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Author Topic: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2  (Read 37903 times)

Twilight Sentinel

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Re: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2
« Reply #75 on: April 30, 2022, 05:21:55 PM »

If that (LP) Venture still has surveying equipment, it's quite possible that it might become my go to early cruiser if I'm not starting with an Apogee.  No ill advised modifications and the ability to keep up with smaller ships to be the tank?  Hell yeah!  Just need to build in augmented drives and you're good to go exploring.

Hold up, hold up. Who said anything about no ill advised modifications? :)

Well at least that can be removed, unlike built in SO.  A shame it makes it far less affordable though.
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Alex

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Re: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2
« Reply #76 on: April 30, 2022, 05:35:04 PM »

- Sindria developed Solar Shielding.
- Sindria (with TT help) developed Kinetic Blaster and G I G A C A N N O N.
- Sindria-exclusive ships are straight worse than base.
- Luddic Path ships get SO for free when nobody else can.

One of these things doesn't hold up.

(You're right, #4 is factually incorrect :D As to the implied contradiction between these items, I honestly just don't buy it; imo you don't even have to try hard to have it all make sense in-fiction.)

Well at least that can be removed, unlike built in SO.  A shame it makes it far less affordable though.

On the (nuclear-)bright side, if you're mainly interested in ramming things using Orion Device, Ill-Advised isn't as much of a problem as it normally is :)
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Twilight Sentinel

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Re: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2
« Reply #77 on: April 30, 2022, 05:40:08 PM »

It also means that at least so long as the LP aren't bringing along a Prometheus, you can still win by simply outlasting them.  The fact they've got such a tanky ship added to their fleets is actually a bit concerning.  If the LP Venture didn't have IAM, they'd make a lot more fights against the LP incredibly grindy without Sunders/Manticores or bigger ships to crack those tanks.  Pirate fleets sporting a few Ventures use to be very long annoying fights before their numbers were toned down last version with Eradicators.
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Megas

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Re: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2
« Reply #78 on: April 30, 2022, 05:51:18 PM »

Question:  Since arms dealers at the bar can sell things no faction can make (like the phase transports), can arms dealers sell secret Diktat tech?

Quote
Hmm - I think the Scintilla is common enough that it's not really a concern. I don't think sticking an extra bay on the Apex would be a good idea - mixing fighters like that would be messy, and the ship really isn't about that, anyway.
Plus, there is Converted Fighter Bay to turn those builtin bays into cargo space, which cannot be done on normal bays.  (Of course, I doubt player would use this option on anything that is not a Shepherd).

Quote
Hmm. The Fulgent isn't amazing, but at the same time it usually feels pretty dangerous, just due to the Reapers it can sport. Still, stocking the Energy Bolt Coherer on it... I'll think about that, it's a reasonable point, and I don't remember offhand how good its speed is.
It does not have a mobility system, and its hard-flux weapon range stinks (barring IPDAI and elite Point Defense on IR Pulse Lasers or High Scatter Amplified Tactical Lasers).  Fulgent is one of those ships I seriously consider using High Scatter Amplifier and beams.  Its base speed does not seem too slow, but other combat destroyers will either outspeed or outrange it.  Reapers are dangerous, but that means giving up medium energy weapons on prime mounts (turrets, whether pulse lasers for general use, HSA Graviton for anti-shield, or heavy burst lasers for light anti-armor/missile).  If I use Reapers on Fulgent, then I am stuck with something like Heavy Blaster in the hardpoint, or IR Pulse Laser spam if I have Point Defense and IPDAI.

When I outfit Fulgents without s-mods, I tend to put two pulse lasers on the medium synergies, beam PD on the side mounts, put cheap missiles (usually Atropos) in missile hardpoints, and leave the center hardpoints empty.  After I add s-mods, I start using more OP hungry loadouts, and probably more missiles (like Reaper pods).

