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We need enough frigates to deflect and attack before we take the moon Moon
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Aug 15, 2014 16:26
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While normally I would support bringing freedom to the Moon, having bigger and better ships than anyone else is the American Way.
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Aug 15, 2014 16:28
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The best defense is a good offense, I say focus on Warp Technology so we can bring the fight to them
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Aug 15, 2014 16:46
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occipitallobe posted:For instance, is Offensive Performance based on kills? Or is it based on winning battles I initiate? Conversely, is Defensive Performance based on losses, or doing well in defensive battles? Oftentimes I think I've got something nailed down, but there are so many variables that it's easy to make a mistake. Likewise, I'm not really sure what the difference between Political Influence and Command Representation is - is it just the number of each nation's officers/admirals who are in charge? Offensive and defensive right now give fixed amounts per battle and don't look at the number of ships involved. If you are attacking you gain offensive score when winning and lose (slightly less) offensive score when losing. If you are defending, you gain a tiny bit of offensive score when winning and lose a lot of defensive score if you get defeated. (Defensive scores at max if nothing happens) Also, battles at locations where one side has a base count about 3 times as much for all purposes than those at unimportant locations. Political Influence: Just scores based on whether that nation has a council seat or not. (And how much they expect to have one) Command Representation: Number of officers of that nation assigned to officer, captain and admiral slots, in relation to the national population. (regular officers count least, captains more and admirals according to the displayed command weight of the fleet) Personnel Management: Promotions handed out to officers of that nation. Depends on how many of their officers you have, of course. Research: Just how much of a percentage of your budget you are putting into research. I didn't want to penalize people here for picking long-term research projects over short ones. Unfortunately, traits are completely hardcoded right now. The award traits work as follows: Award: Wounded in Action - Gives 10% extra survival odds on ship destruction Award: Boarding action badge - Increases tactical skill by 5 for boarding purposes Award; Medal of Valor - Not currently used. No effect. Also slightly misspelled as I just noticed.  Award: Order of First Light - No effect. Just makes your starting officers stand out more. I thought I added a bonus here at some point, but it doesn't look like it. Also, the Principled, Ruthless, Alien Hater and Inventor traits are currently decorative only as their features were never finished. So feel free to use those for RP purposes. (The first three were supposed to lead to some officers defecting or resigning during on certain endgame paths, Inventor is from an abortive feature to have research labs aboard ships.)
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Aug 15, 2014 16:46
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 : Obviously we should focus on building a moon base and defending the Earth! How else are we going to keep the cretinous alien riff-raff out?
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Aug 15, 2014 16:57
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Scintilla posted:
This high class chap knows what's what. Here here.
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Aug 15, 2014 17:17
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Improve the fleet. From my admittedly limited experiences with the game, Moonbases aren't really worth it.
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Aug 15, 2014 17:38
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The main thing is we want to shoot for colonising other planets in the system. With the options as presented, shooting for a moonbase is the only way to start work colonising other, more valuable planets, even if we don't actually want the moonbase. Get our economy going, and all else follows.
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Aug 15, 2014 19:54
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WE TAKE THE FIGHT TO THE ENEMY! Signing up as an expatriated Swede living in Russia.
