Fractal Softworks Forum

Starsector => Mods => Modding => Topic started by: ArbuzBudesh on June 26, 2021, 07:52:28 AM

Title: [0.95a] Arbworks ships. Pangolin class update.
Post by: ArbuzBudesh on June 26, 2021, 07:52:28 AM
A small humble ship pack mod of questionable quality and state of being finished.

This mod aims to be relatively in line with vanilla balance and lore, as well as fix drastic lack of asymmetric and broadside ships(which contradicts first half of the sentence).

You can get this shipack here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1msfVgD1Wp-rwwrZWUDKDxgV0t1QWRViF/view?usp=sharing

I wanna look at ship sprites
Frigates
(https://i.imgur.com/gTowA4N.png)(https://i.imgur.com/vJMXlz8.png)(https://i.imgur.com/vRBUn37.png)(https://i.imgur.com/M4Mi8Jh.png)
Bumblebee. A formidable attack frigate with double med hardpoint at a cost of... high cost and being exposed from anywhere except front. Convoy. A more military focused version of the shepherd, good as a support vessel. Clayfish. Front focused frigate with flexible mounts and built in micro missile platform to pressure their target. Philoctetes. "Artilery" frigate, built to survive in bigger fleets, but might struggle in smaller ones.
Destroyers
(https://i.imgur.com/NeBuSH5.png)(https://i.imgur.com/E302PfA.png) (https://i.imgur.com/scPAjAf.png) (https://i.imgur.com/Mp7mhj2.png) (https://i.imgur.com/ZxvzS8Z.png)(https://i.imgur.com/WVLxY0T.png)(https://i.imgur.com/tb9TcCE.png)
Deadfish. Competitor to the Mule in terms of role, but relies on maneuverability and slightly more armaments to keep cargo intact.  Headache. A fairly small destroyer, able to carry more guns than it can handle. Truth. Destroyer, which thinks he's a frigate. Good at pressuring and chasing down, not very good at handling being pressured and chased down. Tarsus Mk2 (LP). Pathers never ending quest to weaponize every civilian ship continues. Gemini Mk2(LP). Seriously, someone stop them. Shark. Nimble and packing a bite, good for picking opportune fights, but completely harmless from "backside". Shark(LP). Modified by pathers to remove absolutely blasphemous rear mount and add necessities like SO
Cruisers
(https://i.imgur.com/uMgIroH.png)(https://i.imgur.com/RIhJLDF.png)(https://i.imgur.com/9rPQyH7.png)(https://i.imgur.com/2f5SerR.png) (https://i.imgur.com/U1uVNp7.png)
Knife. Cuts one way though. Starliner mk2 (LP). A engineering challenge for pathers, but they manage to turn flimsy transportship into an actual gun platform, even has spare space for a hangar! Conquistador. Ship for bold and decisive captains, very small mount focused thus can struggle on long range exchanges, but has a bite up-close. Pangolin. A military design optimized for relatively cheap mass production(for cruisers at least) and solid survivability. Has limited firepower in exchange. Pangolin(P). While pirates really love to pilot pangolin, they find original layout too... cowardly. So they modified it have extra front firepower and modified shield generator to have a flux shunt, though at significant cost of shield arc and efficiency.
Capital ships
(https://i.imgur.com/OFQdTkj.png)(https://i.imgur.com/uyqWL8a.png)
Ludds Wrath. This is exactly what it looks like.  Highlander. Jack of all trades "light" capital ship, with expected downsides. Relies on ammo feeder to have respectable DPS, so applies pressure in bursts.
[close]

Mod isn't exactly fully implemented since i havent fine tuned the balance or put in majority of ship descriptions. But i've decided to put it out as is due few requests and finish whenever i get energy\time. I'm curious feedback on balance and other mistakes i might've made.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: IonDragonX on June 26, 2021, 08:36:24 AM
I haven't looked at the raw stats yet but these sprites are absolutely rockin'!  :o

Although I don't have a problem with the word, some others might be sensitive to the term yoni. You sure you want to go with that name?

