Difference between revisions of "Jugger"

Latest revision as of 21:11, 16 March 2014

Fan-made image by VileRancour.

The Utwig Jugger is one of the most dangerous ships in our region of space thanks to its unique weapons and shield system. During the events of Star Control II, this ship design fares very well in large-scale warfare against the Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah, inflicting grievous casualties on the Kohr-Ah fleet before the Utwig themselves sustain too many losses to continue, withdrawing back to their space.

Propulsion[edit]

The Jugger's thrusters are about average relative to other spacecraft. This ship accelerates somewhat slowly, but can build up to enough top speed to pursue and overtake various low and medium speed enemy craft. It is outfitted with a set of amazingly powerful turning jets, and is capable of coming about as quickly as a vessel less than half its size.

Armament[edit]

Primary[edit]

The Jugger's main weapon is an array of six forward-facing, "energy spear" cannons powered by an extremely efficient dynamo system. With it, the cannons have a virtually limitless supply of energy, and are able to fire without drawing any energy from the Jugger's battery. While weak individually, these cannons fire rapidly and cover a wide area together. Many energy spears may hit with each salvo, depending on the accuracy of the Jugger's pilot and the size of the enemy spacecraft. Each spear will kill one member of the enemy's crew upon striking the ship.

Secondary[edit]

The Jugger is equipped with an unusual shield system. While shields are up, this ship is capable of withstanding a seemingly limitless amount of punishment from both kinetic and thermal attacks, then absorbing this energy into the ship's own battery. However, this shield draws a significant amount of power to operate and the Jugger is not capable of generating any additional battery power during combat. If the ship's battery runs out, the Jugger's shield is no longer usable for the rest of the engagement. Weapons which disable rather than damage are not prevented by the Jugger's shield. Another limitation of this system is that the Jugger's cannons cannot fire while it is active.

Tactical Overview[edit]

While ideally the Jugger's shield can block all damage and never lose energy, in practice neither the AI nor any player can achieve this 'perfect shielding'. Consequently, the Jugger is highly vulnerable to low damage weapons such as the Mmrnmhrm X-Form's missiles which realistically take more energy to shield against than they impart on impact. Conversely, devastating weapons such as the Chmmr Avatar's laser or the Ur-Quan Dreadnought's fusion bolt are powerful enough that the shield can absorb far more energy than it drains.

The Jugger is well suited for directly slugging it out against ships which rely on superior firepower, using its shield to absorb incoming attacks and returning fire when it is safe to do so. The best opportunities for the Jugger to retaliate are when its opponent's battery is depleted, or their front turned away from the Jugger.

The Jugger is highly susceptible to disabling weapons such as the Chenjesu Broodhome's DOGI, the VUX Intruder's limpet, or the Melnorme Trader's confusion ray. These weapons pass right through the Jugger's shield.

The Jugger's poor acceleration makes gravity wells dangerous when travelling at full speed. Watch out.

Pillboxing is a highly effective tactic against any adversary which cannot attack the Jugger from beyond its firing range. This is due to the ship's excellent turning rate and its wide-coverage, rapid-fire cannons.

The Jugger is one of the better ships in the game against the Sa-Matra, along with the Pkunk Fury, as its shield renders the Sa-Matra's comets useless. It has some trouble being bounced around by the sentinel orbs, however.

Minutiae[edit]

The Jugger's shield does not absorb energy from collisions with the Androsynth Guardian in its Blazer form. While a shielded Jugger won't take damage from the Blazer, it also cannot re-energize its batteries from it.

Orz space marines are repelled (but not harmed) by the Jugger's shield. This provides the Jugger with no energy gain.

The shield does not protect against the Shofixti Scout's Glory Device. The Jugger takes the same amount of damage from the explosion whether it is shielded or unshielded.

3DO	Utwig Jugger

Basic stats

Crew: 20	Value: 22 pts
Battery: 20	Batt. Regeneration: 0 units/frame

Armament

Primary: Energy spears	Secondary: Absorption shield
Refire delay: 7 frames	Refire delay: 12 frames
Energy use: 0 units	Energy use: 1 units

Propulsion

Max speed: 36 world units/frame	Turn rate: 0.5 facings/frame
Acceleration: 0.86 units/frame	Mass: 8

