Quad

''Favored by officers, the [Quad] can hover about the very edges of a combat zone. A smart burst of their signature machine gun dissuades the most villainous of cats.'' --- old Quad description (now found on the Liaison plane variant)

The Quad is a class in Steambirds Alliance. New players start with only this plane unlocked.

Manuever
The Quad has one maneuver, Hasty Retreat, which consumes 10 Steam and is activated with the Maneuver input (on keyboard, E key by default). On activation, the Quad moves a set distance backward relative to the plane's facing, gaining an invulnerability shield for the maneuver's 0.13-second duration.

Hasty Retreat has a 1-second internal cooldown which is represented by a shading effect on the plane's Armor slot.

Upgrade Limits
The Quad has the following non-elemental upgrade limits (and the associated numerical effects at these limits):
 * Damage: 40 (+40%)
 * Armor: 30 (+30)
 * Armor Self-Repair: 60 (+0.36/s)
 * Max Steam: 10 (+10)
 * Steam Recharge: 40 (+0.16/s)
 * Super Speed: 25 (+1.5)

Tier 1 (Common) Variants

 * Attache: Why darling, of course we need to go to the party tonight. Otherwise, who will plant the bomb?
 * Pepper's Pad: There's a lady who paints flames on planes. That's her thing. She's got a bit of a following with the aficionados.
 * The Liaison: Favored by officers, the Liason can hover about the very edges of a combat zone. A smart burst of their signature machine gun dissuades the most villainous of cats.
 * Animal Quad: Why do birds make such good pilots? The answer is monocular vision. The ability to track targets in full 360 with both eyes moving independently is a critical advantage in combat.

Tier 2 (Rare) Variants

 * Speed Quad: It looks fast. Amazing what a little tin and a clever paint job can do.
 * Power Quad: Beefed up engines produced an intense thrumming that causes beaks to vibrate. Originally favored by unlicensed racers, chop ships still make 'em if you can find the parts.
 * Dirt Devil: This grimy little beater was used for speed trials in the salt flats. That alkaline dust is near impossible to wash out. A little bit shakes off each time the engine turns over.

Tier 3 (Epic) Variants

 * Ghost Quad: Silence falls across the sky as a lone quadcopter emerges from the clouds. Necks crane. Heartbeats slow. The ghosts have arrived.
 * Ornithopter: An esoteric engine system that lift with a flapping motion rather than typical spinning props. Too expensive and high-maintenance for large scale production.
 * Snowcopter: Originally used in mountain rescue by the Bernard family. Rumor has it they refused to give their allegiance to the empire. We found their quads abandoned in a remote hangar, still greased up against the cold. Ready to go.
 * Coward's Lament: He built this plane piece by piece, using the work as an excuse to avoid enlisting. A finely-tuned fighting machine and the pilot too terrified to fly it.

Trivia

 * Quad used to be called "Walker". Due to Machine Guns having Star rule at the time, they were quite underpowered.