Go ahead and remove all the "fallback" entries in your default_ship_roles. Its redundant (part of the core files already) and just taking up space.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: ArbuzBudesh on June 26, 2021, 09:22:19 AM
I have no idea what yoni means, because its random 4 letters which sounded vaguely Japanese to me.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: Nick XR on June 26, 2021, 09:22:45 AM
Not only are the sprites well done, the general concept and design is fresh!
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: savvygui on June 26, 2021, 11:08:30 AM
I have no idea what yoni means, because its random 4 letters which sounded vaguely Japanese to me.

Sick sprites! +1

Ironically, the Yoni-class is vaguely phallic, if anything. Maybe change the name to "Ioni"? Keeps the general sound but dodges the, uh, awkwardness.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: IonDragonX on June 26, 2021, 11:12:49 AM
Okay, here's my notes after looking at your ships:

My notes, beware these are first impressions
All the Ships
- Why so much Hybrid? If you are trying to be close to the core game, these should be rare but you've made them almost common.
- Combat ships aren't normally designed to have such a slim margin between required crew and max crew.
- - On the other hand, is this a design choice for this mod?  If so, make it known and go with it. It will make support ships more important
- Your shield range tends to be on the tight side.

Bumblebee
- love the design - why are the medium turrets invisible on the sprite?
- 2 Med mounts is a lot for frigate - pick either Ballistic or Energy, not Hybrid

Conquistador
- love the broadside design
- too many mounts / flux / flux vents - so much good stuff is a bit too strong for vanilla
- again, Hybrids, make yourself choose one - PDs are basically all going to be Ballistic anyways because frag PD is best PD

Convoy
- 2 bays is extreme for a frigate - replenish rates already eat into their small Peak time
- like the new drones
- consider removing bay 2 and changing the ship system to "create drone mk2" like the old days

Crayfish
- love the unique design
- make the force field a bit bigger or OMNI, this one's a little too easy to hit
- the 4 Groms should probably have 700 range b/c they need to switchback all the time - love the sound effect
- assault variant should probably go with single autocannons instead of duals b/c flux

Gemini Mk2 - Genius! should have (LP) added to the name & should have a Pirate skin (Red lightning paint)
- armor 300 / hull 5400 (20% increases instead of whatever you did there)
- shields don't go from omni to front & get worse, they are supposed to get better
- the small ballistic mounts should not arc over the hull as much as they do, they should only arc over by a fraction

Headache - yes, this is a confused bird for sure so the name fits
- unique design with built in anti-synergy, I'll allow it as long as the ship system stays

Highlander
- Cap class with AAF, its a good one
- Would drop the Hybrid smalls & replace with Ballistic
- some of the variants have unused flux & could do better with more hullmods & less vents

Knife - love the design, Artillery variant misspelled (as Artilery )

Ludd's Wrath - oh, hell yes
- Crew Max needs to be bigger - they expect kamakazi attacks by all those Talons
- Standard variant has missing Med Missile slot
- Widen the central HAG arcs to match the width of the HAC arcs in front of them
- Universal L hardpoint should be Composite

Philoctetes - love the design

Shark
- Two of the variants have missing weapons
- Choose hybrid on either the small turrets or the Med turrets but not both

Starliner Mk2 - should have (LP) added to the name & should have a Pirate skin (Red lightning paint)
- armor 270 / Hull 6600 (20% increases instead of whatever)
- build in Heavy Armor to the hull if you want to (it won't matter much these aren't supposed to be 'good' ships, right?)

