Widespread cloning is not something that happens or is accessible to most people within our little universe here in-lore. The current timeline here is some 21-22 years after the end of the original story of Freelancer, the technology wasn't featured in Freelancer, and it isn't a prominent feature of the universe of "Discovery Freelancer", either.
If you don't like the idea of roleplaying that your character was stuck in a pod after you lose a fight, RP that your character's ship was simply severely damaged and forced to retreat, as opposed to having a ship be "Destroyed" everytime you're on the losing end of a "Blue Message"
That said, the initial post in here, seeking to explain how a pod would survive, is pretty cool and nice to have as a reference.
I think it is a more RP manner. In case of fighter, I claim my fighter to be destroyed and I jumped into pod with heavy ECM. When I have cap however, I usually roleplay it as a heavily damaged ship that withdrew - except for 343 in the latter scenario.
Wouldn't it make sense to use a transparent polymer for the cockpit canopy rather than glass? It wouldn't be as prone to cracking and pressure as glass would.
(07-21-2015, 06:49 PM)Highland Laddie Wrote: Wouldn't it make sense to use a transparent polymer for the cockpit canopy rather than glass? It wouldn't be as prone to cracking and pressure as glass would.
It would have sense to have hull alloys instead of glass. Thick ones.
And glass could differ much and it is a composite on its own as it consists of multiple layers.
I imagine that destroying a ships reactor, engines, or anything that allows you to control it is what classifies it as 'destroyed'. If a battleship no longer has the power to move, shoot, or otherwise be controlled, the ship's destroyed. If the hull is any kind of salvageable, you haul it back to a shipyard, you spend a few weeks/months (and considerably less credits) repairing it, and you send it back out. Fighters are the same. Engines blown out, reactor destroyed or offlined, fuel lost. The ship will drift through space and, for all intents and purposes, is a dead ship. Either they eject into an escape pod (Surely the cockpit is one big escape pod that just plain separates from the ship) or they sit and wait patiently to be collected by a friendly.
Freelancer is a limited engine, and a ship destruction will always be a catastrophic explosion. In reality, we've had ships get bombed, torpedoed, or otherwise shot to hell, and still float their sorry selves back to safety. Aircraft generally aren't that lucky and have to be escaped from (Multi-engine craft are pretty good at getting back to safety) but a catastrophic explosion isn't how it always ends.
Now escaping without bumps, bruises, and broken bones?