Skull Leader

You know, the online play aspect is about the only thing I really regret about not getting the X360. I'd really love to hook up with you guys and rock it out. Now if anyone has the DS, maybe some mario-kart action could be in order....

[4chan] You win 5 million experience points and 52 internets [/4chan]

More important task was to task is to support ground forces who're under attack. 353777[/snapback] Actually, it depends on the gunship type as for what it's intended role was. The original AC-47 "Spooky" was designed almost solely for infantry supression (they only carried 3 7.62mm miniguns... and in one airframe's case 5 .30cal machineguns). This was the same role that was delegated to the AC-119G "Shadow" (4 miniguns I believe... maybe 3, I can't remember). The AC-119K "Stinger", with it's added 20mm vulcan cannons were tasked with troop support AND vehicle hunting up and down the trail. The AC-130 program was a *little* more diverse than that. When the original AC-130As were sent to SEA, they were packing FOUR 7.62 miniguns and FOUR 20mm vulcan cannons, like the Stinger, they were originally tasked with troop support but eventually got released to their truck-hunting duties on the trail (with deadly efficiency it turned out). When project "surprise package" was commenced and the AC-130As had the dual 40mm Bofors cannons added (at the loss of two minis and two 20mms), minor artillery strikes on lightly fortified positions were added to the tasking order. the "pave pronto" upgrade (the addition of the black crow ignition-finding radar on the side of the nose) simply made the AC-130A a more deadly night-fighter. That was about the extent of the AC-130As duties. With project "Pave Spectre" (the arming of the AC-130Es with the 105mm howitzer, the AC-130As never received this), the AC-130Es got duties tank hunting (used very efficiently during the easter offensive in the early 1970s), as the 105 allowed the Spectre to hit targets harder and from ranges further out. Unfortunately at these ranges, the 20mms were rendered ineffective, although the 40mm was still useful. As a side note/bit of trivia, at least two AC-130As were known to fly missions as recently as the first gulf war. There is some debate as to whether or not those flew in the war with their original 3-bladed allison props, or the 4-bladed hamilton standard props. Most of my late-life photos of AC-130As doesn't show the props (or shows the props in motion), so it's difficult to tell. I know at least one AC-130A DID get 4-bladed props, and logic would lead me to believe the others did too, but I can't prove it.

I rather thought that JB0 was trying to point out that the initial concept for Xenogears was a much larger affair than what it wound up being, and it STILL offered more whoopass in one game than has yet to be seen anywhere else in the world.

Ditto. And it's not as if we're somehow violently opposed to the game, or let it ruin our lives as some seem to be implying, rather that the game isn't "all that" as so many of the "ZOMG WTF" generation seem to think it is.

It made perfect sense in my opinion . And Skull Leader I hope to finish playing the whole FF series but that aint going to happen for awhile. Im currently hooked on SWBFII, FFXI, Matrix Path of Neo, and I hate to say this but..Im going to play the trial of WoW to see how the game goes . 353359[/snapback] Then you've basically turned against your own argument. In the meantime, you have no grounds to stand on when talking about FF as a whole. It makes more sense to me now why you say the things you do, you're barely old enough to drive a car on your own legally!

AC-130U had the 20mms replace with a single 25mm rotary cannon. 353344[/snapback] ... I knew that... really I did... I swear. (I really need to get that Gunship history book by squadron... sheesh)

It's not without it's faults, but FF2j is a great game!

I didn't speak in absolutes. I pointed out that there were exceptions, but they're exactly that, EXCEPTIONS. Maybe a handful of people who really liked FFVII were true fans of the series before that. The vast majority are bandwagoners. (I, for one, thought 7 had good music, and good summons, but that's about where I draw the line). Dean, if you haven't played all the way through any of the old school final fantasy series (2-6), you've missed out on most of what made the FF series so kickass.

