A few weeks ago, a small question on our Discord ignited what became a very long, involved, and interesting discussion about the boundaries of game design and canon. Following the double-episode finale of the second season of Discovery, and the impressive flotilla of pods, shuttles, and fighters the Enterprise and Discovery poured through, where ARE those hordes of fighters and shuttles in New Horizons?
Putting aside the issue some parts of the fandom have with Discovery (we in the mod team, I must say, are all huge fans), the questions of fighters in Trek is a long and involved one. The original series ‘invented’ transporters just so they could save the cost of using the more expensive shuttle sequences, or even the cost of filming the Enterprise itself making a ground landing (a feature that WAS planned for the ship, by the way). It would take a long time until we see a Starfleet starship doing a surface landing (with Voyager), and a bit longer until we saw proper fighters (with the final seasons of Deep Space Nine).
Even before those, The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine began to experiment with larger shuttles, yachts, and runabouts, but it was always sparingly. It was so sparingly that it even became a part of how we perceive and see Trek, of the visual distinctness we imagine Trek has with other franchises, such as Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars, to the point that many of us had ‘head-canon’ where small ships were simply inefficient in the world of Trek, or that Starfleet would never endanger its people by having them fly such flimsy ships.
Deep Space Nine buckled those perceptions a bit, as did Voyager that shown what something like the Delta Flyer can do to help and split up the enemy forces, but what should really change things is simply staring at the technical designs and schematics for the Galaxy-Class and Akira-Class, with their gargantuan cargo bays that can easily house dozens of shuttles. The question is then – why haven’t we ever seen all those shuttles in action?
The real answer is simple – budget. Until Discovery Trek shows simply did not have the budget to show giant fleets of shuttles and fighters.
Still, we knew that for some fans, this decision is contentious. To them, this could be seen as JJ-ing the mod. The team argued back and forth as to whatever fighters should have more presence in New Horizons, how the fans would react, and whatever fighters really belong in Trek. A survey proved that most players also think that the current fighters are too weak and thus they don’t use them but didn’t quite solve the canon question.
The solution, in the end, came from the realization of what should be the first priority – gameplay. From a gameplay perspective, the answer is clear – having fighters as an effective way to build your ships SHOULD be a valid, viable and interesting way to design your ships. Fighters used to even be an OP tactic in New Horizons until I’ve nerfed them, and as a result, they became so sparingly used that some players claim they never use them.
So now the first problem – should there be more fighters in New Horizons – is replaced with another – should fighters be more effective?
The answer to that, too, is answered by thinking of gameplay – yes, fighters need to be viable, as it makes carriers an interesting design, and it makes countering them with point defense a viable design too.
Okay, so now what?
The final result, which you will see in the next major patch, is multifold.
First, hangar bays will now come in several sizes. For most species, bays will still only be available on large battleships and long-range battlecruisers, but starbases will now offer a much larger complement of fighters, while other ship classes may include smaller fighter bays that don’t take up as much space. Basically, we use the same method we use to restrict components of various sizes based on ship design. This solves the technical question of how adding more hangar bays to a limited roster.
Secondly, for the most part, bays will launch a much larger number of fighters, but those will tend to have slightly lower health, armor, and shield than before. The result is that point-defense is going to be far more crucial than ever before while both increasing fighters overall effectiveness and DPS.
Third, many medium-plus size Starfleet ships now come equipped with section offering including small bays, capable of launching a few shuttles. This change affects almost no other species in the game. This is both canonical (as almost every Starfleet vessel, even the NX, had shuttles), and would make Starfleet ships more unique as a faction. For the most part, players who wish could still choose to avoid fighters and shuttles by selecting different sections – but the option is going to be more prevalent.
Finally, Starfleet will now have access to a wider range of shuttles, fighters, and vessels, so players can either choose to focus on a single large Delta Flyer, a large contingent or a medium-sized wing of shuttles.
Excited about this? Let us know!
The Sisko is of Bajor, but he will find no rest there. His pagh will follow another path – The Prophets