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Aug 15, 2014 21:09
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Cironian posted:Sure, ask me any mechanics questions you have. That also helps me see where I should still put some work into better in-game explanations. I'll stay out of any strategy discussion though, so sign me up as the Department of Vaguely Defined Analysis and Puppy Daycare. Had a question about armor strength/damage resistance - what exactly does it do? I ran a couple tests on the Beyond the Belt scenario, sending in a single heavy cruiser to attack Ganymede. 1st used Steel plating - took about 1.5k damage to both armor and structure. 2nd was the same design as the first, but used Multilayer plating - took about 1.5k damage to both armor and structure. 3rd was Steel plating, but this time I upped the StrengthFactor of Steel plating to 1000 - took about 1.5k damage to both armor and structure. 4th was Steel plating, but with the StrengthFactor set to 0 - took about 1.5k damage to both armor and structure. 5th was Steel plating, but with the StrengthFactor set to 0, and the hpFactor set to 20 - took about 150 armor damage and 15 structure damage. This was with the Solar War 1.02 demo. Edit: That was during the alien's first turn of combat. I think everything that hit the heavy cruiser was a phase ray of some sort. moebius2778 fucked around with this message at 21:25 on Aug 15, 2014 |
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Aug 15, 2014 21:21
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moebius2778 posted:Had a question about armor strength/damage resistance - what exactly does it do? I ran a couple tests on the Beyond the Belt scenario, sending in a single heavy cruiser to attack Ganymede. Just checked the code there... StrengthFactor is supposed to give the advanced armors additional resistance, more so against small guns than large ones, but it looks like I accidentally set that threshold much lower than intended at some point, so it only does anything for big ships fighting really undersized ships.  Thanks for letting me know about this! I'll see what I can do about it. The problem itself is a one-line fix but I don't want to hurry this change too much since most balance testing up to this point was done with the broken armor resistance: Fixing this might make the aliens a bit harder in the early game, so if it matters too much I'd have to change quite a few things... In the meantime, armor still works, even if this means it's just a plain HP buffer right now.
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Aug 15, 2014 22:41
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Improve the Fleet, Captain Dawson would like to get a ship worthy of being assigned to.
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Aug 16, 2014 07:41
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 occipitallobe posted:Lt. Commander "Snugglecakes" Johnson, one of the most ruthless and vicious men in the United Kingdom Navy. Is reputed to have built a cannon to fire himself onto enemy ships. Permission to use it was denied as a likely violation of the Geneva Convention.  "Defense of Earth takes priority, clearly we should improve our fleet and technology to better our capabilities to utterly murder the bloody hell out of any alien who dares approach our planet!
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Aug 16, 2014 12:59
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I don't see why the objective of eventually building bases on Mars and beyond would require us to build a base on the moon. Improving the fleet would be a better use of our resources.
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Aug 16, 2014 17:13
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NewMars posted:
Improve our fleet and technology I DEMAND TO BE GIVEN THE FIRST DESTROYER BUILT BY MANKIND. I WILL DENY THIS VAINGLORIOUS FOOL HIS GLORY. ALSO, WHY MUST I SUFFER UNDER SUBPAR COMMANDERS, WHEN MY OWN LEADERSHIP ABILITIES ARE FAR GREATER? GRANT ME COMMAND.
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Aug 16, 2014 22:12
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I must vote against any effort to improve our ships. That might lead to fewer casualties.
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Aug 16, 2014 22:43
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Signing up as officer Nathaniel Covski. Preferably as a career officer with as high rank as possible, and as low skill as possible! Nationality is unimportant.
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Aug 16, 2014 23:40
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Sign me up as Justy 'De-Peng' Tylor, rank of Captain preferred. I also vote for MOON BASE GINGRICH be constructed quick as possible.
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Aug 17, 2014 01:20
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Delta Green posted:Improve our fleet and technology (A note. You need to gain a certain amount of experience 'in grade' before I can promote you without penalty. It'd cost you 79 leadership for me to promote you straight from Lieutenant to Captain, the rank you need to command any ship larger than a Corvette. You'd go from 90 leadership to 11.) Covski posted:Signing up as officer Nathaniel Covski. Preferably as a career officer with as high rank as possible, and as low skill as possible! Nationality is unimportant.  Vice Admiral Nathanial Covski. As the second-highest ranking officer in the fleet, Zapp Brannigan has given him an affectionate nickname.  Justy Tylor was admitted to the fleet in what is probably one of the most unlikely events ever. After an incident with the fleet's psychological testing unit, he allegedly accidentally took a ship in the Second Battle for Earth and distracted the alien cruiser, ensuring it didn't fire on the line of Earth's missile ships. As one of the heroes of that battle, the fleet decided to promote him to a safer rank where he would be less likely to do any harm. - - - - 11 for Improving the Fleet 5 for Moon Base Gingrich 2 for Warp Technology Update will be up sometime later today. Also, Sam Starfall warrants a promotion from Captain to Commodore (this won't change anything - Commodores can still command ships), if he wants it. Ostensibly this is for his fine service related to [REDACTED] on Earth's Starbase during [REDACTED]. It is probably a bribe however, to get him to shut up about [REDACTED].
