History VideoGame / TIEFighter

* SequelDifficultyDrop: The game is a great deal easier than its NintendoHard predecessor.

* HoldTheLine

* GuideDangIt: Many of the bonus missions are not made known to the player until s/he blows up, inspects, or protects the ship or thing in question. A usual rule of thumb is that, unless you need to leave ''now'', you should protect all Imperial vessels, destroy all Rebel ones, and inspect them all.

* GlassCannon: TIE Bombers. They actually had strong hulls but a lack of shields meant that were prone to losing systems or being easily destroyed by missiles or even torpedoes because of how sluggish they were. Their rockets and bombs however meant that if they survived even a single attack run would see the loss of all but the biggest capital ships.
** The T-Wing, used mostly by pirates, was similar in that it had poor shields and hull strength but a high missile capacity. However it was also nearly as fast as an A-Wing which meant that sometimes a player's only chance to complete an EscortMission was to take down the missiles in mid flight.

* ATeamFiring: Based on how the AI works, stopping the craft is an effective method of avoiding enemy fire from X-Wings and Z-95 Headhunters, on par with erratic maneuvering. Y-Wings or other craft that shoots from the cockpit will still hit.
** ''Not'' maneuvering turns out to be the best way to avoid getting hit if your [=TIE=] fighter is being chased by an X-Wing. The way the weapons are placed and the AI targeting method causes them to make a quite alarming spray all around you.

''TIE Fighter'' is a ''Franchise/StarWars'' PC game first launched in 1994, with various expansion packs and collector's editions being released as late as 1997.

This prompted [=LucasArts=] and Holland to develop a flight (or rather space) sim game using both this engine and the ''StarWars'' license, and ''VideoGame/XWing'' was the result. A year later, Holland got working on a sequel. Rather than being a direct sequel chronicling the Rebel Alliance and their starfighter squadrons after the Battle of Hoth (which is where X-Wing left off), the game would put the pilot in the ranks of the Rebel's greatest enemies, the Galactic Empire, by putting them in the seat of one of the Empire's greatest symbols of military might, the TIE Fighter.

The main protagonist of TIE Fighter was Maarek Stele (though he was never named as such in the game; his name comes from the [[AllThereInTheManual supplemental guidebook]] that came with first run editions of the game) who started out as an anonymous pilot but would rise through the ranks with distinction over the course of the game's events. What separated TIE Fighter from X-Wing in particular was its rather involving story and campaign, which not only pitted the player against the Rebels (and certain traitorous Imperials) but also explained the motivations behind the actions of the Empire and its enemies and gave significant insight into many key characters of the Star Wars universe, including [[Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy Thrawn]] (a major story thread of the game is how Thrawn was promoted from Vice Admiral to Grand Admiral). The game also presented optional "secondary" mission goals which, when completed, would earn the player additional rank.

Since flying around in an unshielded TIE Fighter when the other guys have much faster and better shielded craft wasn't much fun, the game also introduced a number of new craft for the Imperials to fly around in. The "Assault Gunboat," invented for X-Wing to give the player a more challenging foe, was reintroduced in TIE Fighter to provide him with a craft that actually could be able to attack capital ships without dying all the time. Also introduced was the "TIE Advanced" [[note]]Which was later re-named the TIE Avenger after later Expanded Universe material directly contradicted the game[[/note]] which was an improved production version of Darth Vader's special TIE variant from ''Film/ANewHope'' (it also had shields and a hyperdrive like the Assault Gunboat), the TIE Defender (a starfighter which [[GameBreaker pretty much defines the term "broken"]]) and the Missile Boat (which [[SerialEscalation manages to outdo even the TIE Defender in terms of being broken]] - [[OneManArmy you can take out entire fleets with one.]] And it is awesome).[[note]] It's implied in-game that the main limitation on starfighters is cost, with the Defender being staggeringly expensive, and the Missile Boat--designed particularly to hunt and kill TIE Defenders--being even more staggeringly, obscenely expensive. Unfortunately, TruthInTelevision: Often in wars the cheapest weapon is the most common even if better ones are available.[[/note]]

Another notable feature of the original issue was the "[=iMuse=]" system (no, it doesn't have anything to do with [=iMacs=] or [=iPods=]) which dynamically changed the background music based upon the player's actions. The background music itself was notable for being comprised of original scores by the Totally Games! crew. Sadly, the [=iMuse=] feature was dropped in the X-Wing Collector Series box-set rerelease, replaced by high-fidelity scores from the original trilogy, though the soundtrack's still quite good.

Despite its age, you'll ''still'' see this game often in top 5 lists of best ''StarWars''-themed games ever, and often across other related "best of" lists too. It is now on Website/GOGDotCom as well as UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}.

* NotSoAboveItAll: The briefing officer and Secret Order envoy generally have neutral expressions when briefing or debriefing the player, but will smile[[note]]or as close as the envoy can manage with his mouth covered[[/note]] when reporting your kills or captures...

* NotSoStoic: ...Or be visibly upset when reporting Imperial losses.

* GreaterScopeVillain: Admiral Zaarin is this to Admiral Harkov, having taken advantage of the Empire's preoccupation with stopping the latter's defection to the Rebellion to launch his own plans for a coup d'etat against Emperor Palpatine. While Harkov's faction and his Rebel allies are eventually wiped out entirely, Zaarin leads an entire armada that proves to be a major headache for the Empire from that point on.

* ScareChord: The game's opening theme ends with one, in all its Imperial glory. Another comes when [[spoiler: Admiral Zaarin is killed by his own hand while escaping the scene in his final battle with Thrawn]].
* SchmuckBait:
** The second-to-last level in the game (pre-expansions) has Darth Vader join a flight group of which you are the leader. Your flight officer warns you during the briefing- in these exact words: "''do not issue any in-flight orders to the Dark Lord.''"
** In an earlier campaign, your commanding officer assigns you to clear a minefield. In an unshielded craft. Solo, while your wingmen sit back and observe. (It's a trap.)

