Carrier Battles mod... where to begin?
CB was written from scratch with lots of math done beforehand to ensure things were all balanced, unique and useful. It has the smell of old school naval battles, with carriers, battleships and other ships of the line.
There are not too many actual weapons, but every gun and every mount has a significant use. In fact, most weapon/mount combinations will show up in at least one serious battle during a competitive PBW game. A hearty mix of weapons in every battle is important if you want to win.
Combat is quite gritty, with leaky shields, armor and even point defense. (Missiles aren't overpowering, but they are still somewhat useful even when the enemy has overwhelming numbers of PD ships)
When you shoot the enemy in CB, they feel it! Steamrolling is very rare, and in any serious skirmish both sides will take significant casualties.
Planetary defense in the short term is far easier in CB. Most weapons either don't target planets, or do minimal to insignificant damage. A combination of fighters and troops can usually hold off a beseiging force long enough for reinforcements to arrive.
Racial setup is very different too. Most of the variety has been moved from the sliders to the cultures to allow it to be balanced carefully.
Everything from +100% build rate "Disposable society" to maintenance-free "Preservationists"
In fact, so far in the
Favorite Culture Poll, opinion is quite divided.
I'm quite surprised that there are no votes for Efficient Workers at this time, since I see quite a few of those guys in my PBW games.