Finally, who is to say that TIEs don't have ejection systems? While the only canon occurance is the TIE/sf from The Force Awakens, this game could include it.

In ESB you do actrually see a pilot fly away from his TIE when it get's smashed by an asteroid (1st or 2nd, at work so can't check) A TIE pilots flight suit is vacume rated so one could survive. Also who is to say that a destroyed ship always explodes. ROTJ a Y-wing spins out of control (then crashing in a ISD) when hit. Red leader in ANH only died when he crashed into the death star. Plenty of (legends) books talk about TIE's having being destroyed by getting wings or engines shot off and being counted as "kills".

Finally, who is to say that TIEs don't have ejection systems? While the only canon occurance is the TIE/sf from The Force Awakens, this game could include it.

Canon may not but in Legends the TIE does have an ejection system (according to Wookieepedia ):

Contrary to popular belief, the ships did possess ejection seats, but the nature of space warfare often resulted in pilots riding their craft down to a swift end rather than ejecting and risking slow death by heat loss and oxygen starvation in the vacuum of space

Finally, who is to say that TIEs don't have ejection systems? While the only canon occurance is the TIE/sf from The Force Awakens, this game could include it.

Didn't the original TIE Fighter game have ejections?

I would also change the AI for the enemies a bit in this game. In the Heroes of the Aturi Cluster, the TIEs get free actions all the time. Eliminate this somehow, and TIEs may be balanced. But the focus of the game should be cooperation, and tactics and numbers versus a single (or few foes). Perhaps the AI will always fire on the closest ship? This means you may have to fall back if you are really wounded, and let an ally take a shot.

Certainly the "free action" mechanic for TIEs in Aturi was to overcome their natural disadvantage and make the game challenging. The problem with removing that mechanic for Rebels is that they will be significantly less effective as the game scales in level.

Really, the average Rebel craft has so few actions, "free" ones are fairly irrelevant. If the "generic" Rebels for the game are Z-95s, Ys and Xs, you're talking about a choice between Focus and Target Lock, as opposed to the Imperial craft like TIE Interceptors which have Focus, Evade, Boost and Barrel Roll, or the more rare craft like Phantoms with their cloaks and Defenders that often sport cannons. Stacked tokens make Interceptors somewhat scary. Stacking a Target Lock and a Focus on a Y-Wing or Headhunter... not so much unless you're in ordnance range.

That leaves room to make the upper tier Rebel craft like the A-Wing or E-Wing much more dangerous with their free actions. They'd just also be comparatively rare, like the upper tier Imperial ships are.

I'm thinking about actually doing an Imp campaign, but im of the opinion that most of what is purposed here wouldn't work too well with the flow of the game. Going to hash out a few things as an idea. But some things i did have in mind was

1. no Headhunters. (due to the time period I would put it in)

2. No player controlled Phantoms (again, due to the time period, also balance issues).

I dono.. We'll see.

I'm thinking about actually doing an Imp campaign, but im of the opinion that most of what is purposed here wouldn't work too well with the flow of the game. Going to hash out a few things as an idea. But some things i did have in mind was

1. no Headhunters. (due to the time period I would put it in)

2. No player controlled Phantoms (again, due to the time period, also balance issues).

I dono.. We'll see.

I see enemy Headhunters and HWKS as pirate/scum ships, which make good alternatives to rebels for imperial peacekeeping missions, particularly early missions in the mission chains. An "Expansion pack" might add missions with Hutt Cartel and Black Sun scum, but the z95 and HWK are generic enough to fit in the "main game" of Villians.

I still think the idea of this campaign should preclude wingmen. Really, you are playing the empire. The TIE pilot that lives to upgrade to a better craft was rare. The standard TIE was disposable. This campaign should also focus more on TEAMWORK than on individual glory. You want a pilot to live long? Trust your wingman, and by that I mean another player.

