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News:

Starsector 0.97a is out! (02/02/24); New blog post: Simulator Enhancements (03/13/24)

Poll

What next?

Capital carrier
- 5 (27.8%)
Cruiser carrier
- 3 (16.7%)
Assault cruiser
- 3 (16.7%)
Civilian ships
- 0 (0%)
Some weird frigate
- 2 (11.1%)
Weapons
- 5 (27.8%)

Total Members Voted: 18


Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 ... 9

Author Topic: [0.7.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.6 (update 2016-08-27)  (Read 93773 times)

Schwartz

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Re: [0.65.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.0 (update 2015-10-22)
« Reply #15 on: October 24, 2015, 09:43:43 AM »

Wow, these are some hot ship designs. Definitely gonna give this a go.
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Agalyon

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Re: [0.65.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.0 (update 2015-10-22)
« Reply #16 on: October 24, 2015, 09:59:01 AM »

I have to say, I really like the look of your ships. I'll definitely look into this on my next playthrough
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Funk

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Re: [0.65.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.0 (update 2015-10-22)
« Reply #17 on: October 24, 2015, 03:21:30 PM »

Very cool designs! I've just started a Nexerelin game as part of PBC and I'm enjoying it so far.

It is a bit frustrating starting out as an Orion class simply because it struggles to focus damage, and so multi-target engagements are a bit of a struggle. That being said, it excels in its support role, so as soon as I could afford another ship, the Orion started watching its flank. It became especially useful when I captured an Archer and had the Orion babysit it.

I haven't used too many of the ships or weapons yet, but I did manage to snap up a Pallas and I've got to say, really enjoying it! It is very effective on its own with a very respectable weapon platform, but I most love the ship system, pushing enemy ships into missile spam is so rewarding! It is a strong ship, but it is extremely vulnerable to any missile with good+ guidance systems due to its exposed engines.

I would like to ask if you had any plans to include more civilian ships such as shuttles, troop transports, freighters, mining ships etc? I really like the style of your ships and it would be great for it to become a fully fleshed-out faction such as the SCY, NGO, Neutrino etc.
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celestis

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Re: [0.65.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.0 (update 2015-10-22)
« Reply #18 on: October 25, 2015, 12:18:21 AM »

Thanks for feedback!
@Funk: As I mentioned in the OP, the mod is currently WIP, so I definitely have plans for more content. Not sure about such specialized ships like troop transports, but I'll add some civilian designs for sure (currently there is only one - Tethys).
Also I know that it may be a bit difficult to start with Orion due to it's lack of firepower, but I thought that giving a Pallas would be too much. I have plans for more frigates, so I'll most likely add something not so heavy armed as Pallas, but more damaging than Orion, which will be a starter ship eventually.
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Funk

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Re: [0.65.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.0 (update 2015-10-22)
« Reply #19 on: October 25, 2015, 02:12:08 AM »

I agree with what you posted about frigates. I look forward to seeing what you come up with :)

In the meantime I'll keep playing and posting comments.
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D00D

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Re: [0.65.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.0 (update 2015-10-22)
« Reply #20 on: October 27, 2015, 12:14:52 AM »

Hi, is it possible to pm the weapon mount sprites? I like them alot better than the vanilla ones. However, I think they are not really to scale to most weapons, the frigates are covered 75% in weapons sprite as well
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Funk

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Re: [0.65.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.0 (update 2015-10-22)
« Reply #21 on: October 27, 2015, 05:46:02 AM »

After playing some more with bigger ship classes I can offer a few more of my experiences.

There are a few factions in the realm of "Heavy hitting, low mobility", such as II, THI, NGO and so forth, and PBC fit well into that category with a few twists. They do have some real powerhouses in terms of firepower, such as the Phobos and capitals, but they are even more easily overwhelmed than the THI and II ships of the same class due to their complete inability to disengage - even slowly. Despite this, they have very low OP points available for their class. On average the PBC destroyers for example have as much as 30-40 OP points less than their peers, despite similar mobility, shields and so forth, but then more weaknesses such as their exposure to missiles and rear attacks, and poorer arc coverage.

