Modder brainstorming session - Page 5

jimbob55 · #41 May 18th, 2001, 03:53 PM

For making tactical fighters change the fighter hulls to allow 1 engine max.
Only have 1 type of fighter engine for strategic move then a series of 'Tactical High power engines' which are effectively 3 or 4Kt afterburners with bonus tac move of 2, 3, 4, 5 etc. Interceptor tac engine gives 9 move, takes 10kt or whatever.
This would allow for VERY fast reduced armament interceptors or heavy armed slow fighters....... Both of which would require a carrier to make significant strategic moves.
Adjust the supply cost so that a fully loaded heavy fighter can only carry enough supplies for 2 tactical engagements (30 moves + say 20 shots of an expensive weapon).

Giving bases movement on the strategic scale makes them count as ships as far as score is concerned.

The workaround for fighter resupply is the same as the workaround for resupplying ships: Build a dedicated supply frigate with either solar panels / quantuum generator or lots of supply storage and fleet them with the fighters (effectively a fighter tender rather than carrier)

[This message has been edited by jimbob55 (edited 18 May 2001).]

capnq · #42 May 18th, 2001, 04:41 PM

quote:
However, I don't see any reason why Psychic sensors would ever be able to detect mines (after all, what brainwaves would they be picking up???)

Psychic tech involves more than just mindreading by telepathy. They could spot mines via clairvoyance or remote viewing.

------------------
Cap'n Q

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the
human mind to correlate all of its contents. We live on a placid
island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was
not meant that we should go far. -- HP Lovecraft

Suicide Junkie · #43 May 18th, 2001, 09:42 PM

quote:
Psychic tech involves more than just mindreading by telepathy. They could spot mines via clairvoyance or remote viewing.

Uh oh. Bad direction here

We need some excuses for how to hide ships from psychics, but the psychic tech just gets more powerful!

How about some sort of mental static generator, flooding space with psychic noise like in the end of the foundation series?

Should psychic sensors be population? Perhaps just a level 1 Psychic sensor could be added to the crew quarters of a psychic race, and higher levels require an amplifier or dedicated group of people.

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Speaking of population, I have 1kT troop hulls called "drop pods", and have Religious/Organic crossover 1kT component "Bio-engineered fanatic" that acts as a troop cockpit and has 5HP, and a 5 damage DUC built in.
I want to have a cheap "militia" unit to fit in the drop pod, which would be like throwing your population at the enemy force

Problem is I don't want them to be used with the full size troops. The commando/fanatic looks OK as a pilot, but a militia piloting a tank dosen't seem right.
Any Ideas?

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As for the engines... any ideas on how to get strategic movement without tactical movement??

[This message has been edited by suicide_junkie (edited 18 May 2001).]

Trachmyr · #44 May 18th, 2001, 11:52 PM

Well, to hide from psychic sensors in my mod you need either a Spatial Cloaking device (only available to those with Spatial Mechanics) or a Psychic Shield (only available to Psycic tech... but CAN be stolen!)... a Distortion Cloak will block the lowest level psychic sensor. I allow psycic snsors to be the most powerful sensor, but they are one of the biggest/most expensive.

Trachmyr · #45 May 18th, 2001, 11:58 PM

Oh, about afterburners (Combat movement)... you got one big problem with them, only the higest value is used... they DON'T add together (unless this was changed in the Last patch, but I don't think so)... so if you got 5 Tactical Engines each with a combat move of 2, you'll only get a combat speed of 2 NOT 10. Sorry for the bad news.

P.s. You should know that the ability used for solar sails can be added to other things, their are two values given for that ability, one is the speed bonus the other is a unique identifier... you only get the highest bonus from EACH identifier, thus you can make several componets with that ability and their effect can add together (but only 1 is effective for each type = identifier)

just a FYI

Trachmyr · #46 May 19th, 2001, 12:13 AM

oh, one other thing... you don't have to lock yourself into using the ability given with solar-sails... just turn them into an engine, if you don't want the bonuses adding up the use the "one per vehicle" restriction. however they won't perform their old function (which is a good thing if you ask me, I've never understood why a solar-sail is so good at increasing the speed of dreadnoughts after they already have quantum engines propelling them). IMHO, solar sails should be used for SLOW low-maintaince auxillary or work-craft.

P.S IRL a new "solar sail" has been invented, it uses plasma to "inflate" a magnetic field to create a huge reflective bubble. The WORKING model is the size of a pickel jar and can create a sail 1/2 a square mile! The guy who invented it won a nobel peace prize. I read about this on NASA's site about 2 or 3 months ago. Makes you think huh?

dumbluck · #47 May 19th, 2001, 01:01 AM

On a different topic...

Give mines varying levels of cloaking.

ie
Mines level1: low level of cloaking
Mines level2: medium level of cloaking
Mines level3: high level of cloaking

However, I don't see any reason why Psychic sensors would ever be able to detect mines (after all, what brainwaves would they be picking up???)

Or I may just be too sleepy to be thinking clearly....

Nitram Draw · #48 May 19th, 2001, 01:05 AM

You can change the mine cloaking, works good against humans. I don't think it would have any effect on the AI, it seems to like blowing up mines with ships!
Just change the cloak level on the level 1 & 2 to whatever you want.
I thought about adding a crude mine that was not cloaked at all, 2 kt 20 point warhead, but figured it would only benefit me so I never tried it.

Marty Ward · #49 May 19th, 2001, 01:42 AM

Do you know what identifier numbers are allowed for the solar sail movement?
As far as the tactical engines are concerned, if the idea is in order to get more combat moves you have to give up strategic moves then make the combat movement generator an engine, then if you use it you will lose any extra movement bonus gained by using the same engine types.

Trachmyr · #50 May 19th, 2001, 02:08 AM

well the solar sail itself uses "1", all others are open... I would GUESS that you could go up to 255.

But you still got a problem with the engines, you make it an either or propositon... you can have fast ships that are slow in tactical or slow ships that are fast in tactical, but not fast/fast ships... so what's the point?