I'm not sure why I follow that if the Liners get stronger turrets developed, then the normal transports wouldn't follow suit, especially the -fighting- transports.
As there are transports, such as the BTrans and the KTrans (the Container transports) The pirate transport, and possibly the armoured transports and the Pirate Train, who's main defense (not that it actually counts as defense...) is actually their straight up and up firepower, I feel they would well be designed with whatever combat advantage they can be given...Isn't that why the Container Transports have twelve turrets?
I'll point out, here, that Cargospace is much more expensive than fighting capacity (ninety five million credits is the cost for upgrading an Ltrain to an Atrain, for the benifit of a larger profile, slower turning, and 500 more cargospace for some reason), as transports occupy the same price range as Gunboats, and up into the price range of Cruisers (some liners are even more expensive than cruisers). Given the cost of these ships, I would expect that they be able to deal much more pain to fighters and bombers, and even gunboats, than they currently can. I would expect, in all fairness, that they be the Floating Fortresses that their hundred million or higher price tag indicates. Piracy can and should be something done in groups, but even being pirated by a Gunboat should not feel like a ganking. As it is, a single fighter can take out a shielded, armoured train, of 120k armour, over a distance of 60k. The argumet was made that over 60k, a transport could easily reach a friendly base, and escape. True, most distances aren't that far. But assume the fighter is firing for about 70%(its not 100% of the time, but I made up the number, add your own for the thought experiment if you like) of the time, there, as it dodges and rechharges. Add in another fighter, and one assumes that the total ammount of distance traveled would be 30k, but I suggest it would probably be even less, as the average of the fighters has to spend less time doging, can fire more, and has a chance for more manuvering such as mine laying. That's Two fighters, the minimum needed to effectively hold down a tradelane without leaks. Even the one, and most every transport is struggling to survive.
I'm fine with the idea that tradeships should cost a lot, because that keeps more traders out, which has been accepted by the devs as good for the rp of the game (which is why the trade routes aren't very good, why things are getting more expensive, etc. Money is worth more because the devs have decided trade is good for the game) But damn me, if the traders are going to cost from 50 million to one hundred and EIGHTYFIVE million credits, (and assume you don't have a highlevel trader to -buy- that highlevel trader with...and it looks a whole lot more expensive) then they should, by all rights, be worth more in a fight. Transports, today, are ridiculously underwhelming.
Trader Factions, and Traders, have not gotten any of the love. They're the punching bag for the rest of the system, and even the pinnical of Transports are easy pickings for the lowliest of the fighting ships. I'm aware that traders are at the bottom of the food chain...but one could make it so the lowly carnivores have to travel in packs.
