The TIE Advanced Prototype, designed by Seinar Fleet Systems, was an improvement upon the classic TIE fighter. Not only did it carry a missile launcher, but a hyperdrive, folding panels for improved hanger storage, and shielding. Arguably the most noticeable difference to the TAP when compared to a TIE fighter is the panels themselves, in addition to folding, they also only have solar panels on the inside, allowing for armored external sections....

Armored....

Extra armor...

Added armor plating...

More armor plating than standard TIEs...

Why the **** does the TAP have DECREASED hull compared to a LESSER armored TIE fighter?

Gamebalance > fluff

It could be that the 'classic TIE fighter' it refers to is the 'pre-/ln' TIE, after all Rebels takes places before the films, and we don't have any stats for that.

Or it could be that it has added armour facing the enemy, but this is a necessity as its structural integrity overall is lower.

Or it could be that 'reinforced armour' is being counted as one of its shield points instead of hull.

Or it could be that it had to be seen as worse than the x/1 and there wasn't a lot of design space there, given that reductions in red or green dice would have made it unplayable.

It could be that the 'classic TIE fighter' it refers to is the 'pre-/ln' TIE, after all Rebels takes places before the films, and we don't have any stats for that.

Or it could be that it has added armour facing the enemy, but this is a necessity as its structural integrity overall is lower.

Or it could be that 'reinforced armour' is being counted as one of its shield points instead of hull.

Or it could be that it had to be seen as worse than the x/1 and there wasn't a lot of design space there, given that reductions in red or green dice would have made it unplayable.

You're basically right on target.

Before the TIE/LN, there was the T.I.E. Fighter. Think of it like...an early block variant of the TIE Fighter. The TIE/LN was basically an upgraded version of the T.I.E., which improved performance in most areas, from the laser cannons to the armor to the engines. Now obviously we don't know whether the TIE Fighters in Rebels are T.I.E.s, but i think they might be, because the solar panels on some of the TIE Fighters early on in the show are much, much smaller than they are on a normal TIE/LN.

So while you can just chalk it up to game balance, the armor plating on the TIE Adv. Proto could be thicker than on a T.I.E., just... not enough to warrant that additional hull point.

I understand game balance is greater than fluff... to an extent... Couldn't they have just as easily given it 4 hull (improved over the TIE) 1 shield, rather than its current 2 hull, 2 shield. Then just costed it 1 point higher for the increased durability.

Doesn't seem to change all that much, but now is fluff accurate!

The TIE Advanced Prototype, designed by Seinar Fleet Systems, was an improvement upon the classic TIE fighter. Not only did it carry a missile launcher, but a hyperdrive, folding panels for improved hanger storage, and shielding. Arguably the most noticeable difference to the TAP when compared to a TIE fighter is the panels themselves, in addition to folding, they also only have solar panels on the inside, allowing for armored external sections....

Armored....

Extra armor...

Added armor plating...

More armor plating than standard TIEs...

Why the **** does the TAP have DECREASED hull compared to a LESSER armored TIE fighter?

Maybe armor = shields occasionally.

Or maybe the Evade token from the title can be thought of as armor. A bit of a stretch, maybe, but to me it helps to set it apart from the original TIE Advanced we got.

I understand game balance is greater than fluff... to an extent... Couldn't they have just as easily given it 4 hull (improved over the TIE) 1 shield, rather than its current 2 hull, 2 shield. Then just costed it 1 point higher for the increased durability.

Doesn't seem to change all that much, but now is fluff accurate!

Except you still don't seem to get that there was a different model of TIE that we don't have stats for which could be the one being referred to in the TAP article.

I understand game balance is greater than fluff... to an extent... Couldn't they have just as easily given it 4 hull (improved over the TIE) 1 shield, rather than its current 2 hull, 2 shield. Then just costed it 1 point higher for the increased durability.

Doesn't seem to change all that much, but now is fluff accurate!

Now the prototype is heavier armoured than a Defender.

I'll refer you to Black Knight Leader to learn about what fluff accurate would do to the game (tl;dr it utterly ruins it).

Yes a Soontir Fell (Tee inuisitor with Push is basically this) with 4 hull and 1 armour sounds fun in the game.

I understand game balance is greater than fluff... to an extent... Couldn't they have just as easily given it 4 hull (improved over the TIE) 1 shield, rather than its current 2 hull, 2 shield. Then just costed it 1 point higher for the increased durability.

Doesn't seem to change all that much, but now is fluff accurate!

Now the prototype is heavier armoured than a Defender.

I'll refer you to Black Knight Leader to learn about what fluff accurate would do to the game (tl;dr it utterly ruins it).

And the TIE Phantom has a higher attack value than the heavier armed defender. Who says hull wise the TAP isn't more structurally sound though lacking in shields.

I get that it will never be perfectly fluffy, but it seems rather off base, even 3 hull 1 shield would be closer as the level of shielding is never addressed. I could see it argued that even with 3 hull it's still more heavily armored, just not enough to justify 1 more hull, but to reduce it by 1?

As for the T.I.E. fighter, I think it's safe to say that it would have had more than 1 hull...

As for the T.I.E. fighter, I think it's safe to say that it would have had more than 1 hull...

Yep, I was assuming it would have 2, and the modifications to the TAP aren't enough to increase the value

As for the T.I.E. fighter, I think it's safe to say that it would have had more than 1 hull...

Yep, I was assuming it would have 2, and the modifications to the TAP aren't enough to increase the value

Assuming it's based off the older model T.I.E., fair point.

