[PvK]

Aloofi, I'm not delaying the release of new features because of existing games. I do think though that I'd rather not add much more to the 2.x series beyond fixes, and instead do 3.x or Foundations, and that will be a major project if I even have time for it.

The reason I don't want to just add small features one after another, is that I'm pretty happy with where 2.5.3 is, and if I'm going to devote a bunch more time to modding, I'd like to explore some of the larger ideas I have, rather than just add little things one at a time. The ideas overlap in some ways, so it would really be best to try to apply them all at once, instead of a bit at a time. Examples are the major changes I'm interested in making to the research system, mounts, racial tech areas, weapon abilities, and resource costs. I could make a fighter mod, but it would be more total work, because I'd need to make it work with the OLD system for all that stuff, and then go re-do much of it if I wanted to apply it to the new system. As I said, I'm happy enough with the way fighters work now.

Yes, fighters deploying for months sounds a bit much, but I don't think it's that impossible. A fighter squadron could pack supplies and even have some sort of "squadron space tent" or something so they could relax and interact while waiting for action. I think it's more likely than some of the other abilities some people have insisted should exist, like fast colonization of any planet from a single uber-device, computers that are better in all ways than the race that builds them, cultural development and scientific advancement based on industry and real estate on alien planets, or freeze-dried colonists.

As for increasing fighter speeds, first, I don't think you're correct that in general frigates are faster than fighters in Proportions. There are some tech levels where this may be true, but more research into fighters will let their combat speeds catch up and exceed most ships. A small fighter with quantum engines and mark III afterburners has combat speed 9, which is the same as a scout with quantum engines and gravitic drive III. Most ships are much slower than that, and those that are that fast are paying the price in small hull and heavy supply consumption.

I don't think I understand your premise that fighters should be twice the speed of any ship, anyway. Seems to me it's not unreasonable for a small ship specializing in speed to be able to keep up with a fighter, especially if it is using more than one technology to do it (gravitic + quantum), or the fighters have just been developed (ion engines and no afterburners).

PvK