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 [[Image:Notext_VR_jugger.png‎|thumb|306px|Fan-made image by VileRancour.]]
-The [[Utwig]] '''Jugger''' is one of the most dangerous ships in our region of space, thanks to its unique weapons and shield systems.
+The [[Utwig]] '''Jugger''' is one of the most dangerous ships in our region of space thanks to its unique weapons and shield system. During the events of Star Control II, this ship design fares very well in large-scale warfare against the [[Ur-Quan]] [[Kohr-Ah]], inflicting grievous casualties on the Kohr-Ah fleet before the Utwig themselves sustain too many losses to continue, withdrawing back to their space.
 ==Propulsion==
-The Jugger is surprisingly fast for its size, although its acceleration is weak.  But it is also outfitted with a set of amazingly powerful turning jets, and is capable of coming about as quickly as a vessel less than half its size.
+The Jugger's thrusters are about average relative to other spacecraft. This ship accelerates somewhat slowly, but can build up to enough top speed to pursue and overtake various low and medium speed enemy craft. It is outfitted with a set of amazingly powerful turning jets, and is capable of coming about as quickly as a vessel less than half its size.
 ==Armament==
 ===Primary===
-The Jugger's main weapon is an array of six forward-facing, "energy spear" cannons powered by an extremely efficient combat dynamo system.  With it, the cannons have a virtually limitless supply of energy, and are able to fire without drawing any energy from the combat batteries.  With a moderate rate of fire and damage, a Jugger can obliterate most other ships with a few salvos. Each cannon "spear" in a salvo will kill one member of the enemy's crew upon striking the ship.
+The Jugger's main weapon is an array of six forward-facing, "energy spear" cannons powered by an extremely efficient dynamo system. With it, the cannons have a virtually limitless supply of energy, and are able to fire without drawing any energy from the Jugger's battery. While weak individually, these cannons fire rapidly and cover a wide area together. Many energy spears may hit with each salvo, depending on the accuracy of the Jugger's pilot and the size of the enemy spacecraft. Each spear will kill one member of the enemy's crew upon striking the ship.
 ===Secondary===
-The Jugger is equipped with a unique shielding system.  It is capable of absorbing an almost limitless amount of punishment from both kinetic and energy-based attacks, and it in fact converts this energy for storage in its combat batteries!  However, the vessel is not capable of replenishing energy on its own, so if the combat batteries run out, the shields are no longer usable. The only way for a Jugger to get its energy levels back up then is by leaving the combat theater; a Jugger always enters battle with its batteries at half of its maximum capacity.
+The Jugger is equipped with an unusual shield system. While shields are up, this ship is capable of withstanding a seemingly limitless amount of punishment from both kinetic and thermal attacks, then absorbing this energy into the ship's own battery. However, this shield draws a significant amount of power to operate and the Jugger is not capable of generating any additional battery power during combat. If the ship's battery runs out, the Jugger's shield is no longer usable for the rest of the engagement. Weapons which disable rather than damage are not prevented by the Jugger's shield. Another limitation of this system is that the Jugger's cannons cannot fire while it is active.
 ==Tactical Overview==
-The Jugger's shields consume energy when used, but they absorb energy from enemy attacks.  Therefore, a skilled Jugger pilot who uses his shields only when necessary can keep his batteries fully charged and minimize damage to his ship.  A corollary to this is that one should keep an eye on "skirmisher" weapons that require more energy to shield against than will be regained by shielding against them.  Such weapons can slowly bleed the batteries dry, leaving captains in a vulnerable position.
+* While ideally the Jugger's shield can block all damage and never lose energy, in practice neither the AI nor any player can achieve this 'perfect shielding'. Consequently, the Jugger is highly vulnerable to low damage weapons such as the [[Mmrnmhrm]] [[X-Form|X-Form's]] missiles which realistically take more energy to shield against than they impart on impact. Conversely, devastating weapons such as the [[Chmmr]] [[Avatar|Avatar's]] laser or the [[Ur-Quan]] [[Dreadnought|Dreadnought's]] fusion bolt are powerful enough that the shield can absorb far more energy than it drains.
-The Jugger's massive size and poor acceleration make [[gravity well]]s particularly dangerous, since at full speed they can be difficult to avoid.  This, combined with the excellent turning rate of the ship and unique weapons systems, make [[pillboxing]] a wildly popular tactic.
+* The Jugger is well suited for directly slugging it out against ships which rely on superior firepower, using its shield to absorb incoming attacks and returning fire when it is safe to do so. The best opportunities for the Jugger to retaliate are when its opponent's battery is depleted, or their front turned away from the Jugger.
-When fighting a computer-controlled [[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za|Ur-Quan]] [[Dreadnought]] or [[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah|Kohr-Ah]] [[Marauder]], a most effective strategy is a full-on frontal assault.  The computer makes a policy of firing as fast as it can, so on approach, absorb all the punishment they can dish out, and when their fuel tanks run dry, take a potshot or two from point-blank range.  As soon as they get enough energy to fire back, they will, so keep the shields at the ready, and whittle them down to nothing with impunity. Indeed, some consider this ship to be more effective against Dreadnoughts AND Marauders than even the almighty [[Chmmr]] [[Avatar]]! It is worth noting, however, that a lone Dreadnought fighter represents a hole in this strategy, as their individual attacks do not appreciably replenish the Jugger's shields, and once shield energy is exhausted the Jugger can easily be picked apart.