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Aug 17, 2014 08:53
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occipitallobe posted:(A note. You need to gain a certain amount of experience 'in grade' before I can promote you without penalty. It'd cost you 79 leadership for me to promote you straight from Lieutenant to Captain, the rank you need to command any ship larger than a Corvette. You'd go from 90 leadership to 11.) VERY WELL, I SHALL WAIT.
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Aug 17, 2014 09:36
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August 29 to November 2 The small fleet of frigates arrive at the moon. They immediately turn around and go home.  The Council once again approves a budget increase. The tax burden is being felt more heavily now, and formal complaints are made by several smaller nations that they are being cut out of the 'new economy' as a result of their lack of membership on the Council. The current head of the Council, US Councillor Richard Nixon, immediately increases sanctions on all nations not paying into the Order Fleet's budget, stating "That's my style; I like to kick 'em when they're down."  Another Frigate is constructed, under the command of Commodore Gladys Gunn. John "Snugglecakes" Johnson. Sinxia Daenelas, and Pladdicus Jones are all assigned to her vessel.  Researchers have been working on alien bodies since the battle of First Light. It's taken some time, but the first report is here for the Council.  The Space Academy is completed (we don't need to build anything). New recruits will come out one rank higher. This is pretty good for new goons.  Afterwards, we research Stable Fusion Plants. Without them, building destroyers would be nearly impossible.  Yet another Frigate is completed. Captain Alexandar Tereshkova is given command, Commander Al Lein, Commander Yuri Gagarin, and Commander Arnold J Rimmer join him for their maiden voyage to Starbase Earth.  Another budget increase is approved - smaller this time, though.  With those monies, another frigate is completed. Captain Jayme Daweson, Ensign Basil Fawlty, Lieutentant Commander Station Wong, and Sub-Lieutenant Forever BWFC all join him for their maiden voyage. A little while later, the research is complete.  Destroyer Hulls have arrived. Research continues on extended coolant tanks, but is not yet complete.  Lastly, we re-equip Bomb-Pumped Lasers on some of our old nuclear-armed ships. This will allow the Defense Squadrons arrayed around Earth to be a more formidable force. Whenever missiles are used (or re-equipped) it takes them some time to resupply and rearm from a friendly base. As such it's always wise to only use as many missiles as you absolutely have to if you're far away from home. - - - - - Also, let's talk about crew. When a ship is built it's automatically assigned Poor crew.  By going into the crew management screen, you can put some of your precious better crew on other ships. Commodore Gladys Gunn managed to score better crew so I could show off this mechanic, plus as a Commodore she managed to pull some strings. - - - - - New Modules Developed this Update:  Amazing. Just amazing. Less heat and power, more mass, and the ability to take a hit without blowing up the ship. This is one of the reasons destroyers are so survivable.  Not bad. Generally you prefer to put more modules on, but if you only need 20% more power, the large fusion bottle is a decent option. Unlike Safety Interlocks it's not going on every one of our ships, however.  Our new Fusion generator. Much better than the old ones, and the same tonnage as the Fusion A-FF. - - - - - Lastly, the Fleet needs new direction. With the arrival of the destroyers, we have new options open to us. Firstly, let's check out the new weapons (and as always, if anyone wants to suggest a design they're welcome to).  The Missile Destroyer is a Missile Frigate writ large. With twelve Missile Launchers instead of nine, however, it barely has more firepower. It has 2100 HP to the Frigate's 900 - but it takes two and a half times as long (50d 5h) to build. If they are more survivable they might be worth building. Their main advantage is that, like all missile ships, they can change their loadouts as new missiles are developed. As such, they are less impressive now but also become less obsolete over time.  The Railgun Destroyer is our second new weapon. It can arm itself with [i]twelve[/b] Mass Drivers. As such it has the highest potential long-range firepower out of any of our vessels. It has 2025 HP, however, and takes 53d 14h to build. Our present Railgun Frigates can fit two Mass Drivers - so the Railgun Destroyer has twice the HP, six times the firepower, and two-and-a-half times the cost.  