Fulgents as they are feel like fodder ships, whether I try to use them against the enemy, or if I am mowing them down in Ordos fleets.  They are only dangerous if they land a Reaper or if allowed to fire ion beam at my ship for too long.
« Last Edit: April 30, 2022, 06:00:49 PM by Megas »
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ANGRYABOUTELVES

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Re: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2
« Reply #79 on: April 30, 2022, 05:57:50 PM »

- Sindria developed Solar Shielding.
- Sindria (with TT help) developed Kinetic Blaster and G I G A C A N N O N.
- Sindria-exclusive ships are straight worse than base.
- Luddic Path ships get SO for free when nobody else can.

One of these things doesn't hold up.

(You're right, #4 is factually incorrect :D As to the implied contradiction between these items, I honestly just don't buy it; imo you don't even have to try hard to have it all make sense in-fiction.)
No, it's correct. LP ships have built-in SO, which can't be built-in anymore. It also doesn't take up a story point built-in slot. You can find their blueprints and build them yourself, and after restoration they're straight up better at being SO ships than the same hull in non-LP form. Religious nutters who hate technology have better engineers than a dictator who fetishizes high technology. Lions Guard ships have been designed with no redeeming qualities compared to the base hull, whereas LP ships have an obvious and very large redeeming quality.
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Embolism

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Re: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2
« Reply #80 on: April 30, 2022, 06:12:19 PM »

I know the Diktat is not meant to be "doctrinally sound", but I would've thought there would be an LG Sunder given Andrada's apparent love for energy weapons; even if the GIGACANNON is considered too prestigious to be mounted on a destroyer.

I also agree with the sentiment that LG ships should have Solar Shielding for free especially if Special Modifications is already a negative. Why do they need two negatives? One should be enough flavour-wise, and also make them more of a small sidegrade (in case you actually want Solar Shielding) rather than just a straight downgrade (less flexibility + a negative hullmod).
« Last Edit: April 30, 2022, 06:14:11 PM by Embolism »
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FooF

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Re: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2
« Reply #81 on: April 30, 2022, 06:25:47 PM »

Yay! I love me some new ships and new weapons.

The Persean League changes have me the most intrigued as the new DEM Missiles and Pegasus have the most flair of the lot that are touched on. Fighting them feels like it will be kind of a light show, which if nothing else, makes them distinctive.

The Pegasus itself seems like an interesting challenge to fight and also a very powerful player ship. As it seems like a more robust Gryphon, I'm somewhat surprised Expanded Missile Racks aren't built in. Or to put it in another way: you can't spend 30 OP any better on a Pegasus than getting EMR. Not adding EMR is glaringly sub-optimal, just as it is would be with the Gryphon, if given the choice. To that end, I'd rather see EMR built in with a reduction in 30 OP than giving a new player the choice of not adding it! (I suppose if you have Missile Spec, you could save the 30 OP because you already have double ammo but I'd rather see the ship balanced around no skills than with a high-tier skill).

Re: The Diktat

I always assumed the inspiration behind Andrada was Mr./Colonel Kurtz from Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now. Kurtz had seen the underbelly of society and the system and decided it wasn't worth preserving. Yes, he was a genius but he was also completely insane. In addition, I imagined that those loyal to Andrada were something of akin to the Nazi SS: fanatics for the cause and the figurehead, rife with nepotism and backstabbing, and not actually hardened military troops. They just liked to look the part and bully those weaker than them. The "Lion's Guard" aren't an elite fighting force but rather the yes-men who brown-nosed the most and got the shiniest toys to play captain. I've been around some military commanders that had a cult of personality about them and history is full of examples of armies being loyal to the commander more than the State (Julius Caesar, for example). That Andrada has survived this long without a coup or being backstabbed himself is a testament to his own powers of persuasion, manipulation, and/or a liberal use of scare-tactics.

So, for story reasons, I get it. For gameplay reasons, I'm going to join the chorus and say I wish it was otherwise because they look darn cool and having a G I G A C A N N O N is now on my bucket list. I am still hoping that Andrada himself makes an appearance in some grand flagship and gets swatted down like the pest he is.

