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« on: December 24, 2023, 08:07:38 AM »
"read the Field Manual to understand what's changed and what it means."
Internet mistake #1, just because I don't like something doesn't mean I'm not familiar with it. I've read the manual. I'm saying combat feels way worse, not better, and certainly not "realistic."
"Missiles in Realistic Combat are fast and maneuverable, but point defense can stop them."
Small missiles are 1-2 shotting Frigate class ships and below, this makes them WAY more effective than every other weapon in the game."
"With beam weapons, you need to get close enough for the beam to be focused enough to pierce the surface armor of the target."
This is silly. You're telling me we've mastered AI to the point where it tried to kill us and of course mastered faster than light travel, but somehow optics are stuck in the pre-Victorian days, so a giant space battleship has to be arm's reach from an enemy to harm it with a beam weapon?
Mmkay.
"Just as intended, armor never ablates in Realistic Combat but instead remains a barrier that fire either penetrates or does not, and the armor cell diagram represents non-essential compartments for the player to destroy."
I hope you realize how unrealistic this is. And this is coming from a guy who's shot at armored stuff. Armor that gets turned to swiss cheese is nowhere near as effective (as in, not effective at all) as fresh armor.
"To destroy a ship, you need either a lot of small weapons fire to, per the Realistic Combat damage model, destroy all non-essential compartments beneath the surface armor, or a few huge hits penetrating the citadel."
This isn't realistic either. Destroying the bridge will render a ship highly combat ineffective. Destroying the engines will render it immobile. Multiple penetrating hits are going to quickly vent the internal atmosphere. I shouldn't need to destroy every square inch of interior space in a ship to finish it off.
"Hope it makes sense now."
Nope.
"Beam weapons can penetrate only surface armor and are for damage over time against enemy non-essential compartments and exposed systems. "
What I'm telling you here is 4 x Tachyon Lances never managed to drop the shields of a junker pirate freighter converted into a combat ship. I barely put a scratch on them at all. Apparently I should've gotten to within spitting distance, which totally does not and in no way completely and utterly negates the purpose of a mod that drastically extends the range of already long-range weapons.
If you wanted combat to be realistic, then I should be able to take out enemy engines on unshielded ships with a single railgun shot from across the map, i.e. The Expanse. Or hit even a large capital ship with a single nuclear missile and obliterate it. Ships are almost entirely unprotected against any real weapon strikes because actual space ships can't afford the mass real armor would create.
