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Cloaks: did they ever watch Star Trek.

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
Cloaks: did they ever watch Star Trek.

Here are all the things wrong with cloaks.
  1. Cloaks used large amounts of power.
    [*
    ]So after coming out of the cloak the weapons and shields then have to be power up.
  2. The ship has to shut down it’s shields first before they can cloak, making them very susceptible to damage, for a FEW seconds.
  3. The ship becomes visible before their shields come up. Making them very susceptible to damage, for a FEW seconds.
  4. The ships must be moving very slowly or risk exposing their ships, which means they could be fired upon with no shields.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    Battle cloak does some of the things you mentioned.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    Actually the Cloak field power requirements are the same as the Protective energy shields. A Cloak field is essentially a Energy Shield turned inside-out - that is: An energy shield prevents energy outside the its bubble from getting in while the Cloak field prevent energy inside its bubble from getting out.

    What it does need is a large energy reserve since it can't expel waste to environment (which requires substantial waste handling and is usually the reason for limitations to the cloak) and wouldn't be able to pull energy from the environment without defeating the purpose and effect of the cloak (sensors detect energy and changes in energy patterns). It also requires a great deal of sensor callibration and consequently also needs to minimise activity within it to prevent disruption of the sensors maintaining the cloak.

    Weapons fire isn't easy or likely to accomplish since the weapons need to pass thru the shield /cloak to hit a target which means the cloak would have to have a certain hole /imperection in it to accomadate that - otherwise the Cloak / Shield would be damaged by the weapons fire.

    Movement could be accomplished ot varying degrees using non-environmentally dependant displacement effect drives to propel itself - that is engines that involve the environment like Jets which create an explosive cloud within them and let explosion escape in the opposite direction it wants to travel and by effect push the vehicle in the desired direction (a containted Jet could be consdiered a type of Inertia Drive) produce a easily detectable energy signature that defeats the purpose of the cloak. Inertia drives, Warp Drives would be examples of non-Environmentally dependant displacement drives since they rely on manipulating internal forces instead of external forces (Inertia basically uses the effect of inertia on the ship to displace it - very small effect but very little loss and Warp Drives basically remove the ship from the environment effectively removing the restrictions on movement).

    [actually my bad, to readers who read the original version - non-displacement is the worng term]

    Regardless, its a game even if the Fiction is based on an actual Theory. So it really just boils down to how it works with the rest of the game.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    Actually the Cloak field power requirements are the same as the Protective energy shields. A Cloak field is essentially a Energy Shield turned inside-out - that is: An energy shield prevents energy outside the its bubble from getting in while the Cloak field prevent energy inside its bubble from getting out..

    Your description of a cloak is far better than the original Star Trek, but like I said in the original post this is not how Star Trek defined it or used it, and we are in fact playing a game called Star Trek Online.

    "What about that extra equipment for cataloging gaseous anomalies. Guys! It's got to have a tail pipe"
    Commander Uhura, Star Trek VI.

    So I like a lot of other people here think that when the devs can, they should follow the canon.

    (Kind of like hiding all personal armor, but that is another discussion.)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    Have you played a Klingon yet? Have you used cloak? I'm curious, because you seem to have a extremely poor knowledge of cloak, yet still see fit to complain about it.

    Here's a news flash . . . cloaking drops your shields for a full three seconds prior to you becoming untargetable, and for that entire duration, you're tanking anyone who chooses to attack you with no shields. Furthermore, any torpedos fired at you at any time before you're fully cloaked will continue to track and will hit you. Mines will also target, track and hit you while cloaked.

    As far as ships having to move very slowly, what's your source for this, Balance of Terror? I can think of several times in canon that ships moved at warp speed with no worries about exposing themselves, heck, the Scimitar could not only move quickly, but could fire and run with shields up while continuing to be completely undetectable. Or are we just talking about what makes sense in the real world, you know, the one that doesn't have warp speed, phasers, transporters or aliens? Sorry, you can't pick and choose which nonsensical science works or doesn't work in game.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    Cloaks: did they ever watch Star Trek.

    Here are all the things wrong with cloaks.
    1. Cloaks used large amounts of power.
      [*
      ]So after coming out of the cloak the weapons and shields then have to be power up.
    2. The ship has to shut down it’s shields first before they can cloak, making them very susceptible to damage, for a FEW seconds.
    3. The ship becomes visible before their shields come up. Making them very susceptible to damage, for a FEW seconds.
    4. The ships must be moving very slowly or risk exposing their ships, which means they could be fired upon with no shields.

    I have a BG 5 char flying a BoP, so I can tell you most of your suggestions/complaints are in game.

    1.) After coming out of cloak you have 0 shields for quite alot time. You still have weapons at full though.

    2.) Before you manage to cloak fully (this takes few seconds) your shields drop to 0 and if you get hit in the process of cloaking (or torpedo released in that time - torpedo hits even if you fully cloaked), it does massive damage

    3.) The ship does become visible before shields go up of course. BoP is playing without shields for quite some time after decloaking.

    4.) If you fly close to other ships that have autotarget turrets, they will hit you with them even if youre cloaked and while cloaked there is 0 shields. You can be also decloaked by science ships. Thing is klingon ships never fly too close to fed ships in cloak, they wait in distance and close only if they prepare to attack.

    This is how BoP battle cloak works. Not sure if the normal cloak of raptor or cruiser works otherwise.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    Cloaks: did they ever watch Star Trek.

    Here are all the things wrong with cloaks.
    1. Cloaks used large amounts of power.
      [*
      ]So after coming out of the cloak the weapons and shields then have to be power up.
    2. The ship has to shut down it’s shields first before they can cloak, making them very susceptible to damage, for a FEW seconds.
    3. The ship becomes visible before their shields come up. Making them very susceptible to damage, for a FEW seconds.
    4. The ships must be moving very slowly or risk exposing their ships, which means they could be fired upon with no shields.

    Did you ever watch Star Trek?

    Im talking about ofcourse TOS and TNG and not the other TRIBBLE.

    there were numerous episodes where a klingon or romulan ship was running warp speed in cloak and peace in the galaxy was in jeopardy.

    Everytime a klingon came out of cloak to attack, they did it in the same second... what would be the point of a cloak if u need sit there as a target after?

    But if watching Star Trek is your argument here... why are youre shields up all the time?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010
    I assumed that after 100+ years of having the tech for cloaking they would have been fine tuning it.

    Additionally you better hope they never watched "Undiscovered country" (I think thats the one) where the klingon ship could fire while cloaked. That was 100 or so years in the past of the present game, if this were realistic all cloaked ships in this time could fire WHILE cloaked, lucky for you this is Star Trek, where realism means little =)
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited March 2010

    (Kind of like hiding all personal armor, but that is another discussion.)

    but you can so why do we need another discussion.
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