Tarsus Mk2 - should have (LP) added to the name & should have a Pirate skin (Red lightning paint)
- armor 480 Hull 5100 (20% increases)

Truth - no core variant
- probably too vulnerable to be good
-  Either go Hybrid on the small mounts or the large one

Yoni - eeeh. that name..
- Either go Hybrid on the small mounts or the medium one
[close]

I have no idea what yoni means, because its random 4 letters which sounded vaguely Japanese to me.
Well, like I said, some might have an issue. Beware, is what I'm getting at.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: Yunru on June 26, 2021, 11:16:23 AM
Those midline ships, mhh mhh mhhh.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: Vensalir on June 26, 2021, 02:31:00 PM
Beautiful sprites, looking forward to trying those ships out!
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: ModdedLaharl on June 27, 2021, 12:40:36 AM
GORGEOUS sprites. I'll see how it plays.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: ArbuzBudesh on June 27, 2021, 01:33:31 AM
Okay, here's my notes after looking at your ships:

My notes, beware these are first impressions
All the Ships
- Why so much Hybrid? If you are trying to be close to the core game, these should be rare but you've made them almost common.
- Combat ships aren't normally designed to have such a slim margin between required crew and max crew.
- - On the other hand, is this a design choice for this mod?  If so, make it known and go with it. It will make support ships more important
- Your shield range tends to be on the tight side.

Bumblebee
- love the design - why are the medium turrets invisible on the sprite?
- 2 Med mounts is a lot for frigate - pick either Ballistic or Energy, not Hybrid

Conquistador
- love the broadside design
- too many mounts / flux / flux vents - so much good stuff is a bit too strong for vanilla
- again, Hybrids, make yourself choose one - PDs are basically all going to be Ballistic anyways because frag PD is best PD

Convoy
- 2 bays is extreme for a frigate - replenish rates already eat into their small Peak time
- like the new drones
- consider removing bay 2 and changing the ship system to "create drone mk2" like the old days

Crayfish
- love the unique design
- make the force field a bit bigger or OMNI, this one's a little too easy to hit
- the 4 Groms should probably have 700 range b/c they need to switchback all the time - love the sound effect
- assault variant should probably go with single autocannons instead of duals b/c flux

Gemini Mk2 - Genius! should have (LP) added to the name & should have a Pirate skin (Red lightning paint)
- armor 300 / hull 5400 (20% increases instead of whatever you did there)
- shields don't go from omni to front & get worse, they are supposed to get better
- the small ballistic mounts should not arc over the hull as much as they do, they should only arc over by a fraction

Headache - yes, this is a confused bird for sure so the name fits
- unique design with built in anti-synergy, I'll allow it as long as the ship system stays

Highlander
- Cap class with AAF, its a good one
- Would drop the Hybrid smalls & replace with Ballistic
- some of the variants have unused flux & could do better with more hullmods & less vents

Knife - love the design, Artillery variant misspelled (as Artilery )

Ludd's Wrath - oh, hell yes
- Crew Max needs to be bigger - they expect kamakazi attacks by all those Talons
- Standard variant has missing Med Missile slot
- Widen the central HAG arcs to match the width of the HAC arcs in front of them
- Universal L hardpoint should be Composite

Philoctetes - love the design

Shark
- Two of the variants have missing weapons
- Choose hybrid on either the small turrets or the Med turrets but not both

Starliner Mk2 - should have (LP) added to the name & should have a Pirate skin (Red lightning paint)
- armor 270 / Hull 6600 (20% increases instead of whatever)
- build in Heavy Armor to the hull if you want to (it won't matter much these aren't supposed to be 'good' ships, right?)

Tarsus Mk2 - should have (LP) added to the name & should have a Pirate skin (Red lightning paint)
- armor 480 Hull 5100 (20% increases)

Truth - no core variant
- probably too vulnerable to be good
-  Either go Hybrid on the small mounts or the large one

Yoni - eeeh. that name..
- Either go Hybrid on the small mounts or the medium one
[close]

I have no idea what yoni means, because its random 4 letters which sounded vaguely Japanese to me.
Well, like I said, some might have an issue. Beware, is what I'm getting at.
Thanks for detailed feedback, i indeed went overboard with hybrids. Slim margin on crew in some was designed as intentional drawback, though i might make it less drastic on some ships.