A couple of other things, if you watch any media with TIEs, it is very rare that one flies by itself. They are usually a group of 3-4. Tbis is why I suggested a squad experience mechanic earlier, because pilots WILL die.

I'm not sure how far you've all gone in planning this expansion to Aturi, but I think this a really good point and an opportunity to approach the Aturi campaign system from the other side of the equation.

Given that all indications are that thematically Imperials favor fielding large numbers of expendable ships, it makes sense to reflect this in your campaign design. Heroes of Aturi is geared towards emphasizing individual pilot progression; maybe Villains should focus on groups of ships instead. Unit-level progression.

Some possible ways to model this with players controlling groups of ships instead of individual ships:

1:Players gain access to and control of progressively better groups of generic pilots. For example, a player may start with access to Academy Pilots, and on victory gain access to Obsidian, Black squadron, etc., pilots.

2: Players have direct, permanent control of one pilot, which is treated much like a classic 'Heroes' pilot, leveling up, etc., while also having access to a pair of replaceable wingmates, which could be upgraded to progressively higher PS generics. Think Vader's wingmates during the trench run.

3. Players have limited control of a group of ships, using the mechanics of the AI system. You could accomplish this by allowing players to alter the dice programming of the AI cards on the fly, or allowing players to pick which ship the AI treats as its target. Players would be playing as flight controllers of squads of ships. (This could be combined with players having direct control of one ship)

Of course the trouble with players controlling multiple ships is a tendency to clutter the field. You may be able to adjust for this problem by using larger play areas and multi-objective missions.

I really like option 2. Maybe as a compromise, and in an effort to de clutter, your ace pilot only gets one wingman when the ace reaches a certain. PS?

I think you're going at this from the wrong side. The problem with adding more ships to your side is you are increasing play area clutter. A better solution would be to have the AI using less (but upgraded) ships, so it still feels like you are out numbering them. This is the approach im working on. But you also cannot push it too far because you are still upgrading your pilots. Finding the balance will be tricky for sure, but i wouldnt want to deal with controling 2-3 ships per player, where at most you'd have 18 ties on the board? That is far too many to be piratical.

I think you're going at this from the wrong side. The problem with adding more ships to your side is you are increasing play area clutter. A better solution would be to have the AI using less (but upgraded) ships, so it still feels like you are out numbering them. This is the approach im working on. But you also cannot push it too far because you are still upgrading your pilots. Finding the balance will be tricky for sure, but i wouldnt want to deal with controling 2-3 ships per player, where at most you'd have 18 ties on the board? That is far too many to be piratical.

It really depends on the size of your play area. If you're playing in a 4x4 or a 6x3, then there is plenty of room for 18+ ships. In a 3x3, 18 is too many, yes. I don't think you should restrict your design options to the canonical 3x3, but that's my opinion. I should also say that mission design is key to preventing board clutter. Spreading objectives across a map can go a long way towards reducing clutter.

Personally, I think that directly controlling one ship and controlling a few more ships via AI is the most interesting and practical option. Cloning the heroes system, which produces an eclectic mix of player-controlled ships and transplanting it to the Imperial faction, who value uniformity and numbers over individuality and the value of individual pilots' lives doesn't make thematic sense. (Cloning the Heroes system and applying it to a Scum version makes perfect sense, on the other hand).

An ideal Villains mod would capture the feel of the empire, while creating a new and interesting gameplay experience using the unique backbone of the Aturi Cluster system, which I think is the AI system more than the pilot progression system. I think that by drawing on canonical and 'Legends' sources, you would be able to balance staying true to the Empire's philosophies with an enjoyable game experience.

I think you're going at this from the wrong side. The problem with adding more ships to your side is you are increasing play area clutter. A better solution would be to have the AI using less (but upgraded) ships, so it still feels like you are out numbering them. This is the approach im working on. But you also cannot push it too far because you are still upgrading your pilots. Finding the balance will be tricky for sure, but i wouldnt want to deal with controling 2-3 ships per player, where at most you'd have 18 ties on the board? That is far too many to be piratical.

