With the Combat Update recently being announced, I wanted to try my hand at discussing things I'd like to see changed or implemented when it comes to combat within the game, and how weapons interact with armor, shields, or standard blocks. I'll also offer some possible new weapon designs, and offer an insight into how I think the torpedoes could be used. This thread won't discuss combat options for salvaging weapons, as this was recently addressed in the last stable update.
Chainguns are good all-round weapons. They have average range, average damage against hull and shield, and are good point-defense weapons.
[suggestion] With the advent of Flak Turrets coming to fight more easily against fighters, I think that chainguns could still be useful in this role by giving them a bonus to damage against fighter craft, maybe randomized, allowing them to be universally useful at any point should a captain decide to use them on their ship.
Bolters -
Bolters are basically just chainguns that deal extra damage to hull and nearly always overheat. In virtually every other instance, they're basically the same. Honestly, I'd consider removing them from the game, as the only time you're using them they function as slightly better chainguns against bare-hulled ships. They're quickly made less great, though, once shields start appearing, meaning chainguns are again a better universal weapon, making these things rare and more or less obsolete unless paired with something like plasma weapons.
[suggestion] Replace these with "Autocannons". These would be bigger, slower-firing weapons that don't always overheat, but that deal more damage to hull and shields than standard chainguns, but have no bonus damage or accuracy when firing against fighter craft. This means they don't impede on the universal use of chainguns, or step on the toes of the new flak guns, while still being an upgrade to what you started with. Maybe instead of overheating, they have a "spin up time" where they eventually reach full strength as well.
Cannons -
Cannons are probably one of my favorite weapons, but they tend to not be very good against shields, which almost all ships have at the point you get them, it seems. Sure, you could pair them with plasma weapons or something to help with that, but they still lack some of the oomph you'd expect against hull, especially compared to later weapons.
[suggestion] These things can't be perfect, of course, but we don't have a true armor-busting weapon either. They could do more damage than rockets, and have a larger AoE that shocks an area for damage, similarly to how railguns work now. However, they might only penetrate 2 or 3 blocks at maximum so we don't have a railgun situation all over again. They can still be dodged, but now, if they hit, your armor and bits feel it. Otherwise, they function identically, with overheating, projectile speed, recoil, all that jazz.
Rockets -
Rockets are also one of my favorite weapons, but their slow projectile speed makes them mostly useless unless firing at stationary targets, or unless "thrown" from your ship at high speed, where their velocity is added to your own. Seeker Missiles are easily one of the most awesome things in the game, since they can home in on enemies, but they require a fast craft to use them effectively in ship to ship trades.
[suggestion] Remove the basic dumb-fire missiles to be replaced by the cannon changes from above, since they fill a similar role now. Seeker missiles could then have a wider damage variance (since you can't really dodge them and they can't hit like trucks all the time as a result). Or, their blast radius could vary, and only do surface level damage as opposed to armor penetration damage like the cannons above. This means they still hurt several blocks, and do decent damage overall, but they don't overwhelm someone despite being seekers if they've invested in solid defense.
Railguns -
Everyone uses these. There is no exception for the most part. I love railguns, but they're too strong as it stands. The way they calculate damage makes them superior to every other weapon in the game when shot against a ship's hull, even if they're using armor, which kind of defeats the purpose of armor to some degree. The armor might stop the penetration, or the shot from damaging components, but that doesn't really matter when it still does the same damage to the vessel's hit points regardless of what it hits. It's still going to ruin your day.
[suggestion] Make armor blocks stop railgun shots. Like, actually stop them. Basically, the damage is NOT multiplied if the railgun hits an armor block. It hits the armor, does 1x damage, and halts. If a railgun hits any other block other than armor, it behaves exactly like it does now, until it either "passes through" the target, or hits another armor block. Basically, armor your components to deal with railguns, and don't die anyway even if you have armor because of crazy damage mechanics. This means rails turn lightly armored craft into a new debris field, but give heavily armored ships more of a chance to survive them, as it honestly should be.
ENERGY WEAPON SUGGESTIONS
Plasma -
Plasma weapons are honestly nice weapons. They take energy, but don't overheat, and can evaporate most shielding with enough sustained fire. They have their niche and they do very well in filling it. They're the universal energy weapon against shields as well.
[suggestion] I don't think these actually need changes. They're solid weapons to use against shielded craft too. The only thing might be to have them travel a little bit faster to the target, even if they don't increase rate of fire.
Laser -
Laser weapons are the real universal energy weapon, dealing good damage to both hull and shields, with a trade off being their universal short range. These would also make good anti-fighter weapons, potentially, since they go right to the target.