bumblebee meds being partially hidden was part of intended design so weapons would look "inside" the engine block not over it.

conquistador good point, i will look at it balance a bit more, had to make it strong to compensate for reliance on small mounts on broadside which made engaging against other big ships a bit hard, so making it good when ship actually manages to.

convoy creating ship system is beyond my expertise sadly.

crayfish generally good point, though grom range was intended to short so frigate wont be able to use them as long range pressure.

truth - might give i minor buff to survivability, i was very cautious since large mounts on destroyers who can support its flux demands should have somekind of a drawback.

Rest of ships good points i will look into it.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: Big Bee on June 27, 2021, 05:34:37 AM
The sprites all look very good, definitely on par with or better than many others out there. They fit the game's style but still look unique enough, as opposed to being too 'derivative' of vanilla ships.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: Cyan Leader on June 27, 2021, 08:18:08 AM
Probably the best new mod to come out this year if we go by sprites/design. Great work!
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: Helldiver on June 27, 2021, 11:02:08 PM
I like the Shark. Asymmetry done right.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: Deageon on June 28, 2021, 09:59:41 AM
Okay, first off, holy *** these look really good! Did you do these yourself?
Second, I *** LOVE how your LP ships look, super welded together and mashed up.
Third, uh, the "Shark" name is already used for a destroyer from Underworld (Shark Battle Barge). I'm not one to be stick-up-assy about that sort of stuff but, some people are, just wanted to give you warning.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: Chairman Suryasari on June 28, 2021, 10:49:17 AM
Look great! Will you do some pirate ship? Asymmetry design will fit right in with pirate school of ships.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: Faeren on July 02, 2021, 02:22:11 AM
Your sprites are absolutely magnificent, not planning a new run for a while but I am definitely firing up this mod for my next one, very keen to try the Convoy in particular, hope it's an option as a starter ship.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: Pratapon51 on July 02, 2021, 04:02:30 AM
Trying this out in missions, ships feel pretty good.

I think you made a mistake with the Ludd's Wrath's DP cost, though; it's currently only 12 DP.  :o That might want a small bump!
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: ArbuzBudesh on July 02, 2021, 05:27:23 AM
Wow no idea how that error slipped, i think might've edited it before the release since starliner mk2 also has 12. Intended value was i think 38. I will include the fix with other minor balance adjustments when i update the mod a little bit.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: ArbuzBudesh on July 03, 2021, 12:39:22 PM
A small update to ship pack. Includes some new ships.
Is it save compatible? I have no idea!

(https://i.imgur.com/2f5SerR.png)
Pangolin. A military design optimized for relatively cheap mass production(for cruisers at least) and solid survivability. Has limited firepower in exchange.
 (https://i.imgur.com/U1uVNp7.png)
Pangolin(P). While pirates really love to pilot pangolin, they find original layout too... cowardly. So they modified it have extra front firepower and modified shield generator to have a flux shunt, though at significant cost of shield arc and efficiency.
(https://i.imgur.com/tb9TcCE.png)
Shark(LP). This ship actually was already in the mod, but lacked variants to be spawned in the world. Pathers see no point in rear facing mount, so moved it in front, build in SO will make it go even faster, though ship loses all hybrids to ballistics.

Other balance changes
Yoni:
-Now is named Deadfish because people had problem with the name. ShipIDs are unchanged.
-Side and rear small mounts are now energy.
Shark:
-All small mounts are now ballistic
Highlander:
-All small mounts are now ballistic
Gimini, Tarsus, Starliner Mk2:
-Hull and armor values are adjusted to numbers suggested, though starliner armor stays original so it can perform its role without exploding.
Conquistador:
-Replaced most of small mounts with either energy or ballistic except nose mount.
Ludds wrath:
-Fixed DP
-upped crew requirements and capacity
-Large hardpoint is now composite
-adjusted arcs a bit