Re: Remnants

I'm both excited and terrified that the Remnants are getting more ships. They're already tough enough so giving them new wrinkles just makes the uphill climb a little steeper. But, more diversity is a good thing. If it means less Radiants, I can get behind it. I don't imagine the Nova will be as difficult to straight-up kill, though they'll probably outflank some of the slower capitals pretty easily. Compared to an Odyssey, how nimble is the Nova? As for the Apex, it seems interesting in a good way. Brilliants with Plasma Burn seem scary though.

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CoverdInBees

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Re: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2
« Reply #82 on: April 30, 2022, 06:26:49 PM »

- Sindria developed Solar Shielding.
- Sindria (with TT help) developed Kinetic Blaster and G I G A C A N N O N.
- Sindria-exclusive ships are straight worse than base.
- Luddic Path ships get SO for free when nobody else can.

One of these things doesn't hold up.

There are plenty of real life analogies for something like this when you look at military history. Just look at the militaries of the 2 obvious examples of the Nazis or Soviets. Or if you look beyond dictatorships, there are plenty of examples in various western democracies of exelling in one thing while making a hash of another too.




(You're right, #4 is factually incorrect :D As to the implied contradiction between these items, I honestly just don't buy it; imo you don't even have to try hard to have it all make sense in-fiction.)
No, it's correct. LP ships have built-in SO, which can't be built-in anymore. It also doesn't take up a story point built-in slot. You can find their blueprints and build them yourself, and after restoration they're straight up better at being SO ships than the same hull in non-LP form. Religious nutters who hate technology have better engineers than a dictator who fetishizes high technology. Lions Guard ships have been designed with no redeeming qualities compared to the base hull, whereas LP ships have an obvious and very large redeeming quality.
[/quote]

LP ships also have ill-advised modifications though, which can only be removed by a kind of gamey restoration in the player's hands.
« Last Edit: April 30, 2022, 06:31:23 PM by CoverdInBees »
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Voyager I

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Re: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2
« Reply #83 on: April 30, 2022, 06:28:36 PM »

Huge fan of the update overall, but I will say that I'm a bit disappointed if Sindria is going full North Korea. Part of what I've enjoyed about the game is how all the factions are colored in greyscale. The pirates are a bunch of violent criminals who kill for profit, but some of them are also castoffs from a broken society that never gave them a chance. Meanwhile, the Hegemony might be sincere in its quest to bring peace and stability to a sector in turmoil, but they are more than willing to sacrifice personal liberties and use violence as a means of coercion in pursuit of that end.  Hell, Brother Cotton is the leader of an extremist sect of murderous terrorists and he's still written with compelling depth. Having the Sindrians be just incompetent megalomaniacs isn't really living up to the rest of the setting in that regard, so hopefully there's another side to that coin.

Similarly, having their rare, unique, collector's edition ships be objective downgrades to the standard models seems excessive. I understand that boondoggle superweapons created to fulfill the vision of the supreme dictator have an abundance of historical precedent, but at least give us something if we go to the trouble of having the things restored!


EDIT: I will say that I'm an especially big fan of diversifying the Remnant fleets even though they're already using a unique set of ships, simply because the player is likely to spend so much of their time fighting them.
« Last Edit: April 30, 2022, 06:32:03 PM by Voyager I »
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Hammerheadcruiser

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Re: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2
« Reply #84 on: April 30, 2022, 06:35:09 PM »

Is the league the only one that really makes use of carriers now? Mainly interceptors at that.

Speaking of carriers, can we please get a bigger Heron? I adore that ship, but once you get to the capital phase of the game there isn't anything to upgrade to. Only the Odyssey has more then half it's speed and that's an incredibly rare ship with less fighters to boot. The Astral has an assload of fighters and the legion is a brick, but both are slow as sin. A battlecruiser style carrier would be a welcome addition.
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Dri

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Re: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2
« Reply #85 on: April 30, 2022, 06:45:59 PM »

I think Alex regrets carriers, he seems intent on marginalizing them. Doubt we'll see another dedicated carrier.
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Concrete

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Re: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2
« Reply #86 on: April 30, 2022, 06:48:28 PM »

I really like the discussion regarding the Diktat, the desires and impressions people have are really interesting.
I think the primary source of division is that the lack of identity(prior to this update) sitting as a status quo for so long, exacerbated by mods giving the Diktat a bit of a buff. So it's more a reaction of whiplash from holding one opinion suddenly dispelled than an inherent disagreement with the concept.

