They are just the publisher then, since you guys know more than me.
Also, how would a system defense ship work? No upkeep? Spawned at the beginning of a battle? Controlled by the AI?
there have not been much details about it, but Im guessing it will be like mobile defense plataforms :S
Whatever the case, the justification that "new FTL drives don't fit on them" is really, really weak. I mean, can't old FTL drives still be used? As to their usefulness in late-game, well, I guess none of you tried to make cheap damage soaks out of them, with level 4 shields, pulse phaser strafe sections, and phaser PD. Those shields, with a shield amp, can take an alpha-strike from a dreadnaught and keep working. So, you have a flock of cheap ships that are much tougher than destroyers have any right to
be, that also pack a halfdecent punch. If your enemy attacks them, that's less damage to your main fleet. If he doesn't, that's his own lookout, pulse phasers can be nasty, and the medium mount(s) on the engine section won't be idling either (using, say, AM cannons). Great solution for an initial skirmish wave or fleet size padding between dreads.
Can't forget things like node missiles either, will those be left out as well?
I'm suspecting it'll be mostly a nomenclature change. Cruisers will be as destroyers are in SotS1, Leviathans will be as dreads are, and destroyers... hell, I don't know. Giving them a role as system defense fleets could be a good idea, especially if they aren't allowed FTL drives, but I really can't see a reason to be limiting them like that. Sure, their use late-game is limited (tell that to people defeating Ortgay with a platoon of DE minelayers), but early-game they are a cheap and cheerful method of scouting out the map and probing for encounters without risking the expensive ships.