With "Master Modes" being, according to CIG, mostly done last fall, and that meaning an entirely new flight model, isn't doing an update to Arena Commander first putting the cart before the horse?
Given the lower top speeds but higher combat speeds, wouldn't that imply the Arena Commander maps would have to be redone again once they get Master Modes in our hands?
A fair question.
Compared to the PvP crowd, combat speeds will be much lower as current velocities won't be attainable anymore. Personally, I've been fighting for the last several years in the 300 m/s range simply because it allows me to get more hits on target, be that PvP or PvE. No, I'm not a top tier pvp pilot. The idea bores me as the game is now. It will be much more interesting when pilots can't get out of the kill zone in 0.5 seconds simply by boosting to top speed, and they have to either stay in the fight or quantum boost out.
I don't think Master Modes is going to drive any map reworks. For the most part the maps are ambivalent to player speeds. If you spend some time on the race tracks you'll notice that the speeds are already mostly within "SCM" because of the need to be constantly maneuvering. So cutting off the top end speeds in favor of whatever "Quantum Boost" is going to be really doesn't affect that at all.
What could throw a wrench in, is if they drastically raise SCM speeds across the board.. I don't see that happening at any large scale, becaues the 'ship performance tiers' were worked out a long time ago and it is the "High Speed fighting" that breaks the system. Some of the ships will get better handling, and there will be other adjustments, i.e. the Vanguards have specifically been called out. Still, just because the ship can go faster/turn better, doesn't invalidate the track at all.
Edit: It's not an entirely new flight model. Compared to what we have now it's a tuned version that dramatically curtails the high speeds used for PvP. This solves or at least alleviates the issues with projectile speeds, especially how they relate to turret use. The Hammerhead stands to become the anti-fighter platform it was intended to be.
There will be more details and at least a Mediterranean Sea's worth of salty tears poured out.. I'm going to suggest getting some stick time in your Hawks, because the burst damage from that ship can be decisive in a knife fight :)
