As this is most likely my first post here, I'd like to first say: hi
Secondly I'd like to express my emotions about the balance between fighters and capships: "what to hell?!"
How is it possible that a lone fighter or a wing of fighters can take out a Battleship? As far as I agree that a wing of VHF with good torpedoes could take out a Battleship, I can not stand a situation in which a captain of such devastating machine needs to cower when outnumbered by fighters.
In order to create a balanced ships one has to bear in mind their purpose, their functions. Let me cover them here:
Light Fighter: scouting, searching and providing shield for larger units by destroying torpedoes, missiles and engaging heavier fighters in prolonged fight, harrasing them and luring into traps. Very cheap to build, even cheaper to destroy.
Medium/Heavy Fighter: when battle comes this is the calss of ship you will see the most. It's flexibility, mobility and ability to survive match those of a simple soldier acting as the backbone of every attack or defense force. It is agile enough to take out a Light Fighter and it is hard to kill enough to survive a fight with VHF. It's flexibility and multi-functionality is it's gratest strength... and greatest weakness.
Very Heavy Fighters: Medium and Heavy Fighters killers with enough firepower to litterally turn into dust any non moving Light Fighter. However it's lack of agility makes it voulnerable to Light Fighters attacks, especially those done by experienced pilot. It is heavy enough to survive in battle against a Frigate.
Frigate: An anti fighter/bomber capital ship, with enough agility to easily outmanouver Battleships. They are the escorts for larger ships. Think of Falcon Millenium from Star Wars, do you remember this scene when they managed to evade a Star Destroyer (Battleship)? What is more it has dealt with fighters that pursued him. High refire rate guns able to turn light fighters into dust should be mounted on such a ship.
Cruiser/Destroyer: A medium capital ship serving as a Frigate and Gunboats killer. Designed to move in the battlefield and provide fire support, vanquishing medium threats. In terms of Freelancer such ship should posses enough firepower to damage a Battleship yet have enough refire rate and weapons projectile speed to hit smaller capships.
Battleship/Dreadnought: the big bad and outsandingly powerfull ship that is capable to turn the chances of a battle. These are comissioned to eradicate Cruisers and keep Frigates at bay. It is a huge ship that does not care about being engaged by fighters and should not as it has enough armor not only to withstand such attacks but to ignore them! However the function it serves unables it to succesfully deal with fighters. Against them a Battleship is just powerless relying on it's escorts such as Gunboats, Frigates and fighters. In Freelancer such ships should be designed as slow, rather clumsy yet with devastating firepower capable of hitting Cruisers, sometimes Frigates, hardly ever Gunboats and almost never fighters. What is more such ships should posses enough hitpoint to outmatch a Cruiser and enough shield's regeneration rate to almost ignore fighters and be threatened only by specialized bombers.
All of this should like like this:
Capships league:
Battleship kills Cruisers and Gunboats, ignore HF, all wings of MF and LF
Cruisers kill Gunboats HF and VHF
Gunboats kill Light Fighters and Medium Fighters, damage and harrass Battleships.
Fighters league:
VHFs kill Gunboats, Medium Fighters
HFs kill Light Fighters, Medium Fighters
Medium Fighters kill Light Fighters, and deal with HF, ignore Battleships
Light Fighters are a pain in the ass for all HF and VHF, ignore Battleships and Cruisers. Act as a great support for all units and defending capships from torpedoes, missiles, mines and distracting enemies leting larger units do their job: destroying.
