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« on: January 22, 2021, 06:19:24 PM »
So just some quick-ish feedback, I haven't played with VIC stuff extensively yet but I've noticed a few things I think are worth commenting on, especially now that we have a first balance pass out (great job btw, everything is very high quality all around.)
First, the Shturm Overhaul still costs what it used to (5,10,15,25) not the new values in the patch notes. Not sure which is intended, but there you go.
Leading from that, I'm not sure some of the hullmod changes are justified. The new cost of Shturm Overhaul (which I just realized is conveniently also abbreviated SO, nice,) the totally removed range from IAS, and the additional downsides in general. I really like the idea of the additional downsides, but their cost seems a bit extreme to me with the exception of IAS, enough that I'm not sure I'd really ever consider using them on non VIC ships (or stacking them.) Range is already essentially cut with IAS precluding range mods, and since the shield emitter is more of a side grade to hardened shields, losing 25% speed is pretty brutal. The Fervor Protocols I'm not sure what to make of due to its extremely polarizing effects, so I'll leave that alone.
While VIC Brand Shields pack many effects into a reasonably priced mod, it would take much more to be willing to trade 25% of your speed away for it, as that is going to make you weaker both offensively and defensively, which doesn't help its case as defensive mod. IAS is also hard to examine because of its strong positive effects, but while its secondary downside is comparatively small (and much more fair I think, due to its functional similarity to vanilla SO,) its hard to say if having no range at all is good enough, especially if you're balancing with only VIC weapons which tend to lack range in the first place. This is just my 2 cents, you should probably wait and see what other people think. While I'm sure there are some cases where its very powerful, I find myself not typically inclined to use it unless I want its juicy 20 speed on very slow ships and am willing to pay any price. The huge flux discount and projectile speed seem somewhat misplaced to me, and even using a very close in gameplay style, I rarely want to use this mod on cruisers and capitals despite the attractive 20 speed.
Lastly, Shturm Overhaul seems like a costly side grade to me, rather than a straight boost. While that is probably intended, I think the old OP costs are probably best for this. I tested this mod the most, and at least in my case ships often performed roughly equally with and without it, and skipping it usually had much more stable results. I was originally going to say I think it would be okay at the new costs with a slight speed boost, but that sort of steps on the toes of IAS which it already pairs nearly perfectly with, as they both cover eachothers weaknesses, providing range and speed respectively. This also likely has some kind of overpowered interaction out there I missed, but I would be much less afraid to buff this one as you have extremely specific control over the ships its applied to, so fringe cases are minimized.
[EDIT] I wasn't sure how stacking the secondary debuffs worked when I made this, but seeing that they combine and you get debuffs is pretty gnarly, I cant think of a time where it would be worth it. Maybe only have the debuff of the second mod you add or something? I dont know.
One final note, the Thamuz seems a bit broken in a bad way now. Its abysmal max speed means it all but requires IAS which feels a bit strange considering the total lack of range at that point. While the other adaptive assault ships also have this problem, their smaller size and thus more normalized range hurts much less than on a cruiser, but still seem to all really want IAS. While you could certainly skip it for range, it feels like a sitting duck at that point. Combined with the adaptive assault counting PD weapons (I think the new AA is great btw) eating into your OP, being extremely vulnerable to flanking, etc it doesn't feel very good. I'm not sure what I personally would do to change this so I dont feel good commenting on it, but it feels like being forced to choose between dreadnaught speed or pitiful range.
All and all, VIC is great though. It has a really unique style and I can feel their vibe in all their ships and weapons. Its really an instant classic, and you've done an amazing job.
