The original FreeSpace 2 featured the GTCv Deimos, a highly versatile warship. Inferno tributed this corvette by naming its replacement GTCv Phobos, after the larger Martian moon.
Check out the official release thread on the Inferno board for more information.
GTCv Phobos
Our awesome blacksmith of words, master of letters and shaper of sentences - Rhymes will introduce you to the Phobos in his tech description:
Terran heavy corvette.
Produced in response to an Admiralty request for a heavy strike platform, the GTCv Phobos is a bruiser of a corvette. During the NTF Rebellion, the Deimos corvette had generally performed well, but coordinated bomber strikes posed an unacceptable risk to the Deimos's relatively fragile beam emitters, and the variability of the Deimos's 'slash' beams limited its performance against large or numerous enemy warships. To address these weaknesses, the Phobos design team opted to maximize firepower and survivability across the spaceframe. Clad in destroyer-grade active armor and studded with a staggering array of beam weapons, plasma cannons, flak guns, and missile batteries, the Phobos is designed to plunge into enemy formations and decimate enemy cruisers and corvettes. Its sleek configuration allows the Phobos to bring the majority of its firepower to bear on a target from almost any vector.
In a first for Terran designs below destroyer classification, the Phobos incorporates its own fighterbay from which it can field three wings of fighters, significantly increasing its tactical flexibility. PATHFINDER integration provides for artillery and antifighter TAG support, and a next-generation destroyer-scale ultracompact fusion reactor powers the entire assembly. The major weakness of the Phobos is its tremendous cost--at two-thirds the price of a Hecate destroyer, the Phobos is, ton for ton, the most expensive warship ever produced by the GTVA. Logistical overhead is also very high, as the many tactical systems reduce the class's onboard supply capacity, rendering it more dependent on supply lines and infrastructure than its older sibling. As a result, Phobos deployment is much slower than most other next-generation spaceframes, and is mostly seen as an element in major fleet actions, with the Deimos remaining a primary line combatant.
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One of the most iconic GTVA-terran ships from INFR1. I admit I highly anticipated this one working on EA fighters and bombers in the meantime. Mostly because I love it's crude, blocky and solid design and I had a certain vision in mind how to rework this one. Phobos was always younger, heavier brother of Deimos so creative direction I picked for Phobos is obvious. I wanted this ship to scream "I'm heavy Deimos!". For this reason I carefully examined HTL Deimos modelled by Hades and Vasudan Admiral, and even injected certain elements of it into remodelled Phobos.
Finally I discussed the matter with JSRNerdo aka Faceman - one of our lead mission designers. Phobos is centerpiece of many missions of Inferno Nostos, so I was worried about the balance. After some small brainstorm Faceman decided to grant me full creative control about it's armament. I decided to keep the spirit of INFR1 Phobos. Unlike GTCv Chimera known from Blue Planet or my GTCv Eurynome, Phobos relies on 8 smaller beams to punish her enemies. Her firepower is decentralised rendering Phobos less vulnerable for precision strikes. Beams are efficiently set around the hull, providing Phobos both strong spinal and side firepower. Corvette inherited excellent point-defense screen of her older brother and is equipped with small fighterbay.
Inferno Nostos use custom, gray reskin to resemble the GTCa Warlock. The version I decided to release share color palette with Deimos.