It is still easy enough for the AC-130 gunner to put a couple of 25mm shells through a targeted individual or vehicle. AC-130s would be using the 25mm and the 40mm cannons on targets close to friendlies, the 105mm would not be use unless it is ask for by the ground forces. 353302[/snapback] ACs do more shooting with the 40mm than anything else. The dual 20s on the A/H models (and recent pictures seem to indicate that the H models are no longer carrying the 20mms at all) and the single 20 on the U model is really only used to soften up light targets (vehicles) or for area saturation. The 105 "big mother" is usually used for things like bringing buildings down or heavily fortified bunkers. I have a gun camera video from an AC-130 in afghanistan... they take out this entire encampment around a mosque (and eventually they were authorized to bring that down also). I can only imagine what those people on the ground must've thought. They had no A/A defenses, and being in the middle of the night, they probably had little to no idea what was attacking them. It's grisly enough that you do eventually see a body or two go flying. I believe most everything fired in the video was from the 105 (or so the rate of fire would indicate)... you don't see any tracers, so I don't think the 20 was used, and you don't hear the steady rhythmic thump of the 40mm. It's a pretty wicked video, and easy enough to see why they got the name "spectre".

Touched a sore spot, have I? Are you so insecure in your fanboyism that because someone insults what you like (and it IS pretty damn gay) you absolutely fall to pieces? Real men (and women) don't worry about what others think, as you obviously do. If you were a diehard fan, you'd continue to love Southern Cross regardless of how much ass it eats. Go jack off in your mother's underwear drawer you pussy... and rejoin the conversation when you're done acting like such a sh!tstain. If it bothers you still, either a) learn to like something that doesn't suck for once, or b) build a bridge and get over it. Furthermore, just because Greyhawk came BEFORE Forgotten Realms doesn't mean it's BETTER. I would again point to the fact that Greyhawk was already almost nothing but a memory by the time I started playing AD&D in the late 1980s/early 1990s Meanwhile, back on the topic: an action-driven comic might not be such a bad thing. RA Salvatore had a wonderful way of narrarating the action sequences in his books that one sometimes has to wonder if John Woo had all of a sudden walked into Salvatores office and said "this is how it shall be done". Now the question is, is it all new material? Or is it just a rehash of already written events?

Whereas before I only thought you were sorta gay (for your silly Southern Cross fetish), now I think you're REALLY gay. GREYHAWK??? possibly THE most short-lived D&D suppliment ever created... if it were such a hot thing (and it wasn't), WHY wasn't more Greyhawk material produced?

here third paragraph down.

The Gunship history page specifically mentions that some of them were deployed to Somalia.

I could watch this exchange for days...

I would argue that hovering over the city during the opening nights of the invasion of Baghdad would be something fierce to behold. You're talking about AA Guns on almost every building top (and plenty in the streets also) with the entire city ringed by SAM sites. Now, having said that, YES it would be suicide to send them in there completely alone, however they were anything but. There were Tomcats, Hornets, Vipers, and Eagles all over the skies of Iraq those nights, in many cases chasing after SAM sites the moment they plugged them in. ACs still had plenty to deal with though. On to Mogadishu though, I'm pretty sure that 16SOS had a Spectre or two on station, the problem is, they didn't have hard confirmed data on where the targets were (they moved from building to building pretty regularly, and there were innocent civilians EVERYWHERE). I would not at all be surprised if the rebels surrounded themselves by innocents for just such a reason. Under night vision, one person very much looks like another, so unless you have a forward observer calling in the strike on a specific target (or that target is CLEARLY enemy in nature), blowing sh!t up at random can have pretty serious ramifications. [edit: I did a little checking, 16 Special Operations Squadron DID have a contingent of Spectres on hand for Somalia, but I can't find any records of any combat with the AC-130Hs they sent.]

