On Fighters

[WhiteHojo]

Baron, you have captured the essence of the debate in nutshell. I, obviously, am a Captital Ship kinda guy. Fighters to me should be relgated to shuttle duties between BattleCruisers and larger Ships of the Line.

In this spirit, I have a little question I need answered by the Mighty Modders out there. I have a new component (text of the 1st level component to be included later) which will aid me in the destruction of the Godless Hordes of Cowardly Fighters I seem to be incountering w/the new Sergetti and EA races. I haven't really seen a large need for this new component but why should that stop us. Anyway, my question is this: Is there anything or specifically any other file I should modify to allow my new toy to be available in game? The new component is a Shield Piercing Point-Defense Cannon (affectionately known as an SPPD) and requires 2 tech areas to build - PD weapons & Energy Stream Weapons. Do I have to modify any of the research or vehicle construction files to allow this new SPPD to be used by me or the AI?

So far I have just tweaked w/existing components and files and have not made any new component(my dreamed of MiniMineSweeper never panned out) so I am unfamiliar w/the proceedure.

And as always, any help would be appreciated.

Name := Shield Piercing Point - Defense Cannons I
Description := Small mobile Multi-Phasic energy beams on turrets which can penetrate normal shields and are used to target and destroy incoming fighters and seekers.
Pic Num := 66
Tonnage Space Taken := 20
Tonnage Structure := 20
Cost Minerals := 100
Cost Organics := 0
Cost Radioactives := 0
Vehicle Type := Ship\Base\Sat\WeapPlat
Supply Amount Used := 0
Restrictions := None
General Group := Weapons
Family := 2005
Roman Numeral := 1
Custom Group := 0
Number of Tech Req := 2
Tech Area Req 1 := Point-Defense Weapons
Tech Level Req 1 := 1
Tech Area Req 2 := Energy Stream Weapons
Tech Level Req 2 := 1
Number of Abilities := 1
Ability 1 Type := Point-Defense
Ability 1 Descr :=
Ability 1 Val 1 := 0
Ability 1 Val 2 := 0
Weapon Type := Point-Defense
Weapon Target := Ftr\Sat\Seekers
Weapon Damage At Rng := 25 25 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Weapon Damage Type := Skips Normal Shields
Weapon Reload Rate := 1
Weapon Display Type := Torp
Weapon Display := 21
Weapon Modifier := 50
Weapon Sound := pointdef.wav
Weapon Family := 6




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Character is best defined as that which you do when you believe nobody is watching.

[Tampa_Gamer]

You shouldn't have to modify the tech files. (However, I am at work and my brain is a little fried from reading documents all day). You will have to modify the design and research files of the AI if you want them to use it. Now that I think about it, another way to get the AI to use them without heavily modifying their files would be to make these PDC levels 6-10 and then you would only have to change the AI research files to max-out at PDW TL10 instead of TL5. Hmmm....

[This message has been edited by Tampa_Gamer (edited 25 January 2001).]

[dmm]

A great use for cruddy small fighters: use swarms of them to suck up enemy PD fire, so your wave of seekers (or large fighters) coming behind them can waltz right in and destroy the enemy's capital ships. Especially satisfying to take out dedicated PD ships this way, early in a battle.

[Sinapus]

Phased-energy PD?

Fine, I'll start on that small phased-shield components for fighters in the shield tech area.

Hmm... throwing all those small fighters in to distract enemy fire sounds like building chaff ships in Stars! (Or the Wild Weasel planes the US Air Force uses to thwart SAM sites.)

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--
"What do -you- want?" "I'd like to live -just- long enough
to be there when they cut off your head and stick it on a
pike as a warning to the next ten generations that some favors
come with too high a price. I would look up into your lifeless
eyes and wave like this..." *waggle* "...can you and your
associates arrange that for me, Mr. Morden?"

[This message has been edited by Sinapus (edited 26 January 2001).]

[Aegis]

I like the idea of changing most weapons to inflict one hit. Then the ability to 'stream' damage (stolen from MOO), so that multiple casualties can be inflicted with a single weapon firing, could be attached to some of the presently more useless weapons (meson bLasters spring to to mind).

As to the question which should be more powerful, a fleet of fighters or a cap ship... well my personal take is they should be balanced. A fully loaded light carrier should be equivalent to a warship, a heavy carrier to a dreadnought. With Heavy fighters that should be upped a little in the carriers favour. A baseship should always be stronger than a carrier filled with ships, provided they're at the same tech level. And the Death Star I'm tinkering on can take on a fleet of either. (No, it's not vulnerable to a single fighter torpedo. I'm not the Emperor. I don't make mistakes like that, after all, I've read the 'How to be an Evil-Overlord').

-Aegis

[Commander G]

quote:

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Originally posted by Sinapus:
Phased-energy PD?
Hmm... throwing all those small fighters in to distract enemy fire sounds like building chaff ships in Stars!

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The chaffers will not be so effective in the new Stars!. I believe they are adding maintenance costs to ships. Fighters in SEIV should have a maintainace cost as many have argued before. Otherwise, they may well become the dominant decoy in SEIV that cheap Frigates are in Stars!

[fdlu]

How about this ??
Add a new mount type(say shotgun mount, same stats as large mount, up from 400 kt etc.)
you can either build a large caliber
gun (large etc.) doing more damage on cap
ships but only one hit on fighters, missiles
etc.
the shotgun mount is kind of D(ouble) P(ourpose) Gun, making normal damage to
cap ships but has the ability to say split
its beam etc. into tiny beams to increase hit
prop. on small targets. (between dedicated PD-guns and large guns)
In my opinion this type of gun can defend against smaller numbers of fighters without
sacrificing to much specialization.
PD guns/ships. are stll needed for large battles.
(current equivalent should be the 76 to 130mm
navy gun range)