1
Modding / Re: [0.9.1a] WhichMod 0.4a
« on: March 01, 2021, 04:11:54 PM »
Patched to 0.4a. Now more reliably detects mangled .csv data, which should fix a crash with Neutrino.
Fractal Softworks Forum
- March 02, 2021, 02:32:02 PM
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News:
Starsector 0.9.1a is out! (05/10/19); Blog post: Writing Starsector (12/18/20); Starsector 0.95a In-Development Patch Notes (10/16/20)
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2
Mods / Re: [0.9.1a] High Tech Expansion v1.2.4
« on: February 28, 2021, 03:40:23 PM »I've played around a fair bit now with the system swapped Moray and Persephone. I've seen that the Moray does consistently outperform the Persephone in terms of damage and survivability, especially in the AI's hands. The only real exception is safety overrides in the players hands, where the Persephone's ability to bring 3.5 pulse lasers to bare on a target at once is much stronger. I feel like the Moray is in need of some nerfs. My first instinct would be be to its ordinance points or defensiveness. Currently it can easily afford to pack a converted hanger and some wasps, while leaving the back turret empty, to cover its lack of PD.
My other main thought is that I think there's too many cruisers in the high tech blueprint package right now. They cover pretty much everything you might need for cruiser warships, limiting fleet variety from game to game and the excitement from finding a new cruiser blueprint. Maybe cut it to 2-3 new cruisers in the package and have the rest as rare singleton blueprints?
The AI isn't fantastic at abusing Fast Missile Racks, but it is very good at using Phase Skimmer, so that's not very surprising. The Moray is also intended to be slightly better than the Persephone, since it has worse CR stats and a higher supply cost. In terms of possible nerfs- it's actually got pretty bad OP for a destroyer, with only 79. Nearly every vanilla combat destroyer has at least 95 OP, for comparison. It's also not absurdly tanky for its class either; the Medusa has the same shield eff and ~10% more flux capacity. Perhaps I could cut a bit of dissipation? I'll think on it.
On blueprint availability- I was gonna type some stuff about how most cruisers are actually in the blueprint packs, but I just looked at the files for vanilla and it turns out that there's way more rare cruiser blueprints than I thought- I thought only the Aurora and the Doom were rare, and that's not the case. That's a bit of a screwup on my part. I'll move the Bombardier and Flamingo into the rare pool, so the hightech pack will give you the Aphelion, Peregrine, and Gila (and the Apogee).
3
Modding / Re: [0.9.1a] WhichMod 0.4: Now with antivirus evasion!
« on: February 25, 2021, 08:51:18 PM »
0.4 update. No major changes, but now has an unpackaged version that shouldn't set off antivirus software.
4
Mods / Re: [0.9.1a] High Tech Expansion v1.2.4
« on: February 25, 2021, 02:41:38 PM »
Updated to 1.2.4. Includes a new missile weapon (I just really like missiles, okay?), some sprite improvements, and a reworked Ahab harpoon launcher.
- Save compatible.
New:
- Kneecapper MRR: A medium-range rocket that delivers a spread of 5 high-energy ion bomblets at extended ranges. Deals a very small amount of energy damage, and a very nasty amount of EMP, with a chance for multiple arcs. It's pre-aimed, so the rocket will rotate to face the target before igniting its engine. An autoloader provides a bit of ammo regeneration for longer fights. Comes in small (5 OP) and medium (10 OP); both are included in the missile blueprint package.
Changes:
- Ahab Harpoon Barrage: Renamed to Ahab Harpoon Stream. Sprite and mechanics reworked; no longer fires a fixed burst of missiles. Instead, it fires a single missile at a time with an extreme bonus to fire rate that decreases with each consecutive shot. This bonus regenerates while the weapon isn't firing. It's roughly the same in terms of sustained DPS, but has less burst damage. OP remains the same; ammo reduced (56->50).
- Aggressor: DP and maintenance cost increased (36->38). Had a bit too much firepower for the cost, and I'd rather increase cost than reduce firepower.
- Bombardier: DP and maintenance cost increased (22->25). Shield efficiency decreased (0.8->0.9). Too good for the cost, given how much alpha damage it can put out.
- Flamingo: One small synergy hardpoint was a cleverly-disguised turret. Now it's a hardpoint.
- Gloom: Front hardpoint synergy slots changed to universals.
- Peregrine: DP and maintenance cost decreased (22->20).