I have found that whilst the Moros and Phobos can trade fire with capital ships, they are often considered a threat and are too slow  to catch other ships. Whilst the idea of stasis beams are sound, and they do work if you can break down an enemy's shields, it is very hard to make them practical in a fleet engagement. If you are travelling at speed 30 and your target ship is backing away from you, rarely will you be able to stay in range hitting its shields, and then be able to catch it in range to slow it down with the stasis beams.

The EMP ships such as the Aether and Aura are great fun, definitely my favourite in the mod, and I think there is definitely room for a more agile frigate for chasing, and another cruiser or a capital that can be a more interesting flag ship (i.e. similar firepower to the Phobos/Moros that can still be nimble, either through a ship system, or more OP or something). Aura is exceptionally weak for how close to danger they have to fly though so unless its early game and I am piloting it, I don't use them.

The plethora of specialised ships at this stage (Nyx, Aura, Aether, Orion, Pallas, Tethys) compared to the low(ish) number of ship types, hurts the PBC in fleet engagements. I think some more destroyers and cruisers could be added to compensate for PBC weaknesses somewhat for large engagements, where frigates don't really belong as pure PD boats. It also means that all of the above ships are only really useful if player-controlled, but then it leaves the heavy hitters that can only keep up so much, to be blundering around in AI-control.

Moros' ship system is very strong, and having limited charges balances this fact as you can weather the storm of the enemy's capital and then unleash your own against it. However, I feel the Moros would be better served with a mobility ship system such as a burn drive type, allowing it to use its broadside ability. Either that, or extending the arcs of the weapon mounts to cover the front as well, because it cannot keep up with targets, and so its broadsides rarely get brought into the equation. Another possible solution could be to make the shield frontal, so that attempting to flank a ship could be more rewarding, rather than exposing all of the firing weapons to enemy EMP etc.

I don't really use fighters and carriers so much but it seems as though the carrier options in this mod are quite lacking so far (I know, WIP), and perhaps the Gaia could have a flight deck added? It doesn't seem to be very worthwhile in my fleet and tends to die even when I ask it to sit back with the Aidos.

My experience with the mod-specific weapons has been quite low so far, so I will try to use them more to give some feedback on balance. Hopefully there is a good PD weapon on the way because at the moment, being slow & having engines exposed & having very low PD covering mounts means that missiles are exceptionally strong against the PBC.

Edit-

Some minor quality of life things that I have noticed:

- The Moros doesn't display weapon flux for me in the editor, but does in weapon groups
- AI Pallas uses its ship system even when travelling - could be a vanilla thing so not sure if it has an awareness of when to use it
« Last Edit: October 27, 2015, 07:16:28 AM by Funk »
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celestis

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Re: [0.65.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.0 (update 2015-10-22)
« Reply #22 on: October 27, 2015, 09:31:13 AM »

Glad to hear such a detailed feedback!
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Whilst the idea of stasis beams are sound, and they do work if you can break down an enemy's shields
They should work even if shields are up. Are you experiencing issues with that?

Regarding stasis beams in general, they work pretty well for small targets, but they are not exceptionally good not to be OP. Large beam can slightly harden the life for a cruiser from my experience. They were never designed against capitals though.

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exceptionally weak for how close to danger they have to fly
Yeah, I also noticed it dying pretty fast. Probably the Long range EMP emitter should be a bit more "long range"?

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Moros would be better served with a mobility ship system such as a burn drive type
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Another possible solution could be to make the shield frontal
You mean "omni" I suppose? Yeah, that can be a solution (both of your ideas btw). I will consider those when I add more stuff and see how it plays together with existing designs.

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carrier options in this mod are quite lacking so far (I know, WIP)
Right, you know: WIP))

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Gaia could have a flight deck added? It doesn't seem to be very worthwhile in my fleet and tends to die even when I ask it to sit back with the Aidos
Didn't encounter that. I wouldn't call it fragile + it has PD drones. Maybe I'll make it a bit tougher, but no flight deck for sure. It was made as a fire support ship, and it can be devastating with right loadout.

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Hopefully there is a good PD weapon on the way
Only on the way, unfortunately( Currently there is no PD weapon at all (and weapons are not very diverse). I just didn't manage to think of something really interesting, so if you happen to have ideas about that I'll be eager to discuss.

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- The Moros doesn't display weapon flux for me in the editor, but does in weapon groups
Hmm. No idea. I'll check it out and see if I can fix it.