It really depends on the size of your play area. If you're playing in a 4x4 or a 6x3, then there is plenty of room for 18+ ships. In a 3x3, 18 is too many, yes. I don't think you should restrict your design options to the canonical 3x3, but that's my opinion. I should also say that mission design is key to preventing board clutter. Spreading objectives across a map can go a long way towards reducing clutter.

Personally, I think that directly controlling one ship and controlling a few more ships via AI is the most interesting and practical option. Cloning the heroes system, which produces an eclectic mix of player-controlled ships and transplanting it to the Imperial faction, who value uniformity and numbers over individuality and the value of individual pilots' lives doesn't make thematic sense. (Cloning the Heroes system and applying it to a Scum version makes perfect sense, on the other hand).

An ideal Villains mod would capture the feel of the empire, while creating a new and interesting gameplay experience using the unique backbone of the Aturi Cluster system, which I think is the AI system more than the pilot progression system. I think that by drawing on canonical and 'Legends' sources, you would be able to balance staying true to the Empire's philosophies with an enjoyable game experience.

I think it would be a bit of a burden to increase the play area outside the normal 3x3. Some room could be made for 6x3 perhaps, but 4x4 is an odd size and not standard. Id rather keep it within the size of normal x-wing playmats as to not require people to have additional materials for it (i really dislike playing on tabletop surfaces, so playmats are a must for me).

Also, the "numbers over individuality" was only true for the Tie Fighter (up to Battle of Yavin, if you follow legends, which FFG does). After BoY, the empire re-examined the approach of using cheap swarms, and shifted more towards stronger, more capable, more expensive fighters (hence why the interceptor, defender, and phantom were created) to keep up with the strong rebel fighters. But they only let the good pilots fly those (which is why the HotAC system is good for it, imo).

I've experience playing a pair of z95 headhunters as a single player- though the rest of my group wernt also doubling up, I don't feel like there was a particular crouding problem, even against regular HotAC mission tie swarms.

2 ships per player is fine, as long as it doesn't power-creep beyond what the game expects- A pair of PS1 Tie fighters is 24 points- compared to a rebel starting Xwing, which is PS2 (4 points), a 21 point ship, and has 5 points to spend. Tie FOs and Tie Adv Prototypes are pushing things when it comes to wingpairs, and fully upgraded bombers are too much to bring as a pair. Everything else is either piloted solo, or banned outright (Phantom, titled defender, Decimator)

I've looked at things now that I've played the campaign for Rebels. I see an Imperial campaign as giving a lot of non-ship upgrades to the pilots (not astromechs or torpedoes or turrets). These are not taken away when ships are blown up (unless you roll bad and the pilot dies). When a pilot's Tie Fighter is blown up, you don't lose as much to get a new Tie Fighter. The strength is in the pilot. So, whenever you get a new Tie Fighter, you still have the same PS and EPTs. Maybe even the same modifications, too.

Maybe have the level of PS before things get tougher to be a little higher. That way you can get ahead without upping the anty too much.

I can almost see PTL as being the first EPT that everyone gets. This way, you can get out of firing arcs or at least turtle up with a Focus and Evade for those rounds you are going to get shot at.

How I'd d it:

"Wingpairs: If you select a Tie Fighter, Tie FO, or Tie Adv.Prototype, you gain an equal PS wingman in the same ship with the same upgrades, including pilot skills. You control both ships, and gain experience from both, though you are still limited to 1 XP per turn from damage. If one ship is shot down, do not roll for pilot ejection- your character was in the other ship. Instead, you lose half the XP you earned up to that point. If your second ship is shot down, roll for pilot ejection normally."