The LP and Pirate ships being all crunchy and awful make them a joy to blow up, it can literally feel like you're cleaning up the sector sometimes. Conversely, brilliant diamond ships that are for display purposes only and forgot that diamonds are remarkably brittle would be similarly wonderful to blow up for the opposite reason. I assume that's the core of the idea here.
It's just that prior to this I wouldn't have inherently thought of the Diktat to possess such ships. Though the logic is sound. It'll just take a bit of mental readjustment to get used to.

That said, perhaps there could be a solution found somewhere in some story reward?
The troubles of the non-Lion's Guard military's work in the trenches while the parade corps sit back and eat lobsters(very serious side note: if the Diktat are to ever get another capital, I think it is most reasonable to make it Lobster themed) is a nice detail to explore. Could spin a nice little narrative. Somewhat of a parallel with the academy's quest involving the relationship between smaller League entities and the centres of bureaucracy perhaps, but let's say more shooty and less diplomatic.
Point being: If there were say a hullmod that could only be installed on Lion's Guard ships that flips their uniqueness from negative to positive(Say gives them a smattering of tiny little buffs roughly equivalent to what could otherwise be achieved with the OP cost of Solar Shielding) justified by the ingenuity of the standard Diktat grunt having to deal with egotistical inefficiencies forced upon them, given as a quest reward then the players could perhaps have their cake and eat it too.
Diktat ships would definitively be inefficient, fulfilling the narrative point of that distinction. But somebody who has grown to love White and Purple beyond reason can toil and earn a little bonus for their rarer ships too.
I don't know how feasible it would be to bother with such a thing and perhaps I'm crawling up the tree of trying to please everybody when I shouldn't but the idea came to me and I thought it'd be worth sharing.

Regardless, everything does look great. I just hadn't gotten around to saying that yet. 4 Missile slots in particular sounds like fun regardless of anything else going on on a single ship.


(..... I actually do think the Expanse has a very interesting take on the whole theme and narrative of scifi military dictatorships, though I don't want to spoil the last three books by going into it at all.)
I've not read deep enough into the series to know what nuance they have post-establishment, but that entity's establishment itself is one of my favorite details in science-fiction writing. It's one thing to say "here, this political entity exists in this sci-fi universe; here are their traits:" but another to create an entity through a logical progression shaped by an existing society's different pressures and fears and ambitions is something special. Dictators themselves are fascinating to read about but the key points of their appeal to their people are often forgotten. The Expanse's approach is a lot more realistic in that regard, (or it at least does a good job of convincing the reader of this) defining those points first and treating the rise of a dictator as almost an inevitability. The masses are usually the ones to find their dictator rather than the other way around.

As much as Asimov sorta skims over the crunchy details of society's change over time, exploring those details at all is what makes the original three Foundation Books my favorites in Science Fiction. And the path to the birth of the military dictatorship that appears in The Expanse is I think the closest modern example of what fascinated me so much about Foundation originally.
So I'm happy to hear that such things might be hovering around even just as inspiration. Looking forward to reading.
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Alex

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Re: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2
« Reply #87 on: April 30, 2022, 06:57:45 PM »

It also means that at least so long as the LP aren't bringing along a Prometheus, you can still win by simply outlasting them.  The fact they've got such a tanky ship added to their fleets is actually a bit concerning.  If the LP Venture didn't have IAM, they'd make a lot more fights against the LP incredibly grindy without Sunders/Manticores or bigger ships to crack those tanks.  Pirate fleets sporting a few Ventures use to be very long annoying fights before their numbers were toned down last version with Eradicators.

Not to worry, hopefully! The Venture (LP) isn't very common, and the Path already has the Colossus variant at the cruiser size.


