playerships and playership balance

[Arisaya]

is there any recommended balance guidlines when creating playerships? Like what might make it underpowered or overpowered.

Sometimes a ship may be overpowered in the beginning but unplayably weak later in the game and vice versa.

Large ships vs. small ships- (ie player cap. ships/super freighters vs. small ships)
I think it's generally accepted that in order to make these larger ships playable, either a) the whole game must be a bit harder and the small ships a bit better or b) the large ships must be stupidly weak and fragile in the beginning- though in effect, "b" must always happen- either by itself in the balance of the large ships, or relativly in the effect of "a".

I feel that making them incredibly weak in the beginning tends to cause the effect of underpowered in the beginning to overpowered in the end.

For ships like my kineticore, balancing is a bit easier, but still, as a "heavy fighter/gunship" craft, I've been trying to find a healthy balance between all the different variables and it's still a bit too weak in some areas and too strong in others in the current version (main weapon is too good, but not enough cargo space. There's also a bug w/ installing a reactor, but I can fix that)

What are the various appoaches and guidlines as to playership balance you follow?

[evilbob]

I generally lean towards one of the default playerships for guidance, then tweak the settings from there.

As for making large ships, avoiding enemy fire becomes a problem, so giving more space for repair items and armour is a must.

Changing the number of armour segments is something debatable- more segments means more cost to upgrade, but fewer means you're going to take fewer hits before going down.

[Arisaya]

Well, I've been doing some thinking today and these are some configurations I've come up with- totaling to 9 new playerships for 12 playerships total in Trans-X. Unfortunately, some of the things I'd like to implement (Yay for globals!) will make other custom playerships semi-incompatible- (a large number of new missions and even some old ones will become inaccessable... Or I just may tie "nil" with either "combat" or "freight" to make them somewhat usable)

Depending on the manufacturer of your ship, you can get discounts on various items (ie, a Zubrin Luxuries ship will get cheaper anemities/luxury goods than a Canis Industries and Shipyards ship.)

Some ships/manufacturers will have very particular lines of weapons limited to only that class/manufacturer (one or two may appear outside in wrecks, loot, or Xelerus stores) such as the Asabe-Class Cruiser's Quad omni weapons or the Zubrin Dual omni weapons)

About missions-

There are now several different types of missions: Any ship can do any of them- HOWEVER, depending on your ship, the mission may yeild lower profits (don't expect poverty stricken families riding in your SL9000's cargo bay to pay much money) or higher profits (rich people on a luxurious cruise ship tip well *hint hint*. And a job well done means the company shells out a nice check for you too)

No star means that this type of ship is recommended for this mission
* means that this type of ship can do this mission, but at a lower level
** means that this mission is NOT recommended for your class of ship either for difficulty reasons or logistic reasons. It WILL be offered offered however.
*** means that this mission is NOT recommended for your class of ship either for difficulty reasons or logistic reasons. Thus unless you really pester the people offering (there will be an option or way to pester them) they will never offer it up front unless it's the only mission avaliable.
Each ship has it's own special military mission set however in addition to some more classic military missions.

F = freighter C = combat P = passenger
Bounty Hunting-
Kill target ship to receive payment. ship is usually unusually strong
F** C P**
Escort-
Protect targeted ships to destination
F** C P**
Transport Cargo-
Deliver cargo to destination. If armor designated as noncritical="cargo" (or whatever it was) gets destroyed you lose your cargo and fail the mission.
F C* P*
Transport Passengers-
Deliver passengers to destination
F* C* P
Space Tour-
Easy mission- just fly by various stations that the passengers wish to see
F*** C*** P
Luxury Cruise-
F*** C*** P- take your passengers from resort to resort. The more luxury devices you have (they do NOT take up normal device slots, but special luxury device slots listed in the ship's globals) the bigger your tip will be
Valuable Cargo-
Take a small amount of very valuable cargo to it's destination. Watch out for unusually large numbers of hostile ships.
F C* P
Blockade Running-
Get past a blockade to get your cargo to where it's needed (blackmarket and CSC mission)
Military Cargo Run-
Deliver ammunition, weapons, armor, and shields. You can make off with the goods (sell them) but doing so will get you kicked from the military. Losing them in a hull breach will just earn a scolding.
F (no C P)
Military Assassination-
Assassinate an enemy ship. Ship will be buffed like in the bounty hunter missions.
C (no F P)
Military Transport Diplomat-
Bring diplomat into enemy territory and dock with non-hostile enemy station. Expect to come under heavy fire. Don't kill the non-hostile station.
P (no F C)

Then there are all the classic missions, still in there and intact, but often with more things added to them.

