So, while I know that we shouldn't place much if any stock in what we read in leaked Evocati notes, but i did so I'd like to discuss it. On the subreddit a post had indicated that CIG had (for at least a single build) made the ships so that larger ships were faster (top end speed) in AFB than smaller ships (such as fighters) however, their acceleration was slower. In looking at the current iteration of the Ship Matrix it would seem that CIG isn't using that model. Now I do not know if this will change or not, however I for one, hope that it does. I felt that it really changed the gameplay in a positive way. If you look at the pictures below hopefully it will illustrate what I mean Using the example of the Caterpillar being chased by a pack of Cutlasses. (NOTE: I just picked those two ships at RANDOM) The Cutlass is currently rated with a top AFB speed of 1,113 m/s with an acceleration rate of 49.4/ms. The Caterpillar currently has a top AFB speed of 892 m/s with an acceleration rate of 11.7 m/s. What I recall reading was that the roles would be somewhat reversed. This is was something that I was hoping for and I would like to discuss further. The example I would like to see would be that the Caterpillar has a top AFB speed of 1,113 m/s with the acceleration rate of 11.7 m/s and the Cutlass has the lower AFB top speed of 892 m/s but retains the acceleration of 49.4 m/s. So in essence if the Caterpillar was at 100 m/s (Top SCM speed) it would take 95 seconds to accelerate to its top AFB speed. Meanwhile the Cutlass has a top SCM speed of 170 m/s and it would take 18 seconds to accelerate to its top AFB speed. What this would mean is that chases by aggressors (and this works both ways, for pirates chasing cargo pilots and mercenaries/bounty hunters chasing smugglers/pirates) would be something like this: Initially, the lion has the advantage in short burst speed, being able to accelerate to a speed of 50 mph over short distances versus the wildebeest's 42 mph. However, if the Wildebeest can maintain the distance and prevent the lion from hurting it in any way, it can eventually out run the lion over the long haul. (NOTE: This is a close approximation, not a 1:1 perfect correlation) What does this mean for us in SC (full disclaimer: I own a Freelancer so this will affect me in a potentially positive way) . This by no means is an easy escape for pilots of larger ships, it means that they must be able to fend off attacks by ships that can easily close the distance (if close enough) to attack them directly and perhaps force them to alter course (which means slowing down) or take damage to ship systems and components (possibly forcing them to slow down). The challenge will be for pilots of fighter-type ships to try to close with their adversaries using as much stealth as possible and then pouncing, using their superior acceleration to close the distance in order to inflict as much damage as possible in the hopes of causing enough damage to slow the larger ship down. Many people may ask the question, "How do escorts keep up with ships that outrun them in top speed?" The simple answer is, the captains of larger vessels keep their throttles at something like 75% so that escorts can stay in formation. The balancing trick for CIG (if they go this route) is to make the acceleration of the larger ships slow enough so that they are not accelerating away from ships without issue but not so slow that they're getting overwhelmed and destroyed every-time. EDIT: This would also have a (in my opinion) have a VERY IMPORTANT secondary benefit. It would greatly increase the viablity of turreted game play. By basically creating a running gun battle with fighters versus larger ships you are in essence giving CR that WW2 fighter vs. bomber combat we all know he's been pining for. You'll now have ships flying fast an straight, or at the most making very slow turns (while the pilot alternates between turning and pushing the throttle into AFB) and fighters attacking from astern or on intersecting courses in the hopes of scoring damaging hits on the fleeing ship. Turret operators are now tasked with ships that are behaving (somewhat) more like WW2 fighters. This is by no means easy, but it will add for some interesting turret gameplay (i think)