The Laser Destroyer is the third of four new ships. With seven Small Fusion Lasers, it has firepower a little below that of the Railgun Destroyer - but considerably higher accuracy to compensate. It also risks overheating in eleven rounds, but most combats aren't liable to last that long (at least for now). It takes 50d 4 h to build.  The Multirole Destroyer is a jack-of-all-trades. Four of each weapon means it has some longevity as its missile loadout can be upgraded, and it can use different weapons for different threats. Unlike the Laser and Railgun Destroyers, however, it is quite slow, and making it into combat will be a difficulty. It has the weapons of all the different destroyers, but the strengths of none. However, this will allow it to address more varied threats than the other destroyers might. - - - - - While our research continues in the same direction, we do have some questions for the fleet. We have three available options as to our fleet composition. Firstly, we can build Missile Frigates and Laser/Railgun Destroyers. Missile Frigates carry more missiles (and have more HP) per hammer. They're more vulnerable, sure, but we'll have more of them. Since Laser Destroyers cost 2.5 times a Laser Frigate but have 7 times the firepower (and Railgun Destroyers have 6 times the firepower) we'll focus on those for our direct combat options. Secondly, we can Focus on Frigates and just keep churning out Missile Frigates. They're cheaper, and at the moment they're still quite effective. Since missiles can be re-armed, they're not going to become obsolescent the way our direct-fire corvettes and fighters have. Thirdly, we can Destroyer Everything! No more frigates. Want missiles? Missile destroyers. Want ships? Destroyer ships! occipitallobe fucked around with this message at 11:18 on Aug 17, 2014 |
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Aug 17, 2014 10:13
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It's time to kill all the humans! LET FLY ALL GUNS Missile Frigates, Rail Destroyers!
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Aug 17, 2014 10:35
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Lots of cheap expendable missile frigates, backed up by laser destroyers as we can. Assign any staff/crew we 'care' about to the destroyers.
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Aug 17, 2014 10:58
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Destroyers Missiles drop off very suddenly and if you're not prepared it's severe. Especially since, while it might win you battles your boats won't survive.
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Aug 17, 2014 11:30
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Sign me up Can I claim the highest skilled survivor left? Nationality not import Sol Skaft...I know I'm going to get the shaft Also Missile Frigates/Laser Destroyers
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Aug 17, 2014 11:35
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Godna posted:Sign me up  Lieutenant Commander Sol "Shafted" Skaft. Slated to be first in line to board alien ships. Pladdicus posted:Destroyers I've always found the missile dropoff to be frustrating but not impossible to deal with. While I don't like frontloading my fleets with missiles only, the fact that you can keep upgrading your loadout makes them a really worthwhile longterm investment. Kinda, anyway. (It's not like frigates are great longterm investments either way) occipitallobe fucked around with this message at 14:03 on Aug 17, 2014 |
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Aug 17, 2014 12:11
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Missile Frigates, Laser\Rail Destroyers! Its time to bring a knoife to a space fight. A laser knoife.
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Aug 17, 2014 12:20
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Ensign Wesley Crusher joins the fleet! His achievement of graduating with the highest honors in history at the academy somewhat diluted by it being the first class ever, Wesley is nonetheless ready to depolarize induction coils and invert tachyon flows at your command. (Whoever you get out of the academy first, no matter how terrible. Bonus points if you can get him captured/abducted by aliens) Also voting for: Missile Frigates, Rail Destroyers
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Aug 17, 2014 12:27
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occipitallobe posted:
 2.4.jpg) :...Navigator? Oh, yes, yes of course, ha ha. *Claps Hands* Excellent decision! I fought in the Korean War, so I know a thing or two about navigating enemy territory! Now, where did I put my compass...