It does not have a mobility system, and its hard-flux weapon range stinks (barring IPDAI and elite Point Defense on IR Pulse Lasers or High Scatter Amplified Tactical Lasers).  Fulgent is one of those ships I seriously consider using High Scatter Amplifier and beams.  Its base speed does not seem too slow, but other combat destroyers will either outspeed or outrange it.  Reapers are dangerous, but that means giving up medium energy weapons on prime mounts (turrets, whether pulse lasers for general use, HSA Graviton for anti-shield, or heavy burst lasers for light anti-armor/missile).  If I use Reapers on Fulgent, then I am stuck with something like Heavy Blaster in the hardpoint, or IR Pulse Laser spam if I have Point Defense and IPDAI.

When I outfit Fulgents without s-mods, I tend to put two pulse lasers on the medium synergies, beam PD on the side mounts, put cheap missiles (usually Atropos) in missile hardpoints, and leave the center hardpoints empty.  After I add s-mods, I start using more OP hungry loadouts, and probably more missiles (like Reaper pods).

Fulgents as they are feel like fodder ships, whether I try to use them against the enemy, or if I am mowing them down in Ordos fleets.  They are only dangerous if they land a Reaper or if allowed to fire ion beam at my ship for too long.

Thank you for the added detail!


No, it's correct.

The incorrect part is "free". It's definitely not free.

Religious nutters who hate technology have better engineers than a dictator who fetishizes high technology.

I mean, it's easy to say things that sound absurd, but - rather obviously - the issue isn't with the Diktat's engineers.

I know the Diktat is not meant to be "doctrinally sound", but I would've thought there would be an LG Sunder given Andrada's apparent love for energy weapons; even if the GIGACANNON is considered too prestigious to be mounted on a destroyer.

Oh, there is! It just didn't make the graphic.


(I suppose if you have Missile Spec, you could save the 30 OP because you already have double ammo but I'd rather see the ship balanced around no skills than with a high-tier skill).

I feel like that's a good-enough reason not to go with that. Also, you could stick a bunch of Omega missiles on it that don't strictly need EMR.

I always assumed the inspiration behind Andrada was Mr./Colonel Kurtz from Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now. Kurtz had seen the underbelly of society and the system and decided it wasn't worth preserving. Yes, he was a genius but he was also completely insane. In addition, I imagined that those loyal to Andrada were something of akin to the Nazi SS: fanatics for the cause and the figurehead, rife with nepotism and backstabbing, and not actually hardened military troops. They just liked to look the part and bully those weaker than them. The "Lion's Guard" aren't an elite fighting force but rather the yes-men who brown-nosed the most and got the shiniest toys to play captain. I've been around some military commanders that had a cult of personality about them and history is full of examples of armies being loyal to the commander more than the State (Julius Caesar, for example). That Andrada has survived this long without a coup or being backstabbed himself is a testament to his own powers of persuasion, manipulation, and/or a liberal use of scare-tactics.

So, for story reasons, I get it. For gameplay reasons, I'm going to join the chorus and say I wish it was otherwise because they look darn cool and having a G I G A C A N N O N is now on my bucket list. I am still hoping that Andrada himself makes an appearance in some grand flagship and gets swatted down like the pest he is.

Oh, haven't read Heart of Darkness! Probably should at some point, it sounds interesting. But, yeah, the rest of that, very much same page.

I'm both excited and terrified that the Remnants are getting more ships. They're already tough enough so giving them new wrinkles just makes the uphill climb a little steeper. But, more diversity is a good thing. If it means less Radiants, I can get behind it. I don't imagine the Nova will be as difficult to straight-up kill, though they'll probably outflank some of the slower capitals pretty easily. Compared to an Odyssey, how nimble is the Nova? As for the Apex, it seems interesting in a good way. Brilliants with Plasma Burn seem scary though.

The Nova is more maneuverable than the Odyssey (around +50% turn rate etc). Still fairly sluggish, though, once something gets close - and, notably, it has a FRONT shield, not OMNI.


