athios
Templar
[ Star Traders 2 Supporter ]
Posts: 1,611 
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Post by athios on Mar 7, 2017 19:36:14 GMT -5
Unconventional approach, but I thought it is worth attempting and discussing. Key features of this build is having no Fighter crew, no Weapons Locker, no close range combat, no boarding, no Crew Combat. This limits which type of missions that you can take, but in return frees up many Crew/Job/Talent slots, components and mass that can be devoted to other things. I've channeled weapon components down to 3 heavy weapons, thus opening up slots for defensive and supportive components. Ship: Guardian Interceptor Large (4) — Capital Bridge, Mass 6000 Void Engine, Great Hold, Lv7 Gravity Driver Medium (7) — Hyperwarp Drive 4E, Barracks 5, 2× Mass Dampener 2, Peak Velocity Matrix, Medical Bay, Lv7 Railgun Small (12) — 4× Officer Cabin, 2× Pilot Assist Module 4, Nav Assist Module 4, Defense Pattern Matrix, Targeting Matrix, Interlocking Sensor Matrix, Armored Bulkheads, Lv3 Missiles Overall Ship Stats  Typical hostile encounter goes like this: Advance + Missiles --> Advance + Railgun --> Railgun + Gravcannon (repeat until you see silent fireworks) Note that both Lv7 weapons require 4 Reactor Points each to fire. Have never missed a shot yet, and do about 450 dmg per turn. Since the defenses on this ship are so high, I typically only get hit once in 5-8 turns on Demanding difficulty. I'm considering changing all 3 Matrices to Interlocking Sensor to boost the Crit% further just to see what happens. Medical Bay and Bulkheads also seem dispensable and I might swap them for something else. Impressions so far:Seems to be overpowered — reminds me of mid-range shooting with 51 Guns on STRPG — i.e. a lot of floating wreckage. I think I had better luck with getting surrenders with 2× Lv3 Missile + Lv1 Torp, but I'll need some more testing. Maybe I should swap Railgun for something closer ranged? Not sure how viable this will be at higher difficulty levels, since enemies will have better skill rolls and possibly better weapons. If anyone would like to try, I'd be very interested in hearing how it goes... |
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Post by fallen on Mar 7, 2017 19:39:35 GMT -5
athios - extremely cool build, love to see it posted in full detail. You've clearly spent a fortune to upgrade that ship to the max! If you are looking for surrenders, one thing you should consider is taking turns when you don't fire guns. If there are some nice crippling effects on the enemy that are doing big -Morale or -Component damage, just give them a turn or two to stew in their own terror. Especially if your armor / dodge is so high that you can avoid their return fire. You may find that a little patience goes a long way, showing your dominance and terrifying the enemy into surrender.
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Post by grävling on Mar 7, 2017 19:45:22 GMT -5
athios -- but not 5 officers, this surprises me.
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athios
Templar
[ Star Traders 2 Supporter ]
Posts: 1,611
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Post by athios on Mar 7, 2017 19:46:22 GMT -5
Oooh, excellent tip fallen, thank you! Yes, I remember the 2× Lv3 Missile + Lv1 Torp could easily rack up 3-5 crippling effects at a time, especially on enemies that don't use Failsafe Protocols. The Lv7 weapons have a lot less crippling ability (or I just destroy them in too few turns). Btw, do enemies on higher difficulty level actually have better weapons? Or that is dependent on Turns Played? Or not yet implemented?  |
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athios
Templar
[ Star Traders 2 Supporter ]
Posts: 1,611
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Post by athios on Mar 7, 2017 19:47:39 GMT -5
athios -- but not 5 officers, this surprises me. What do you mean? Capital Bridge + 4 Officer Cabins = "5 Officers" (because the Captain counts as one) |
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Post by grävling on Mar 7, 2017 19:50:02 GMT -5
athios -- but not 5 officers, this surprises me. What do you mean? Capital Bridge + 4 Officer Cabins = "5 Officers" (because the Captain counts as one) Means I cannot count. ooops. Sorry about that. |
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Post by fallen on Mar 7, 2017 20:41:52 GMT -5
It's kind of a confusing thing. We have to figure out what to do with it. We might just suppress the entire idea of an officer cabin (in the Bridge) for the Captain and supresss the Captain from the counts. Maybe that would reduce confusion?
The CSS is a work in progress.
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athios
Templar
[ Star Traders 2 Supporter ]
Posts: 1,611
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Post by athios on Mar 8, 2017 1:53:35 GMT -5
Yeah, just describe the Bridge as an operations hub, and hide the Captain from the Officer count. More straightforward.
