Maj.Striker said:
There is more than enough ships in the established Wing Commander universe that we don't need to start adding fanships...regardless of the reason.
I must say I disagree with you, at least at some measure:
Sure fighters we have quite a lot in the WCU, but, though I find it hard to except that at any given period Con Fleet uses only one type of fighter of each class, plus one extra:
WC1: 1 light, 1 Medium, 1 Heavy, and a new Medium fighter.
WC2 + WCA : in here things look a little better: in the start we have 2 light, 1 med, 1 heavy, 1 bomber, then (SO1, SO2 and WCA) we get 3 more prototypes (a heavy, a medium and a bomber)
WC3: one ship of each class (light, med, heavy and bomber)
WC4: here we have the most fighters (but we do not fly all of them).
also, in each game all the fighters are first line crafts. what about ISS, and local defence forces? I would bet that there are (may be just a few) non-ConFleet forces operation old fighters in modern time (a low-budget local defence force flying Wildcat fighters in 2670-80)
And thirdly, when the sabre entered service, It's logical to assume it won a contract, after facing a posible XF-56 and maybe YF-58.
And if we'll talk about capital ships:
ConFleet was BB-oriented up until 2634, and after loosing 70% of it's force it becomes, in one night, an only CV force?
What about escorts?
Only 3 types of destroyers from 2654-2669? 4-5 types if you include the ships from 2634-2654?
Only one destroyer-leader (Durango-class)?
Only 2 frigate types in a full 35 years war? one of them is a post-war design?
4-5 type of fleet Carriers - ok, but Only one type of light carriers before 2667? and even then only on reserve? what about escort carriers?
What about escort class vessels - I mean specifcally designed Escort class - bigger then destroyer and smaller the cruiser, optimized for slow long range cruise while escorting a convoy with a small fighter complement and a multi-pourpose weapon suit.
What about police cutters, blockrunners, repair ships (like the tranport that hooks on to Tarawa on the end of End-Run feeding it with lifesupport and power), rescue ships, long range scouts, Auxilary warships, system monitoring vessels (the war is on the Kilrathi front, but Confed have a few more sectors on the other side - pirates etc.)
In short... there are a few grey areas where you can add a few enriching touches.