+* The Jugger is highly susceptible to disabling weapons such as the [[Chenjesu]] [[Broodhome|Broodhome's]] DOGI, the [[VUX]] [[Intruder|Intruder's]] limpet, or the [[Melnorme]] [[Trader|Trader's]] confusion ray. These weapons pass right through the Jugger's shield.
-One thing to note is that a Jugger's shields do not absorb energy from an [[Androsynth]] [[Guardian]] in its Blazer form.  While the Jugger won't take damage from the [[Guardian]]'s Blazer form, it also cannot re-energize its Batteries from it.  It can, however, re-energize from the molecular acid spheres the [[Guardian]] fires, just like it might from any other standard projectile.
+* The Jugger's poor acceleration makes [[gravity well|gravity wells]] dangerous when travelling at full speed. Watch out.
-Also worth noting is that the shield does not protect against the [[Shofixti]] [[Scout]]'s [[Glory Device]]. The Jugger takes the same damage from the explosion whether shielded or unshielded.
+* [[Pillboxing]] is a highly effective tactic against any adversary which cannot attack the Jugger from beyond its firing range. This is due to the ship's excellent turning rate and its wide-coverage, rapid-fire cannons.
-The Jugger is one of the best ships in the game against the [[Sa-Matra]], along with the [[Pkunk]] [[Fury]], as its shields render the Sa-Matra's comets useless.
+* The Jugger is one of the better ships in the game against the [[Sa-Matra]], along with the [[Pkunk]] [[Fury]], as its shield renders the Sa-Matra's comets useless. It has some trouble being bounced around by the sentinel orbs, however.
-===Strong Against===
+==Minutiae==
-[[Umgah]] [[Drone]]:  All an Utwig captain has to do is allow the Drone to fire upon the Jugger for a while, allowing the Jugger to fully replenish its batteries.  After this, the Utwig captain merely has to get out of the Umgah's effective range, and rip the Drone to pieces. Even if the Drone keeps its antimatter cone up, it is possible to get into a position where the outer spears can fire around the cone.
-[[Ur-Quan Kohr-Ah|Kohr-Ah]] [[Marauder]]:  As noted above, a direct frontal assault is often the best tactic.  The Marauder is not quite fast enough to outrun the Jugger on its own, and well-timed use of the energy shield will allow the Jugger to withstand both the homing mines and the F.R.I.E.D. without damage.  Once weapons range is achieved, there is little the Marauder can do to prevent the Jugger's endless salvoes from reducing it to scrap.  The Jugger captain must remain alert, however, for any already-fired mines that may be slowly closing in; concentrating solely on shielding against direct shots can lead to indirect casualties.
+* The Jugger's shield does not absorb energy from collisions with the [[Androsynth]] [[Guardian]] in its Blazer form. While a shielded Jugger won't take damage from the Blazer, it also cannot re-energize its batteries from it.
-[[Ur-Quan Kzer-Za|Ur-Quan]] [[Dreadnought]]: As noted above, a direct frontal assault is usually the best tactic. An AI Dreadnought will rarely deploy fighters against a Jugger with shield energy, as the energy spears can easily strike them down. The fusion blasts are good for recovering a Jugger's shields, as they deal the highest amount of damage/firing rate and thus recover the fastest amount of energy in the shortest time of any weapon in the game except the Hellbore Cannon (full game only).
+* Orz space marines are repelled (but not harmed) by the Jugger's shield. This provides the Jugger with no energy gain.
-[[Mycon]] [[Podship]]: The slow firing rate and high visibility of the Mycon's projectiles mean that an Utwig can usually leave this battle with no damage, although their very close max speeds (although the Utwig's is slightly higher) mean that this battle can take a while, especially if the Mycon is allowed to regenerate.
+* The shield does not protect against the [[Shofixti]] [[Scout]]'s [[Glory Device]]. The Jugger takes the same amount of damage from the explosion whether it is shielded or unshielded.
-===Tenuous Against===
-[[Chenjesu]] [[Broodhome]]: The Broodhome's DOGIs can rapidly drain an Utwig's battery, leaving it defenseless and forced to resort to a probably-fatal frontal charge. However, the DOGIs are slow-moving, as well as being a big target, and if the Jugger can take them down the battle will usually only go one way.
-===Weak Against===
-[[Melnorme]] [[Trader]]: The Trader's confusion ray, in addition to causing the Jugger to rotate uncontrollably, prevents use of the shield as long as the Jugger is affected, allowing the Trader to pick it apart with relative ease. The fast turning rate and slow firing rate of the Jugger mean that the captain will find it difficult to strike accurately even with timed shots.
-[[Orz]] [[Nemesis]]: When faced with the Nemesis' Marines an Utwig captain is faced with two choices: Allow them inside the ship and hope for the best or consume valuable shield energy to deflect them and attempt to shoot the relatively small targets down with the widely-spread energy spears. The space marines do not restore the Jugger's battery if deflected.
 {{ShipBox|image=Jugger_icon.png|link=jugger|race=[[Utwig]]|crew=20|value=22|batt=20|regen=0|primary=Energy spears|prim-rate=7|prim-cost=0|secondary=Absorption shield|sec-rate=12|sec-cost=1|thrust=6|speed=36|turn=0.5|accel=0.86|mass=8}}
 [[Category:Utwig]]