====================

The ships

Original-

EI500 - med. freighter
Freighter/Earth Indus
Max cargo- 500
Starting cargo- 200
Devices- 7
Weapons- 1
Armor- 20
Armor: 4x titanium
Shields: Class1
Weapons: omni laser
25MW
Speed .18c
turn 3

Wolfen - gunship
Combat/Canis Indus
Max Cargo - 100
Starting cargo- 35
Devices- 5
NonWeapons- 3
Armor- 10
Armor: 4x L plasteel
Shields: Hullplate Ionizer
Weapons: dual laser
10MW
Speed .25c
turn 2

Sapphire - yacht
Passenger/Zubrin Lux
Max Cargo - 150
Starting cargo- 75
Devices- 6
Armor- 6
Armor: 4x reactive
Shields: class 1
Weapons: recoiless
15MW
Speed .20c
turn 2

New ships

VY800 - armored cargo shuttle (40 facings)
Freighter/Earth Indus
Max cargo- 200
Starting cargo- 100
Devices- 6
Weapons- 2
Armor- 25
Armor: 4x Plasteel
Shields: Class1
Weapons: omni laser
15MW
Speed .19c
turn 4

Kineticore - heavy gunship/fighter (40 facings)
Combat/Canis Indus
Max Cargo - 130
Starting cargo- 20
Devices- 7
Weapons- 4
NonWeapons- 3
Armor- 20
Armor: 4x reactive
Shields: Class 2
Weapons: dual Kineticore bolt recoiless
20MW
Speed .22c
turn 2

Radiance - luxury transport (40 facings)
Passenger/Zubrin Lux
Max Cargo - 300
Starting cargo- 100
Devices- 4
Weapons- 2
Armor- 5
Armor: 4x reactive
Shields: class 1
Weapons: recoiless
10MW
Speed .35c
turn 1

HV100 - vault ship (80 facings)
Freighter/Earth Indus
Max cargo- 150
Starting cargo- 100
Devices- 5
Weapons- 2
Armor- 50
Armor: 8x QuadTitaniumBarricade
Shields: Hullplate ionizer
Weapons: omni laser
45MW
Speed .14c
turn 5

gryfalcon - light fighter/gunship (40 facings)
Combat/Canis Indus
Max Cargo - 75
Starting cargo- 25
Devices- 5
NonWeapons- 2
Armor- 10
Armor: 4x L plasteel
Shields: Class1
Weapons: gryfalcon massdriver
15MW
Speed .40c
turn 1

Diamond - luxury cruiser (80 facings)
Passenger/Zubrin Lux
Max Cargo - 200
Starting cargo- 75
Devices- 5
Weapons- 3
Armor- 10
Armor: 6x plasteel
Shields: class 2
Weapons: Zubrin dual laser (basically 2 omni lasers but w/ half the rate of fire)
35MW
Speed .16c
turn 3

SL9000 - aupwe freighter (160 facings)
Freighter/Earth Indus
Max cargo- 1000
Starting cargo- 500
Devices- 5
Weapons- 1
Armor- 25
Armor: 18x titanium
Shields: Class1
Weapons: omni light recoiless
50MW
Speed .12c
turn 5

Asabe - cruiser (160 facings)
Combat/Canis Indus
Max Cargo - 150
Starting cargo- 50
Devices- 8
NonWeapons- 4
Armor- 25
Armor: 12x L plasteel (4x outer hull, 8x inner hull)
Shields: Hullplate Polariser
Weapons: quad omni laser (also at half the rate of fire- so the fire power of two regular omni's)
30MW
Speed .14c
turn 3

EveningStar - luxury cruiserliner (bigger than luxury cruiser) (160 facings)
Passenger/Zubrin Lux
Max Cargo - 300
Starting cargo- 100
Devices- 5
Weapons- 2
Armor- 10
Armor: 8x plasteel
Shields: class 2
Weapons: Zubrin dual omni laser
40MW
Speed .12c
turn 4

---
While some of these starting configurations may seem outrageously powerful or not so powerful, not all the statistics are being shown, such as passenger capacity. Also, look at the speed- some of these ships are quite slow and combersome, thus you'd expect a superfreightor to be compensated with massive armor or a cruiser with it's double hull and extra firepower. The Gryfalcon may seem weak, but it's massdriver (unlike the urak ones... ) has MUCH greater range, and it also has tremendous speed.

Also, with 300 tons in the evening star, remember it's a luxury cruiserliner with passengers and their luggage. Passengers take along lots of luggage, and you also need plenty of space for luxury items to keep your luxury devices working (a beverage dispenser won't run w/out beverages...)

==================

So do you have any suggestions as to how i've set up these configurations?