Scintilla fucked around with this message at 13:23 on Aug 17, 2014 |
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Aug 17, 2014 12:37
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occipitallobe posted:Also, Sam Starfall warrants a promotion from Captain to Commodore (this won't change anything - Commodores can still command ships), if he wants it. Ostensibly this is for his fine service related to [REDACTED] on Earth's Starbase during [REDACTED]. It is probably a bribe however, to get him to shut up about [REDACTED].  On one hand I can't yell out from the rooftops what I did. On the other as a commodore I can order around those pesky starbase guards. But that might take all the fun out of it... Tough decision. I must say I admire the dilbert principle you humans have though. Look. Just take the deal.Sam Starfall takes the promotion and Missile frigate, mass driver/laser destroyers
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Aug 17, 2014 13:23
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occipitallobe posted:I've always found the missile dropoff to be frustrating but not impossible to deal with. While I don't like frontloading my fleets with missiles only, the fact that you can keep upgrading your loadout makes them a really worthwhile longterm investment. Kinda That just means you won't have a lot of 'wasted' potential tied up in obsolete missile vessels. And is also another reason to favour frigates. Less worry about wasted resources when they're just baby ships.
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Aug 17, 2014 13:45
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Veloxyll posted:That just means you won't have a lot of 'wasted' potential tied up in obsolete missile vessels. Once of the biggest advantages in having additional missile ships is that they tie up additional enemy countermissile resources even if they don't have the awesome missile upgrades that come later in the game (tougher, faster, harder to hit missiles from better missile launchers). If your missile salvos get through, they're generally devastating - they just stop getting through so much. Increasing the total missile throw you have means that even the slow missiles have to be dealt with. CheeseThief posted:Ensign Wesley Crusher joins the fleet! Because everyone loves Wesley Crusher and he is the best, he gets promoted to Sub-Lieutenant. Ensign is too lowly a rank for such a mighty crewman.  (You get the 'Generalist' trait which means you improve in all areas, not just the one you're assigned to. As a consequence Generalist characters tend to make some of the best Captains - and the worst Admirals.)
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Aug 17, 2014 14:15
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Why are you getting such low evaluations in personnel management?
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Aug 17, 2014 17:15
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Also. Forgot to ask this before voting, but how fast can we expect the gun destroyers to become obsolete?
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Aug 17, 2014 17:46
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I'll bold it this time! Sign me up as a pilot please, russian if possible.
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Aug 17, 2014 17:49
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Glazius posted:Why are you getting such low evaluations in personnel management? Organization problems. I'm trying to promote goons-only as much as possible because it's really, really hard right now to sort through the officer list and find goons reliably. (I'm thinking about spending some time prepending every goon last name with a zero so that they always show first whenever I sort by name). As such very few people are getting promotions, and personnel management relies on promotions. Once I sort out my organization it should shoot up.
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Aug 17, 2014 18:23
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I would like to join the fleet. I'm up for giving my life to Earth.
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Aug 17, 2014 21:05
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occipitallobe posted:
I prefer the immediate damage, since if you can bring down structure you start hurting the ships offense. Though I haven't tested 100% fully upgraded missiles. The only game I won was in alpha before there was an ending haha. Question! What's with the odd borders around peoples commanders, is it like, named commanders? And if so I forgot what mine is how can I find that out.
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Aug 17, 2014 22:39
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Re-enlist me up sir, as Rex 'Kitsch' Power-Colt won't let the earth be taken by some lousy alien punks. These ball-less alien freaks will have wish they hit the sun rather than earth after I'm through with them.
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Aug 18, 2014 05:05
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Kitsch! posted:Re-enlist me up sir, as Rex 'Kitsch' Power-Colt won't let the earth be taken by some lousy alien punks. These ball-less alien freaks will have wish they hit the sun rather than earth after I'm through with them.  : Hey, you have my middle name. Let's be the most high-action alien-fighting duo imaginable! Rex Power-Colt and Commander Rex Manstrong, defenders of space, coming to a theater near you! But not without Some more destroyers and frigates.
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Aug 18, 2014 05:13
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