Balancing Fighters, Missiles and PDC in the late game

[oleg]

Originally posted by Chronon:
I am working on a mod (very loosely based on Civ/SMAC) and would like to extend the life of fighters and missiles into the late game. Looking at some of the balance threads, it seems the main problem in the stock game is PDC is too strong. Is this the only problem, or are there others? Any ideas on how to approach this issue?

Also... Other than making them seekers, is there a way to mod torpedoes so they are not affected by the direct fire mount sizes?

Please take a look on Proportions mod. I think it gives a perfect (so far) solution to PDC problem.

As to 'also..' question, the latest SE patch allows one to restrict mounts to certain component families. Take care to exclude torpedoes from the mounts setup and bingo !

[deccan]

Originally posted by oleg:
Please take a look on Proportions mod. I think it gives a perfect (so far) solution to PDC problem.

I know that fighters rock in Proportions, but how does Proportions make seekers more viable?

[Fyron]

Please take a look on Proportions mod. I think it gives a perfect (so far) solution to PDC problem.

No it doesn't. It takes the PDC problem to the other extreme, making fighters uberpowerful instead of PDC. Not sure on the missiles, but at least for fighters, Proportions does not fix anything.

[Grand Lord Vito]

Originally posted by oleg:

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Originally posted by geoschmo:

quote:

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Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
How about making it so that only fighters can shoot down missiles

Then they'll both be critical to long term success, without making direct fire weapons obsolete.

Hmmmmm, interesting. Is that a new idea? I don't think I have heard it before. That would certainly make the game more interesting. You'd have to have a mix of ships for sure.

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AIC has healthy elements of it. There you can create a dedicated interceptor deadly to fighters and missiles but unable to target ships.

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You can set up a medium or large AIC fighter to attack ships, bases, planets, other fighters and Missiles.
Like Oleg said the small intercepter is very good at the AntiFighter, AntiSat, antiMissile and Antidrone combat role.

[Chronon]

Thanks everyone, for all the good ideas about fighters and seekers. It sounds as if a combination of less effective PDC and hardier seekers may be the best solution. But finding the correct balance will be the tough part.

Thanks, also, for the tip on mounts and component families. Problem solved!

Here's another question to throw into the mix: If you were going to play a space exploration game in a Civ/SMAC style universe, what types of things (facilities, weapons, characteristics, etc.) would you like to see?

[oleg]

Originally posted by deccan:
...I know that fighters rock in Proportions, but how does Proportions make seekers more viable?

It does, IMHO, but not directly. Just my impression but I yhink it is related to the long Lasting benefits of smaller ships. It decrease the effect of direct-fire weapon mounts on the game balance and the concentration of PDC on one target.

Also, Proportions has Light Missile System that can make wonders saturating PDC.

[PvK]

Seekers are more viable in Proportions due to several factors:

* Light Missile Systems fire seekers up to about four times faster per kT than Cap missiles.

* Small ships are inexpensive to maintain and have good defense bonuses, so small missile ships can be fast, economical, defensive and cheap (don't need CS or ECM).

* Good fleets include small ships, which can mount less PD and are hard to hit with direct-fire, so missiles are good against them.

* Higher-tech proportions drones are also potent and PD-soaking.

* Fighters are very PD-soaking, so a fleet using both fighters and seekers can easily overwhelm PDC. This is one reason why Proportions offers self-defense cannon, which are cheap range-one defenses against missiles, of almost no use against fighters.

PvK