All their ships are either very smooth and long, or flat and spread out like a pancake. It's more efficient to roll right 90 degrees and pull right on the stick than to just tilt the stick down. However, their disadvantage is that they cannot use missiles. The only missile available to them is the Aleph Resonator. All other ships use various substitues for this disadvantage.
Pods are like short-lived Tower drones.
Various kinds of Pods are available to research and use. This different dynamic makes playing as the Rixians a very different experience. People who like to play as Scouts with Mines will love this faction. And speaking of scouts, Rixian scouts are able to serve as teleport receivers for fighter-class ships. This will serve to be VERY useful.