"Hyperspace- Most ties do not have hyperdrive. Unless you are flying a Tie Advance or an Imperial Shuttle, or certian advanced craft, you may not choose to hyperspace in the maneuver phase. Instead, if a scenerio calls for a Gozanti Transport, any Tie may perform an Emergency Dock, performing a green maneuver and ending your movement in base contact with the transport. The tie is removed and considered docked with the Gozanti, may deploy on later movement phases, and is only considered killed if the gozanti is destroyed."

Mission 0: Final Exam

All players are flying PS1 Tie/LN Wingpairs and 6 points to spend. Rebels always lose init.

Vs single Xwings and single turreted Ywings, none of which have torpedos or astromechs.

No escape edge

At PS4 you may upgrade to FO Wingpair, Tie Adv. Prototype wingpair, Tie Advanced, Tie Bomber, Tie Intercepter, or Imperial Shuttle.

Arc 1: Convoy Escort

Mission 1: Customs Inspection

A bunch of YTs, Hounds teeth, Rebel Transports and HWK squadrons are moving toward your base. Scan them, a randon one (or group for HWKS) is carrying contraband. Rebel Awings and Xwings hyper in in reaction, as the illegal ship attempts to flee.

Station available for Emergency Dock

Mission 2: Pirate attack

Convoy of NPC ships that dont move, including a Gozanti

Ywings, HWKS, and Headhunters attack with ion turrets. Protect the convoy.

Gozanti available for Emergency Dock

Mission 3: Rebel Ambush

Convoy moves 1/2 foreward each round, must cross asteroid field.

Each asteroid may have rebels hidden- Scan asteroids before transports are on top of them. Undetected rebels spawn on turn X. Ywings and Bwings with torpedos and strike AI

Gozanti available for Emergency dock

Arc 2: New Base

Mission 1: survey Asteroid field

HWKs and Zs, kill them all.

Gozanti for Emergency Dock

Mission 2: Protect the Base

Xwings and Bwings with Torpedos, Strike AI on base

Small starbase available for Emergency dock

Mission 3: Fireships

1-2 Rebel transports are approaching the base, filled with explosives.

Kill them before they reach the base

Xwings and Ywings escorting

Emergency dock with base.

Arc 3: Planetary Assault

Mission 1: Make an Example

Blow up a ground supply depot

Z95s and HWKS defend it

Escape edge available.

Mission 2: Escort the Walkers

Brand new ATAT template with hull and guns

Rebels send Xwings and Awings

Escape edge available

Mission 3: Attack the Rebel base

Rebel base spawns Awings, Xwings

YTs and Rebel Trnsports flee toward board edge

Protect the ATAT, destroy base, bonus points to destroy fleeing ships.

Arc 4: Planetary Blocade

Mission 1: Customs patrol

Hanger+Turrets for emergency dock

Scan incoming freighters for Rebels

Rebel reinforcements arrive, strike AI on base

Mission 2: Starve them out

Protect bombers as they emplace a minefield

Station for emergency dock

Mission 3: Blocade Runner

CR-90 is trying to get through your zone- kill it before it can escape.

Station for emergency dock

Arc 5: Senior Visitor

Mission 1: Hyperspace ambush

Rebels are waiting, shuttle w/ Vader+fleet officer will arrive in d6 turns.

Shuttle must dock with Gozanti (flee AI, use HotAC AI card)

Gozanti for emergency dock

Mission 2: Personal command

Shuttle is on strike AI against the enemy- use shuttle AI card from HotAC

Shuttle must survive

Ground mission, all sides are escape edges.

ATATs and rebel turrets, with Xwings and Awings

Mission 3: Protect the Flagship

Raider and Gozanti, both must survive

Torpedo armed Bwings and Ywings

Gozanti emenrgency dock

Arc 6: Hunt the Rebels.

Mission 1: High Value Target

Mission 2:

Mission 3:

Finished up arcs 4 and 5, still need ideas for arc 6.