Huge fan of the update overall, but I will say that I'm a bit disappointed if Sindria is going full North Korea. Part of what I've enjoyed about the game is how all the factions are colored in greyscale. The pirates are a bunch of violent criminals who kill for profit, but some of them are also castoffs from a broken society that never gave them a chance. Meanwhile, the Hegemony might be sincere in its quest to bring peace and stability to a sector in turmoil, but they are more than willing to sacrifice personal liberties and use violence as a means of coercion in pursuit of that end.  Hell, Brother Cotton is the leader of an extremist sect of murderous terrorists and he's still written with compelling depth. Having the Sindrians be just incompetent megalomaniacs isn't really living up to the rest of the setting in that regard, so hopefully there's another side to that coin.

I feel like there's no real change to how the SD *is* in this update, except that maybe it's presented a little more directly in this blog post. That said, of course there's room for nuance, as David mentioned earlier in this thread, and just because Andrada's influence on the Diktat fleet is rather one-dimensional, doesn't mean the entire picture is. But, you know, we're looking at a guy that blew up Opis to help establish himself as the supreme ruler of a small polity; I'm not sure how one could look at that prior to this post and see much grayscale.

Similarly, having their rare, unique, collector's edition ships be objective downgrades to the standard models seems excessive. I understand that boondoggle superweapons created to fulfill the vision of the supreme dictator have an abundance of historical precedent, but at least give us something if we go to the trouble of having the things restored!

I feel like there's perhaps a bit too much focus on a couple of ships which basically got a new d-skin, just because that d-skin is shiny :) There are some fun new things to play around with that the Diktat brings, too; the baseline LG ships - except for the Executor - just aren't that.

EDIT: I will say that I'm an especially big fan of diversifying the Remnant fleets even though they're already using a unique set of ships, simply because the player is likely to spend so much of their time fighting them.

*thumbs up*


Is the league the only one that really makes use of carriers now? Mainly interceptors at that.

Speaking of carriers, can we please get a bigger Heron? I adore that ship, but once you get to the capital phase of the game there isn't anything to upgrade to. Only the Odyssey has more then half it's speed and that's an incredibly rare ship with less fighters to boot. The Astral has an assload of fighters and the legion is a brick, but both are slow as sin. A battlecruiser style carrier would be a welcome addition.

Both the Hegemony and the Luddic Church use some! So do the indies.

Re: battlecruiser carrier, I mean, that *is* the Odyssey, no? I guess there's maybe some design room for a larger fast carrier, but I think the more fighter wings they have the less interesting they get. Though the Legion shows you can have 4 wings and have the base ship have enough firepower to be interesting-enough, hmm. Worth thinking about!


(very serious side note: if the Diktat are to ever get another capital, I think it is most reasonable to make it Lobster themed)

(There has got to be a mod that's taken a claw at this already, right? Right?)


Point being: If there were say a hullmod that could only be installed on Lion's Guard ships that flips their uniqueness from negative to positive(Say gives them a smattering of tiny little buffs roughly equivalent to what could otherwise be achieved with the OP cost of Solar Shielding) justified by the ingenuity of the standard Diktat grunt having to deal with egotistical inefficiencies forced upon them, given as a quest reward then the players could perhaps have their cake and eat it too.

Hmm, it's an interesting idea. Feels like a lot of work - as you say - without too much reason for it, though. Like, if we really, really wanted to make the LG ships "not a downgrade" there's probably simpler ways - and I probably wouldn't want to go down the route of enabling that through some kind of *Diktat* mission line... hmm.

Regardless, everything does look great.

Thank you!
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sector_terror

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Re: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2
« Reply #88 on: April 30, 2022, 07:01:22 PM »

Im gonna be quick on this one since I dont have a lot of time because one thing bugs me.

     Why is the Dictat being so brushed off like it's run by a complete fool? The guy running the show had to have some capability and intelligence to remain a faction leader. It seems like vilifying him to a degree the other actions just don't receive. Yes, he's a dictator and those don't tend to be kind merciful people but that doesn't he's a total madman with no sort of competence at all. It just paints the Dictat as a straight villain faction when either all four need to be painted as equally unstable or, more wisely, equally prone to more local injustices due to the lack of FTL communication and centralized systems of control. It's fine to have this cartoonish evil fool if your setting up a dramatic plotline for him to get taken down and replaced for a dramatic purpose(be it as a challenge for another villain to overcome or the heroes to overcome) but it's not good for background settings the player needs to depend on as reasonable backing and is damages the gameplay due to the excellent gameplay and story integration you've put in Starsector. Especially since even if you took in down in some campaign story, the new guy would be beyond foolish to keep using the current designs.