- HVB scaling adjusted, and added an FP cap to both bounties so they can't get too big.
- HVB boss loadouts adjusted. They are no longer remotely fair.
- Sprite improvements for:
- Inequality (all variants)
- Scute (all variants)
- Sprite rework for:
- Tawa Standoff Torpedo Launcher
- Tawa Standoff Torpedo Barrage
- Removed meme bugzapper variants of Paragon and Radiant from spawn tables. RIP in peace.
- Blueprint packs now properly display icons. (I think I fixed this earlier but it sneaked out of the patch notes.)
- Save compatible.
New:
- Kneecapper MRR: A medium-range rocket that delivers a spread of 5 high-energy ion bomblets at extended ranges. Deals a very small amount of energy damage, and a very nasty amount of EMP, with a chance for multiple arcs. It's pre-aimed, so the rocket will rotate to face the target before igniting its engine. An autoloader provides a bit of ammo regeneration for longer fights. Comes in small (5 OP) and medium (10 OP); both are included in the missile blueprint package.
Changes:
- Ahab Harpoon Barrage: Renamed to Ahab Harpoon Stream. Sprite and mechanics reworked; no longer fires a fixed burst of missiles. Instead, it fires a single missile at a time with an extreme bonus to fire rate that decreases with each consecutive shot. This bonus regenerates while the weapon isn't firing. It's roughly the same in terms of sustained DPS, but has less burst damage. OP remains the same; ammo reduced (56->50).
- Aggressor: DP and maintenance cost increased (36->38). Had a bit too much firepower for the cost, and I'd rather increase cost than reduce firepower.
- Bombardier: DP and maintenance cost increased (22->25). Shield efficiency decreased (0.8->0.9). Too good for the cost, given how much alpha damage it can put out.
- Flamingo: One small synergy hardpoint was a cleverly-disguised turret. Now it's a hardpoint.
- Gloom: Front hardpoint synergy slots changed to universals.
- Peregrine: DP and maintenance cost decreased (22->20).
- HVB scaling adjusted, and added an FP cap to both bounties so they can't get too big.
- HVB boss loadouts adjusted. They are no longer remotely fair.
- Sprite improvements for:
- Inequality (all variants)
- Scute (all variants)
- Sprite rework for:
- Tawa Standoff Torpedo Launcher
- Tawa Standoff Torpedo Barrage
- Removed meme bugzapper variants of Paragon and Radiant from spawn tables. RIP in peace.
- Blueprint packs now properly display icons. (I think I fixed this earlier but it sneaked out of the patch notes.)
5
Modding / Re: [0.9.1a] Militaristic Utilitarian Defensive Alliance
« on: February 21, 2021, 08:59:34 PM »
This bounty is sick and I wish there was more, I love these ships. Great job!
6
Modding / Re: [0.9.1a] WhichMod 0.3
« on: February 18, 2021, 04:03:59 PM »
Quick bugfix:
- No longer summons the unicode demon if it encounters a non-ASCII character
- Banishing the unicode demon required a sacrifice: all non-ASCII characters are converted to their closest ASCII equivalent. This is not reversible.
- No longer summons the unicode demon if it encounters a non-ASCII character
- Banishing the unicode demon required a sacrifice: all non-ASCII characters are converted to their closest ASCII equivalent. This is not reversible.
7
Modding / [0.9.1a] WhichMod 0.4a
« on: February 18, 2021, 10:53:59 AM »
WhichMod
This is a simple script to add the mod title (or abbreviated title, if the mod has a commonly accepted abbreviation) to the descriptions of all ships, weapons, and fighters added by mods.
It's generally intended to be used on vanilla-ish mods, but can be used on faction mods too if you so desire. It can also remove the added mod titles, if you decide you don't like it.
Example (from Arsenal Expansion):
Comes in three forms, a packaged executable, an unpackaged executable, and a .py.
It is recommended that you use the unpackaged executable. The packaged executable will probably set off your antivirus. The unpackaged version (probably) won't, but there's a lot of extra files that could clutter up your mods folder. If you don't trust me, install Python and use the plain script.
If you have Python installed (or if you're on Mac/Linux), you can use the .py, which will also let you make changes to the naming conventions.
To use: Place the contents of the .zip in your mods folder (not in its own folder) and run whichmod.exe. It will prompt you for what you want to do. If you're using the .py, stick it in the same place and run it. You can safely delete it after running the script, if you want to. Undoing the changes will require running the script again and selecting the proper option.
