So we know that master modes are coming. From what I’ve seen and tested, I think they’re a good idea and an improvement on the current flight model (I know, crucify me for liking what the devs are doing).

BUT, I do have a concern. The way MMs are talked about and the way they worked in the demo (as well as the arena commander testing grounds), to get out of SCM and into nav mode (so the mode where you have no shields and no weapons but go around 1000 m/s) you need to spool the quantum drive up. You hear it spooling up, you see it spooling up, and the devs have said that it spool the QD up to enter nav mode. It’s even a key point of preventing people from entering nav mode to run away: the first thing distortion weapon (or damage) will take offline is the QD, preventing the target from going into nav mode or ripping it out of nave mode.

So what about our snubfighters that don’t have a QD? Does it mean that the Merlin and fury can’t run away from fights? So if the mothership jumps away they can’t scatter and hide until it comes back for them because other ships will be able to catch up to those snubs very easily?

I am trying to remember if we decided on that already but I can’t recall right now. We have multiple variants to approach this though:

1) Disallow Snub fighters to enter NAV mode … or rather its speed regions (would always require host ship to ferry them around)

2) Give Snub fighters a tiny QDrive that allows NAV mode but not quantum travel.

3) Give Snub fighters a tiny QDrive that allows NAV mode but only for high speeds and quantum boosting

4) Give Snub fighters a tiny QDrive that allows NAV mode with everything but which has an extremely limited range

Personally I find option 1 absolutely valid as Snub fighters are practically parasite ships which may create interesting gameplay choices. Plus we can e.g. compensate the lower travel speeds by giving them really high SCM speeds.

But my gut feeling tells me we’ll land at option 2, 3 or 4 … so harshly limiting how far it can travel but not locking it out of the NAV speed regions.