I think it would be a bit of a burden to increase the play area outside the normal 3x3. Some room could be made for 6x3 perhaps, but 4x4 is an odd size and not standard. Id rather keep it within the size of normal x-wing playmats as to not require people to have additional materials for it (i really dislike playing on tabletop surfaces, so playmats are a must for me).

Also, the "numbers over individuality" was only true for the Tie Fighter (up to Battle of Yavin, if you follow legends, which FFG does). After BoY, the empire re-examined the approach of using cheap swarms, and shifted more towards stronger, more capable, more expensive fighters (hence why the interceptor, defender, and phantom were created) to keep up with the strong rebel fighters. But they only let the good pilots fly those (which is why the HotAC system is good for it, imo).

You're basically right about the 4x4 play area; I doubt players would find that easy. But 6x3 is reasonable, I think.

I believe you're largely wrong on the timeframe for the Empire's shift in starfighter philosophy and design though; I think the evidence is far more in weight of the idea that the Empire favored swarms of cheap ships through the Battle of Endor, while ships like the Defender were incredibly rare and eschewed in favor of cheaper ships even after they were developed. The X-wing: Rogue Squadron series is one good source for this assertion. It's important to also differentiate between the Empire keeping up in an arms race with the Rebels, and producing higher quality ships such as the TIE Interceptor, and changing their tactics or design philosophies. The Empire fielded better ships as time went on, but ships that emphasized the protection of the pilot were not mass produced during the Galactic Civil War - the addition of shields to standard-issue starfighters largely came after Endor, in 'Legends' novels.

More to the point, I don't think you could ever convincingly argue that the Empire supported individualism amongst its pilots In fact it seems to have been pretty severe in the way it imposed uniformity on its pilots and their equiment.

Some choice quotes from wookiepedia:

" the Galactic Empire at its height produced millions of TIE pilots and generally considered them expendable assets"

"the fleet conditioned their best prospects to be fanatically loyal to the Emperor and willing to sacrifice their lives and the lives of their fellow wingmen to complete their assigned missions, explicitly considering themselves expendable."

"to ingrain the concept of placing mission and Empire above self, TIE pilots' names were replaced with identification numbers (such as DS-61-2 and were subjected to continual reminders of their craft's lack of integrated life-support system and combat deflector shields "

" Imperial tactics and command-control procedures for TIE squadrons were based on the assumption that most of the pilots were new and inexperienced. They were generally not allowed to use the same vehicle more than once, though this practice declined as the number of available ships began to decrease. As a result of these early measures they developed little or no attachment to a particular craft as their Rebel counterparts did"

After the Battle of Endor, in certain sources, you will find evidence that the Empire reformed its starfighter philosophy to promote pilot survival (for example in Thrawn's campaign). But certainly during the majority of the Galactic Civil War, this was not the case.

All this goes to my point that a Villains of the Aturi Cluster campaign should move away from the individual customization of the Heroes system, and emphasize the impersonal ruthlessness that is the spirit of the Empire. Players should feel willing to throw away their pilot's lives in pursuit of the Empire's goals - at least to some extent, anyway. The emphasis should not be on individuals, but units and objectives.

Arc 6: Hunt the Rebels.

Mission 1: High Value Target

Mission 2:

Mission 3:

Finished up arcs 4 and 5, still need ideas for arc 6.

Maybe -

Mission 1: Capture High Value Target

Shuttle grab mission

Mission 2: Rescue Attempt (Interrogation of Rebel Prisoner is underway when Rebels attempt a rescue)

Defend a facility against enemy attack. If possible include an enemy rescue ship (YT-1300) attempting to interact with your facility (rescuing captive) and escape.

Mission 3: Destroy Listening Post (Using intel from interrogation, a Rebel listening post has been located)

Destroy a target defended by Rebel ships.

If possible, make the listening post a hidden target; for example, place 10 asteroids in the play area, and secretly mark one as the listening post or have some method of randomizing which asteroid is the listening post. Then use a scanning action (target lock) to identify which asteroid has the listening post.

