Fractal Softworks Forum
Starsector => Suggestions => Topic started by: DeMatt on November 21, 2015, 05:16:16 PM
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I would like to propose the following:
Hull Mods- Stealth Plating: Reduces the sensor profile of the ship, reduces the ship's combat speed and armor.
- Accelerated Astro Analyzer: Increases the ship's sensor strength.
"Weapons"- Receiver Array (Small Ballistic, 4 OP): Increases the ship's sensor strength by +1 (not cumulative with other sensor weapons).
- Multiband Optics (Small Energy, 3 OP): Increases the ship's sensor strength by +1 (not cumulative with other sensor weapons).
- Active Phased Radar (Medium Ballistic, 8 OP): Increases the ship's sensor strength by +2 (not cumulative with other sensor weapons).
- Pulsed Lidar Emitter (Medium Energy, 7 OP): Increases the ship's sensor strength by +2 (not cumulative with other sensor weapons).
Extra bonus points: Sensor weapons get displayed during combat like regular weapons do.
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I'd also like to suggest a couple player skills:
- Coordinated Analysis (Leadership): Increases fleet sensor strength by 1% per level. Radar receiver assemblies need to be isolated from their transmitter counterparts. What better way to isolate them, than by putting them on different ships? Training operators to work in unison, however, is an art form that even Hegemony admirals find difficult.
- Mutual Interference (Leadership): Decreases fleet sensor profile by 1% per level. Different ships have different sensor profiles - for example, the engine signature of a Wolf-class frigate is vastly different from that of a Hound-class freighter, despite their similar capabilities. A properly-coordinated fleet can take advantage of these differences to mask individual signatures.
Why Leadership? Because I think Technology (the other likely choice) is kinda overused at the moment, and Leadership is underused.
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Any skill has to be good enough to at least make me consider it before I max usual combat and tech stuff. And the above are not. (Leadership in it's current form isn't either, it was worth investing a few points mid-early when it controlled logistics cap)
Strategic stat boost weapons are a bad idea imho - they will be no-brainer on non-combat ships, which you never actually deploy.
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Any skill has to be good enough to at least make me consider it before I max usual combat and tech stuff. And the above are not. (Leadership in it's current form isn't either, it was worth investing a few points mid-early when it controlled logistics cap)
The exact numbers are up for debate and balancing purposes, but I'm not sure that counts as "Leadership is weak" so much as "Combat/Tech is too strong".
Strategic stat boost weapons are a bad idea imho - they will be no-brainer on non-combat ships, which you never actually deploy.
Until you fight one too many battles, are forced to fight a retreating action, and then are forced to deploy all those "non-combat" ships which now have a hole in their already-minimalist defensive weaponry.
As I specified them, adding a Multiband Optics to a stock Buffalo would change its sensor strength from +1 to +1.5. This would, in turn, increase your fleet's sensor radius by about 20 units, say about 4% depending on composition. While it is a boost, I don't think it's an overpowering one.
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Any skill has to be good enough to at least make me consider it before I max usual combat and tech stuff. And the above are not. (Leadership in it's current form isn't either, it was worth investing a few points mid-early when it controlled logistics cap)
The exact numbers are up for debate and balancing purposes, but I'm not sure that counts as "Leadership is weak" so much as "Combat/Tech is too strong".
Strategic stat boost weapons are a bad idea imho - they will be no-brainer on non-combat ships, which you never actually deploy.
Until you fight one too many battles, are forced to fight a retreating action, and then are forced to deploy all those "non-combat" ships which now have a hole in their already-minimalist defensive weaponry.
As I specified them, adding a Multiband Optics to a stock Buffalo would change its sensor strength from +1 to +1.5. This would, in turn, increase your fleet's sensor radius by about 20 units, say about 4% depending on composition. While it is a boost, I don't think it's an overpowering one.
I think I've seen comment by Alex regarding nerf to current skills, because it makes combat too fast (due to having a lot of offensive bonuses available), so you might be correct here.
By the point you have to retreat, you've already failed at strategic level (allowing huge fleet to catch you) and tactical level (it's surprising how many enemies can player with a few officer-piloted frigates beat without taking any losses). Since I play non-Ironman, it's just time to reload for me.