Dev Diary #26: Customising Star Destroyer squadron loadouts
Whether you like elite TIE Avenger squadrons, or swarms of nimble A9s, there will be an option for you...
In the aftermath of Endor, it was absolutely possible (and in some ways probable) that the Empire could recover and emerge victorious. It had superior technology, numerical superiority, and its territory vastly outstripped and surrounded that of the fledgling New Republic.
It lost because it was divided, its leadership was corrupt and unstable, and because of the strategic genius of Admiral Ackbar, and the tactical genius of subordinate commanders like Wedge Antilles. The Empire of 4 ABY was at the peak of its technological prowess, with a vast array of starship and advanced fighter designs at its disposal, and I want to show all all of that, and give the Empire the possibility to triumph.
With the total rebuild of the Galactic Empire coming in v1.34, and the possibility of using no fewer than 120 build buttons for their space units, I want to get the Empire to its maximum potential. A massive part of that is its hugely impressive starfighter and bomber forces, so much more varied than TIE Fighters and TIE Bombers…
Progression and Tech
The story of the Imperial Navy after Endor is really one of trying to preserve what assets and technology they had, and rely on their existing numerical superiority to defeat the New Republic. There were precious few technological breakthroughs; unlike the New Republic, who start off fielding converted passenger liners as line of battle ships, and progress to the MC80B Mon Remonda-type, the aggressive Republic-class Star Destroyer, the MC90 and then the Nebula and Endurance-class Star Destroyers.
As this New Republic technology develops the Empire starts to feel inferior. But really, the units it is fielding in 1-4 ABY - seen in games like X-wing Alliance - are on a par even with later New Republic designs from the late 10s ABY. An Imperial II equipped with Cygnus-class Missile Boats and TIE Avengers can happily compete with a Nebula-class Star Destroyer and its loadout of E-wings and K-wings.
The in-universe reason this doesn’t happen in Expanded Universe sources is because of the Empire’s lack of resources as it loses access to Sienar facilities and its war economy is ground down by attrition and the loss of the invaluable Core Worlds. The Empire can’t afford to field Star Destroyers equipped with elite fighters and bombers. The real-world reason is that more readers of Bantam novels were familiar with TIE Fighters than with Alpha Xg-1 StarWings.
But there’s no reason in lore why, in Age of Legends, the Imperial player can’t decide actually to invest their resources in elite starfighters if they want to, rather than, say in Super Star Destroyers.
The Empire of 4 ABY is capable of a wide-range of doctrinal possibilities. It could resort to swarms of TIE Fighters launched from cheap carriers to overwhelm the New Republic’s quality with sheer quantity. It could decide instead to invest in expensive but highly effective TIE Defender and TIE Avenger squadrons. Or it can ditch TIEs entirely and embrace the A9, the Howlrunner, the Skipray, and later the Preybird.
I want to give you the choice of what future, and what strategic doctrine, to pursue. Rather than restricting the Imperial roster merely to the types of units we saw them use in post-Endor lore.
Star Destroyer loadout customisation
4-9 ABY
In 4 ABY and the early era of the mod, the Empire will start with access to:
Victory I [standard TIE loadout: TIE Fighter/TIE Bomber]
Victory I [intermediate loadout: Howlrunner/Skipray]
Victory I [advanced TIE loadout: TIE Avenger/TIE Defender]
Victory I [advanced assault loadout: Alpha Xg-1 StarWing/Cygnus Missile Boat]
Victory II [standard TIE loadout: TIE Fighter/TIE Bomber]
Victory II [bombardment loadout: Cygnus Missile Boat/TIE Punisher]
Imperial I [standard TIE loadout: TIE Fighter/TIE Bomber]
Imperial I [upper standard TIE loadout: TIE Interceptor/TIE Bomber]
Imperial II [standard TIE loadout: TIE Interceptor/TIE Fighter/TIE Bomber]
Imperial II [intermediate TIE loadout: TIE Interceptor/TIE Heavy Bomber]
Imperial II [advanced TIE loadout: TIE Avenger/TIE Defender]
Imperial II [advanced assault loadout: Alpha Xg-1 StarWing/Cygnus Missile Boat]
That’s just the standard Star Destroyer types to illustrate how the system will work: you will also be able to access Venators via the Fleet Reserve Yard, the Dominator, and various others.
The Star Destroyers can be augmented by the Ton-Falk carrier, which is now going to come in 5 different loadout variants, each carrying purely one type of fighter or bomber: TIE Fighter, TIE Interceptor, TIE Bomber, TIE Heavy Bomber, TIE Punisher. So you could pair your expensive, elite Imperial II with its advanced Cygnus Missile Boats and Alpha StarWings with a carrier bringing in TIE Interceptors for slightly more affordable fighter support.
The other complication is that access to the advanced TIE loadout will require an Advanced Sienar Factory to be constructed in orbit. Likewise, to access the advanced assault loadout you will need a Cygnus Spaceworks Factory. Once you’ve built those facilities they also offer access to buildable squadrons of the TIE Avenger and TIE Defender for the Advanced Sienar Factory, and the Alpha Xg-1 StarWing and the Cygnus Missile Boat in the case of the Cygnus Spaceworks Factory.
So, if you can’t afford a whole Star Destroyer equipped with these incredible designs, you could instead field a standard TIE-equipped ISD with a couple of TIE Avenger squadrons built separately. Now things get really interesting…