The mothership is hard to test, as it is high in the tech tree. The mothership is able to survive a direct hit from a nuclear missile. The mothership could be cloaked with the null shield in earlier builds. Visually, the mothership only underwent a single revision during development. After the initial creation and some minor proportion adjustments, it stayed unchanged for a few years. When it came round to the final art pass, it was mainly to make smoother surfaces and more distinct objects thanks to the improved polycounts.