Gunships, a class of its own

[alance]

I retract my idea (above) of renaming Gunboat to Frigate or Corvette. This is a bad idea because there are many items in game now that refer to "gunboat"... Many gunboat turrets, many ships named gunboat, many faction IDs that specify ships to fly as "gunboat" etc. This is a lot of work for Igiss to change.

Even adding a new class called "Sloop" or "Cutter" or whatever means that all of the IDs must be looked at and changed to say whether or not that ID can use such a ship. Do we really need a new class so comparable to the Gunboat? I think leaving the lighter "Gunboats" with names like "Hacker Gunship" is just fine and preferable. In the descriptions of any of these light GBs they should be called "Gunboats" so it is clear which class they fall under.

i.e.
Ship Name: Hacker Gunship
Class: Gunboat
Characteristics: 6 turrets (2 foward-arc only), 75% power plant of standard Gunboat, greater agility than standard Gunboat, less armor than standard GB, same shields and weaponry as standard GB.

More agile, less durable, and less sustainable firepower would set these ships apart but leave them still capable of piracy and fighter/bomber hunting.

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"To gain a hundred victories in a hundred battles is not the highest excellence;
to subjugate the enemy's army without doing battle is the highest of excellence."