Attacker / Defender Balance

[Suicide Junkie]

Is it too easy to attack in SE4? Too easy to defend? Just right?

[geoschmo]

I would have to say the biggest problem isn't one of fairness. In my experience the better side usually wins whether attacker or defender. THe problem is that just a little advantage on either side results in a complete rout for the other side with little or no significant damage to the victor. I haven't noticed a pattern as far as who attacks first, but whoever wins the first major battle, whehter attacker or defender, goes on the attack after that and usually has an easy time of it. Not sure if that is a problem with the game or if it's just that most of us dont have all that clear an idea of tactics and whatnot.

[Deathstalker]

I lean toward the upper hand going to the attackers (once a major/minor fleet battle is won). One of the big problems is (IMO) mines and other defenses, they are not enough to stop a fleet (once a fleet has a few good sweepers, or lots of crappy ones, mines become useless). Sats are still a very MINOR defense and fighters are useless mid-late game (as are missile ships/defenses once good PDC is researched). The only times I have seen the defender come back is with a sudden discovery of the Talisman, then it is a matter of holding out till a fleet can be built. That and planets are waayy to easy to 'glass'. (well, ain't I positive today ).

Don't get me wrong, this is possibly the best 4X game I have seen, just a few things about 'balance' in weapons and defenses need to happen (that and the AI needs to be taught to 'remember' what happened the previous turn )

[Krsqk]

IMO, a partial cause of the problem is the predominance of shields over armor. Shields automatically regenerate after combat; armor doesn't (except for organic, post-next-patch?). If use of armor over shields were encouraged (better hitpoints/kt ratio?), ships would have to repair some damage.

Another part of the problem was posted in another thread. Frequently, ships are destroyed in single combat turns; if ships could Last for an entire battle (higher hitpoints or less damage per weapon), then each ship would have a higher chance of being damaged.

The use of engine- and weapon-damaging weapons greatly increases the odds of crippling your enemy's fleet--except that crippled fleets tend to die in a single combat round. If only they weren't so expensive.

[Ruatha]

I think it's well balanced. Attacking is easy and should be so!
If defences were better the game would never be finished.
Now you must venture forth with a fleet to take or defend your territory.
It's just as easy to defend as it is to attack if you both have the same fleets (Well, almost anyway).
Cheap defences as mines and sats should be weak and only protect against stray ships. A good fleet should be able to sweep away all minor opposition and only be countered by an equal or better fleet.
That is what makes this game great, you have to take an initiative.
You can't sit and wait for the opponent to madly send his ships into overwhelming minefields
(accept some AI:s ofcourse).

I hope this is preserved into SE5.

[PvK]

If ships could be given orders to retreat and/or scatter in some cases (outnumbered, outgunned, or heavily damaged), and not be stopped by the "tactical map edge" , as was more or less possible in SE3 , it would help a lot.

I think some of the changes I made to ship components in Proportions mod also help this. I added cheap and strong "armored structure" components, which give a ship a lot more capacity to absorb damage, but still sustain damage.

In the standard game, I have seen some back-and-forth wars, particularly in the Universe Cup games, which are one-on-one duels. I think though that at the strategic level, there is a big problem with the runaway effects of empire size, due to the fast facility construction rates, low planetary capacities, and additive research facility points. That of course is the main thing I tried to fix in Proportions, so that the largest empire wouldn't quickly out-strip all others. I went farther than most players would like in the "slow development" direction, though.

PvK