While working on units late in the development of v1.1, it became increasingly apparent that we had yet to find the perfect formula to balance the needs of carriers and independent starfighters; at that point, however, it was too late to change anything. Shortly after the release, we decided to put the question to the fans in a poll to let you decide our next course of action. I'm here today to report that the vote has been counted and the changes have been implemented!
For complements, this means a reduction by half of build costs and times across the board, making carriers more pragmatic of an option. We've furthermore normalized the bias that used to exist in favor of smaller carriers by allowing all complements to reach half of their upgrade potential when the carrier is fully upgraded and scaling everything accordingly in between, meaning corvettes will no longer always have better starfighters than capitals.
In an interesting twist made possible by the new tech trees, complement upgrade level is now also offset by a modifier equal to the difference of level between carrier and complement, so newer-model carriers that happen to have older complements will get an upgrade bonus to their starfighters - possibly even surpassing the halfway mark at the final upgrade. The reverse is also true, however, so old carriers with new complements will be penalized in upgrades.
For the most part, you won't need to remember any of these rules when playing the game - they will just happen. All the average player needs to know is that starships with a starfighter complement will now be more economical, that upgrades are now balanced across class, and you'll get better complements the deeper you go into the tech tree. Oh, and they now might include transports.
With resounding support from fans, we will no longer automatically exclude units of the transport class from complement rosters. I've gone through all of our existing ships and added in transports where they would canonically appear based on extensive research and a little necessary supposition; our unit pages have been updated with that information.
Finally, what's a complement post without a new unit? After being sorely missed for so long, I'm thrilled to announce the addition of the ultimate CSA complement: the IRD Fighter!
The Corporate Sector had, for years, relied on makeshift, secondhand models to fill the hangars of the Picket Fleet. This thinking changed during the Clone Wars, when the increasing demand for military hardware left the CSA in a pinch. In the wake of the conflict, the Direx Board finally conceded that it was fiscally prudent to produce their own brand of starfighter specifically suited to their unique needs. The result was the IRD Fighter, a design that emphasized speed, firepower, and survivability.
As with the X-wing and the TIE/ln, the IRD has transcended its everyday use to become emblematic of its faction - and for good reason: the IRD is a solid all-around fighter for the price. It is fast enough to keep up with everything but a true interceptor, but is more heavily armed and shielded that most interceptors. Its lack of hyperdrive makes it a short-range fighter, but that is just fine for the purposes of the carrier-heavy Picket Fleet. The only weakness of the IRD is its inability to adequately perform maneuvers, a problem so severe that an entire redesign of the hull was prompted for the IRD-A. As such, it tends to be a poor dogfighter, instead relying on its concussion missiles to conduct slashing attacks.
Look for the IRD and all of the complement changes in the next release of Phoenix Rising, v1.2. In the meantime, check out the rest of the screenshots!