You're pulling from the same souce i did to find that they started to shift.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/TIE/D_Defender/Legends

The high success rate of more advanced Rebel starfighters against standard Imperial TIE Fighters resulted in a mounting cost of replacing destroyed fighters. That, combined with the realization that the inclusion of a hyperdrive would allow the fleet to be more flexible, caused the Imperial Navy to rethink its doctrine of using swarms of cheap craft instead of fewer high-quality ones. That led to the introduction of the TIE Advanced x1[15] and its successor, the TIE Avenger,[16] and the TIE Defender itself was touted as the next "logical advance" of the TIE Series—a starfighter that was fast, well armed and capable of hyperspace travel.[4]

Of course, we may be cherry picking legends vs canon here. Also felidling multiple ships like that, in my mine, ruines the spirit of the co-op campaign. The point is "you're the pilot'. You are playing that pilot, in that ship.

You're pulling from the same souce i did to find that they started to shift.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/TIE/D_Defender/Legends

The high success rate of more advanced Rebel starfighters against standard Imperial TIE Fighters resulted in a mounting cost of replacing destroyed fighters. That, combined with the realization that the inclusion of a hyperdrive would allow the fleet to be more flexible, caused the Imperial Navy to rethink its doctrine of using swarms of cheap craft instead of fewer high-quality ones. That led to the introduction of the TIE Advanced x1[15] and its successor, the TIE Avenger,[16] and the TIE Defender itself was touted as the next "logical advance" of the TIE Series—a starfighter that was fast, well armed and capable of hyperspace travel.[4]

Of course, we may be cherry picking legends vs canon here. Also felidling multiple ships like that, in my mine, ruines the spirit of the co-op campaign. The point is "you're the pilot'. You are playing that pilot, in that ship.

There's no reason not to have it both ways. Some ships come with a free wingman every mission (just like you replace torpedos every mission) but have limited customizability, others are elite pilots in advanced craft.

I don't know if wingmen is the right way to go. I can easily see people using them as sacrificial victims for the AI to then line up shots. I just think going with the first number of missions being in Friendly Territory works because you won't lose your pilot. You can build up experience to then either switch ships or get good PS or EPT. Just have the first few missions be against only a few enemy ships or at least some sub par ones....like Z-95's, Y-wings with non-TLT's, HWKs, or Scyks.

I don't know if wingmen is the right way to go. I can easily see people using them as sacrificial victims for the AI to then line up shots. I just think going with the first number of missions being in Friendly Territory works because you won't lose your pilot. You can build up experience to then either switch ships or get good PS or EPT. Just have the first few missions be against only a few enemy ships or at least some sub par ones....like Z-95's, Y-wings with non-TLT's, HWKs, or Scyks.

Sacrificing wingmen to accomplish the mission sounds perfectly imperial to me!

You're pulling from the same souce i did to find that they started to shift.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/TIE/D_Defender/Legends

The high success rate of more advanced Rebel starfighters against standard Imperial TIE Fighters resulted in a mounting cost of replacing destroyed fighters. That, combined with the realization that the inclusion of a hyperdrive would allow the fleet to be more flexible, caused the Imperial Navy to rethink its doctrine of using swarms of cheap craft instead of fewer high-quality ones. That led to the introduction of the TIE Advanced x1[15] and its successor, the TIE Avenger,[16] and the TIE Defender itself was touted as the next "logical advance" of the TIE Series—a starfighter that was fast, well armed and capable of hyperspace travel.[4]

Of course, we may be cherry picking legends vs canon here. Also felidling multiple ships like that, in my mine, ruines the spirit of the co-op campaign. The point is "you're the pilot'. You are playing that pilot, in that ship.

There's no reason not to have it both ways. Some ships come with a free wingman every mission (just like you replace torpedos every mission) but have limited customizability, others are elite pilots in advanced craft.

