IF the Manta becomes a bomber (like the SMLC and Vampire), then a 45cm main gun is OK (and is identical to what's on the AX10, coincidentally).  The turn the Manta's on the ground will be a little funny (since the Rails SHOULD reach 105cm/90cm for the Ions), but aircraft need to have shorter ranges than the same weapon on a ground-mount for balance.  

Fluff/PSB Justification:  due to the speed of the aircraft, by the time the weapon has a lock and the pilot fires, the craft is much closer to the target than the same weapon on a ground vehicle.  Also, Aircraft weapons are on a fixed mount, and cannot elevate, which reduces their range compared to a ground-mount when the aircraft is on the ground.

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That's something I like; Half the 16 guns can fire down so you get 8x AP shots, and half can fire up, so you get 8x AA shots... elegant.

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Or you can be all abstract and stuff and use 8x shots.

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Whatever you guys prefer. I prefer wysiwyg

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10 AP shots is overkill, and difficult to phrase on the datafax. 8+8 works better, or 4+4 twin linked if 8 is proved too many.

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Epic: Hive Development Thread

10 30cm(or 15cm regardless of being Long-Barelled?) AP5+ shots and 6 15cm AA6+ shots i would say.

Per habs with shots split in half for a left and right fire arc respectively.

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Much too fiddly. And the AA attacks are coming from the same weapons, yet would need different weapon names in the datafax? Ugly.

8+8 is a nice, simple way of doing it, and as close as damnit to correct when you consider fire-arcs (all 10 won't be able to fire at one target). It's what FW went with. Either that or the current 4+4, I'm not enormously bothered either way.

Certainly 15cm range - it's a plane, and they usually have reduced firing range.

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Epic: Hive Development Thread

Agreed.

As I said in another post, How can you have such an expensive unit, not even turn up on the board if you fail it's activation?

Just not a playable option.

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And as has been said, it would be comparable to a Marine Landing Craft, and far from thinking those are a bad option, people think they're awesome.

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You wouldn't even playtest it? I'm just looking to see if the idea is even feasible to make it a bomber, and you yourself often say that without playtest evidence nothing can be proven.

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Epic: Hive Development Thread

The SMLC and Thunderhawk are also both spacecraft.

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Epic: Hive Development Thread

If it only hovers over the battlefield, then it wouldn't be able to hit ground targets with it's Heavy Railguns and Ion Cannons because they are fixed so that they only fire straigt forward.
Only the Lb Pulse Cannons mounts can rotate to point to the ground.

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