[suggestion] Similar to chainguns, I think these could get a damage boost against fighter craft, especially because of their short range and default greater power and energy requirements. These are sort of like a step up from chainguns with a slight difference in cost, and that fills a good role as well.
Tesla -
These are basically better lasers with higher energy cost. They're basically like Bolters in that, except that they're even less far-reaching than lasers, requiring you to get close to zap someone.
[suggestion] Keep things the same, but make these do more damage to shields, potentially. If you get up close and personal to zap their shields, it puts you at risk for that reward, so I feel this balances things nicely.
Lightning -
Inaccurate railguns, basically, that hit the surface for a lot of damage, but can be nullified by stone blocks. Arguably a counter to armor blocks, but are rarely used due to their sporadic accuracy.
[suggestion] With the changes above implemented, I'd suggest removing them in favor of something else, however, they could be a middle-ground between existing weaponry, and a few new types discussed below if kept in and unaltered.
Pulse -
What are shields? These things basically pass through them as if they aren't there to be super annoying to decorative ship builders everywhere, and deal chip damage through giant flying shield generators. These are arguably a necessity since it's easier to increase your shields than it is your hull and maneuverability.
[suggestion] This might be a little dangerous to suggest, but giving these a higher damage cap might be a decent call, as long as their range stays somewhat on the smaller end. They don't need a huge buff, but as it stands, in early game, chainguns are basically better against hull than these things are late game. While you can also have a lot of these, giving them a small boost to output would make them just a little more appealing endgame.
NEW WEAPON SUGGESTIONS
Flak -
I have no idea how these are intended to work, but I would imagine they're super effective against fighters, dealing lots of damage to them, but are largely ineffective against literally everything else.
[suggestion] Since these are specialized weapons, I'm not worried about them being too overpowering. What they will do, of course, is make fighters a little less overbearing, since they have a counter other than other fighters now. Seriously, even homing missiles have problems hitting fighter craft as it stands.
Torpedoes -
I'm going to take a wild guess and say these will probably be manufactured on your ship similarly to fighters, or purchased and mounted to your ship. They'll be countered by flak turrets, chain guns, or possibly other weapons set to auto-fire. And because they can be shot down and are single use, I imagine they will really, really hurt.
[suggestion] Hopefully these will move a little faster than rockets, but slower than cannons, in order to make them hard-hitting, but counterable. Also, having them be anti-factory or anti-station weapons rather than pure ship weapons would be pretty awesome, since it takes forever and a day to take out a station, potentially.
WEAPON WISHLIST
Capital Class Weapons -
So, these would only be capable of being mounted on ships above a certain volume limit, but not the max cap (Maybe 10 slots?), so as to give smaller ships a chance against hulking behemoths, potentially. These weapons would not pivot the way normal turrets do, so, basically, you aim them with your entire ship. They could be mounted forward, backward, or side to side (broadsides whee!), depending on what the captain wanted for their ship, and could be built around with blocks to protect them from being easily stripped off by weapon fire.
Also, they would have very high levels of recoil to make them harder to use effectively on smaller ships, despite the volume limitation. Mounting them along your center of mass would help a great deal, for example. Rather than having a "cooldown" period, these weapons would have a "charge up" period before each shot, preventing instant use, and giving an enemy time to try and maneuver away. As of right now, I've come up with two potential weapons of this class.
[Rail Cannon]
Take the slow-firing properties of cannons and railguns, then combine them into one, huge, fast-moving shot of destruction. These things would have a bad day if they hit a ship's shield, but would potentially deal a good chunk of damage to them. If they hit hull, however, well, much pain would descend upon your enemies. If they hit armor, they'd explode similarly to the cannon suggestion above, dealing shock damage to the blocks hit in the AoE and even slightly behind them. If it hit hull or anything that wasn't armor, it would act like a railgun, with a limited penetration of course (4 or 5 blocks max, maybe?), but multiply the damage accordingly. These weapons would never have a shield penetration chance, and travel more similarly to a cannon projectile than a railgun projectile, so they could potentially be avoided to help balance their power.
[Particle Cannon]
The energy version of things tears through shields like a plasma weapon, has a chance to penetrate shields entirely, and deals surface-level damage in an AoE if it strikes the ship itself, with components below stone blocks being untouched. These aren't as useful against hull, though they would still hurt, but if they hit a ship's shields, they deal a large burst of damage. They'd deal bonus damage to shields, but not to hull, as these are specifically aimed at stripping a ship's defenses. These weapons would have a shield penetration chance of some kind, maybe 30%, and also travel more similarly to a cannon projectile than a lightning projectile, so they could potentially be avoided to help balance their power out and prevent too much abuse.