I know about the track of development taken in the TIE Fighter game; but I would point out that those developments were not ultimately pursued by the Empire (so far as I know, drawing from sources like the Thrawn trilogy and X-wing: Rogue Squadron books). My memory was that the program was largely abandoned by the time of Endor - (and I should note that this was probably a pragmatic call by whoever wrote the article I read, intended to explain the lack of TIE/Ds in Return of the Jedi).

There's definitely enough material to justify the use of more advanced starfighters, and there were of course some elite pilots in the Empire. But this was much less common compared to Rebel pilots, and I'll point out again that there is absolutely no evidence of individuals upgrading or customizing ships in the Empire; quite the opposite.

Ultimately I feel that a direct transfer of the HotAC system to Imperial ships and pilots would be an easy move and largely unfaithful to the vast majority of the source material. And, I think there are ways to take the core innovations of HotAC and apply them in a new, creative way that does capture the essence of the Empire - their impersonal ruthlessness.

Ultimately I feel that a direct transfer of the HotAC system to Imperial ships and pilots would be an easy move and largely unfaithful to the vast majority of the source material. And, I think there are ways to take the core innovations of HotAC and apply them in a new, creative way that does capture the essence of the Empire - their impersonal ruthlessness.

True, but it's easier to just use the already existing system to crank out another great campaign!

I don't know if wingmen is the right way to go. I can easily see people using them as sacrificial victims for the AI to then line up shots. I just think going with the first number of missions being in Friendly Territory works because you won't lose your pilot. You can build up experience to then either switch ships or get good PS or EPT. Just have the first few missions be against only a few enemy ships or at least some sub par ones....like Z-95's, Y-wings with non-TLT's, HWKs, or Scyks.

My solution is to make it so there is no distinction between pilots and wingmen. When flying a ship that gives a wingman (tie fighter, Tie FO, and Tie AdvProto) whichever one survives to come home gets all the credit, and gets a new nameless wingman next mission just like him.

NEVER give a wingman to a bomber, intercepter, or Tie Advanced. those are for named elite pilots.

I don't know if wingmen is the right way to go. I can easily see people using them as sacrificial victims for the AI to then line up shots. I just think going with the first number of missions being in Friendly Territory works because you won't lose your pilot. You can build up experience to then either switch ships or get good PS or EPT. Just have the first few missions be against only a few enemy ships or at least some sub par ones....like Z-95's, Y-wings with non-TLT's, HWKs, or Scyks.

My solution is to make it so there is no distinction between pilots and wingmen. When flying a ship that gives a wingman (tie fighter, Tie FO, and Tie AdvProto) whichever one survives to come home gets all the credit, and gets a new nameless wingman next mission just like him.

NEVER give a wingman to a bomber, intercepter, or Tie Advanced. those are for named elite pilots.

Remember that you still roll the dice after you are shot down. It's pretty rare to actually have your pilot die. I'm not sure if the need for a wingman is really needed.

I don't know if wingmen is the right way to go. I can easily see people using them as sacrificial victims for the AI to then line up shots. I just think going with the first number of missions being in Friendly Territory works because you won't lose your pilot. You can build up experience to then either switch ships or get good PS or EPT. Just have the first few missions be against only a few enemy ships or at least some sub par ones....like Z-95's, Y-wings with non-TLT's, HWKs, or Scyks.

My solution is to make it so there is no distinction between pilots and wingmen. When flying a ship that gives a wingman (tie fighter, Tie FO, and Tie AdvProto) whichever one survives to come home gets all the credit, and gets a new nameless wingman next mission just like him.

NEVER give a wingman to a bomber, intercepter, or Tie Advanced. those are for named elite pilots.

Remember that you still roll the dice after you are shot down. It's pretty rare to actually have your pilot die. I'm not sure if the need for a wingman is really needed.

