Version 1.4.0.2 is out on Nexus Mods! (Link on the main mod page.)
This update contains a major balance overhaul for fighter wings in general, some balance changes to a few ships and weapons which I will detail the major ones below, a new bomber wing for the Sci-Corps, and a number of bugfixes.
The reported issue with Elite Command Experience should be fixed, and assuming the settings to remove overridden vanilla elements are in place, I have added code to have your character unlearn the vanilla versions of Assault Package and Escort Package and replace them with the mod versions so that they can actually be equipped.
The issue with Mordreath being placed incorrectly on the star map should also be fixed - though unfortunately that one isn't save compatible and will require a new start.
The story player ship should be balanced for the mod now.
Brief summary of weapon changes:Spoiler
-- Anti-Fighter missiles such as the Widow and Locust have been greatly improved through the addition of an aoe explosion element. For this reason, the Widow and Heavy Widow launchers have been toned down a great deal and all of these missiles deal fragmentation damage so they cannot be used with Corrosive Warheads.
-- Improved the aoe component of flak-like ballistics and reduced Flak and Dual Flak Cannon's rate of fire.
-- Many small projectile PD weapons have autofire accuracy boosts. Increased the Machine Gun's damage for both the ship version and fighter version.
-- Increased damage of all PD beams and medium and large versions deal 300 aoe frag damage when they hit. They also have larger charge capacity and can fire at their full rate for a longer duration.
-- Missiles have increased hitpoints to compensate for the increased PD damage. MIRV missiles' first stage version is a lot faster.
-- Greatly improved the Salamander missile's hitpoints to make it more reliable at knocking out engines. Damage dealt is now frag instead of HE.
-- Fixed a bug that caused missiles to have a larger chance than intended to cause emp arcs and shield piercing when Ionized Warheads was equipped. Cleaned up the Ionized Warheads tooltip to be more accurate to what the hullmod does.
-- Improved a few medium energy weapons' dps.
-- Proximity Mine weapons deal larger damage per explosion with a larger explosion radius, and in the case of the Trapdoor, release a substantially larger amount of mines.
-- Medium and Large rapid-fire projectile PD weapons now cause a small aoe explosion each impact. Their damage has been increased.
Fighter/Carrier Balance Overhaul number 2:Spoiler
-- Carrier Bays now increases wing attack range by a flat 4000 instead of a percentage increase. Standard interceptor and fighter ranges for warships has been reduced to 1000 to keep them closer and primarily defending the warship. Standard bomber and gunship ranges for warships has been reduced to 2000. Notably, the Legion currently operates more like a warship and does not have Carrier Bays. It is the premier brawler battlecarrier.
-- Greatly improved the defensive capabilities of the Mora, Anchorage, and Osprey carriers. They have more staying power on the battlefield while the Heron, Epiphany and Drover focus on wing damage.
-- High Tech wings no longer regenerate shields (or at least regenerate them extremely slowly) and no longer overload when their shields are maxed. Some wings have increased shield capacity to compensate.
-- High Tech wings generally deal the highest damage per attack run and many of them have emp components to their attacks and accurate and devastating anti-fighter weaponry. They replace the slowest of all the tech lines with a couple of notable exceptions.
-- Many Midline and Hegemony wings have a special ship system: Deflection Shell - which negates the majority of damage for a couple of seconds with a brief cooldown. They are now likely the most durable of tech lines with medium attack run effectiveness.
-- Some Midline wings do not have the system, and instead focus on dealing a large amount of damage per strike run. They are squishy however and replace fairly quickly compared to other Midlines wings.
-- Low Tech wings have had their armor increased substantially. Though they are generally less durable and deal less damage per attack run than other tech lines, they replace almost twice as quickly in the majority of cases. Luddic tech sacrifices a bit of replacement time and has higher OP costs per wing, but deals a greater amount of damage over standard Low Tech wings.
-- The Perdition, Paradigm and a new bomber wing, the Catalyst, have built-in Corrosive Warheads. The Catalyst and Renegade have built-in Ionized Warheads.
-- The Claw has a built-in Localized Amplifier, a Deflection Shell system, and replaces very quickly.
-- The Wasp had a bug that prevented it from using its Proximity Mine. That has been corrected and the mine is a lot more noticeable. It now deals a small amount of aoe energy damage.
-- The Fang and Spectre interceptors now replace almost instantly - though they are extremely squishy.
-- Increased wing size for the Banshee, Spark, and Talon (Tri-Tachyon) interceptor wings. They replace very slowly compared to other interceptors.
-- The majority of turreted gunships will now attack like circling tanks. Their interior weapons such as rockets have been adjusted to swivel to the side. This makes them noticeably different from bombers and combining the two types can prevent too much concentrated swarming that is vulnerable to larger PD weapons.
These lists aren't comprehensive and I may have forgotten other changes I've made, but it gives a good idea of what to expect in the update. Hopefully this will finally put carrier balance vs warship balance in a very good spot, and address swarming tactics from being too overwhelming to NPC fleets. I will still see about increasing the number of dedicated PD variants in faction fleets as another safeguard, but that didn't make it into this update.
I also hope that this will at least help make wings of all tech types have their niches. Low tech and midline equipped carriers will certainly have more staying power - though in different ways between the two types, and High Tech retains the role of dealing large amounts of damage per attack run.
I'm going to keep an eye on Deflection Shell. It seems very, very powerful from my tests and it may need a nerf in the future. What I am trying to decide between, however, is whether to nerf how much damage is negated, or increase the cooldown between uses if it comes to it. I'd love to hear thoughts after everyone has some time to play around with wings that use it.
Anyway, enjoy and have fun and as always please report any bugs!