I'm saying THEY decided it doesn't look Imperial enough. They wanted all the Imperial small ships to look as much alike as possible, and the Gunboat was an exception - so they left it aside. No eyeball, so it's probably not going to get in the game.

I personally WOULD like it, or something much like it, as a more Rebel style ship available to the Imps - maybe K-Wing stats with no bombs but a cannon instead. It would give the Imperial more variety and make it harder to beat them in list design - right now, all the Imperial small-base ships rely on greens for their primary defense, and it makes them easy to outguess. Giving us a small but sturdy ship a la the ARC, K-Wing, or Y-Wing would let us build better lists.

Of course, it doesn't work well for the Punisher, but that's because the Punisher is... well, genuinely terrible. No EPT? Seriously?

TBH... I stopped collecting Imperials for a while for that very reason... there are only so many Identical cockpits you can paint before you go mad... Enjoying my Scum.

Last thing I bought was vets the stuff from the new movies is crap, hoping the tie striker will break that trend it surely can't suck as hard as the sf.

I think the major reason we don't see - and won't see! - the Gunboat is simple: It doesn't fit the aesthetic.

The Empire has a monolithic, uniform aesthetic, and the ships are chosen to contrast with the aesthetic of the Rebellion (and Scum's) ragtag mishmash of different ships from different species and different designers. An X-Wing looks nothing like a B-Wing, and an HWK only superficially resembles the Y-Wing, to say nothing of the difference between a Starviper and a Z-95.

However, all the Imperial small ships are tied together visually with the TIE pod and solar panels. That makes it look more like a unified army instead of a rebellion, and is a conscious choice on the part of the FFG designers. Putting the gunboat in there would wreck the aesthetic they're trying for. Yes, it matches the Lambda, but that's a large ship versus a small ship.

It's why we won't see Skipray Blastboats or Imperial X-Wing prototypes, either; they don't have the visual aesthetic of a unified army in control of the galaxy.

You know, I hadn't even considered that, which is silly since I still remember the "wha...?" feeling when I first saw the XG-1 on my scopes in combat. I mean, the XG-1 was created by Cygnus, the same company that created the Lambda-class shuttle (and naturally, it's blatantly obvious) so its design makes sense from that angle but yes, the XG-1 really doesn't fit in with the visual aesthetic of the Imperial starfighter fleet. I guess I didn't really mind much because the XG-1, at the time, was also a deviation in Imperial tactics - the single starfighter hit-and-fade stuff didn't become more common until the TIE Fighter game with introduction of the other hyperspace-capable fighters like the Defender and missile boat.

A Skipray Blastboat would be a really neat addition - I suspect it would make a fantastic Scum ship!

Regardless, I thought the gunboat was far larger than a Snub-Fighter. Perhaps I don't know what that term is supposed to imply. Taste wise I don't know if I'm fond of a shuttle with missiles in the context of this game. I would think a missile boat would be a stand off weapon platform and should die in the first turn of engagement. This gets back to me not, conceptually, seeing it as a snubfighter. I am however a little bias since I'm also not fond of freighters and transports being better than most assault or superiority fighter craft.

The Gunboat is close to the ARC-170 in size. It's a little shorter with less wingspan and is just under twice as high (because of the big dorsal fin).

I always considered it smaller. Fighting ARCs in Battlefront gave me the impression they weren't that big. Where as B-Wings were just awkward and lanky.

I think the major reason we don't see - and won't see! - the Gunboat is simple: It doesn't fit the aesthetic.

The Empire has a monolithic, uniform aesthetic, and the ships are chosen to contrast with the aesthetic of the Rebellion (and Scum's) ragtag mishmash of different ships from different species and different designers. An X-Wing looks nothing like a B-Wing, and an HWK only superficially resembles the Y-Wing, to say nothing of the difference between a Starviper and a Z-95.

However, all the Imperial small ships are tied together visually with the TIE pod and solar panels. That makes it look more like a unified army instead of a rebellion, and is a conscious choice on the part of the FFG designers. Putting the gunboat in there would wreck the aesthetic they're trying for. Yes, it matches the Lambda, but that's a large ship versus a small ship.

It's why we won't see Skipray Blastboats or Imperial X-Wing prototypes, either; they don't have the visual aesthetic of a unified army in control of the galaxy.

