New SJ mod

[Suicide Junkie]

Not regular shields, but the leaky shields.

Since each hit generates shield points, you'll want to alternate your fire with a heavy hull hitter, then a smaller shield sapper to clear the way for the next hull hitter.

Hrm... mixing large and small wouldn't really work, except for the partial damage effect.
If you have a low-efficiency heavy weapon, and a high efficiency small weapon, it might work...

60 hitpoint armor...
90 damage Heavy weapon... size x
4x30 damage light weapon... size x total

Alone, the light weapons can't hurt the armor.
1) 30 hull damage, 30 shields
2) ditto
3) ditto
...
Total, 30 partial damage, 30 shields, enemy never dies.
ZERO damage per x Kt

With all heavies, you get
1) 30 hull, 90 shields, 1 armor destroyed
2) 30 hull, 30 shields
3) 0 hull, 90 shields, 1 armor destroyed
4) 0 hull, 0 shields
Total, 120 hull damage, per 4 tonnage x's
30 damage per x Kt

With alternating, you get...
Two heavies, and 4 light for total 3x's of tonnage.
1H) 30 hull, +90 shields, 1 armor destroyed
2L) 0 hull, 30 shields
3L) 0, 0
4H) 30 hull, +90 shields, 1 armor destroyed
5L) 0 hull, 30 shields
6L) 0, 0
Total, 120 Hull damage, per 3 tonnage x's
40 damage per x Kt

[ January 28, 2004, 23:17: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]

[Fyron]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
Fyron, you make it sound like reducing racial characteristics is impossible.
Heaven forbid that people would ever reduce an important characteristic or take a penalty trait in order to buy something else!

No I don't... not everyone enjoys min-maxing though. Additionally, the fewer points available, the more similar empires will be forced to be, as there is less room for "optional" picks. 2500 points down the drain just for your colony tech reduces the amount of options you have available.

[spoon]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
Additionally, the fewer points available, the more similar empires will be forced to be, as there is less room for "optional" picks. 2500 points down the drain just for your colony tech reduces the amount of options you have available.

This is what I was sort of getting at. Make the first Colony Tech free by providing a "Take Me" Advanced Trait that cost -2500 points and does nothing for you. Then if someone wants to invest in another colonization tech, they can. Which is a really cool idea, btw. Following that idea, maybe you should make more research-based racial traits. Stellar Manipulators could start out with some Stellar Manip tech, etc etc.

[Suicide Junkie]

Other than Psychologically, how is picking characteristics to increase any different from picking traits to decrease (or not decrease)

If the game started with all the characteristics at 80%, and you had a pile of racial points which could just barely bring them all up to 100%, would it be any different?

[Fyron]

Decreasing a few traits is not at all the same as min-maxing.

[Suicide Junkie]

Originally posted by Imperator Fyron:
No I don't... not everyone enjoys min-maxing though. Additionally, the fewer points available, the more similar empires will be forced to be, as there is less room for "optional" picks. 2500 points down the drain just for your colony tech reduces the amount of options you have available.
...
Decreasing a few traits is not at all the same as min-maxing.

There are just as many "options" for decreasing traits as increasing them, assuming you aren't a minmaxer.
What exactly is the problem?

-----

You mean we can actually have competitive races with all negative racial modifiers?
Burn the heretic!

[spoon]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
There are just as many "options" for decreasing traits as increasing them, assuming you aren't a minmaxer.
What exactly is the problem?

Well, it's suicidal to play without either 120 aggressive or defensive or Religious, and 110 maint reduction. However, you do have a point that reducing traits is an interesting way to go. I wouldn't count on seeing anyone purchasing non-religious Racial Tech traits though. There just won't be any points left after you buy the required traits (colony type, aggressive/defensive, maint reduction, adv storage). You may have some differences in empires, but they won't be as significant, I think, as the differences you get when more points are available. (And when I say "differences" I mean competitive differences...)

I'm speaking as a devout minmaxer though, so weight my opinion accordingly...