So i spent some more time playing this mod, and wow i have to reiterate how much i love it! The strikecrafts are like are just a great concept; glass cannons that are pretty weak at first but scale HARD(in part thanks to the huge officer buffs in this version), instead of hellbores and other high dmg weapons you can easily evade being the major threats, its flak cannons and getting caught out alone by interceptors. I tried most of them and jsut wanna share my feedback.
Gunhazard: the first encountet with these is probably going to be a pirate rushing you in one and immediately getting pasted, lol. Putting aggrrseive and reckless officers in one is pretty much a death sentence and maybe one of the few mod ships where a cautious or steady pilot is better. Even though they are weak, they become pretty dangerous whennmultiple are fielded. Sadly they drop off late game cuz lolbeams
Xyphos(AA): I didnt use this one much, but AI use is suprisingly good. It's basically a mobile xyphos wing which is powerful thing itself.
Leynos(i begin to notice the naming convention): imo while it hits harder than aleste on paper, its ironically less durable due to relying on armor and a damper field, and its basically helpless if its wing goes down when used by AI. The rocket Punch is really cool. I guess its good as a cheap psuedo carrier that isnt entirely a sitting duck.
Aleste: imo the poster child of the mod. Aleste gives you just enough tools to excel or die horribly. Its extremely versatile and absolutely monsterous with the dual blade build. In fact, i would say its too good. While its much riskier, the reward is huge. I think reducing the range bonusnit can get would make it less of a no brainer choice.
Einhander: while its stronger than aleste, its not as fun because you have pretty much no modularity or customization choices. Its system should probably have a longer cooldown since its basically recharging at 3x its actual rate because of phase.
Thats all of them i think, looking foreard to thennew updaye!
I agree with everything said here, except that Gunhazards lose viability in late-game. They're role and tactics become less expansive, but still very viable, just gotta use them as a buddy for other ships, and they basically protect it from frigate flanks. Matter a fact they're great at doing that, and I actually love the GunHazards!
GunHazards aside, every point was correct.
- Einhander NEEDS slots for a modular loadout, as the most fun part of the game is making new viable ship loadouts that you've never thought of before.
- Aleste is overpowered in comparison to the others, especially the Leynos. The modularity is great, it feels great, looks great, needs a slight nerf to some of the weapons it has available, but otherwise it's pretty much near-perfect, realistically speaking. Additional note, the AI for the dispersal grenades is derp often, it'll just shoot a circle of grenades around it in the opposite direction of the enemy. Not only wasting flux, and time, but needlessly exposing their back to the enemy.
- Leynos needs something to keep it alive longer. I got an idea I'd like to put out there, how about a shield, as in the physical kind held in the hand. It can be destructible(Like how the capital ships in the Scy Nation mod have destructible armor. Also, it could be replaceable when refitting at a carrier). I think a physical shield would go well with the intended theme/flavor of this strikecraft, being a bit unconventional. To add onto that, I think it'd be cool to have a variant(or modular weapon loadout like Aleste) to go for a shield and laser sword/axe combo, with a boost to speed(maybe a big booster on it's back or booster wings like with gundams in space). Perhaps the sword/shield variant should also have advanced phase cloak, so it can move around faster, or no phase at all, and just a really strong shield and high speed and maneuverability. You can just go ham with the idea if you decide to use it.
- No comment on Xyphos(AA), cuz I don't use it, cuz if it ain't a mech, and it's destroyer size or smaller, I probably won't use it.
- I would like to see the Watchdog be able to have a WingCom Suite hullmod be able to be added to it, for better survivability against frigates. I think it should have some limits on it, so it can only have some small bodyguard type fighters.
- The Garegga is pretty great for PD/anti-fighter, but it also does a *** ton of DPS to regular ships, too much imo. Perhaps lower the DPS on the weapons, and add a couple options, like a AoE and a wide shotgun type. I have had only a single instance where the AI yeeted themselves with the ship system exploding. I have used them in a LOT of fights, and it's only happened once, which I think is a reasonable probability to expect from the AI. Some may disagree, but I think it's fine to have like a 1% chance the AI(for Steady, Aggressive, Reckless, and No Officer) will over-do it on the ship system and blow up. Reckless should have a 2% chance though, maybe 3% for the lulz.
- 1 last suggestion... Okay, I noticed how the stake driver embeds itself into the hull of the enemy ship, then has a timer and explodes. Since you have already developed the framework for this sort of behavior, this suggestion should be fairly easy for you. Using the same logic/code for the stake driver, I think it'd be cool to have a shaped charge (C4 explosive) that the Aleste could have as an arm weapon. Placed on the enemy hull, then run away, and boom! This would pair really well with the laser sword, since both require you to be directly(nearly) touching the enemy ship's hull.
- I'm looking forward to the new strikecraft you said you have been working on for the next release! Love the mod, it's now on my essential mods list, and thank you for bringing mecha to StarSector in such an interesting, thorough and polished way.
EDIT: Okay 1 more suggestion, I can't believe I forgot to mention, as it's something I keep meaning to come here and talk about. I would love to see some unique, one-of-a-kind, variants that can only be obtained via IBB missions, or perhaps derelict ships, or however you want to implement it. Unique name, perhaps unique modifiers for the wings with the WingCom Suite like a Valken-X with 3 units in it, instead of 2 with the actual ship having a unique laser sword, so you got 3 fighters and a strike crafter that are balls-to-the-wall with melee combat. I've done something similair in the past, making custom Hybrid Wanzers, for personal use, and I had a lot of fun with it. Also it would justifiy putting an officer in a strikecraft.
