Dear Rollo:
Honestly, I don't know how can you compare APB VI with PPB VI. The only that you compare is the range and mineral/radioactives.
I was doing my own numbers with normal ammounts for the weapons:
APB Damage Tech Min/Rad
VI 40/35/35/30/25/25 280000 175/60
VII 40/40/35/35/30/30 402500 200/70
VIII 45/40/40/35/35/30/30 562500 225/80
IX 50/45/45/40/40/35/35 765500 250/90
X 50/45/45/40/40/35/35 1015000 300/100
PPB Damage Tech Min/Rad
II 45/40/40/40/40/35 165000 350/150
... ... ... ...
VI 60/55/55/55/50/50 290000 500/300
Please note that PPBII have aprox the same firepower, SKIP STANDARD SHIELDS, and it's a LOT more cheap to research than APB VIII.
Although APB VIII is more cheap than PPBII (225/80) vs (350/150), and have a little advantage of range, I can bet that more ships will not save you, because your ships will be unable to skip the shields of your enemy.
Also 562500 research points are a lot more than 165000, then, probably for the time that you could reach APB VIII, you will have a dead empire...
The difference with radioactives is worthless (who was out of radioactives?).
And for some more cost in mineral, that I could get colonizing more planets, after remove over them my opponents... don't think that the PPB is balanced!!!!!!
My point is: in games with small/medium galaxies, is worthless research other weapon than PPB (Duc for the early game). Simply like this.
The facts with the people playing multiplayer have demonstrated it, not my numbers.
Finally. I want to challenge here (
yea!), to play a PBW hand to hand game against me, everybody that STILL think that PPB is a balanced weapon!!!
- small galaxy.
- not full tech game.
- 2000 Racial Points.
- I can use only DUC (for the first rounds, of course!), and PPB for later.
- My opponent can use everything except PPB.
With the new Ionic Disperser unable to skip shields, I don't know a way, to play with success against PPB in small/medium galaxies, without use PPB too!
EDIT: whow, I have started my post, but needed to do other things (with a little baby here, you can bet!), and now I can see more detailed numbers!
Anyway, still I will be happy to challenge everybody that think that PPB is a balanced weapon!
EDIT 2: a few tipos.
[ May 29, 2002, 04:12: Message edited by: Master Belisarius ]