No friction in space, the greatest bane of sci-fi!
very true, however there would be gravimetric shearing (basically, gravity from large objects in space like capital ships or starbases, asteroids/moonsm planets, anomalies (the last one meh but we dont know right?) causes inertial weapons to go off course... depending on the size of the slug and a few other things) as well as other things like a nearby explosion could throw slugs off their trajectory.
also, at longer ranges (but im talking like between planets, so this doesnt really count) you encounter space matter that slows you down, so like micro-meteorites, gases, debris etc, when you run into it you it acts like an atmosphere and slows you down. And, to a smaller extent the Sun's gravity also does this. thats why a nuclear pulse engine has to keep firing every once in a while after you reach top speed
but yeah, at the ranges we are talking about, slugs wont have slowed down enough to 'bounce harmlessly off the shields'
Wait, there still is? I know I found the hotkey for it and assigned a key, but it doesn't do anything...does it?
i believe you have to hold the Z-axis hotkey (once you map it) and then click where in the GW you want to go
There's no air in space.
That's the only reason planes do bank in order to turn. In space, there's no reason to bank, and to do so would be worse than pointless. Ships in space would alter directions via altitude adjustment rockets, much like the Space Shuttle.
okay, lets get things straight first. when i spoke about banking, i meant the visual effect (i actually meant diving and weaving, as though the ships were actually trying NOT to get hit, but i had a mind blank so just said whatever). I doubt the space shuttle can do what Sins strikecraft can do, in terms of speed and manouverability. While the fighter isnt actually banking in terms of using airflow to stay aloft and turn yada yada, the fact it is turning creates the effect as though it were banking. like i explained before, the G forces created by the turn vs the inertia of the craft means it wants to go in 2 different directions at once; one is to turn, and the other is to keep going on its original course (inertia). this causes the fighter naturally pick a halfway point... which happens to be a constant whether you are in atmo or not. You have to remember the Space Shuttle would rarely do high G manouvers, and prefers to do as little as possible at a time movement wise so as not to waste fuel.
Many TV shows and movies seem to be caught up in the idea that space is just like atmosphere, only dark and cold. Not true. The common perception of banking starships is incorrect, and Sins actually has it right when the strikecraft just simply spin, and continue moving. Same thing with the capital ships.
except capital ships and in fact most other large ships in Sins actually do bank? given, not as much as a fighter, but they do rotate on their X-axis, for the same reason as i outlined above. and SC, while having less mass, are still affected by this principal so they fact they dont bank is odd.
Also, most scif-fi shows have their ships move like that out of the coolness factor, not the tactically advantageous factor. Keeping your fleet far distant from your enemy would be more beneficial, because it would mean that aiming would be more difficult and hitting a small target like a one kilometer ship from five hundred kilometers away would be impossible. That's why it's better to just sit klicks away and hammer off missiles at each other. Not as cool, maybe, but far more tactically minded.
I do agree with you, to a point. First, yeah, sci-fi likes the coolness factor, no doubt. on the other hand, for the same reason they cant hit a 1 kilometer long ship at 500 kilometers, you cant either. you have to do whatever you can. For instance, Star Trek withstanding, particle weapons would have a certain range before, like a laser (but with light), the particles disperse and do no damage. at the same time, missile could run out of fuel or be shot down/disabled.
But you see, the thing we all forget, is that in space people will be much less inhibited against using nuclear weapons and worse. if you sit 500 kilometers away and fire a salvo of very fast (i mean like even a quarter of light-speed) nuclear missile, you dont have to hit the 1 kilometer long ship between the eyes, as long as its within the blast radius.
and thats the one thing most sci-fi shows dont do (except Stargate, but thats why i love it =P) because humans have a phobia against nuclear weapons, so we go in with lasers and particle cannons and missiles and torpedos 
another thing is if, in a game, everyone used nukes... it would be very hard to keep a fleet alive for any period of time... but maybe thats more realistic
