SE4 Stock Balance Mod

[spoon]

Originally posted by Rollo:
just want to point out that any changes to the Talisman is likely to screw up religious AI.

I assume a lot of designs use the 'always hit' ability (I know the UF does). If such a component is not available it will cripple the AI.

Rollo

I assume this is equally true for the Quantum Reactor (ie, if you change the effect, then the ai won't know to put it on their ships).

Since changing the comp size is also bad, and Geo pointed out that greatly increasing the cost might drive the ai bankrupt, what options do we have to balance these two items?

Is there anything about what the ai does that human players don't that we can take advantage of? For example, does the AI tend to build way too many farming facilities? (I have no idea). If they did, we could safely increase the organics cost of these components without have to worry about ai bankruptcy... That wouldn't be the ideal balance, but it would be something...

[Gozra]

I would like to propose only 3 modifications be put up for a vote.

1 Weaken pdc's. This helps fighters and missles

2 Increase the cost of the Talisman by a factor of 5

3 Reduce the warp opener range the max needs to be 150 LY or less

I also might add from some of the comments that a few of you have not been in any huge end games. With lots of ships and planets and big production many of the blance problems are minimized. I am in turn 170 of a game and watched 3 Groups of my fighters take out 3 dreadnoughts in a small fleet battle. Every weapon can be used to advantage at the end game. The only reason to 'Balance' the game is to help new players have fun.

[spoon]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:

quote:

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and finally advanced storage racial trait should be 1500

Rather than increase the cost, why not decrease the effect? That way, no AI modifications are required.

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Drop it to 110% (instead of 120%)?

Other traits that could use attention:

Advanced Power Conservation: 50% less power usage (instead of 25%)?

Hardy Industrialist: 120% SY rate (instead of 125%)?

[Katchoo]

Originally posted by spoon:

quote:

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Originally posted by Captain Kwok:
Double Ugh! Why does everyone keep saying to make torpedoes better with a to-hit modifier! This makes no sense!

Everyone knows that a space torpedo exlodes when it gets near its target, and it's the bLast radius that translates into its bonus to hit

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Why don't we take torpedoes in a slightly different direction, and make the damage increase as the range increases? This would make the torps the only weapon in the game that doesn't stand pat or get weaker the further out it goes.

As for explaining why it would do this in the first place, lets all just assume that the torp is fitted with an anti-matter explosive that gets more volitile the longer it's encased in the torp shell.

Doable?

[Phoenix-D]

"This makes no sense! A beam weapon like APB is almost instantaneous to strike it's target which can't really evade it, while a torpedo is moving fairly fast and won't be able to make quick sharp turns if the target makes a sudden move, so is more likely to miss than the beam."

The torp may well have a proximity charge and/or a limited ability to seek. That, and why would a beam weapon be almost instant? These aren't lasers; the APB is just a stream of anti-particles, no difference from a DUC slug except that when it hits matter, it makes a bigger boom.

[Suicide Junkie]

Summary
Unsorted Issues

• One-resource bonus facilities have no advantage over All-three bonus facilities.
• Fighters & Missiles too weak / PDC to powerful
• Climate Control Facilities too weak
• Medical Lab plague prevention effect too low
• Talisman too powerful
• Quantum Reactors too powerful
• PDC, PPB too powerful
• Torpedoes, Graviton Hellbore, Incinerator, too weak.
• Ship Training too powerful
• Not enough room for Weapon Platforms
• High level Intel ops too effective
• All of the new damage types not used
• Fighter Rocket pods -> Seekers?
• Supply Storage should count as Cargo for ship restrictions.
  

Trivial Changes:

• Add range to Tractor Beam III so its full pull effect can be used.
  

Moderate Changes:

• Large increase of cargo value for Cargo Facilities {Suggest values}

[ July 23, 2003, 23:39: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]

[TerranC]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
Supply Storage counts as Cargo for ship restrictions.

Since when?