Please note that this directly modifies the descriptions.csv files of mods, and thus has the potential to break things. It shouldn't break anything, but it definitely has the potential to.
It will generally skip any mod where it encounters an error, but there is a small possibility that it does not notice the error and writes a malformed descriptions.csv for a mod. If this occurs, Starsector will produce an error when starting, and WhichMod will produce an error if it tries again to add/remove the description changes for that mod. You will need to replace the data/strings/descriptions.csv file with a fresh version (either by replacing the entire mod, or just that file). Some mods may have malformed descriptions.csv files from the start; WhichMod will not modify anything with a malformed descriptions.csv file.
Additionally, as part of the editing process, it will convert any non-ASCII characters to their closest ASCII equivalents. This is required to avoidsummoning the unicode demon errors. Any changes will be minor- ie, "ñ" becomes "n", but this is not reversible.
Unpackaged Executable (.exe) This (hopefully) shouldn't set off your antivirus, but it's a fair number of assorted files along with the .exe.
Packaged Executable (.exe) This is nice and compact, just a single executable, and has a good chance of setting off your antivirus. It takes all the assorted files in the unpackaged version and hides them inside the .exe, which apparently freaks out most AV software. If you don't trust it, you can install Python and use the .py instead, which will let you view the source code.
Python script/source (.py) You'll need to grab the Unidecode package for this to work. (pip install Unidecode)
Troubleshooting:
Changelog:
This is a simple script to add the mod title (or abbreviated title, if the mod has a commonly accepted abbreviation) to the descriptions of all ships, weapons, and fighters added by mods.
It's generally intended to be used on vanilla-ish mods, but can be used on faction mods too if you so desire. It can also remove the added mod titles, if you decide you don't like it.
Example (from Arsenal Expansion):
Comes in three forms, a packaged executable, an unpackaged executable, and a .py.
It is recommended that you use the unpackaged executable. The packaged executable will probably set off your antivirus. The unpackaged version (probably) won't, but there's a lot of extra files that could clutter up your mods folder. If you don't trust me, install Python and use the plain script.
If you have Python installed (or if you're on Mac/Linux), you can use the .py, which will also let you make changes to the naming conventions.
To use: Place the contents of the .zip in your mods folder (not in its own folder) and run whichmod.exe. It will prompt you for what you want to do. If you're using the .py, stick it in the same place and run it. You can safely delete it after running the script, if you want to. Undoing the changes will require running the script again and selecting the proper option.
Please note that this directly modifies the descriptions.csv files of mods, and thus has the potential to break things. It shouldn't break anything, but it definitely has the potential to.
It will generally skip any mod where it encounters an error, but there is a small possibility that it does not notice the error and writes a malformed descriptions.csv for a mod. If this occurs, Starsector will produce an error when starting, and WhichMod will produce an error if it tries again to add/remove the description changes for that mod. You will need to replace the data/strings/descriptions.csv file with a fresh version (either by replacing the entire mod, or just that file). Some mods may have malformed descriptions.csv files from the start; WhichMod will not modify anything with a malformed descriptions.csv file.
Additionally, as part of the editing process, it will convert any non-ASCII characters to their closest ASCII equivalents. This is required to avoid
Unpackaged Executable (.exe) This (hopefully) shouldn't set off your antivirus, but it's a fair number of assorted files along with the .exe.
Packaged Executable (.exe) This is nice and compact, just a single executable, and has a good chance of setting off your antivirus. It takes all the assorted files in the unpackaged version and hides them inside the .exe, which apparently freaks out most AV software. If you don't trust it, you can install Python and use the .py instead, which will let you view the source code.
Python script/source (.py) You'll need to grab the Unidecode package for this to work. (pip install Unidecode)
Troubleshooting:
Spoiler
- If you see a bunch of weird letters in a ship description, something's gone wrong. Replace that mod's descriptions.csv with the original one, or just reinstall the mod entirely.
- "malformed csv": The script skipped this mod because the descriptions.csv file had bad formatting or something. If this was a fresh download, it's not the script's fault. If it wasn't fresh and it didn't have that error before, oops. Reinstall the mod.
- Pretty much anything: reinstall the mod, check if the error goes away. If it does, run the script again. If the error comes back, it was the script's fault.
