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Hunpecked said:
Two questions for Strategia_In_Ultima:
1. With regard to Interceptors, Space Superiority Fighters, and Bombers, are these actual fixed hull classes, or can the same hull be configured to any fighter type by incorporating the appropriate components?
2. Doesn't the "bomber" designation seem a bit...primitive? I mean, doesn't it just invite visions of unguided gravity-propelled iron-wrapped TNT firecrackers? Wouldn't the category "attack" or "strike" fighter be a tad more sophisticated? 
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1. Int's, SSFs and Bombers are fixed hulls, however you can customize them to a certain extent. For example, you can make an SSF loaded out with several long-ranged missiles to take out enemy Bombers at long range, or build one with multiple short-range rapidfiring cannons to tear up enemies which come near.
Int's are not large, somewhere in the order of ~15kT or so I guess, SSFs are larger (think 40-60kT) and Bombers are almost starship-sized (think (just) over 100kT).
2. That's exactly the point I'm trying to make; Bombers are huge superheavy hitters with the maneuverability and attack power of a rampaging rhino and the speed of a tricycle. (so to speak) Bombers are slower than some of the smaller ships, and almost all non-capital starships can outrun them if they have full engine loadout.
The Bomber philosophy is this; stick a few hideously overpowered capital-ship-killing weapons on a comparatively massive platform, slap a cockpit and a rudimentary engine onto it and send it off to take down its own tonnage in enemy ships several dozen (hundred) times over. "Strike fighter" implies "a fast fighter designed for swift attacks", while "Bomber" implies - and means - "a rather oversized mobile weapons platform with more firepower than a warship thrice its tonnage".
Of course, Bombers will have their drawbacks - researching them is expensive and takes a long time, and while they pack more firepower than a warship more than three times as large, they are also about twice as expensive as said warship, especially if you load them out with the most powerful weapons available for Bombers. Go for Bombers and you must focus on Bombers (and other fighters) alone; be prepared for the fact that you cannot muster capital ship power like most other players.
(A slight clarification; I make a distinction between "capital" ships and "normal" ships. Capital (war)ships are massive ships weighing in at several thousand kT, and are built to withstand extreme punishment. Normal ships are smaller, more nimble and more versatile. Capships are mostly specalized, with most being warships and the rest mainly carriers)