| Factional variants of the Viper | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Civilian | Federation | Pirate | Rebellion |
The Comara Racing Viper is a civilian ship in Escape Velocity Nova. This ship is unavailable for most of the Vell-os Storyline.
"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 armor and armament. This model is a civilian shell by Comara Racing." ― Buying a Viper
The Viper is a small fighter, and is arguably the weakest combat ship in the game. It mounts light protection, relying more on speed and agility. Regardless, Vipers are considered good frameworks for development, as several military variants exist.
Power Sled racing originally developed this as a racing sled for the Galactic Racing Network. However, it didn’t take spacefarers long to begin tweaking it as a means of travel. It is now used as the mainstream short-range fighter for the Federation, Rebels and Pirates.
Stats[]
"The young woman piloting this banana-yellow Viper would look more at home as a grease monkey at a race track than as a fighter pilot. «Actually,» she says, «I was a PowerSled pilot for a while, but escort duty pays more.» She seems somewhat uncertain about this, and continues to tune her aft plasma relay." ― Hiring a Viper
Fighter Class (#167)[]
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This ship comes prepared to fight Shuttles, and not much more.
Wild Variants[]
Stat changes are relative to the stats of the basic model. The basic model is Fighter Class.
The following shipvariants are unavailable in the shipyard and must be captured in the field.
Heavy Fighter Class (#335)[]
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The significant bonus here is the additional outfit space from the addition of the rocket pods.
Auroran Outfits Detected (#336)[]
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This shipvariant additionally features a modest boost to speed.
Gameplay Analysis[]
"The Viper is a fairly common sight, in one version or another, in Nova. This the original version. The reason that there have been so many modifications to the other ones is because the original sucks. Good for it's price, but you'd be better off saving your money for something else." ― EVula Survival Guide
The Viper's natural environment is flying high-speed though hoops in space. Even with the modifications, the Viper makes for a poor combat craft. One problem that is immediately apparent is that dual Light Blasters are not a particularly effective armament.
The main problems with the Viper as a combat vessel are its fragility and its low mass. Everything knocks it around. This is sometimes a boon, as you may end up being knocked away from further danger. Additionally, since it disables at 33% you get less staying power for a fight from armor upgrades. The main problems with the Viper as a general spacecraft are its extremely low range and cargo capacity that is insufficient for most main storylines.
The Viper's main advantages are speed and small size. It's able to outrun missiles and dodge railguns.
A Viper can be quite formidable when equipped with an Ion Cannon and a pair of Hail Chainguns. The remaining outfit space should be allocated to armor upgrades, as the Viper needs it greatly. This is not to say that terrorizing the galaxy in a Viper is easy, only that it is possible. Even a heavily upgraded Viper has paper for shields and cardboard for armor.
Images[]
The Civilian Viper was made by Scott Vardy who modeled the Fed Viper, then Dave Williams made the rest based on his original. Textures were by Phil and Steve Chick.
Appearance[]
The Viper features a head-only cockpit.
The Viper has a mottled shell in various shades of yellow and black, like a banana that's beginning to turn overripe. It has a V-shaped body with two swept back wings and a single engine placed beneath an array of exhaust vents.
The Viper features a head-only cockpit canopy, and the pilot gets in via lifting a section of the top deck out. This arrangement would be somewhat impractical for interstellar travel and would feel akin to being buried alive in a coffin.
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.
- Ship: 32x32
- Lights: 64x64
- Engine: 64x64
Representative Images[]
Additional Images[]
