Hurricane

Hurricane
Unit in the game:
Properties
Race	Federation
Class	Fighter
Hull	40
Shield	0
Armor	0
Speed	90 (+45 with Whirlwind Thruster)
Vision	5
Production
Produced by	Ship Factory
Researches	Accelerated Courses, Whirlwind Thruster, Weapon Systems (Federation)
Costs
Metal	50
Helium-3	0
Tachyon	0
Energy	25
Supply	1
Building time	10

Tactical Laser
Description	Directed energy weapon with high level of accuracy
Hull damage	6 (+1 / upgrade level)
Shield damage	6 (+1 / upgrade level)
Range	160
Cooldown	66
Accuracy	100
Can attack fighters	Yes

Fighter spacecraft
Description	The fighter spacecrafts are smaller and quicker than other units. Due to their maneuverability a lot of weapons cannot aim them

Collision avoidance sensors
Description	Unit can maneuver through any kind of obstacles

The Hurricane is a Human space superiority fighter.

Gameplay

The Hurricane is the initial tier 1 unit in the game and one of the two fighter types available to the Federation player, the second being the Crow. It's ability to fly over obstacles, especially asteroids and obstacles such as space walls makes it a useful unit for early scouting. In comparison to the cheap, but weaker Spear and Guard and the expensive, but durable Intruder and Predator, the Hurricane lies in the middle in both cost and durability, making it a viable unit for early game defense and even harassment of enemy resource lines, though still requiring strength in numbers to make a difference.

The Hurricane's attack does equal damage to both hull and shields, making it also a capable anti-shield option for Federation players in early game, complementing Orcas for an attack and defense force. It's greatest weakness is it's generic nature, possessing neither the further capacity for adaptation in late-game combat nor endurance, being totally reliant on the St. George carriers to slightly improve on combat potential. The Hurricane's sole upgrade, apart from weapon and armor upgrades, is the Whirlwind Thruster, which increases the Hurricane's movement speed by 50%, along with the Crow.

Hurricanes become available to the player in the campaign in Distress Call in Chapter 1 - Hostile Visitors.

Unit Strategy

Hurricanes are commonly partenered with Orcas to provide both a distraction to other enemy cruisers and fighters as well as to neutralize enemy shielding to allow Orcas to shine with their 130mm Guns, that excel versus hull. Like other non-Zhogarn fighters, Hurricanes can be repaired, so a group of Pasteurs close by can allow for a more liberal use of Hurricanes for harassment duties, as well as help provide defense against a dedicated enemy fighter assault. As Hurricanes have a projectile attack, they have chances of missing, hence requiring numbers be employed.

However, while being useful at early-stages of the game, the Hurricane does lose it's value as the game progresses, even more as other cruisers - in particular the Hailstorm which can provide better cover, anti-shield firepower and even detection for the Orcas - and eventually the Crow are introduced. Even as the St. George is later introduced, Hurricanes can only provide distraction and fighter cover for Crows that end up being more potent against cruisers, especially with their stealth nature that is further improved with the Absorptive Plating research.

Still, a good number of docked Hurricanes can have a use against cruisers or stations that have no anti-fighter defense, such as the Athrael Invader and Obelisk or the Sylon Plasma Raid and Aegis, helping neutralize shields for other units, in particular Avengers or Crows. They can also take away focus from Arsons and force needless Nuclear Missile launches from enemy Tellers.

Due to their small health, however, Hurricanes should be employed carefully against Thorun units, especially Zoners, Vanguards, Grinders, Flagships and Breakers, as these possess anti-matter reactions that will explode violently on the ship's destruction, dealing potential damage to strafing groups of Hurricanes close by. In addition, lost Hurricanes can be easily replaced by St. Georges on death, unlike Crows.

Counter-measures

Being a fighter and thus capable of maneuvering around obstacles, anti-fighter defenses, fighter squadrons and/or area-of-effect weapons and spells that can target fighters (such as the Arson's Nova Cannon) are crucial to handling Hurricanes. One noticeable element of Hurricanes is that their attack, while equal against shields and hulls, is nevetheless small and can only deal small damage against dedicated anti-fighter defensive structures, even the arguably weaker variants such as the Barricade Sat. and the Pillbox, hence a couple of these defense types - two or three - is usually enough to handle even a considerable group of Hurricanes. The more stronger defense variants, such as the Polaron Sphere, the Guard Station and Agaric can neutralize Hurricanes in one to two shots.