[close]
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships. Pangolin class update.
Post by: Jaghaimo on July 03, 2021, 12:54:48 PM
Pangolin's sprite looks really cartoonish now, not matching the rest. I get a Genshin Impact vibe from both regular and pirate versions.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships. Pangolin class update.
Post by: ArbuzBudesh on July 03, 2021, 01:12:34 PM
Maybe i'm biased as a creator, but i don't see it, since i intended it to be simple to reinforce "cheap but reliable military" idea. No idea how anime gacha game is tied to it, then again i never played it :v
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships. Pangolin class update.
Post by: Yunru on July 03, 2021, 01:19:31 PM
It looks too... flat?
I think it could do with some more shadowing to give the illusion of depth.
Also, it looks nothing like a Sandslash.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships. Pangolin class update.
Post by: ArbuzBudesh on July 03, 2021, 01:21:29 PM
Hmm i guess i could've try to give it a bit more rounded feel with shading, i ll try it later on.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships. Pangolin class update.
Post by: Jaghaimo on July 03, 2021, 01:43:05 PM
Flat and low colour contrast. It looks cartoonish on a laptop (IPS screen) but not too bad on a phone (OLED) until I crank up brightness. Perhaps try making your display brighter, and you may see what I mean.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships
Post by: IonDragonX on July 03, 2021, 09:42:54 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/2f5SerR.png)Pangolin. A military design optimized for relatively cheap mass production(for cruisers at least) and solid survivability. Has limited firepower in exchange.

The Pangolin looks like the Magellan Protectorate style : https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=21733

I added some burn & color to try to give a little more depth
(https://i.ibb.co/cTvfkJL/2f5SerR.png)
[close]
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships. Pangolin class update.
Post by: Big Bee on July 04, 2021, 05:34:56 AM
Pangolin's sprite looks really cartoonish now, not matching the rest. I get a Genshin Impact vibe from both regular and pirate versions.

no clue how you'd be reminded of Genshin Impact of all things, but I do agree that it looks a little plain compared to the other ships.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships. Pangolin class update.
Post by: KDR_11k on July 06, 2021, 05:33:47 AM
Heh, the Conquistador looks like a JRPG sword.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships. Pangolin class update.
Post by: Yunru on July 06, 2021, 06:17:47 AM
Hmm i guess i could've try to give it a bit more rounded feel with shading, i ll try it later on.
Especially the bridge: It looks like it's painted on, rather than a raised section.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships. Pangolin class update.
Post by: Deageon on July 11, 2021, 10:32:02 PM
You might want to check the uh, flux dissipation of that one two-medium ship, the Headache? It's flux dissipation is worse than even civilian frigates. Also, last I checked the Ludd's Wrath only costed like 70k credits to make and was in the low tech pool of knowledge, so I saw Hege fleets w/ it.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships. Pangolin class update.
Post by: Hiroyan495 on August 15, 2021, 01:20:16 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/2f5SerR.png)Pangolin. A military design optimized for relatively cheap mass production(for cruisers at least) and solid survivability. Has limited firepower in exchange.

The Pangolin looks like the Magellan Protectorate style : https://fractalsoftworks.com/forum/index.php?topic=21733

I added some burn & color to try to give a little more depth
(https://i.ibb.co/cTvfkJL/2f5SerR.png)
[close]

That is beautiful.
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships. Pangolin class update.
Post by: Arthur_The_Ok on September 13, 2021, 03:10:15 PM
Is  the Ludd's Wrath supposed to cost 54.000 credits? That's too cheap, even if it is a scrap heap
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships. Pangolin class update.
Post by: KaiserPanda on October 22, 2023, 12:10:46 AM
My only wish list from this mod would be more pirate versions of them
Title: Re: [0.95a] Arbworks ships. Pangolin class update.
Post by: A_Random_Dude on October 22, 2023, 05:20:55 AM
Gonna wish for a long while then. Mod's been dead for 2 years now.