So I was thinking about how small craft could distinguish themselves from one another to enable different tactics and playstyles.
Here’s what I came up with:
Interceptors: One word: Acceleration. Interceptors could be designed to be able to chase down or run from almost anything using powerful main engines. It would make them ideal for hit and run attacks on soft targets, recon, etc.
Fighters, if they make it in: More dogfight oriented, fighter engines would be less focused on a powerful main drive, emphasising RCS instead so that they can rely on maneuverbility to survive in direct combat. In (my) theory, a fighter that can reliably dodge incoming fire like that would be far more effective at point defense and escorting than an interceptor.
Bombers: I imagine bombers would heavily rely on hit and run tactics: Find a target, accelerate to some obscene speed and then launch your payload so that it’s gonna be going at your target with such speed that it’ll be very hard to avoid. In atmosphere, the whole canyon running thing would probably be a common tactic (oh boy!)
Corvette: I can imagine two sorts of roles for this thing. One would involve strapping some big guns to it to engage a big target with sustained, close up fire. The other would be a sort of atmosperic escort role. In dense atmospheres where rotating your ship to face a chasing enemy will strongly affect your vector(i.e. send you careening into a mountain), a corvette with turrets that can cover the rear of a formation of bombers or so would come in handy.
So those are my thoughts. How bout you guys?