Uses of Capital Class Weapons
Basically, these things are designed to be used to siege stations, or attack huge targets. They'd have very little use against fast-moving ships, but would give people a reason to have a fleet instead of one big uber ship, aka one big target to shoot. I don't know how torpedoes are meant to be implemented, but in particular, having weapons like these would not only be a really cool addition to the game in general by adding a new type of fixed weapon for people who like to build big, but also create a counter to almost any playstyle one might face in a PvP scenario by making large ships more of an approachable target, and give people new tools to build their empire through might in the single-player sandbox experience.
IN CLOSING
I feel that these suggestions add a lot of new dynamic means to play the game, and makes almost any weapon choice a meaningful one if played well. All ships of all sizes, and equipped with any set of weapons, can be tailored to create the experience a person wants, and to fulfill their space fantasies as never before. Big ships are now a choice, rather than the norm. Small ships are still awesome and useful, even later on. Armor feels impactful, shields feel impactful, but not overpowering. Overpowered mechanics have been addressed to provide a multitude of weapon combinations that can fit any choice a person makes, and to make sure that any decision and playstyle has its pros and cons. And, most of all, the game feels dynamic, challenging, and different depending on how you decide to play, or what weapons you decide to use, with none tuned to just be "the best choice" at all times. Anyway, I apologize for the text wall, but I hope some people take the time to read it.
Suggestion
Ryugi
With the Combat Update recently being announced, I wanted to try my hand at discussing things I'd like to see changed or implemented when it comes to combat within the game, and how weapons interact with armor, shields, or standard blocks. I'll also offer some possible new weapon designs, and offer an insight into how I think the torpedoes could be used. This thread won't discuss combat options for salvaging weapons, as this was recently addressed in the last stable update.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHYSICAL WEAPON SUGGESTIONS
Chainguns -
Chainguns are good all-round weapons. They have average range, average damage against hull and shield, and are good point-defense weapons.
[suggestion] With the advent of Flak Turrets coming to fight more easily against fighters, I think that chainguns could still be useful in this role by giving them a bonus to damage against fighter craft, maybe randomized, allowing them to be universally useful at any point should a captain decide to use them on their ship.
Bolters -
Bolters are basically just chainguns that deal extra damage to hull and nearly always overheat. In virtually every other instance, they're basically the same. Honestly, I'd consider removing them from the game, as the only time you're using them they function as slightly better chainguns against bare-hulled ships. They're quickly made less great, though, once shields start appearing, meaning chainguns are again a better universal weapon, making these things rare and more or less obsolete unless paired with something like plasma weapons.
[suggestion] Replace these with "Autocannons". These would be bigger, slower-firing weapons that don't always overheat, but that deal more damage to hull and shields than standard chainguns, but have no bonus damage or accuracy when firing against fighter craft. This means they don't impede on the universal use of chainguns, or step on the toes of the new flak guns, while still being an upgrade to what you started with. Maybe instead of overheating, they have a "spin up time" where they eventually reach full strength as well.
Cannons -
Cannons are probably one of my favorite weapons, but they tend to not be very good against shields, which almost all ships have at the point you get them, it seems. Sure, you could pair them with plasma weapons or something to help with that, but they still lack some of the oomph you'd expect against hull, especially compared to later weapons.
[suggestion] These things can't be perfect, of course, but we don't have a true armor-busting weapon either. They could do more damage than rockets, and have a larger AoE that shocks an area for damage, similarly to how railguns work now. However, they might only penetrate 2 or 3 blocks at maximum so we don't have a railgun situation all over again. They can still be dodged, but now, if they hit, your armor and bits feel it. Otherwise, they function identically, with overheating, projectile speed, recoil, all that jazz.
Rockets -
Rockets are also one of my favorite weapons, but their slow projectile speed makes them mostly useless unless firing at stationary targets, or unless "thrown" from your ship at high speed, where their velocity is added to your own. Seeker Missiles are easily one of the most awesome things in the game, since they can home in on enemies, but they require a fast craft to use them effectively in ship to ship trades.
[suggestion] Remove the basic dumb-fire missiles to be replaced by the cannon changes from above, since they fill a similar role now. Seeker missiles could then have a wider damage variance (since you can't really dodge them and they can't hit like trucks all the time as a result). Or, their blast radius could vary, and only do surface level damage as opposed to armor penetration damage like the cannons above. This means they still hurt several blocks, and do decent damage overall, but they don't overwhelm someone despite being seekers if they've invested in solid defense.
Railguns -
Everyone uses these. There is no exception for the most part. I love railguns, but they're too strong as it stands. The way they calculate damage makes them superior to every other weapon in the game when shot against a ship's hull, even if they're using armor, which kind of defeats the purpose of armor to some degree. The armor might stop the penetration, or the shot from damaging components, but that doesn't really matter when it still does the same damage to the vessel's hit points regardless of what it hits. It's still going to ruin your day.