- "malformed csv": The script skipped this mod because the descriptions.csv file had bad formatting or something. If this was a fresh download, it's not the script's fault. If it wasn't fresh and it didn't have that error before, oops. Reinstall the mod.
- Pretty much anything: reinstall the mod, check if the error goes away. If it does, run the script again. If the error comes back, it was the script's fault.
[close]
Changelog:
Spoiler
0.4a:
- Improved detection of malformed descriptions.csv files (this will resolve a crash that would occur when using the script on Neutrino)
0.4:
- Now includes an unpackaged executable, which shouldn't trigger antivirus software.
- Now uses slightly less memory (like that ever actually mattered, lol)
0.3:
Bugfix:
- No longer summons the unicode demon when it encounters certain non-ascii characters.
- To fix this, it replaces all non-ascii characters with their closest ascii equivalents. (For example, "ñ" becomes "n".) Unlike the other changes this script applies, this is not reversible. If you're desperate to hold onto your funky letters, back up your mods folder before running this.
0.2: Release
0.1: Discord-only beta
- Improved detection of malformed descriptions.csv files (this will resolve a crash that would occur when using the script on Neutrino)
0.4:
- Now includes an unpackaged executable, which shouldn't trigger antivirus software.
- Now uses slightly less memory (like that ever actually mattered, lol)
0.3:
Bugfix:
- No longer summons the unicode demon when it encounters certain non-ascii characters.
- To fix this, it replaces all non-ascii characters with their closest ascii equivalents. (For example, "ñ" becomes "n".) Unlike the other changes this script applies, this is not reversible. If you're desperate to hold onto your funky letters, back up your mods folder before running this.
0.2: Release
0.1: Discord-only beta
[close]
WhichMod by theDragn is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
8
Mods / Re: [0.9.1a] High Tech Expansion v1.2.3a
« on: February 16, 2021, 05:06:04 PM »What about extreme modifications? I hear that thrown around a lot in discussions, but I don't personally use the mod that adds it. I think it's ship/weapon pack?
Oh, that's a good point. EM gives bonus OP by having a negative cost, and that would work for the IV hullmod too if it wasn't a built-in, since built-in hullmods have no cost. (Now that I'm thinking about it, it probably is possible to do some really complex stuff under the hood to modify a ship's OP with a builtin, but it's definitely not worth the effort.)
Small bug: One of the Flamingo's small synergy hardpoints is labeled as a turret.
Thanks, I'll fix this in the next patch.
9
Mods / Re: [0.9.1a] High Tech Expansion v1.2.3a
« on: February 15, 2021, 11:27:43 PM »Hey there, really enjoying the mod so far. Looking forward to future content! Had a question about the Fourth Battlegroup hull mod on the IV Paragon. The hull mod claims 'Significant internal changes provid a 3/5/7/10 bonus to OP budgets', but I see no OP discount on any mounts or hullmods. Am I reading this wrong or what?
It's increasing the total OP of the hull, not modifying the cost of anything you put on it. For example, the regular Paragon has 370 OP, and the Paragon (IV) has 380.
This generally matches up with vanilla- XIV Battlegroup ships also get additional OP compared to their standard variants, though it varies a bit between ship classes. XIV Dominator and Onslaught get 10 extra, XIV Falcon/Eagle/Enforcer get 5 extra. Irritatingly, the XIV hullmod doesn't mention OP, so unless you compared the two you probably wouldn't notice it. I figured that it would be useful to know that IV ships get extra OP, so I added the line into the hullmod description. (Internally, hullmods can't add to the ship's OP, as far as I know. The way they do it is by setting a higher OP value in the .skin file, and then having the hullmod list the extra OP as a bonus; I'm assuming this is why the XIV hullmod doesn't mention the OP bonus.)
10
Mods / Re: [0.9.1a] High Tech Expansion v1.2.3a
« on: February 13, 2021, 07:29:58 PM »
Pushed out 1.2.3a patch to fix a crash that occurred when Metelson Industries was installed. Not sure exactly what in Metelson was causing it, but it's fixed anyway. If you don't have Metelson or don't plan to get Metelson, there's no need to update.
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Mods / Re: [0.9.1a] High Tech Expansion v1.2.3
« on: February 13, 2021, 06:54:38 PM »Did you have a plan for Lowtech and Midline Expansion in the future?
