Phased Polaron too easy to research?

[raynor]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Baron Munchausen:
I don't see how requiring level TWO in physics, and then costing twice as much per level as the anti-proton beam, makes the Phased-Polaron Beam "too easy to research". It looks to me like you'd be taking quite a risk if you were to rely on getting that before you got into conflict another empire. Especially if you want to have a good selection of other technologies before then. If you make it more difficult to research, btw, you make things more difficult for the Sergetti, who use this as their main weapon. A slight adjustment to the damage might not hurt, but the change to phased shields neutralizes their main advantage so the 'special ability' is only a temporary, unlike other weapons like the shard cannon or the time distortion burst.

---

The main problem with the PPB is that it is an ULTIMATE weapon.

You say it cost twice as much per level as the A-P? Well, look at what you get for that:

A-P IV: 20,20,15,15
PPV IV: 60,55,55,50,50

So, for *just* twice as many points, you are getting THREE times the damage. Plus, it has a longer range. And... AND... at the beginning of the game and against dumb empires who don't research Phased Shields, you are actually doing SIX times the damage.

Compare the damage of the PPB to the A-P and then the small PPB to the small A-P. Small A-P starts out doing 10 pts of damage whereas the small PPB does 2,2. IMHO, the small weapons are reasonably play balanced.

Can you think of another race-generic weapon which does as much damage as the PPB V? I don't know of one. The Wave Motion Gun and Graviton Hellbore fire just once every three turns. So, the PPB still does more damage. In fact, there just isn't a weapon worth researching above the Phased Polaron Beam. So, once you research it, you can stop spending points on weapons research. That makes the PPB DIRT CHEAP!!!

So far, I haven't had any trouble staying alive long enough to research PPB V before I even start building capital ships instead of fighters.

Once again, even if the enemy has Phased Shields, the PPB still does more damage than any other weapon in the game. (excluding race-specific weapons once again)

[Tomgs]

There are still some reasons to research other weapons especially if you have the organic trait. The range of the PPB isn't the best in the game (however it is very good) and range can be as important as damage in some cases especially tactical battles. The range issue could be the "fix" for the PPB what if the range was only 4? Wouldn't this offset somewhat the power and early use of this weapon vs some of the other weapons? Maybe add a few levels to the top of its research to get it up to 6 range gradually if you don't want to eliminate it completely. This way it would be a bit more balanced but might still be a great weapon after a bit more research points.

Also a better comparison between PPB and the APB is this:
APB VIII 30/25/20/15/15/15
PPB I: 30/25/25/25/20/20

so at level 1 its still better in every way than an APB VIII and goes through normal shields also as a bonus.

P.S. I hate to say this because I love the PPB the way it is but it is an awesome weapon right now.

[This message has been edited by Tomgs (edited 29 January 2001).]

[rdouglass]

Raynor, I always play with race-specific traits, but even if I did not, the range factor discourages me from using PPB's. Even if an AI had PPB V's and I had WMG's, I could stay ouside his range and just hit him every 3rd turn (in tactical combat). That is the generic weapon I would suggest. (A side question - does the WMG get a 60% to hit bonus like it did in SE3??) Also IMO missles are a good choice if you want to decimate the AI (I kinda' feel this is cheating tho and don't use them often) They get a range up to 16. I personally feel range is a big factor unless of course you use strategic battle. I rarely ever do - I like the micromanagement of tactical. Of course, if you're playing Simultaneous, you don't get the tactical combat option, so PPB's may be a better choice - I don't know.

As to the huge galaxy question, I read it on another post and did it. I remember something like editing the Systems.txt file and changing the line from 100 to 250 (I think 255 is the max). If I'm wrong, someone please correct me. Of course, if you do this, you'll probably want to get someone's system names file or you'll end up with a lot of systems with no names and that becomes confusing.

And as to game length, my games easily Last 300-400 turns. EPIC GAMES!!!

[This message has been edited by rdouglass (edited 29 January 2001).]

[raynor]

quote:

---

Originally posted by rdouglass:
Raynor, I always play with race-specific traits, but even if I did not, the range factor discourages me from using PPB's. Even if an AI had PPB V's and I had WMG's, I could stay ouside his range and just hit him every 3rd turn (in tactical combat). That is the generic weapon I would suggest.

---

I guess I just prefer weapons that fire every turn. It makes the battle seem to go faster.

Mainly, though, *not* researching anything else besides the PPB lets me spend more on other research areas.

quote:

---

As to the huge galaxy question, I read it on another post and did it. I remember something like editing the Systems.txt file and changing the line from 100 to 250 (I think 255 is the max). If I'm wrong, someone please correct me. Of course, if you do this, you'll probably want to get someone's system names file or you'll end up with a lot of systems with no names and that becomes confusing.

---

Thanks!

quote:

---

And as to game length, my games easily Last 300-400 turns. EPIC GAMES!!!

---

Wow! I'm doing mop-up work in my latest game, and it is turn 220. And this has been a long game! (Playing in a large galaxy)

Thanks for the info!