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General Discussion / Some bloat content
« on: February 06, 2024, 02:42:13 AM »
Now that Starsector is really pushing up in age I'm seeing a bit of bloat content here and there. Mostly items that have fallen by the way side either due to changing balance or being outright surpassed by new stuff. While some could be reballanced into relevancy I feel most of it could be removed from the game and no one would bat an eye.
Lets start with the weapons:
Light dual machine gun: not much better than it's singular counterpart, if anything the single variant is superior due to its
lower OP cost given that small PD must be spammed to be reliable. All in all it lacks the affordability of it's single cousin and
the sheer firepower of the Vulcan while having similar range and being more expensive that both.
Point defense laser:
Has the same OP cost as its long range version but half the range, that alone out weights the superior damage given that, like mentioned before,
small PD guns rely on volume more than individual kick. The burst PD laser is more reliable in the similar range class and the mining laser is dirt cheap.
This leaves the regular PD laser without any saving graces, weak compared to burst laser, short ranged compared to long range PD laser and expensive compared to the mining laser.
On to factions and ships:
Pirates:
I think the pirate Shade and Aflictor were originally introduced so players could learn to fight phase enemies in a low risk environment? That mantle has been picked up by the more thematically fitting Gremlin. Leaving P Shades & Afflictors as just worse versions of their pristine selves that bloat pirate fleets.
Pirate Wolf:
Just a worse Wolf, its role as elusive nuisance is fulfilled just as well by Kites & Gremlins. The paint job is cool tho, so maybe give it to the pirate Shrike.
Mudskipper MK2:
A meme ship with less combat value than a Kite, put it out of its misery. The Buffalo & Atlas mk2 show pirate ingenuity & desperation much better.
Colossus MK2:
Ridiculously big and clunky for such a low fighter count. IMO best replaced with something else, perhaps the unused munition ships sprites? They still hold on well after all these years.
Luddic Path:
Colossus mk3:
Just a hammer barrage with engines, far surpassed in effectiveness and cool factor by the luddic Manticore.
In an unrelated note, we really need a way to remotely contact contacts, at least for some jobs. Going back to them every time is annoying.
Lets start with the weapons:
Light dual machine gun: not much better than it's singular counterpart, if anything the single variant is superior due to its
lower OP cost given that small PD must be spammed to be reliable. All in all it lacks the affordability of it's single cousin and
the sheer firepower of the Vulcan while having similar range and being more expensive that both.
Point defense laser:
Has the same OP cost as its long range version but half the range, that alone out weights the superior damage given that, like mentioned before,
small PD guns rely on volume more than individual kick. The burst PD laser is more reliable in the similar range class and the mining laser is dirt cheap.
This leaves the regular PD laser without any saving graces, weak compared to burst laser, short ranged compared to long range PD laser and expensive compared to the mining laser.
On to factions and ships:
Pirates:
I think the pirate Shade and Aflictor were originally introduced so players could learn to fight phase enemies in a low risk environment? That mantle has been picked up by the more thematically fitting Gremlin. Leaving P Shades & Afflictors as just worse versions of their pristine selves that bloat pirate fleets.
Pirate Wolf:
Just a worse Wolf, its role as elusive nuisance is fulfilled just as well by Kites & Gremlins. The paint job is cool tho, so maybe give it to the pirate Shrike.
Mudskipper MK2:
A meme ship with less combat value than a Kite, put it out of its misery. The Buffalo & Atlas mk2 show pirate ingenuity & desperation much better.
Colossus MK2:
Ridiculously big and clunky for such a low fighter count. IMO best replaced with something else, perhaps the unused munition ships sprites? They still hold on well after all these years.
Luddic Path:
Colossus mk3:
Just a hammer barrage with engines, far surpassed in effectiveness and cool factor by the luddic Manticore.
In an unrelated note, we really need a way to remotely contact contacts, at least for some jobs. Going back to them every time is annoying.