No, for multiple reasons- first, I kinda suck at making lowtech/midline sprites, and second, those mods already exist. Low Tech Armada is a pretty sizeable expansion for lowtech stuff, and Mayasuran Navy is basically Midline Expansion but it's a faction. There's also a lot of midline and lowtech ships added by various other ship pack mods, and I don't think that there's really much room for interesting designs in that space.
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Mods / Re: [0.9.1a] High Tech Expansion v1.2.3
« on: February 13, 2021, 01:53:39 PM »
Sorry- screwed up a fighter wing ID string, which would crash the game on startup if you had Vayra's Sector. I'm sure a few people downloaded the screwed-up version before someone found the bug; if you redownload it it'll fix the issue.
1.2.3 update released. New ship and a new star system.
- Save compatible.
- Use "generateHTE" from the console (requires Console Commands) to add the Zarmazd system to an existing save.
New:
- System: Zarmazd. A black hole with a single planet, Svarog, terraformed into (mediocre) habitability before the collapse. The independent planetary government managed to keep critical parts of the pre-collapse industry intact, and now performs contract shipbuilding for major polities across the sector. In addition to their standard markets, they have a special market that sells high-grade weapons and ship hulls, including IV and XIV battlegroup hulls. You'll need excellent rep with independents to access it, and "spare" domain-spec hulls don't come cheap.
- Added config file. This is mostly for market config at the moment- there are a bunch of options in there if you want to change the proportions of what Svarog sells. Right now it can only be set to sell various proportions of XIV, IV, Hightech, Midline, and rare blueprints; eventually I'll figure out how to allow an arbitrary number of tags.
- Gloom-class utility phase cruiser. Phase cloak and a salvage rig. It's capable in combat, though inefficient for its supply cost. The main attraction is its Drive Field Compressor, which improves fleet acceleration, and also reduces sensor profile while you're not using sustained/emergency burn. Each one you have in your fleet will provide a 50% bonus to acceleration and a 7.5% reduction to sensor profile, up to a maximum of +200% acceleration/-30% profile. Note that more acceleration also means better turning. Big Tritachyon fleets can probably catch you a bit more easily, so be careful. Glooms are fairly rare; even large Tritach fleets shouldn't have more than one or two.
Changes:
- Smaller ships have had their credit costs adjusted to bring them in line with vanilla.
- Scute: PPT increased (180->240).
- Persephone/Moray: Significant stat/system reworks; the two ships have had their roles and ship systems swapped. The Persephone now offers greater firepower (and better CR/PPT stats) at the cost of speed, and the Moray now offers speed at the cost of firepower.
- All Arc Emitters: Efficiency and fire rate increased by ~10%. Previous nerf was perhaps a bit heavy-handed.
- Some small sprite improvements to Arc Emitters, Incursion, and Flamingo.
- Some internal code changes. Mostly more robust error handling, and some other internal tweaks.
- Added some ships, weapons, and fighters to the Research Mandate faction, so that their known ships continues to match up with Tritachyon known ships.
1.2.3 update released. New ship and a new star system.
- Save compatible.
- Use "generateHTE" from the console (requires Console Commands) to add the Zarmazd system to an existing save.
New:
- System: Zarmazd. A black hole with a single planet, Svarog, terraformed into (mediocre) habitability before the collapse. The independent planetary government managed to keep critical parts of the pre-collapse industry intact, and now performs contract shipbuilding for major polities across the sector. In addition to their standard markets, they have a special market that sells high-grade weapons and ship hulls, including IV and XIV battlegroup hulls. You'll need excellent rep with independents to access it, and "spare" domain-spec hulls don't come cheap.
- Added config file. This is mostly for market config at the moment- there are a bunch of options in there if you want to change the proportions of what Svarog sells. Right now it can only be set to sell various proportions of XIV, IV, Hightech, Midline, and rare blueprints; eventually I'll figure out how to allow an arbitrary number of tags.
- Gloom-class utility phase cruiser. Phase cloak and a salvage rig. It's capable in combat, though inefficient for its supply cost. The main attraction is its Drive Field Compressor, which improves fleet acceleration, and also reduces sensor profile while you're not using sustained/emergency burn. Each one you have in your fleet will provide a 50% bonus to acceleration and a 7.5% reduction to sensor profile, up to a maximum of +200% acceleration/-30% profile. Note that more acceleration also means better turning. Big Tritachyon fleets can probably catch you a bit more easily, so be careful. Glooms are fairly rare; even large Tritach fleets shouldn't have more than one or two.