It's needed because a starting player in HotAC is given 30 points (4 points to reach PS2, 26 points of ship+ customization) and a basic imperial pilot should be flying a 12 point ship. Giving basic imperial pilots 2 12 point ships at PS1 is a valid use of HotAC's ship system.

We have tested several different ways to deal with Wingmen.

1. Everyone gets a wingman of the same ship-type, but a few levels lower than you. Plus getting bonuses and penalties depending on range.
   • ​This makes the Empire too powerful in most cases, and crippling when you get too far apart
2. Everyone gets an Academy pilot as a wingman.
   • ​Too easy to game the Ai, too much benefit to most of the ships. Also no incentive to stay as a Tie for your main ship.
3. If you are flying a Tie/Ln or Tie/Fo you get a level 1 Wingman. You can also purchase additional level 1 Wingmen instead of Modifications at level 4 & 8. These cost 12 or 15 points, replacing a destroyed one costs half as much. They have no modifications or EPTs.
   • ​So far this seems to be the most balanced. It takes more points to fly a mini-swarm, but not a lot more.
   • There is the possibility of gaming the Ai, so I was considering not allowing actions on the Wingmen if they are beyond range 2 of the main ship. That adds more of a risk if you use one of your Academy's in that fashion.

We have tested several different ways to deal with Wingmen.

1. Everyone gets a wingman of the same ship-type, but a few levels lower than you. Plus getting bonuses and penalties depending on range.
   • ​This makes the Empire too powerful in most cases, and crippling when you get too far apart
2. Everyone gets an Academy pilot as a wingman.
   • ​Too easy to game the Ai, too much benefit to most of the ships. Also no incentive to stay as a Tie for your main ship.
3. If you are flying a Tie/Ln or Tie/Fo you get a level 1 Wingman. You can also purchase additional level 1 Wingmen instead of Modifications at level 4 & 8. These cost 12 or 15 points, replacing a destroyed one costs half as much. They have no modifications or EPTs.
   • ​So far this seems to be the most balanced. It takes more points to fly a mini-swarm, but not a lot more.
   • There is the possibility of gaming the Ai, so I was considering not allowing actions on the Wingmen if they are beyond range 2 of the main ship. That adds more of a risk if you use one of your Academy's in that fashion.

Here's what I've been suggesting:

You have a second ship, same as your first ship, all the same upgrades. One ship dies, it is replaced next mission. If BOTH die, roll ejection for the second one, apply results.

Simple, easy to play, gives both extra survivability and extra upgrade slots, and promotes the virtues of sacrifice the navy support.

I don't know if wingmen is the right way to go. I can easily see people using them as sacrificial victims for the AI to then line up shots. I just think going with the first number of missions being in Friendly Territory works because you won't lose your pilot. You can build up experience to then either switch ships or get good PS or EPT. Just have the first few missions be against only a few enemy ships or at least some sub par ones....like Z-95's, Y-wings with non-TLT's, HWKs, or Scyks.

My solution is to make it so there is no distinction between pilots and wingmen. When flying a ship that gives a wingman (tie fighter, Tie FO, and Tie AdvProto) whichever one survives to come home gets all the credit, and gets a new nameless wingman next mission just like him.

NEVER give a wingman to a bomber, intercepter, or Tie Advanced. those are for named elite pilots.

Remember that you still roll the dice after you are shot down. It's pretty rare to actually have your pilot die. I'm not sure if the need for a wingman is really needed.

It's needed because a starting player in HotAC is given 30 points (4 points to reach PS2, 26 points of ship+ customization) and a basic imperial pilot should be flying a 12 point ship. Giving basic imperial pilots 2 12 point ships at PS1 is a valid use of HotAC's ship system.

Um, you're not suppose to buy PS with the initial pool of points when starting a campaign, so 26 points.

Players cannot purchase additional Pilot Skill with their initial XP (pg 10: Choose a Starting Ship)