PBW PvK Proportions Game #2

[PvK]

Cool. I am thinking basically everyone will be 4 warp jumps from almost everyone else. This means everyone will have two adjacent colonizable systems, and one colonizable system that is equa-distant from other players, two warp jumps away. However there may be some non-colonizable systems, systems with just one planet, etc., to give weird maneuver and exploration options, and maybe some very distant systems people could go for too, with some planets, but mainly everyone will have pretty good access to most or all other players and the easily available planets, so there will be plenty of opportunity for conflict.

This is a counterpoint to PvK Proportions Game #1, where the map is large and several nations have no access at all to others without travelling very long distances through each others' space, and everyone had several systems they could colonize. I actually really like the map we got in many ways, with its seas of no connections, the weird Krsqk cluster hidden in the corner with only one quadrant-spanning connection to the far corner, and so on, but it definitely "slowed" interaction between players, which I think has a lot to do with why we had so many drop-outs, and why it's been as peaceful as it has.

Anyway, comments and requests are welcome.

PvK

[PvK]

Here are my notes on the empire cost changes in 3.0:

code:

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  Empire Cost Changes:

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* Lowered value of "Advanced Power Conservation" to 900 points.

* Lowered value of "Supply Guzzlers" to -700 points.

* Lowered value of "Natural Merchants" to 1500 points.

* Renamed "Propulsion Experts" to "Transcendental Navigation" with a new

  description, since it has a bizarre disproportionate effect.

* Added a new "Propulsion Experts" trait, which is a new racial tech

  area that provides better propulsion components.

* Renamed "Mechanoids" to "Plague Immune" and dropped cost to 400 points.

* Physical Strength values lowered.

* Intelligence costs tweaked. "Dumb" races get more points back.

* Cunning adjusted per PvK Balance Mod.

* Happiness and Environmental Resistance values slashed, but Happiness 

  ranges increased, in light of research into lack of effect of racial 

  Happiness.

* Reproduction maximum increased. Now limited only by cost.

* Aggressiveness and Defensiveness adjusted per PvK Balance Mod.

* Political Savvy adjusted per PvK Balance Mod.

* Resource extraction aptitudes left as in Proportions 2.5.3.1.

* Construction Aptitude adjusted per PvK Balance Mod, except positive 

  threshold. Also extended allowed minimum range to 25.

* Repair Aptitude adjusted per PvK Balance Mod, with increased min and 

  max values.

* Maintenance Aptitude left as is, because it uses SJ's base-100 system.

 

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PvK

[csebal]

MMM.. proportions v3.0 sounds like fun

BTW: about fighters, they really are an overkill, the cost virtually nothing to own, and a squad of 50 fighters (easily carried on two destroyers) can destroy entire fleets, even if they have some PD.

I would love to see them soemwhat weekened in the next Version

Maybe you could specialize fighters, into three different types (interceptor, bomber, torpedo bomber) using the allowed target types of weapons.

May not really make fighters any weaker, but it'll certainly make them less universal.

ATM Fighters equipped with guns can tear apart just about anything

[Ragnarok-X]

Nice PvK !

About the fighters: Just increase the hull cost by a few minerals or whatever, that will make it harder to mass them !

[PvK]

I'm aware of the fighter issue, and have something in the works, but it's not done yet. I figure it would be best to get it in before starting, so it may be Monday before it's ready, as I have other tasks I need to do today and this weekend.

I more or less agree with your comments on the fighters in 2.5. They are too good too early, meaning fleets should bring interceptors with them, etc. It worked sort of on a World War II or modern naval air analogy (or Star Wars, or Battlestar Galactica, or...), but that does mean mostly requiring fighters to deal with other fighters.

My current approach is to slash the combat modifiers they start with, and move the availability of higher-powered weapons to higher tech levels. So the first fighters you can get are more like armed shuttlecraft, - auxiliary weapons that can help but that can also be dealt with by ships. The higher tech levels will still be quite strong, but by those tech levels, ships have better combat mods and defenses available too, and the higher-tech fighter components will also cost more. Also, since there will be a greater change in performance with technology, amassing fighters during periods of peace should be less effective, since the older fighters should be outmatched by newer models. That's the theory - I think I can come close to pulling it off, but it will take some effort.

I'm already doing the fighter/bomber split - I'm not sure what the torpedo bomber distinction would be, unless you mean planet-only or planet/ship weapons opposed to ship-only weapons. That's already in there.

PvK

[Fyron]

More testing on planet happiness ability:

I built a faciltiy with -20 planet happiness. The planet quickly dropped to angry mood, never below. Then I built one with +10, nothing changed for 10 turns of waiting. I built a second +10, nothing changed very fast. Then I built a third +10, and the mood increased quickly.

This confirms that facilities with the planet happiness ability stack with each other. You can build two of the same facility for double the effect. A negative facility and a positive facility add together, not one replaces the other.

Note that for the system happiness ability, only the best ability in the system is used.

[ August 06, 2004, 19:48: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

[PvK]

Amazing! I was just thinking about exactly what you just researched, like one minute before I got to your post!

That's very very useful - thanks!

PvK

[PvK]

Again, very good to know! Thanks!

[Captain Kwok]

Is it me, or is the "code" font extremely small even using the larger shrapnel font? I can hardly read the items!

***

Edit: I just realized I was responding to a post for changes in Version 3.0 - not noticing that was about 100 Posts ago. Geez.

[PvK]

Heh. Actually, the browser (or OS?) Version and/or settings seem to have very different ideas about font sizes on this Version of the forum software.

On my IE6/Win98SE box, all the text is rather small.

On my IE6/WinXP box at work (where I think I have the font size turned up somewhere), it actually looks about like it used to. Then again, maybe it looks like it used to look at home, while it used to look big at work.

PvK