I understand game balance is greater than fluff... to an extent... Couldn't they have just as easily given it 4 hull (improved over the TIE) 1 shield, rather than its current 2 hull, 2 shield. Then just costed it 1 point higher for the increased durability.

Doesn't seem to change all that much, but now is fluff accurate!

That's an enormous change.

Before the TIE/LN, there was the T.I.E. Fighter. Think of it like...an early block variant of the TIE Fighter. The TIE/LN was basically an upgraded version of the T.I.E., which improved performance in most areas, from the laser cannons to the armor to the engines. Now obviously we don't know whether the TIE Fighters in Rebels are T.I.E.s, but i think they might be, because the solar panels on some of the TIE Fighters early on in the show are much, much smaller than they are on a normal TIE/LN.

There's a certain amount of inconsistency in the newcanon here. I've been told that in a Rebels Recon episode, Filoni said the difference between the Rebels TIEs and the ANH TIEs is artistic licence - (so, if it were live-action, they'd look exactly like ANH ones).

However, the newcanon reference book Ultimate Star Wars (which may have come out before that episode) said that certain TIEs had reinforced panels to make surface landings on planets like Lothal - taking the approach that the visual difference is a real one.

Four hull may be more true to the cartoon but it would have made the TAP far less appealing to players.

I think what we got is a solid little fighter that likes to get in close but can survive doing it.

Before the TIE/LN, there was the T.I.E. Fighter. Think of it like...an early block variant of the TIE Fighter. The TIE/LN was basically an upgraded version of the T.I.E., which improved performance in most areas, from the laser cannons to the armor to the engines. Now obviously we don't know whether the TIE Fighters in Rebels are T.I.E.s, but i think they might be, because the solar panels on some of the TIE Fighters early on in the show are much, much smaller than they are on a normal TIE/LN.

There's a certain amount of inconsistency in the newcanon here. I've been told that in a Rebels Recon episode, Filoni said the difference between the Rebels TIEs and the ANH TIEs is artistic licence - (so, if it were live-action, they'd look exactly like ANH ones).

However, the newcanon reference book Ultimate Star Wars (which may have come out before that episode) said that certain TIEs had reinforced panels to make surface landings on planets like Lothal - taking the approach that the visual difference is a real one.

Frustrating isn't it?

We all understood why the old franchise had so many inconsistencies, but when they reboot the EU just so they have free reign to get away from those plot holes and technical limitations.... Then ignore the new ones they set for themselves, it can be heartbreaking.

I will just assume the shield tokens equal physical shielding that gets shot off, like ablative armor.

The T.I.E. was a Republic design, later replaced by the production model TIE Fighter, with a seperate generator for the cannons. These TIEs are supposed to be the ones in ANH. The /ln model are the blue painted ties with the simple old bore cannons in ESB and ROTJ, supposed to be an improvement over the older TIE Fighter. Appearantly the 'stubby TIEs' in Rebels are yet another variant that have reinforced wings that allow surface landings. (Stubby TIEs seem to be referencing the original TIE toys by Kenner)

And that doesn't even get into the possible variants with extended tails, probably indicating modular modifications like shields or hyperdrive. And the others variants like /gt bomber, /fc fire control and /rc recon.

There's a lot of TIEs, even going by the 'basic' ones.

Maybe all the extra stuff....folding wings, hyperdrives, etc, makes it a more fragile ship. So, the armor balances some of it, but maybe it just doesn't hold together really well.

It's a prototype. They are testing newer, lighter armor. Hence "prototype".

Before the TIE/LN, there was the T.I.E. Fighter. Think of it like...an early block variant of the TIE Fighter. The TIE/LN was basically an upgraded version of the T.I.E., which improved performance in most areas, from the laser cannons to the armor to the engines. Now obviously we don't know whether the TIE Fighters in Rebels are T.I.E.s, but i think they might be, because the solar panels on some of the TIE Fighters early on in the show are much, much smaller than they are on a normal TIE/LN.

There's a certain amount of inconsistency in the newcanon here. I've been told that in a Rebels Recon episode, Filoni said the difference between the Rebels TIEs and the ANH TIEs is artistic licence - (so, if it were live-action, they'd look exactly like ANH ones).

However, the newcanon reference book Ultimate Star Wars (which may have come out before that episode) said that certain TIEs had reinforced panels to make surface landings on planets like Lothal - taking the approach that the visual difference is a real one.

Frustrating isn't it?

We all understood why the old franchise had so many inconsistencies, but when they reboot the EU just so they have free reign to get away from those plot holes and technical limitations.... Then ignore the new ones they set for themselves, it can be heartbreaking.

Yeah, obviously the difference is just artistic style. Nobody is saying Vader had a different mask during Rebels , it's just that it's meant to be a cartoon. I guess whoever wrote that entry in the Ultimate book decided this was something in need of a fanwank to explain the difference in appearance, but the showrunner has since clarified that that was not the case. Maybe in season 3 they can throw in an offhand reference to the small-panel ships as TIE/lns and thereby decannonize the Ultimate reference. (The whole T.I.E. thing appears to be part of Legends/old EU only.)

Things in Rebels are meant to look like the McQuirre production art, so Vader gets the long stretches out mask, lightsabers are really thin, TIEs are stubby, Zev looks like proto-Chewie,chop looks like proto-R2, A-wings look like the prototype art, exc.

If the X-wings use the preproduction drawings they will end up looking like TFA T-70s! Oops!