[StarSlayer]

Hey nice Squint, complements the Eyeball nicely.  Considering that a Defender has the same "gun mounts" only they are labeled as the missile launchers they could be anything on the Squint even simple targeting sensors or the emitter for beam weapons. Personally I'm used to the standard 4 wing tip canons, thats how TIE Fighter did it and its worked pretty well so far.

[chief1983]

That's part of the problem with the TIE Defender, it doesn't make any sense, at least not as it's identified in the reference materials.  There's no way those should be missile launchers, the thing has no room for missiles.  I think the Defender would have to be reimagined a bit more to be a viable ship and still have that kind of equipment, if we ever do have a Defender.  This is definitely a nice job though.

[Shade]

I always figured that, other than the bombers, TIEs with missile launchers would need to have them integrated into the connecting struts between the ball cockpit and the solar panels. Those are fairly thick in places, and it's the only place that would have the room to spare.

[chief1983]

I think the Defender could work if it looked like something other than a kitbash of a few TIE Interceptors.

[swashmebuckle]

The interceptor looks awesome! 

But just say no to expanded universe TIEs.  It's like they slap another panel on an interceptor and suddenly they're three times as good.  The Advanced x1 design makes sense within the "lived-in" universe because it's significantly bulkier than normal TIEs, and you can imagine there's actually a better power plant, shield generators, hyperdrive, etc in there.  But ships like the Defender/Avenger/Phantom/Aggressor/Hunter are just there to make for video games where blowing up Rebel ships is as easy as blowing up normal TIE fighters is for the rebels.  It kills the natural order of survivability, makes the low-end fighters not even a threat, and it's poop.  If you're gonna redesign one for gameplay purposes, though (like to give the empire an X-wing like, versatile-but-not-overpowered ship), I'd start with the x1 as a base rather than the interceptor.  That's my rant.

Anyway, great job on both of these ships!

[Turambar]

I'm a fan of the Defender.  It's not like a good X-Wing pilot can't deal with them, but they are a real challenge.  There are a whole bunch of other TIES though, real funky ones that i'm not sure i appreciate.

[TopAce]

Now that I think of it, none of the SW Rebel fighters have space for the number of missiles they can canonically carry. I can't imagine how you can fit 12 concussion missiles into an A-wing.

[Turambar]

Now that I think of it, none of the SW Rebel fighters have space for the number of missiles they can canonically carry. I can't imagine how you can fit 12 concussion missiles into an A-wing.

Star Wars missiles are actually pretty small.

[chief1983]

Yeah, but even that's too big to fit through that tiny little hole on the TIE.  I'm really not sure where the idea that a Defender should look so much like a TIE Interceptor came from, there's plenty of art that shows a significant difference to that line of thought.  On the Wookiee, a lot of the pics are drastically different in terms of the shape.  Some wings look very close to the T/Is, while some are very differently shape.  Same for the mounting pylons, and even the ball itself, it's not even a ball in some of the pictures.  I agree with Shade about using the pylons for the missile launcher, but the shape would have to be completely different from the other TIEs.  For one it would have to actually look like there is a missile launcher on it.  In other words, this is no good:



I'm thinking something more like:



But with a bit more detail behind the cockpit.  The lower one looks a lot more like the Defender from TIE Fighter, with its wing shape and ball design, although I don't know where they got the big block behind the cockpit from, but it could be made to look better than the support structures from other TIEs:



Crap I just realized how off topic we're getting, here Brand is making purdy TIE Fighters and Interceptors and we're babbling on about one of them he doesn't even really like

[Rand al Thor]

I'm a fan of the Defender.  It's not like a good X-Wing pilot can't deal with them, but they are a real challenge.

[Hot Shots 2]You're joking! You've got to be![/Hot Shots 2]
Player piloted x-wing, one on one with a Defender (from X-wing Alliance) shouldn't be too much trouble, but versus 2 would be a very unfavourable outcome, for me anyway on hard.

There's one mission in Alliance where, I think you have to destroy the sensor outpost for the Liberty to escape, and in the end a wing of 3 Defender's jumps in. 99% of the time they'll splash your wing in seconds and while you're still dealing with one you'll be toasted by the other two. Bloody impossible.

[swashmebuckle]

Ok, I admit that not all of the EU TIEs are awful, though certainly none of them compare to the beauties in the above post.  The thing that would make me sad is an EU TIE completely replacing the interceptor as the preferred imperial fighter for multiplayer or whenever you had the choice in single... I mean, the Alliance has 4 fighters that are all viable choices with varying strengths and vulnerabilities, whereas a TIE with the type of capabilities that the Defender or Avenger has would just one-up the interceptor in every way (except looks), making the sweetest imp fighter effectively a handicap.  I'd even be in favor of giving the standard TIE Fighter a very slight edge in turning speed over the interceptor just so that it had something to recommend it, in the same way that the BtrL MkII was definitely an inferior ship to the VII, but had that one little quality that made it tempting.  Anyway, sorry to keep sticking my nose in.  The ships really do look great!

