SE4 Stock Balance Mod

[Suicide Junkie]

Only "nerfing" the things will mean people won't use them much

Not really. There is no alternative to PDC besides taking the hit and dying.
Reducing the accuracy could improve the statistics for missiles.

In addition, if we went back to the unlimited range missiles from SE3, it could help too... no more missile dancing. With mounts we can keep the launch ranges the same as unmodded, so there won't be any difference for the AIs.

There's little reason to use these, compared to APBs. Give them a range advantage (say, 50% more range than comparable-level APBs) while decreasing their damage slightly (say, 80% as much as an APB's max-range hit) and that may change; the choice owudl be close-range high-damage, or, long-range low(ish)-damage.

What about leaving the same range as APB, but with APB decreasing over distance, and MB doing the same damage everywhere as the APB does at its mid-point?

[General Woundwort]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
In addition, if we went back to the unlimited range missiles from SE3, it could help too... no more missile dancing.

Makes sense. After all, in space, once you apply intertia to an object, barring other applications of inertia it stays in motion. A missile in space, once launched, only needs maneuvering and homing sensors, and those shouldn't decay with distance enough to matter in game terms.

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
In addition, if we went back to the unlimited range missiles from SE3, it could help too... no more missile dancing. With mounts we can keep the launch ranges the same as unmodded, so there won't be any difference for the AIs.

While I like this idea on a personal level, I think it is a risky change to try and get implemented into the stock game. That change alone would tremendously increase the power of the CSM in the early game. So much so that it may become the ONLY viable weapon choice for as long as it takes the players to develop PDC. In combination with some of the suggested weakening of the PDC, we run the risk of turning SE4 into an all missle game from start to finish.

I think this bears some discussion, but we need to be careful with this one.

Geoschmo

[oleg]

Originally posted by General Woundwort:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
In addition, if we went back to the unlimited range missiles from SE3, it could help too... no more missile dancing.

Makes sense. After all, in space, once you apply intertia to an object, barring other applications of inertia it stays in motion. A missile in space, once launched, only needs maneuvering and homing sensors, and those shouldn't decay with distance enough to matter in game terms.

---

Fuel consumption for maneuvering is exactly the limit factor in ship - to - ship combat. What good is your inertia if target change course by 90 degree ?

Space combat in H.H. books by D.Weber is a good example.

[oleg]

As to limitless SEIV missiles - there is no way to make them do damage beyond 20. You may increase the targeting range above that (actually I'm not sure) with mounts, but actual damage could be done only inside 20.
There still be missile dance, but at longer range.

What I would like is to increase missile speed and decrease PDC accuracy a bit.

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by oleg:
As to limitless SEIV missiles - there is no way to make them do damage beyond 20. You may increase the targeting range above that (actually I'm not sure) with mounts, but actual damage could be done only inside 20.
There still be missile dance, but at longer range.

This is incorrect. What SJ is talking about is taking advantage of a little bug in the SE4 code. Normally you can't give a weapon damage beyond 20. But if you give a seeker a damage for range 21, the seeker never expires. It continues to seek after it's target until it catches it, is destroyed, it's target is destroyed, or the combat round ends.

Geoschmo

[Ragnarok]

Originally posted by oleg:
As to limitless SEIV missiles - there is no way to make them do damage beyond 20. You may increase the targeting range above that (actually I'm not sure) with mounts, but actual damage could be done only inside 20.
There still be missile dance, but at longer range.

What I would like is to increase missile speed and decrease PDC accuracy a bit.

Actually, I do believe that if you add a 21st damage area into the missle file that it will have unlimited range and it will damage beyond that. I'm just going off memory here so if someone could correct me I'd be thankful.

Edit: Geo beat me to it.

[ July 23, 2003, 15:48: Message edited by: Ragnarok ]