     If you want to go with the dictator that thinks he's better than he is(well get to the control aspect in a second), then I suggest going to an image with more viable stability and brazzen stubborness. Look up Admiral Fisher and the K-class submarines.(If you want the full story look up "The Battle of May Island" by Fredrick Khudson, its very well researched) The man wasn't wildly incompetent. He was reasonable that speed and firepower were the more important element of fleet action during his tenure. Submarines and ranged projection were just making speed less important and he was struggling to adapt to it or the concept of independent deployment submarines are best fit to. He wasn't a fool, just confident in his incredible amount of experience and stubborn in one key area, fleet operation. Take away the in-build D-mod and boom, problem solved. For example:

     The man has seen advancing energy weapons and shown a deep appreciation for their development despite his inexperience with them. Thus he has a principle of how to make them, but doesn't quite know the exact details of why they work so well for Tri Tachyon ships(which he likely used in the rebellion). The fact he can design these weapons at all shows his engineer skills and ability to manage his fleet toward him his skill as an admiral. You still the man who wants to keep control in all things making logical mistakes by spreading himself too thin and not delegating or trusting his officer well, but dont make him a total fool. You keep the story, and get a much stronger stable background character. Hell even keep the vert obviously stolen Percius design as it shows just how brilliant he is and how much he values keeping his empire under a single controlling decision, on top of his willingly to cannibalize other technologies quickly, even before he completely grasps them.

     From a gameplay standpoint: dont gimp the diktat fleet for unstable worldbuilding, Let the Lion Guard have their unique upgrades more fit to the guys design, with extra bonuses to speed and flux dissipation(perhaps even showing more the dictator doesnt quite understand the strategic use of energy weapons but has some knowledge of the tri-tachyon design paradigm he stole) similar to fourteenth battlegroup variants. Speed and flux dissipation are different than the fourteenth and work well with the weapons clearly stolen from tri-tech's playbook as in the blog. It let The Lion guard have the oompf it deserves without losing the story integration.

     For the story standpoint: A dictator failing to delegate well and being far too stubborn for his own good is a fine flaw to play off of. Just like the Luddic Church having to come to terms with the shared ideology between them and the path(I can think of several ways they're different but I don't want to step on any writers toes here) or the hegemony with the unwillingness to adapt to challenges caused by the fall of the gates and desire to cling to rules and systems depend on the greater empire that's no longer present. Hell the fact the dictators willing to just straight steal design specs either shows how terrifyingly good as intelligence he is, or how terrifyingly strong an admiral he is he can just reconstitute entire enemy designs with his own style. It make him a lot more terrifying a figure and justify why he's still in such power only having a single system.

     That turned out longer than I thought but I'm passionate danget! No I don't know why it stood out to me so much but now that I see it brain cant unsee it.
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Embolism

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Re: Uniquifying the Factions, Part 2
« Reply #89 on: April 30, 2022, 07:16:02 PM »

I know the Diktat is not meant to be "doctrinally sound", but I would've thought there would be an LG Sunder given Andrada's apparent love for energy weapons; even if the GIGACANNON is considered too prestigious to be mounted on a destroyer.

Oh, there is! It just didn't make the graphic.

Yay!


I feel like there's no real change to how the SD *is* in this update, except that maybe it's presented a little more directly in this blog post. That said, of course there's room for nuance, as David mentioned earlier in this thread, and just because Andrada's influence on the Diktat fleet is rather one-dimensional, doesn't mean the entire picture is. But, you know, we're looking at a guy that blew up Opis to help establish himself as the supreme ruler of a small polity; I'm not sure how one could look at that prior to this post and see much grayscale.

Is this Word-of-God confirmation that Andrada was responsible for Opis's destruction? I mean it was probably obvious given that rebels probably don't have access to a planet-cracker.
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