Stealth Armour/Cloaking - possible bug

[Aub]

quote:

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Originally posted by Puke:
maybe you think they would be more ballanced if they had less armor value? this would make it a harder choice wither or not to put them on your ship?

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Of course lowering the armor value will help balancing it. The stealth and defense abilities do mean a lot, but in the end I think they would not be worth it if the armor value was very low. So the answer lies somewhere in between, maybe at 1/3 of the current value or in that range.

That's only my opinion of course, one would have to run a coule of test games to verify it.

[Suicide Junkie]

IMO, the armor value already sucks.

Try comparing your stealth armor to 3/4 of a shield generator.

At max tech, you're trading off 15% ECM for +200 hitpoints.
Therefore, unless your ship can survive 1300 damage points being flung at it (either by dodging or shields/armor) the Phased Shield V is better than the stealth armor.

EG: at a 60% to-hit, your ship needs 3 or more shield generators in order for the Stealth armor to be worth it.

[Aub]

quote:

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Originally posted by suicide_junkie:
... the Phased Shield V is better than the stealth armor.

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But of course! Just think of how much more research you need to do to get phased shield v! If research didn't pay off, who would do research at all?

[Suicide Junkie]

That's an IF and only IF.

So, on a sufficiently hard-to-kill vessel, the stealth armor is MORE effective than another PSG V.

Where a sufficiently tough vessel is defined as "able to survive 1300 damage worth of (non-seeker) attacks, including misses due to defensive to-hit bonuses"

In any case, the point is that Stealth armor is NOT always appropriate to use just for the 15% bonus. Adding stealth armor by default, like a bridge & lifesupport, is not the best way to go about designing warships.

[ 14 January 2002: Message edited by: suicide_junkie ]

[Quikngruvn]

It could be done, making a sufficiently-hard-to-hit vessel. Stealth armor + scattering armor + ECM + vessel size + experience + racial bonus = nasty to hit.

Two problems I see, though.

One, very likely your enemies will also have combat sensors, ship and fleet experience, and racial bonus to hit.

Two, since stealth and scattering armor are armor, they're hit first. After the first good thwack which knocks down either component, your defensive bonus drops, making your ship easier to hit.

Food for thought, and will depend on who you're facing.

Quikngruvn

[Suicide Junkie]

One: That is already accounted for. "...including misses due to to-hit bonuses"

Two: Fine, make it "stealth armor able to survive ..."
Since this usually involves heavy shielding, and not armor (HP/KT rating, and all). The fact that stealth armor is armor, does not often matter.

[ 17 January 2002: Message edited by: suicide_junkie ]