[StarSlayer]

I think it comes down to rarity, the Imperials can certainly build better fighters then the Rebellion, however, their overall mindset (cheap expendable screens for capitals) and competing service branches (fleet vs. fighter command) means they don't invest in them.  I don't think fighters like the Avenger and Defender need to be excluded, just that they are extremely rare.  Really even elite units like the 181st hardly ever deploy with them, if you make them available only for critical missions then i don't think you would need to worry about neglect for Eyeballs and Squints.   Same goes for the E Wing and perhaps the B Wing, if they aren't available 90% of the time people will be content with the X Wing and Bone.  Thats my 2 cents anyway; back on topic.  Thats an lovely shot brand, those TIEs are pure sex.

[Turambar]

Also, there are supposedly X-wing variants (not talking about blasphemous X-J wings or anything) that increased the X-Wing's speed and maneuverability.  If we incorporate those (say, getting a shipment in the middle of a campaign) it could definitely even the odds against a Defender a little.

[CaptJosh]

Um, wasn't the Defender supposed to be the only TIE that had shields or something like that? Or am I thinking of still another EU TIE variant?

[TopAce]

No, the TIE Avenger (called TIE Advanced in the X-wing series of games) also had shields. You may mean that the TIE Defender would be the only TIE with ion cannons. I'm not sure if the T/D is the only TIE with ions, though.

[MR_T3D]

IDEA:
Imperial Fighter relative stats, and relative rebel matchup
TIE fighter (best turning, decent everything else, no sheilds) balanced with Z-95
TIE interceptor (slightly less turning, beter speed and firepower) balanced with X-wing
TIE bomber (weaker turning than fighter, more health and powerful loadout (balanced with Y-wing, B-wing)
now for a 4th it is rather tricky
2 options:
TIE advanced (A wing stats, but better sheilds, few warheads)
-or-
Assualt Gunboat (good warheads, x-wing turning, y-wing speed, lasers and ion cannons)

[Renegade Paladin]

I'm a fan of the Defender.  It's not like a good X-Wing pilot can't deal with them, but they are a real challenge.

[Hot Shots 2]You're joking! You've got to be![/Hot Shots 2]
Player piloted x-wing, one on one with a Defender (from X-wing Alliance) shouldn't be too much trouble, but versus 2 would be a very unfavourable outcome, for me anyway on hard.

There's one mission in Alliance where, I think you have to destroy the sensor outpost for the Liberty to escape, and in the end a wing of 3 Defender's jumps in. 99% of the time they'll splash your wing in seconds and while you're still dealing with one you'll be toasted by the other two. Bloody impossible.

No it isn't; you just apparently don't know what you're doing.     You know what I take to fight TIE Defenders?  A B-wing.  Sure, it's slower and less maneuverable, but it's forward firepower will chew a Defender to shreds in the initial head-to-head, and the AI isn't smart enough to avoid charging straight down your guns no matter which one you use. 

[chief1983]

Thanks MR_T3D but I think we plan on doing something a little different than a ship for ship balance, this isn't Warcraft 2 or anything.  There may be ships with similar roles on both sides (scout, heavy fighter, interceptor) but there's no reason they have to be able to go 1:1 with each other.  If a TIE Fighter can avoid a head on with a Z he'll probably win every time.  Z's have to take advantage of the fact that they have any shields at all and fly like the dickens.  Even an X-Wing will have a hard time shaking an expert TIE Fighter pilot once we get it set up right.

[Flaser]

Thanks MR_T3D but I think we plan on doing something a little different than a ship for ship balance, this isn't Warcraft 2 or anything.  There may be ships with similar roles on both sides (scout, heavy fighter, interceptor) but there's no reason they have to be able to go 1:1 with each other.  If a TIE Fighter can avoid a head on with a Z he'll probably win every time.  Z's have to take advantage of the fact that they have any shields at all and fly like the dickens.  Even an X-Wing will have a hard time shaking an expert TIE Fighter pilot once we get it set up right.

My thoughts exactly.

IMHO for an Imperial Campaign to correctly work some sort of formation flying AI should be made by SCP. I already wrote about this quite a while ago when somebody requested AI 'tactics'.

When flying Imp fighters you'd actually need to "bracket" your enemy, and maintain some sort of formation. This would also keep with the "Timothy Zahn established canon" of Imps using elaborate formations.

[chief1983]

Considering that you can already order AI to your wing, it may just be a slight tweaking of precedence needed.  Maybe Imps have a lower tendency to break and attack without orders.