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PrinceAlexus
Sir Lurksalot
Blair
Pinky321
FourtyTwo
Vampiretwilight
LadyAuramoonSomething I want to point out as well is that from a writing standpoint we don't really have a whole lot of info regarding the types of Yerrill craft and we're kind of winging it (pun intended) as far as writing about their capabilities. Some of the characters have been fighting them for some time and are familiar with all the different types. From what I've read so far in the plot details and in the IC posts there are fighters, interceptors, larger attack craft, troop carriers, bombers as well as large command craft and they all generally have a similar appearance. Their weapons are largely energy based, but some do launch missile-like projectiles and use a form of radar.
Lastly, it's the Expeditionary forces that are technically on the offensive in our story. Humanity apparently was good enough to push the Yerrill back through the portal in less than five years which would seem to indicate that we're better at fighting than they are (imagine that) while they seem to have mastered some form of dimensional travel that didn't necessarily translate into combat prowess. Maybe humanity is the first race they ever squared-off against that had the ability to fight back?
These could all just be fun plot items that are yet to be revealed, but its food for thought.
Well, I'm imagining them as the timeless "Macross flying-bricks", beamspammery, and macross missile massacres.
-At least those are things I've learned to expect. Since RL-airfoils pretty much peaked about 20 years ago and things of/from space tend to be blunt for a number of practical reasons.
That isn't to say the dogfights in Macross are bad.
-In fact, if I start acting a bit too cocky, I fully expect to run face-first into this sort of predicament
Meanwhiles
Macross is actually pretty much my favourite anime franchise, it combines two of my favourite things: jet fighters, and mecha. It also has decent music, and gigantic battle scenes.
Macross Plus is probably my favourite entry in the franchise so far, with Frontier a close follower. The movie, Do You Remember Love is still pretty beautiful for it's animation, which is more than 30 years old now, but still look sumptuous and artistic, even now.
Macross dogfights are pretty much what I had in mind for the pace, chaos, and - though we aren't playing in a visual medium - 'visual effect' of the dogfights against the Yerrill, and it's kind of a benchmark for the feel I was trying to go for with the game overall. Light military, light realism (but still some of it), with a big sci-fi twist for interest.
In terms of what the Yerrill's craft actually look like, though I dislike the series itself (loli's in underpants is really not my thing) the Neuroi from Strike Witches have a really cool aesthetic.
I couldn't really find any 'fighter' neuroi, but I did always like the look of the R-series of futuristic fighters from some of the Ace Combat games, which kind of match the idea in my head for what the shape of the Yerrill craft should be, and match the idea I had of them being fast, maneuvrable and pretty deadly.
In terms of tactics and weapons, they obviously actually have some of both, considering that the established canon for the game is that they did a shitload of damage before earth's forces pushed them back, and that there was a high cost in doing so. I.e. they aren't a complete pushover, and it's only through learning about them that 'we' managed to counter them at all. Narratively as well, five years seemed like a good length of time for the battle to be damaging, costly, large and desperate, while at the same time being short enough that our characters could have lived through it as adults, and that we'd still have a recognisably 'modern' timeline and technology base to play with, rather than having to make up oodles of stuff. Again, might not be realistic, but fuck realism, I wrote the game I wanted to write and enjoy and the setting I wanted to run and play in xP
The Avalonians have fought the Yerrill too, however, they were more-or-less beaten by them to the point of being a resistance movement in a mostly dominated society. There's more to that particular story, but it has to do with the idea that their society and cultural heritage are different to Earth's, and they didn't fight in the same way, or react in the same way, or as quickly. We'll find out more about them as the game progresses.
The Yerrill craft/facilities/etc do indeed have highly effective jamming (in fact, I think that's mentioned?) and they do use some beam weapons, as well as missiles, or missile-equivalents that have guidance of some kind. They do use equivalents to radar and other senses as correctly surmised, and can be affected by countermeasures in the same way, and detected etc. in the same way (for ease of writing on our part, so our characters can do things to evoke dramatic tension, and we as writers can have something to relate to rather than just trying to make it up on the fly).
Their tactics probably consist of high-speed, unexpected and somewhat erratic-looking jinks, direction changes and maneuvers like any fighter. Teaming up on hostiles to overpower them and out-maneuver them into dangerous situations and using their own speed, maneuvrability and agility - and seeming ability to ignore a lot more G than one would expect - to engage targets. They're also not above or unknown to ram targets or engage in kamikaze attacks, often at moments when such tactics seem unnecessary to an outside observer, but given how many of the buggers there are, they can probably afford to. They can be outwitted and out-thought sometimes though, and while they are wily opponents with a dogged, tenacious and vicious approach, they aren't always the most intelligent. They do love ambush tactics, however.
Hopefully that expands on them a bit at least? I realized there probably wasn't as much to go on about them as there could have been; I apologize for that and hopefully adding this adds a bit more flavour to the setting, as well as helping with writing our combat scenes.