[Taqwus]

Hrmmm.

- Do those happiness-affecting components affect your opponent's colonies, or just your own?

- Terraforming ships would be cool, but I don't recall any applicable abilities; you'd need a sector-wide terraformer (the religious system-wide Versions, even if possible, would probably only affect already-colonized planets I'd think, and would be much too powerful if they didn't). I'd love to have ships capable of transforming atmospheres or improving conditions *before* I colonize.

- Maybe fighters should get a kamikaze warhead variant that hits only engines, given Small Weapons, Explosives, and Engine-Destroying Weapons. Hey, if you're gonna die, make it count... Right now, between Rocket Pod III's and Kamikaze Warhead III's, it's pretty much the pods, hands-down. Likewise, maybe they should get small tachyon beams (IIRC, the weapon-destroying weapons) given the appropriate tech; they're manueverable enough to get in close and target the guns.

- On the minefields -- does one ship set off the entire field, because even 100 mines won't kill it?

- Missiles that destroy computers (using the same ability as the Computer Virus) might be interesting; call 'em EMP missiles. (although... don't you need an atmosphere for an EM pulse to occur? I'm not a nuclear physicist, so maybe not...). Obvious pre-reqs would be Missiles (Ion-pulse missiles should probably require this field as well...) and Computer Combat.

- Maybe an RoF 0 weapon, range 1, point-defense, +20 to hit, 50-damage weapon? The intent would be an anti-seeker/fighter 'defense field' that seekers and fighters would have to pass through (well, not the fighters if they're smart...) Dunno if RoF 0 would work, 'tho. Would have to be expensive and high-tech (say, PD 6,7,8 w/ varying +hit, dam) if it works.

- Re: your component that draws in enemy ships: I think this will affect minefields, as well. It'll probably be VERY powerful, actually, especially in a black-hole sector (move so that the black hole is between it and the enemy fleet), or in a cloaked minelayer. That other black-hole ability, weakening shields, might also be a bit too powerful except as a racial tech for scenarios (e.g. a high-tech AI race with foo that suppresses shields).

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-- The thing that goes bump in the night