Like most of the post CW decisions, I think that's a abundantly stupid reason to exclude it when they're graciously passing new movie ships that are just as equally redundant. The Rebels even got a captured TIE, but made no connection to Biggs or the New Republic TIE squadrons serving at Adumar. Aesthetically doesn't fit the narrative when they broke that by forcing the Lambda into a combat support role.

One of the most nostalgic ships for old TIE Fighter fans is the Gunboat. It's an iconic ship that only faded from history because the EU writers were too busy romanticizing rogue squadron and wanted a scary ship to kill. Likewise, you don't see TIE Avengers, Chiss Clawcraft or Scimitar Assault Bombers. Three hips that are both aesthetically identifiable and more superior to many of the ships in the arsenal.

Like most of the post CW decisions, I think that's a abundantly stupid reason to exclude it when they're graciously passing new movie ships that are just as equally redundant. The Rebels even got a captured TIE, but made no connection to Biggs or the New Republic TIE squadrons serving at Adumar. Aesthetically doesn't fit the narrative when they broke that by forcing the Lambda into a combat support role.

One of the most nostalgic ships for old TIE Fighter fans is the Gunboat. It's an iconic ship that only faded from history because the EU writers were too busy romanticizing rogue squadron and wanted a scary ship to kill. Likewise, you don't see TIE Avengers, Chiss Clawcraft or Scimitar Assault Bombers. Three hips that are both aesthetically identifiable and more superior to many of the ships in the arsenal.

That's because you're thinking like a fanboy, not a businessman - or thinking like someone who has to wear both hats. I'm going to try to explain it to you and see how they arrived at a logical conclusion that is completely opposite your desires.

From a business sense, branding - or aesthetics, if you prefer - is more important then sentiment. In a game with multiple factions, you need Johnny C. Kidlish and Gramma Kidlish to at a glance be able to distinguish between the different sides, not just the fanboys who've immersed themselves in every minor detail. It's why I've done my Battletech forces in striking parade ground colors rather than camo, because the minis themselves don't distinguish so the paintjobs have to. It's why Chaos Space Marines have spikes and chains and that 8-pointed star everywhere.

The Rebellion has a mishmash of different craft in different styles, giving them a strong brand of 'ragtag', and that means the other side has to have a strong brand of 'uniform'. Going with the eyeball/solar panels as the 'uniform' brand was an easy pick, seeing as how EVERYONE knows what a TIE Fighter looks like, and it's easy to see the similarity between that, a Phantom, a Defender, or a Bomber - while still being able to tell the difference between those ships.

The Gunboat would throw a HUGE monkeywrench into that. It'd defy the branding, and make poor Gramma Kidlish have to look twice at it - and Johnny Kidlish, who likes the eyeballs and solar panels, wouldn't buy it because it 'doesn't look Imperial'.

Balancing that is the question, "Who does leaving it off anger?" If the answer to that is "A tiny amount of the fanbase who still remember a two-decade-old game fondly," then it's a simple decision to make, particularly when they already threw those fanboys a bone by adopting a ship from there which DOES match the chosen Imperial branding.

As I said, personally I want it or something much like it - a slow stolid craft more in line with Rebel design notions than Imperial. But the Gunboat itself isn't going to happen.

I really liked Defenders until I found out that everyone else is flying them now I don't want to fly them.

I flew them before it was cool.

Me2. I flew Vessery before the Titles came out a lot, then i played Palpmobile with VI/x7 Maarek instead of other aces.

Now i don't really enjoy them so much anymore because it's such a spam...

From a business sense, branding - or aesthetics, if you prefer - is more important then sentiment. In a game with multiple factions, you need Johnny C. Kidlish and Gramma Kidlish to at a glance be able to distinguish between the different sides, not just the fanboys who've immersed themselves in every minor detail. It's why I've done my Battletech forces in striking parade ground colors rather than camo, because the minis themselves don't distinguish so the paintjobs have to. It's why Chaos Space Marines have spikes and chains and that 8-pointed star everywhere.

If you couldn't have mirror matches, ships didn't appear in multiple factions, and paint jobs were that tied to a faction I would agree... But when it comes down to it, it's not hard to tell which 4 ships are yours. I also don't think the Gunboat really looks un-imperial, it has a very similar design to the shuttle. Even though the Imperium had far more Arc-170s than the Rebels, the ship definitely fits that factions look so I have no issue with that ship going to the Rebels...

The thing is the Imperium, had couriers, they had transports, they did have bulk haulers. But unlike every other faction, the only thing you see is fighters.