Changes:
- Smaller ships have had their credit costs adjusted to bring them in line with vanilla.
- Scute: PPT increased (180->240).
- Persephone/Moray: Significant stat/system reworks; the two ships have had their roles and ship systems swapped. The Persephone now offers greater firepower (and better CR/PPT stats) at the cost of speed, and the Moray now offers speed at the cost of firepower.
- All Arc Emitters: Efficiency and fire rate increased by ~10%. Previous nerf was perhaps a bit heavy-handed.
- Some small sprite improvements to Arc Emitters, Incursion, and Flamingo.
- Some internal code changes. Mostly more robust error handling, and some other internal tweaks.
- Added some ships, weapons, and fighters to the Research Mandate faction, so that their known ships continues to match up with Tritachyon known ships.
13
Mods / Re: [0.9.1a] High Tech Expansion v1.2.2
« on: February 12, 2021, 12:21:43 PM »
These are decent arguments. I'll think about it for the next version.
14
Mods / Re: [0.9.1a] High Tech Expansion v1.2.2
« on: February 10, 2021, 05:26:07 PM »Quote
In my current game I ended up slapping on graviton beams, a converted hanger, and a pilum launcher on my Moray so it could be a long range support ship.In my opinion, that's a horrifyingly wasteful use of a Moray, but if you enjoy it, I won't stop you. I would suggest a medium Reaper and two Pulse Lasers as a standard loadout.
Quote
To help the two feel more distinct, you could also make the Persephone a more expensive ship and tweak the Moray's stats to be much more defensive.Making the Persephone more expensive makes it compete directly with the Medusa, and the Medusa is generally a better ship because it can fit railguns. If anything, I would reduce the shield efficiency of the Persephone to push it further into the skirmishing role.
Quote
I'm looking at the destroyers added by the mod in general and notice that all three are priced as oversized frigates...Combat ships are generally balanced around combat performance vs supply/deployment cost, not credit cost. That said, I'll go over credit values for the ships to bring them in-line with vanilla, since it looks like a few ships have the wrong prices for their size class.
Quote
The Iris feels like something closer to the Sunder in terms of function and power.The Iris is explicitly a PD support ship for cruiser and capital fleets- it can survive firepower that would normally obliterate any other destroyer and has a substantial bonus to PD range, but it's also cripplingly slow, which limits its power in more offensive roles.
Quote
The Scute is very similar to the vanilla Vigilance ship...The Scute is substantially stronger than the Vigilance, because it has much stronger flux stats, a 0.6 shield, and a system that improves survivability. It pays for this in speed- it's an excellent line frigate, but you won't be capturing objectives or chasing down other frigates with it. It's also getting some more PPT next patch, to compensate for that sluggishness. In terms of credit price, it should probably be more expensive, not less- all high-tech frigates are pricier than their midline or lowtech counterparts.
Quote
The vanilla package is very bare, giving three light warships not a single carrier capable ship for the two great fighters in the package.Yeah, there would probably be a few more carriers in HTE, but I don't want to tread on the toes of other mods- Several mods add destroyer/cruiser hightech carriers, and I don't want to duplicate ships that already exist.
15
Mods / Re: [0.9.1a] High Tech Expansion v1.2.2
« on: February 10, 2021, 12:46:46 AM »I gave this a shot now and noticed that the Moray and Persephone are nearly identical ships. The two cost the same, have similar roles, have the same speed, almost the same logistical profiles, and both come in the high tech blueprint package. Beyond the obvious difference in ship systems and weapon arcs, the Persephone has two extra small energy mounts, better ordinance points, and slightly worse shield maintenance compared to the Moray. This would seem to make the Persephone the ship that should be used over the Moray in almost all circumstances. Perhaps the Moray should gain another missile mount or two?
The major difference is role, though yes, they are very similar. Persephone is not always the correct choice; a Moray can be a lot scarier than a Persephone in the right situations because of the burst damage that Fast Missile Racks offers. And Morays are also cheaper to operate, cheaper to deploy, and lose less CR from fighting. (They're also getting 30 more seconds of peak performance time and slightly better CR stats next patch.) Morays should be better general-purpose ships, especially for fleets that fight back-to-back, while Persephones should be better hunter-killers or specialty ships. Morays should be the Eagle of hightech destroyers, Persephones should be the Aurora, if that makes sense.