The Athrael Rector can also help handle Hurricane groups due to their gamma reactor attack against multiple units at once. In addition, sturdy units with instant attacks that can hit fighters, such as the Dresda, Caldron, Corsair and Mind can also handle Hurricanes effectively.

In fighter combat, Hurricanes are generally best dealt with a two-to-one fighter ratio, for both their attack ratio, accuracy and the fact they have no upgrades but speed to make them stand out - This means Spears with Integrated Remodulators, Guards with Natural Selection, Intruders with their shielding and Predators with speed and weapon upgrades can easily handle Hurricanes that aren't docked with a St. George, because of their "too generic" nature in a fight.

Racial Counter Relations

Federation

Soft - Icarus, Orca, St. George, Dresda, Avenger (II), Barricade Sat, Defense Platform

Hard - Engineer Shuttle, Hailstorm, Crow, Kutuzov, Pasteur, Joseon, Teller,KEIKO Sentry.

Sylon

Soft - Hauler, Twinblade, Installator, Caldron, Arson, Eclipse, Pillbox

Hard - Labor, Spear (Unupgraded), Mask, Assimilator, Shade, Plasma Raid, Aegis, Repair Station

Athrael

Soft - Intruder, Warpglider, Clairvoyant, Gathering, Rector, Martyrprobe, Revenger, Mothership, Theocrat, Polaron Sphere

Hard - Drone, Explorer, Lancet, Harbinger, Invader, Obelisk, Shield Generator

Thorun

Soft - Extractor, Zoner, Predator, Marauder, Corsair, Breaker, Guard Station

Hard - Welder, Predator (assault mode), Raider, Vanguard, Havoc, Grinder, Devastator, Flagship, Ion Cannon

Zhogarn

Soft - Argus, Worker, Ventator, Mind, Alpha, Charybdis, Decay, Impaler, Agaric

Hard - Spawn, Guard (Unupgraded), Rictus, Mite, Ruptor, Elasmoruptor, Overseer, Fonia

Overview & History

Code-named "Hurricane", this aerospace-superiority fighter program was influenced by emerging both planetary and deepspace threats, including new developments in pirate and separatist defense systems. The primary objective of the Hurricane project was to create a revolutionary interceptor that would demonstrate exceptional performance, leveraging cutting-edge technologies on the horizon.

The designers of Hurricane envisioned a significant leap in performance by incorporating several groundbreaking features. These advancements included the utilization of composite materials specifically engineered to withstand the rigors of space travel, as well as lightweight alloys to enhance maneuverability and speed. The incorporation of state-of-the-art flight control systems and avionics further elevated the Hurricane's capabilities, enabling it to outmatch its adversaries.

The propulsion system of the Hurricane was a vital aspect of its design, aiming to provide exceptional speed and maneuverability. Engineers integrated more powerful engines capable of enabling supersonic cruise or even supercruise, facilitating swift response times and high-speed engagements. Additionally, an automatic backup oxygen system (ABOS) was implemented to ensure the safety of the pilot during extreme conditions, complemented by a modified life support system to sustain prolonged missions.

The manufacturing of the Hurricanes commenced in the year 2208, marking the initiation of mass production for these cutting-edge interceptors. Following an extensive development phase and rigorous testing, the Hurricanes were officially introduced into active service in the late 2210s.

