Wolfy wrote:Stations are very very weak in this game. Capships have armor segments, shields, and internal HP. Not to mention the ability to move. Stations can only sit there and be bombarded, maybe shooting back. They only have an HP pool and some damage resistance from whatever armor type they use.
I really think that major stations should be a heck of a lot stronger - major factions wouldn't let critical infrastructure and major population centers fall so easily. (Especially if the attack is some over-gunned pest in a civilian craft)
Instead right now they just chill while you pound away at the station with a howitzer or some such.
I think the same thing, save for two things. Firstly, the scale at which stations are shown makes a proportionate level of firepower look somewhat odd(the Kobol stations are a good example of this). Secondly, the combat in the game appears to be inspired by naval and air combat, and naval and air bases largely rely on aircraft/ships for defenses. CW metropolises are space cities, and they certainly shouldn't be as vulnerable as they are, but mounting direct weaponry isn't ideal. After all, the canon seems to be that inflicting direct damage on a highly populated ship/station kills some people inside it, so the CW would likely prefer to keep the combat away from their stations if possible.
Thus, I believe that the best option is increasing guard presence at valuable stations, and making them smarter. The Metropolis in the intro screen is surrounded by ships, perhaps CW metropolises should have some circling guards as well. As a side note, large stations should probably have hangers with at least a handful of ships inside. If a Korolov base can hold a task force of Ronins, a city of millions can afford a few hanger bays.
TSB will be trialing having 'intelligent boss-level major stations' - not only will they have immense HP pools, but advanced defense systems, and increasing reinforcements. This isnt in yet, but eventually I will be trialing it. George expressed interest in this approach to stations as well, which you can see the vestiges of in the game already (much more HP on many early game stations, except the basic charon and centauri)
Sounds interesting. Large stations should indeed have quite a bit more armor. Charon Caches and the like would benefit from a spawning algorithm that puts them just off of trade routes, as they aren't really useful to pirates anywhere else, and they often spawn too close to traffic and get themselves killed. You've probably already done this, but large hostile stations should have some degree of self - healing, like friendly ones(though not at the same rate).
Gameplay/story seperation there. The phobos is far more common ingame than it is in-universe. It's still a major threat through spamming, but the Ares can't churn them out of nothing like they can when the player goes past. It's really important not to derive story stuff from gameplay unless it's backed up by an in-character source...because there's a whole bunch of limitations between what you can have in backstory, and what you need to have in the game for it to work.
In terms of carriers....the Europa is not the first carrier to be lost, although its loss was a major turning point in the recent parts of the war. I think it's the first in the current phase of the war. In addition, Point Juno was not unique....but it is now the only base that can support the carrier fleet.
Is there a source here? You've been on the forums longer than I, so maybe you've seen a link I've been unable to locate.
Also, spamming doesn't really work in space. The Pilgrim can explore entire systems far faster than everyone else because space is compressed, thus why Korolov hasn't rooted out the pirate outposts and destroyed them, and why the Ares haven't hunted down all of the carriers. Hiding is much more useful in story than in game, at present. In physically correct space, a CSC with scouts on the lookout could likely evade Phobii indefinitely.
....Actually on the side, altering fleet stuff so that Point Juno features a scripted phobos attack would be pretty cool. It's not really required given how outclassed the garrison is anyway, but it'd be fun to have them freak out about taking on a battleship with crappy little Centurions.
The Tev9 can really hurt a Phobos without the ludicrously slow speed the Centurions' guns have. I've tried it.
Then again, they freaked out about 5 Cometfalls, which would have been trivial to dispatch with decent AI.
And back in the early days they really were.
Ah, good times. Loved having one of those omnicidal lightning turrets. Now, fighting against one, not so much.
-Give them effective point defense.
Valuable CW and CH stations definitely need this. Once PD is fixed, of course.
-Allow them to target and shoot down projectiles with their main guns when there are no better targets.
I like this idea a lot. It would also give stations an ability that ships don't have, which would make the game a lot more immerse.
Stations guards aren't really a solution against the player, who can be expected to outrun and/or outfight anything that comes to kill them. But they are the logical solution to the problem of the station being unable to move. They would be less ineffective if they could evade a steady stream of fire from beyond their range, and if they pursued more aggressively once they reached the target, rather than turning around just as they get into their own range.
Nobody's planned for the player(with the exception of Domina, I suppose). That's the fun of this game, in my opinion. Showing up as a crazed fanatic who appears out of nowhere and completely changes the game for everyone in the region. I'm like a romantic comedy protagonist except with nuclear howitzers instead of whimsical dinner dates.
On a serious note, I fully agree with your ideas there. A station that has been attacked should noticeably up their defenses, both in terms of keeping their guards at the ready and requesting additional reinforcements to gate in.
On the original topic, it would make sense to see upgraded versions of freighters. Given the huge values of their cargoes (according to Korolov) and their terrible survival rates in the Outer Realm (and even in the Ungoverned Territories), a few tens of thousands of credits worth of weapons and armor seems like an excellent investment.
I agree, assuming they are as modifiable as the player's ship. If not, a few higher - tier freighters could be used in the region, or some sort of escort could be set up.
This might actually be the perfect scenario to see Aquila class cruisers! Imagine a mission to stop three Phobos Dreadnaughts with a large Ares fleet to attack Point Juno. The player will command a large squadron of Centurions and Britannias to hold the advance till a CSC and a few Aquila cruisers come in as reinforcements.
Squadron commands would have to be noticeably improved(I wrote up a means of doing that in a Drawing Board thread a few weeks ago), but that might be interesting.
Before the player can begin this missions, there should be follow up missions that make the Ares realize if Point Juno falls, then the Commonwealth Fleet will be cut off completely.
I believe that the Ares already know that.
