[PvK]

I'm aware of the fighter issue, and have something in the works, but it's not done yet. I figure it would be best to get it in before starting, so it may be Monday before it's ready, as I have other tasks I need to do today and this weekend.

I more or less agree with your comments on the fighters in 2.5. They are too good too early, meaning fleets should bring interceptors with them, etc. It worked sort of on a World War II or modern naval air analogy (or Star Wars, or Battlestar Galactica, or...), but that does mean mostly requiring fighters to deal with other fighters.

My current approach is to slash the combat modifiers they start with, and move the availability of higher-powered weapons to higher tech levels. So the first fighters you can get are more like armed shuttlecraft, - auxiliary weapons that can help but that can also be dealt with by ships. The higher tech levels will still be quite strong, but by those tech levels, ships have better combat mods and defenses available too, and the higher-tech fighter components will also cost more. Also, since there will be a greater change in performance with technology, amassing fighters during periods of peace should be less effective, since the older fighters should be outmatched by newer models. That's the theory - I think I can come close to pulling it off, but it will take some effort.

I'm already doing the fighter/bomber split - I'm not sure what the torpedo bomber distinction would be, unless you mean planet-only or planet/ship weapons opposed to ship-only weapons. That's already in there.

PvK