SE4 Stock Balance Mod

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
How about making PPBs 75% as effective as APB 4-8 (IE: 75% as much damage)? This sticks with 5 levels, and makes them start at about the same point as if the player had reasearched APBs instead of Physics 2. Stopping with APB level 8 means they won't be anywhere near as powerful as late-game APBs.

I hate this idea.

It TOTALLY nerfs the PPB. It turns it into a niche weapon that is only usefull if you are facing an enemy with non-phased shields. What you end up with in comparison to the APB is a weapon that takes much more research to get intially, costs twice as much and is less effective from the start, never gets any closer in damage and falls way behind in damage and range by the end because the APB branch is so much longer.

The only time the PPB would be advantageous would be agaisnt normal shields, and the heavy research costs means that the APB player can keep up in shield tech, getting phased shields about the time the PPB gets PPB, and the APB player will be ahead in weapons tech.

The only redeeming quality of this idea is that it so neuters the PPB that people will stop using it. Over time this will translate into more players using shields and stopping with the high end normal shields. The sneaky player inside me sees this as an opportunity to pull a switch on someone at a crucial moment in a game and catch their heavily normally shielded fleet with their pants down. But this would depend so much on timing and luck that it could almost be classified as a desperation move. The player that depends on this as a strategy is going to lose a lot more then they win.

Geoschmo

[Fyron]

Geo, that is EXACTLY how PPBs worked in SE3, and they worked beautifully there IMO. They should not be a mainline weapon, they should be a support type weapon, only useful in some situations. As it is now, they are so powerful that they become main line weapons, with really no decisions to make at all. Increasing choices to be made is ALWAYS a good idea (except when you increase from 30 to 40 choices or something ludicrous, ofc ).

[spoon]

Originally posted by geoschmo:

The only redeeming quality of this idea is that it so neuters the PPB that people will stop using it. Over time this will translate into more players using shields and stopping with the high end normal shields. The sneaky player inside me sees this as an opportunity to pull a switch on someone at a crucial moment in a game and catch their heavily normally shielded fleet with their pants down.

What you just described is EXACTLY why I think the PPB should be a niche weapon, and not a mainline weapon...

edit: Hey, look, my rating just dropped! Did I offend somebody?

[ July 24, 2003, 22:16: Message edited by: spoon ]

[Fyron]

Spoon, that was exactly the point of my suggestion (as per my previous post ).

[Suicide Junkie]

I'll definitely start an SE3 mod later on.

However, minor changes only here people!

[Gozra]

I am reading through this thread and I get the sense that mostly weapons are out of balance. I have to disagree.
What main features make the game unbalanced?
Are there any setup that favor one stratgy over another?
(KOTH everyone wants max ATTACK and DEFENSE)
Are you aiming to make everything balanced at every point in the Game? at this point I can see
1 Talisman toned down
2 the Planet shields helped
3 Point defense toned down
4 Sensors changed

Why would you mess with the weapons?
Has any one gotten into a long game?
And has anyone used All the tech you can research?

I really get the feeling that this thread is getting wrapped around the Weapons axial.

[Fyron]

That is because the weapons system has a lot of major holes in it... only APBs (out of non-racial weapons) are very effective in large games. There, efficiency is king. APBs get the most bang for the buck and the most bang for the size, and so win out in pretty much all situations (except some rare WP defense situations, but then, those defender ships suck in other locations).