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Post by Cory Trese on Mar 8, 2017 11:48:23 GMT -5
Yeah, just describe the Bridge as an operations hub, and hide the Captain from the Officer count. More straightforward. That will definitely make explaining the way the rules work very confusing to new players. "Well, yes, that is true, but remember that for damage equations and ship upgrade placements, that the Bride contains an invisible Officer count that makes it function as both a Soak and a Cabin, for damage purposes. Also, remember that while not shown in the count, the Captain counts as an officer so when considering damage application and combat stats, remember to add +1 to everything related to officer counts ... " |
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Post by Cory Trese on Mar 8, 2017 12:10:15 GMT -5
Unconventional approach, but I thought it is worth attempting and discussing. Key features of this build is having no Fighter crew, no Weapons Locker, no close range combat, no boarding, no Crew Combat. This limits which type of missions that you can take, but in return frees up many Crew/Job/Talent slots, components and mass that can be devoted to other things. I've channeled weapon components down to 3 heavy weapons, thus opening up slots for defensive and supportive components. Ship: Guardian Interceptor Large (4) — Capital Bridge, Mass 6000 Void Engine, Great Hold, Lv7 Gravity Driver Medium (7) — Hyperwarp Drive 4E, Barracks 5, 2× Mass Dampener 2, Peak Velocity Matrix, Medical Bay, Lv7 Railgun Small (12) — 4× Officer Cabin, 2× Pilot Assist Module 4, Nav Assist Module 4, Defense Pattern Matrix, Targeting Matrix, Interlocking Sensor Matrix, Armored Bulkheads, Lv3 Missiles I wouldn't call this "unconventional" aside from the self-imposed limits of no Fighter Crew. That's a weakness of the build, but is something the player can address pretty easily with recruiting. It is a pretty good upgrade set, expensive but with really high dice pools. Since the AI isn't currently upgrading their ships, you'll have a pretty good time once you get to this level. This particular design doesn't take damage very well at all -- but you don't notice that in Phase 1 because it out-classes opponents. |
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Post by Brutus Aurelius on Mar 8, 2017 12:18:22 GMT -5
Unconventional approach, but I thought it is worth attempting and discussing. Key features of this build is having no Fighter crew, no Weapons Locker, no close range combat, no boarding, no Crew Combat. This limits which type of missions that you can take, but in return frees up many Crew/Job/Talent slots, components and mass that can be devoted to other things. I've channeled weapon components down to 3 heavy weapons, thus opening up slots for defensive and supportive components. Ship: Guardian Interceptor Large (4) — Capital Bridge, Mass 6000 Void Engine, Great Hold, Lv7 Gravity Driver Medium (7) — Hyperwarp Drive 4E, Barracks 5, 2× Mass Dampener 2, Peak Velocity Matrix, Medical Bay, Lv7 Railgun Small (12) — 4× Officer Cabin, 2× Pilot Assist Module 4, Nav Assist Module 4, Defense Pattern Matrix, Targeting Matrix, Interlocking Sensor Matrix, Armored Bulkheads, Lv3 Missiles I wouldn't call this "unconventional" aside from the self-imposed limits of no Fighter Crew. That's a weakness of the build, but is something the player can address pretty easily with recruiting. It is a pretty good upgrade set, expensive but with really high dice pools. Since the AI isn't currently upgrading their ships, you'll have a pretty good time once you get to this level. This particular design doesn't take damage very well at all -- but you don't notice that in Phase 1 because it out-classes opponents. Will the AI upgrade ships in Phase 2? |
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Post by grävling on Mar 8, 2017 12:20:15 GMT -5
I suspect that it is 'the captain sleeps in the bridge' that is the confusing part. Would making an thing called 'the captain's cabin' which all ships must have and may not remove (and can be invisible, so no art needed) but which shows up when listing ship components make things easier to understand?
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Post by Cory Trese on Mar 8, 2017 12:22:36 GMT -5
I suspect that it is 'the captain sleeps in the bridge' that is the confusing part. Would making an thing called 'the captain's cabin' which all ships must have and may not remove (and can be invisible, so no art needed) but which shows up when listing ship components make things easier to understand? No, I don't think that's a good idea for the game. I can only focus on how to overcome any potential for confusion with the current system. Too much invested and tested and proven to give up on it now. |
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Post by Brutus Aurelius on Mar 8, 2017 12:25:34 GMT -5
I suspect that it is 'the captain sleeps in the bridge' that is the confusing part. Would making an thing called 'the captain's cabin' which all ships must have and may not remove (and can be invisible, so no art needed) but which shows up when listing ship components make things easier to understand? No, I don't think that's a good idea for the game. I can only focus on how to overcome any potential for confusion with the current system. Too much invested and tested and proven to give up on it now. Maybe remove the +1 Officer text and have it say "Houses Captain" or something similar? |
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Post by Cory Trese on Mar 8, 2017 12:27:06 GMT -5
I'm still working on the ship upgrading AI. It is an entirely new AI, a ship architect, and won't be the same AI that flies the ship. He's a bit different, more of a planner than a doer but he is having problems learning his limits.
Something we need ASAP for balance testing, however.
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