is unavailable for most of the Vell-os Storyline.
"The galaxy is a dangerous place, and one cannot always rely on the authorities to be in the right place at the right time. This being the case, many planetary governments have created small planetary defense militias, and the Rautherion Lightning is the backbone of such organizations. It falls somewhere between a fighter and a gunboat, and is versatile enough to take on the many roles required of such a craft." ― Buying a Lightning
The Lightning is a heavy fighter used primarily by independent militias of Federation planets. Very fast and flexible, it is the ship of choice for some of the Wild Geese mercenaries. Additionally, many independent captains fly the Lightning because of its low price tag and curiously large cargo hold for a fighter. The newness of the design is reflected in its higher jump speed.
Stats[]
"Rautherion's Lightning looks both pretty and capable, you think. And the captain of this particular one has a hard and capable look about him, as if he's seen more than enough combat to be able to handle himself. You would feel a lot more confident if you had him along." ― Hiring a Lightning
Civilian Heavy Fighter (#135)[]
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Surprisingly, the Lightning upgrades directly to the Wild Geese Variant rather than Rauther's own upgrade classes.
Shipyard Variants[]
Stat changes are relative to the stats of the basic model. The basic model is Civilian Heavy Fighter.
Wild Geese Variant (#191)[]
"While the basic Rautherion Lightning is an excellent ship in its own right, the Wild Geese needed more. They needed a ship capable of operating as a top rate fighter as well as having the firepower of a gunboat. The vessel that came the closest was the Lightning, so the Wild Geese bought a production license from the Rautherion company and began improving on the basic design. Before long, the Wild Geese version of the Lightning was born, and it was everything they could have hoped for." ― Buying a Wild Geese Lightning
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This is the best Lightning, hands down. There's no reason to consider Upgrades 1 and 2 when this is purchasable and they have to be acquired in the field. The only advantage they have is an additonal jump, which admittedly makes the WG Lightning more awkward for travel and can be considered a 3 ton advantage in their favor.
This shipvariant has an inherent government of Wild Geese which is used for combat purposes. This means that their enemies such as the Aurorans and Roughnecks will fire upon you. It is also found only on New Ireland with a tech level of 100, but you don't need to play the Wild Geese Storyline to acquire it.
Due to being produced and sold by an independent world, this shipvariant requires no licenses.
Wild Variants[]
The following shipvariants are unavailable in the shipyard and must be captured in the field.
Upgrade Class 1 (#277)[]
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This shipvariant is faster out the gate, features improved electronics, and has placed an additional missile launcher in the cargo bay. Unlike the Wild Geese, Rauther actually stocked the additional launcher with missiles to match.
Upgrade Class 2 (#278)[]
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This shipvariant features heavier armament and protection in exchange for a loss in rotatability.
Gameplay Analysis[]
"Better than a Viper, but a bit more expensive, too. The Wild Geese variant is the best of the bunch, but has an extra 100,000 credits on it's price tag. If you're looking for a good fighter, you may want to wait for the Thunderhead." ― EVula Survival Guide
The Lightning straddles the line of a fighter with the cargo capacity of a corvette. The basic Lightning has enough cargo capacity for the Bureau Storyline, while the variants will have to settle for every other storyline. It pays for this profile with a large hitbox for a fighter, low mass for a corvette and little staying power relative to heavier ships. It's important to understand just how fragile the Lightning is. Don't expect to survive a prolonged beating in one.
The Lightning's primary role is that of a space-superiority fighter; laying down a barrage of fire with its Light Cannons is sufficient to defeat most small craft (notable exceptions being the Polaris Manta and Rebel Thunderhead) but falls flat against anything heavier that has the range to return fire. That range requirement means that the Manticore (Original Version) falls to a cautious Lightning. This may come in handy when Freeing Eiric from the Desperation.
Much like the Asteroid Miner, the Lightning has a ridiculous number of gun slots for an economical craft. Additional Light Cannons can be installed. Alternatively, Hail Chainguns and Thunderhead Lances can turn the Lightning into a deadly close-range combatant. One major drawback is the lack of ample free space to equip all these slots, which can be problematic when gearing up to face heavier ships. A Radar or Hellhound Missile Launcher may alleviate this issue, except against targets with ample point-defence. Most Lightning variants come with a pair of IR Missile Launchers that could be sold to free up space for better outfits and more reliable weapons.
This is one of the few fighters that can effectively wield an Ionic Particle Cannon; the variants have room for it with just enough space left over for some performance and armor upgrades. A BioRelay Laser is also a good choice in the Polaris Storyline. It's also an option in the Rebellion Storyline, but then you should be flying the Rebel Lightning.
Images[]
The Lightning was modelled by Dave Williams of ATMOS. He may even have made the textures.
Appearance[]
The Lightning's main body has the appearance of a Prince Rupert's drop. A yellow canopy is at the fore of the drop. A yellow stripe adorns the drop's tail. There are three S-shaped wings spaced out around the drop at 120° intervals, each with a large dark-gray pod at the base that connects to the main body. Each wing mounts a pair of stubby cannons at the foremost tip. The spaces in-between the wings (a 60° offset) are occupied with smaller light-gray engine pods that exhaust with a blueish fire. Each pod connects to adjacent pods (wing and engine alike) with wide struts. It's unclear how the Lightning lands or docks, but it may be that they plant in the ground using their tail as a root like a flower; in which case specialized infrastructure would be required to support them.
Ship Spins[]
This ship has 36 frames per set and 3 sets for 108 frames in total. It banks when turning in one direction for a certain amount of time. The Lightning has poor masking near its tail, with several stray pixels eating into it.
- Ship: 48x48
- Engine: 48x48
Representative Images[]
Additional Images[]
The FBT Lightning was the original version of the Lightning that was nixed by Andrew "Moki" Welch, CEO of Ambrosia. The curvier Lightning was created as a result. FBT stands for “Fuckeny Bollocks Thing”. The concept was that the pods would rotate. The claws would act as magnetic clamps. After disabling a ship, you'd latch onto it and then the central component would rotate 180 degrees allowing you to pull your victim away from their escorts. The dense looking pods in the wireframe aren't engines but triple-barrelled laser things, pointed forward.