AC-130s have eaten SAMS and AA sites for breakfast in almost ever major conflict they've been involved in. In vietnam they accounted for destruction of over half of the targets hit on the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the entire conflict. They actively hunted SAM and AA sites in Desert Storm and in OIF/OEF. They're VERY effective and VERY lethal. They're also not without countermeasure protection from SAMs. They have a chaff and flare dispenser mounted to the back cargo ramp that they just open and light off whenever SAMs cut loose. A good friend of mine that just got back from spending 2 years in Iraq was in a convoy that got saved by an AC-130 once. They were on their way to Fallujah when they got pinned down by rebels. The Iraqis were positioned in such a way that if the American forces wanted to get at them, they'd have to expose themselves... ... so they called in the Gunship. About 2 orbits later, "Heavy Metal 4" (the Gunships have been operating with the callsign "Heavy Metal" and a number designation in Iraq apparently) had racked up a 30 man bodycount.

I would think not. Harriers are total hell on wheels when it comes to supporting troops on the ground and for coastal defense, but really I can think of a handful of fighters that can do every other job much better.

Best. Deduction. EVER. LOL

You're not interrupting anything, bud... feel free to join in the discussion! Our gripe with the F-22A is that much of the aircraft's avionics system is already obsolete (in fact, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe there is a processor or two that is out of production that is currently being USED in the F-22). It's still head and shoulders above what the rest of the world is flying, but it's not without it's issues. Our gripe with the JSF/F-35 is that Lockheed/Martin is trying to sell us one fourth the aircraft at two thirds the price of an F-22. The F-16 outperforms it in virtually every respect (save stealth, but as David said, it doesn't take much to ruin that). Better to let the USAF cancel the F-35 and buy more Raptors and let the USN develop their own indiginous light strike fighter to replace the Legacy Hornet.

Could end with a Euro version of the Super Bug if something goes wrong during the conversion. 352764[/snapback] Hmm, will the new brit carriers be able to handle an aircraft that large? Aren't their new carrier designs still requiring a STOL aircraft? The Super Hornet isn't STOL capable...

PREACH IT ON, BROTHER!! All hail the Pave Spectre! My only dislike about the U models is that they did away with the Black Crow radar (the bump that used to be on the port side of the nose)... this was a defining characteristic of a Gunship C-130.... now the remaining H models (and there are plenty left) are doing away with them too. (AC-130U 90-0166 "Hell Raiser" over the gulf coast in Florida)

The same could be said of you for offering up such a silly poll in the first place. That's entirely a subjective thing. Just because that is what you believe does not make it so. You'll note that I've not offered up my opinion as divine wrote, just stated it as an opinion. It's just that I seriously doubt that most people who call FF7 their favorite have taken even a brief amount of time to appreciate what went into the earlier incarnations. (they exist, but they're rare) Have you seriously even played through any of 1-6? I mean PLAYED some of them, not dabbled through 30 minutes of it and put it away? FFIV and VI are easily the two magnum opus' of the Final Fantasy series (while 4 is my favorite, it simply does not get more dynamic than FFVI... the number of characters and story is mind-boggling). If you haven't played any of these based on the fact that they don't offer cutting edge graphics you're seriously kicking yourself in the nuts. This doesn't make any sense at all.

die JSF... DIE. a Naval Eurofighter would be awesome to see. Given the performance capabilities of the EF right now, I could easily see a NEF in action. If the British had carriers the size of the ones we (the US) field, I guarantee they wouldn't have given the JSF a second thought. Since they didn't hold the "diversity in the airwing" philosophy that the US until-so-recently held, they really need a "all in one" multirole fighter for a carrier jet. Naval Jaguars and Tornado ADFs... THAT'S what they need! In all seriousness, I can imagine that Northrop-Grumman is probably developing some kind of project to pick up the slack once the JSF fails. Perhaps a successor to the A-6?

Just callin' it as I see it. To me FF truly died when FFVII hit the markets. I don't feel there's been a true FF game since (6 was the last in the line of kings... the rest are just bastardized offspring). Tactics was good enough, but other than being eyecandy (X and X-2 especially) they've offered up NOTHING like their older counterparts. So YES, it would have been better if FFXI had never existed. I'm apprehensive about FFXII, but I'm sure I'll be trying it.