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- AI Pallas uses its ship system even when travelling
That is definitely a bug, thanks for reporting.
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Funk

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Re: [0.65.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.0 (update 2015-10-22)
« Reply #23 on: October 27, 2015, 03:49:39 PM »

Hi Celestis, I don't know what I was smoking before when I said beams didn't work vs shields, but they do work then as well. I just tried out the Heavy Stasis Beam as well, and it is a great weapon  to slow everything up until cruisers, and do decent damage as well.

I hear what you are saying regarding the Gaia, maybe I just haven't got a very good load out for it, could I ask how you think it should be set up to be a support? Currently I have a Hurricane MIRV and an assortment of bits and bobs.

I'm also still struggling with the Orion, but again, it may be a load out issue.

Love the Thanatos by the way! I've got a Heavy Stasis beam, some Autocannons and a couple of Hellbores and it is a lot of fun, and a bit more mobile than the Moros.

Overall, I'm really enjoying the mod. In terms of weapon ideas, its very difficult to add new and unique weapons, but perhaps thinking of a ship with a built in weapon? As missiles and PD are lacking so far, perhaps something along those lines might be an idea. Thanks again for all your work :)
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celestis

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Re: [0.65.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.0 (update 2015-10-22)
« Reply #24 on: October 29, 2015, 11:06:48 PM »

Working on sprites. Here's a new frigate prototype:

and a destroyer:
« Last Edit: October 31, 2015, 01:07:16 AM by celestis »
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Funk

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Re: [0.65.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.0 (update 2015-10-22)
« Reply #25 on: October 31, 2015, 02:44:06 AM »

I love the asymmetric design of the frigate on the right, and it looks like a heavy hitter! The stripped out but beefed up Tethys looks cool too. It'll be nice to have some more "shooty" small ships.
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cpmartins

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Re: [0.65.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.0 (update 2015-10-22)
« Reply #26 on: October 31, 2015, 04:41:56 AM »

Quote
Quote
Hopefully there is a good PD weapon on the way
Only on the way, unfortunately( Currently there is no PD weapon at all (and weapons are not very diverse). I just didn't manage to think of something really interesting, so if you happen to have ideas about that I'll be eager to discuss.

Maybe a graviton-based pushback laser, in keeping with the faction ship-based systems. Maybe each weapon can push back one missile, balancing would be a matter of for how long and how hard it would push them.
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celestis

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Re: [0.65.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.0 (update 2015-10-22)
« Reply #27 on: October 31, 2015, 04:56:22 AM »

Quote
Quote
Hopefully there is a good PD weapon on the way
Only on the way, unfortunately( Currently there is no PD weapon at all (and weapons are not very diverse). I just didn't manage to think of something really interesting, so if you happen to have ideas about that I'll be eager to discuss.

Maybe a graviton-based pushback laser, in keeping with the faction ship-based systems. Maybe each weapon can push back one missile, balancing would be a matter of for how long and how hard it would push them.

Talking of PD, the destroyer on the last picture is going to have a mobility shipsystem and 6 tiny built-in PD lasers (approximately same dps as LRPD, but far less range).
I'll try making some sort of pushback beam, that may be a good idea, but it would need some special AI and behavior. It is not likely to be enough to push back missile - it will return, very soon, if disengaged. So that weapon may disrupt its engines too after some impact time. After that the beam will focus on the next target.
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celestis

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Re: [0.65.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.0 (update 2015-11-05)
« Reply #28 on: November 05, 2015, 10:35:31 AM »

New version (1.1) is out and ready for download!

Changes:
- Added Scylla frigate (general purpose combat frigate)
- Added Moirai destroyer (jumpy strike ship)
- Modified some stats: Aura has more flux capacity, adjusted several ships FP, Pallas has higher flux dissapation rate
- Moros now has omni shield
- Set correct quality factor for variants

I tried to invetigate the issue with Pallas graviton burst system, but currently I've got no catches. I wasn't able to reproduce that, so if you happen to encounter when AI fires it without anything nearby, let me know.
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Funk

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Re: [0.65.2a] Pegasus Belt Council v1.1 (update 2015-11-05)
« Reply #29 on: November 05, 2015, 02:49:30 PM »

Update sounds good, looking forward to trying it out over the weekend :)
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