* InsaneAdmiral: Admiral Zaarin, presented as the leader of a renegade cabal of officers attempting to [[spoiler:assassinate the Emperor and seize power]].

* PlotArmor: The original versions had invulnerable capital ships that needed to survive for a future mission. Thus, you can't kill Harkov's final Imperial Star Destroyer until [[FakeLongevity a few missions pass]].
* PrepareToDie: Done several times by the Empire in all its usual glory, [[spoiler: most notably when Darth Vader executes the traitorous Admiral Harkov in his usual fashion.]]
-->'''[=Darth Vader=]:''' Now you shall pay for your treachery! '''[force crush]'''

** [[spoiler:Harkov]] makes his final escape attempt on a Corellian transport named Geddawai.

* TheStarscream: Grand Admiral Zaarin.

* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler: Harkov]] is a shining example of this. His tactical decisions include assuming that two TIE Interceptors is enough to kill off an ace pilot flying a TIE Interceptor himself (when, really, he could have saved himself a lot of trouble by sabotaging Stele's ship, or even just shooting him in his quarters), announcing his orders to kill said pilot over an open communications channel, thereby ruining any element of surprise they may have had (although Maarek already suspected the mission was a trap to begin with), abandoning his mobile and far-better armed Star Destroyer for a stationary platform while the Empire is in hot pursuit, and naming his getaway ship the ''Geddawai'' and hoping the Empire wouldn't notice.
** Captain Kuuztin of the Star Destroyer ''Courageous'' is another example, having led a daring assault on one of Zaarin's staging grounds in which Stele and his allies utterly devastate a large part of Zaarin's fleet....only for the ''Courageous'' to find itself at the mercy of ''two'' Star Destroyers commanded by Zaarin. The post-mission briefing confirms that Kuuztin and his crew did not live to tell the tale.
** Finally there is the captain of the Interdictor ''Red Claw'', ferrying the most preeminent mind of the TIE Defender program only for its hyperdrive to be grievously damaged during a battle with pirate forces. While awaiting reinforcements, a single Imperial corvette arrived to evacuate the scientist, its sister ship carrying the replacement hyperdrive having been "delayed". The corvette escapes into hyperspace, and is only afterwards revealed to be a pirate-operated impostor when the two corvettes ferrying the replacement parts arrive moments later. Although the interdictor survives, the inability of the ship's captain to see through the ruse, thus allowing the TIE Defender technology to fall into enemy hands means that he will almost certainly suffer a horrible fate at Vader's hands.

** The ''entire Rebel Alliance'' becomes this in the expansions. The ''Defender of the Empire'' expansion has only a handful of rebel craft at all (and no campaigns against them) and the ''Enemies of the Empire'' final expansion features them in a single Tour of Duty completely unrelated to the rest of the game.
** ''Defender of the Empire'', introduces a couple pirate groups attempting to steal TIE Defender technology for themselves, and the final battle of the campaign focuses on defeating them, leaving Admiral Zaarin himself demoted to a role as a secondary antagonist.

* DemotedToExtra: The ''entire Rebel Alliance'' becomes this in the expansions. The ''Defender of the Empire'' expansion has only a handful of rebel craft at all (and no campaigns against them) and the ''Enemies of the Empire'' final expansion features them in a single Tour of Duty completely unrelated to the rest of the game.

* ArtificialStupidity: TIE Fighter actually has excellent AI as far as flight sims go, with one exception. At the end of Battle 7 (the final mission before the expansions) you're tasked with disabling an enemy shuttle for capture; destroying the shuttle results in mission failure. Unless you specifically order them to ignore the shuttle, your wingmen will destroy it. What's especially egregious about this behavior is that the shuttle in question [[spoiler: HAS THE GODDAMN ''EMPEROR'' ABOARD IT!]]

''TIE Fighter'' is a PC game first launched in 1994, with various expansion packs and collector's editions being released as late as 1997.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The player character is Maarek '''Stele'''. His last name is subject to several misspellings amongst the fans (Steele being the most common).

* ThemeNaming: Zahn started it with the [[Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy Emperor's Hand]]. In addition to a Hand, you become an Emperor's Reach and an Emperor's Voice. You also become part of the Emperor's Sword fighter wing.

* OldSchoolDogfight: The game engine uses physics appropriate to atmospheric battles, rather than what we would expect of realistic space war. Of course, for the most part, so did the movies. Most combat is fought out at low ranges and slow speeds with unguided weapons.

* OldSchoolDogfight

** In an earlier campaign, your commanding officer assigns you to clear a minefield. In an unshielded craft. Solo, while your wingmen sit back and observe. ([[CaptainObvious It's a trap.]])

[[quoteright:318:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tiefighter24.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:318:''Good hunting, Alpha 1!'']]

* BoringButPractical: While doing a bombing run, Luke Skywalker style, is super sexy, and promoted in-game; NOTHING beats 10-15 hits with an ion cannon after the shields are down. This leaves the Gun Boat and the TIE Defender as your two best anti-capital ship fighters, pretty much the whole campaign.

* EnemyScan: built right into your fighter, just get really close to them and you find out what they're carrying. This is actually a plot point [[spoiler:for at least one secret objective, as it's how the player begins to find out about Harkov's double dealing]].

* BoringButPractical: While doing a bombing run, Luke Skywalker style, is super sexy, and promoted in-game; NOTHING beats 10-15 hits with an ion cannon after the shields are down. This leaves the Gun Boat and the Tie Defender as your two best anti-capital ship fighters, pretty much the whole campaign.