[PvK]

Yes. That'd be true with something like PvK Balance mod in place.

Unfortunately, the unmodded empire costs aren't even close to balanced, and the no-cost culture settings certainly are not. Berzerker's +10 to ship attack and defense is worth I'd say about 1500 points, and its disadvantages come nowhere near correcting that.

The only other culture choice which seems like a competitor for value might be the one that reduces maintenance the most (Engineers), combined with maxing out maintenance reduction.

The unmodded game lets you get pretty darn low maintenance reduction, and pretty darn high combat bonuses, without limiting much else enough that it really matters, even with only 2000 points. With more points, you can max both, and should if it's just a competitive game, which indicates imbalance to me. I guess there is still a choice between Berzerker and Engineer, but by changing the costs, there can be many more interesting and balanced empire choices.

PvK

[ July 24, 2003, 02:44: Message edited by: PvK ]