See Also

- Federation Units, Structures & Etc. of Five Nations -

Units Structures Upgrades Characters Factions Command Station Ship Factory Merchantport Dockyard Campaign Only Hero Units Engineer Shuttle Icarus Hurricane Orca Hailstorm Crow Kutuzov Pasteur Teller Joseon St. George Avenger (Av. II) Dresda Captured Icarus Trinity Khan Gunboat Cormoran Moored Mine Pegasus UAV Furie UAV Sukhoi UAV Harpy UAV Pink Guy UFN Trinity (Cpt. Colburne) UFN Ulysses (Cpt. Colburne) UFN Trinity (Lt. Leskovsky) UFN Orion (Adm. Buckner) UFN October (Adm. Komarov) Black Caesar (Salamon Zamor) UFN Fenrir (Adm. Colburne) UFN Pacific (Adm. Vargas) UFN Liaoning (Adm. Peng) Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Campaign Only Command Station Mining Station Solar Station Supply Silo Ship Factory Research Center Barricade Sat Merchantport Astro Telescope Deep Space Lab Medical Station Fusion Reactor KEIKO Sentry Dockyard Enrichment Plant Fleet HQ Defense Platform Pirate Port EIRA Station Bifrost Bridge Jumpgate Ordnance Factory EIRA Institute Mining St. Res. Center Astro Telesc. Medical St. D.S. Lab Enrich. Plant Fleet HQ Ord. Fact. Description Costs Energy Time Effect Extended Cargo 100 100 100 45 Increases Icarus cargo capacity to 250 out of 100. Mastodon Reactor 100 200 150 45 Increases Icarus movement speed to 90, out of 50. Extraction Operations 200 200 200 60 Reduces Engineer Shuttle's asteroid mining time by 50% (2.5 out of 5). Prefining 200 200 400 120 Increases Engineer Shuttle's resource carriage to 10, out of 7. Description Costs Energy Time Effect Weapon Systems (Lvl. 01) 150 150 150 100 Increases damage for all Federation weapons (bonus per level). Weapon Systems (Lvl. 02) 200 200 200 250 110 Increases damage for all Federation weapons (bonus per level). Weapon Systems (Lvl. 03) 300 300 300 500 120 Increases damage for all Federation weapons (bonus per level). Armor Plating (Lvl. 01) 100 100 150 100 Increases the armor of all Federation units (+1 per Level). Armor Plating (Lvl. 02) 150 150 150 250 110 Increases the armor of all Federation units (+1 per Level). Armor Plating (Lvl. 03) 250 250 250 500 120 Increases the armor of all Federation units (+1 per Level). Whirlwind Thruster 150 150 150 45 Increases Hurricane's movement speed to 135, out of 90, and Crow's to 120, out of 80. RDX-2 150 150 150 45 Increases Orca's 130mm Gun range to 280, out of 200. Description Costs Energy Time Effect Evolved Interferometry 100 100 100 30 Increases Hailstorm's sight radius to 14, out of 12. M.R.A 150 150 250 60 Increases Hailstorm's ASR Missile range to 400, out of 320. ATB Program 200 200 200 400 120 Allows construction of Crows at the Ship Factory. Description Costs Energy Time Effect Plante Battery 150 150 150 60 Increases Pasteur's Power storage to 300, out of 250. Inductor Relays 150 150 250 60 Grants the Shield Battery ability to all Pasteurs, allowing them to heal friendly units' shields. Exploratory Bay 150 150 150 60 Grants the Exploratory Bay ability to all Pasteurs, allowing them to dispell all effects from a targeted station or vessel. Description Costs Energy Time Effect Fast Charging 100 100 250 80 Increases Power regeneration rate of all spellcasters - Pasteur, Joseon and Teller - by +50%. Magnetic Field 200 200 250 60 Grants the Magnetic Field spell to all Joseons, allowing them to drain enemy ships' shield and power, as well as doubling enemy spell cooldown. Absorptive Plating 200 200 200 400 90 Allows stealth-capable units - Crows and friendly units with the Joseon's Concealment cast on them - to remain cloaked when attacking, no longer becoming visible when firing. Description Costs Energy Time Effect Tritium Warhead 150 150 250 60 Reduces Dresda's Ballista Torpedo firing cooldown to 120, out of 150. Ionic Cells 100 100 100 30 Allows the construction of Barricade Sats anywhere on the map, including atop obstacles such as asteroids, stellar clouds and walls. Deflection Reactor 100 250 250 60 Grants +100 shield to all Federation Factory, Research and Support stations - Including Supply Silos and Solar Stations. Description Costs Energy Time Effect Fleet Reform 200 200 400 90 Upgrades the Avenger (present ships included) into the Avenger II, granting it the Siege Artillery weapon in addition to the Avenger's original ones. Hermes Thruster 150 150 250 60 Increases St. George's movement speed to 65, out of 50, Avenger's (Original and upgraded) to 75, out of 60, and Dresda's to 85, out of 70. Accelerated Courses 200 200 200 500 90 Reduces the creation time of all Federation units by 20%. Description Costs Energy Time Effect Moored Mines 150 150 250 45 Allows Trinity Frigates to construct Moored Mines. Ionic Cells 100 100 100 30 Allows the construction of Barricade Sats anywhere on the map, including atop obstacles such as asteroids, stellar clouds and walls. Benjamin Colburne Greg Leskovski Vera Vargas Victor Komarov Jacques Boyer Anton Vargas Salamon Zamor Sterling Buckner Zhao Peng AIDA United Federation EIRA Institute Democracy of Mars Black Swan