[schilcote]

Presonally, I tend to lean away from balancing things seriously and think "What would be the most FUN thing to do here?" And I giggle everytime I load up my favorite ship, the Stephinian HyperDestroyer. It is actually more balanced than you might think. It flys so fast that you have to be a really good shot to actually get a hit on the enemy unless you stop and get buffeted by enemy fire, which isn't much trouble during the early game, but since it's not immune to ares lightning cannons, it's a real adrenaline rush to when you destroy the station at lightspeed and then strategise you sheild power taking out the ships.

[Arisaya]

Presonally, I tend to lean away from balancing things seriously and think "What would be the most FUN thing to do here?" And I giggle everytime I load up my favorite ship, the Stephinian HyperDestroyer. It is actually more balanced than you might think. It flys so fast that you have to be a really good shot to actually get a hit on the enemy unless you stop and get buffeted by enemy fire, which isn't much trouble during the early game, but since it's not immune to ares lightning cannons, it's a real adrenaline rush to when you destroy the station at lightspeed and then strategise you sheild power taking out the ships.

Well, I go by what would be "interesting" and "new" but I'm trying to be careful not to go insane.

[schilcote]

Yeah, pretty much what I do

[obsidean]

With the reproduction ships I've been working on I don't usually have to balance them too much, although I must say I'm having problems replicating a certain weapon from Star Control 2. I'll figure it out, but it'd be helpful if somewhere there was a chart of what type of weapon shots can be destroyed, etc. I know missles can be destroyed of course.

Right now I'm working on the Thraddash Torch and the Umgah Drone. Which both still need ship models.. I really suck at using blender still.

[Arisaya]

Hmmm... I might put kineticore, gryfalcon and wolfen into "light combat (fighters/gunships)" and create "heavy combat" for larger warships... Not that it would affect missions, but it would allow me to give canis indus. a more unified architectural pattern (the light combat ships would be done by a different company)

[wnmnkh]

Wolfy, PM has sent to you.

I see EI500 has been changed a bit (max cargo of 500 tons, weapon slot of 1)

Not sure this really balances things nicely.

I understand everyone plays this game differently, but for my case, I hardly use all original max 200 tons on my freighter. Other than mining madness, Extra space above 200 tons means little (I mean all of very valuable things like illegal goods take very little space.)

Of course, extra 300 tons will unlikely used because now freighter can hold only one weapon, and I don't think a freighter with mining laser as primary weapon is plausible choice for mid-game (a little before St. K and a bit after)

Oh well, maybe I just suck at aiming.

[Arisaya]

Wolfy, PM has sent to you.

I see EI500 has been changed a bit (max cargo of 500 tons, weapon slot of 1)

Not sure this really balances things nicely.

I understand everyone plays this game differently, but for my case, I hardly use all original max 200 tons on my freighter. Other than mining madness, Extra space above 200 tons means little (I mean all of very valuable things like illegal goods take very little space.)

Of course, extra 300 tons will unlikely used because now freighter can hold only one weapon, and I don't think a freighter with mining laser as primary weapon is plausible choice for mid-game (a little before St. K and a bit after)

Oh well, maybe I just suck at aiming.

Well, the gameplay does change considerably (you really only need the extra space for the shipping mission shipping containers- each is probably going to be 25 or 50 tons - and the freighters are designed for either: bulk shipping missions- SL9000, valuables shipping- armored and vault ships, or a mix of both- EI500. BTW- under normal circumstances, I don't even play the freighter.

[Stormhawk]

I hate the freighter because of it's bad device slots. I need at least four weapon slots.

In answer to the original question. I alway's along these lines,

Hmmm, The sapphire has good cargo space but bad hull rating and device slots. so I give my ship more device slots, less cargo space. It all evens out in the end.

My Ranx gunship, IMO is very balanced.

[Arisaya]

I hate the freighter because of it's bad device slots. I need at least four weapon slots.

In answer to the original question. I alway's along these lines,

Hmmm, The sapphire has good cargo space but bad hull rating and device slots. so I give my ship more device slots, less cargo space. It all evens out in the end.

My Ranx gunship, IMO is very balanced.

Though of course that's only half of the balance spectrum ^^
But It's not so linear as much as it is more of a square- weapon slots vs. nonweapon slots vs. survivability(max armor, armor plates to size ratio...) vs. cargo

[Stormhawk]

I always have trouble with cargo space. I want to make it what it looks like. For instance, where is the yachts cargo space? It's so tiny it should have about twenty tons. The Ranx gunship on the other hand is very nice and large. I still limited it to 40 tons.

[Arisaya]

I always have trouble with cargo space. I want to make it what it looks like. For instance, where is the yachts cargo space? It's so tiny it should have about twenty tons. The Ranx gunship on the other hand is very nice and large. I still limited it to 40 tons.

(of course this is all approximated but:
size = armor*armor# + stockcargo
expanded cargo = what's appropriate for role

That's more or less how I go about it...