[suggestion] Make armor blocks stop railgun shots. Like, actually stop them. Basically, the damage is NOT multiplied if the railgun hits an armor block. It hits the armor, does 1x damage, and halts. If a railgun hits any other block other than armor, it behaves exactly like it does now, until it either "passes through" the target, or hits another armor block. Basically, armor your components to deal with railguns, and don't die anyway even if you have armor because of crazy damage mechanics. This means rails turn lightly armored craft into a new debris field, but give heavily armored ships more of a chance to survive them, as it honestly should be.
ENERGY WEAPON SUGGESTIONS
Plasma -
Plasma weapons are honestly nice weapons. They take energy, but don't overheat, and can evaporate most shielding with enough sustained fire. They have their niche and they do very well in filling it. They're the universal energy weapon against shields as well.
[suggestion] I don't think these actually need changes. They're solid weapons to use against shielded craft too. The only thing might be to have them travel a little bit faster to the target, even if they don't increase rate of fire.
Laser -
Laser weapons are the real universal energy weapon, dealing good damage to both hull and shields, with a trade off being their universal short range. These would also make good anti-fighter weapons, potentially, since they go right to the target.
[suggestion] Similar to chainguns, I think these could get a damage boost against fighter craft, especially because of their short range and default greater power and energy requirements. These are sort of like a step up from chainguns with a slight difference in cost, and that fills a good role as well.
Tesla -
These are basically better lasers with higher energy cost. They're basically like Bolters in that, except that they're even less far-reaching than lasers, requiring you to get close to zap someone.
[suggestion] Keep things the same, but make these do more damage to shields, potentially. If you get up close and personal to zap their shields, it puts you at risk for that reward, so I feel this balances things nicely.
Lightning -
Inaccurate railguns, basically, that hit the surface for a lot of damage, but can be nullified by stone blocks. Arguably a counter to armor blocks, but are rarely used due to their sporadic accuracy.
[suggestion] With the changes above implemented, I'd suggest removing them in favor of something else, however, they could be a middle-ground between existing weaponry, and a few new types discussed below if kept in and unaltered.
Pulse -
What are shields? These things basically pass through them as if they aren't there to be super annoying to decorative ship builders everywhere, and deal chip damage through giant flying shield generators. These are arguably a necessity since it's easier to increase your shields than it is your hull and maneuverability.
[suggestion] This might be a little dangerous to suggest, but giving these a higher damage cap might be a decent call, as long as their range stays somewhat on the smaller end. They don't need a huge buff, but as it stands, in early game, chainguns are basically better against hull than these things are late game. While you can also have a lot of these, giving them a small boost to output would make them just a little more appealing endgame.
NEW WEAPON SUGGESTIONS
Flak -
I have no idea how these are intended to work, but I would imagine they're super effective against fighters, dealing lots of damage to them, but are largely ineffective against literally everything else.
[suggestion] Since these are specialized weapons, I'm not worried about them being too overpowering. What they will do, of course, is make fighters a little less overbearing, since they have a counter other than other fighters now. Seriously, even homing missiles have problems hitting fighter craft as it stands.
Torpedoes -
I'm going to take a wild guess and say these will probably be manufactured on your ship similarly to fighters, or purchased and mounted to your ship. They'll be countered by flak turrets, chain guns, or possibly other weapons set to auto-fire. And because they can be shot down and are single use, I imagine they will really, really hurt.
[suggestion] Hopefully these will move a little faster than rockets, but slower than cannons, in order to make them hard-hitting, but counterable. Also, having them be anti-factory or anti-station weapons rather than pure ship weapons would be pretty awesome, since it takes forever and a day to take out a station, potentially.
WEAPON WISHLIST
Capital Class Weapons -
So, these would only be capable of being mounted on ships above a certain volume limit, but not the max cap (Maybe 10 slots?), so as to give smaller ships a chance against hulking behemoths, potentially. These weapons would not pivot the way normal turrets do, so, basically, you aim them with your entire ship. They could be mounted forward, backward, or side to side (broadsides whee!), depending on what the captain wanted for their ship, and could be built around with blocks to protect them from being easily stripped off by weapon fire.
Also, they would have very high levels of recoil to make them harder to use effectively on smaller ships, despite the volume limitation. Mounting them along your center of mass would help a great deal, for example. Rather than having a "cooldown" period, these weapons would have a "charge up" period before each shot, preventing instant use, and giving an enemy time to try and maneuver away. As of right now, I've come up with two potential weapons of this class.
[Rail Cannon]
Take the slow-firing properties of cannons and railguns, then combine them into one, huge, fast-moving shot of destruction. These things would have a bad day if they hit a ship's shield, but would potentially deal a good chunk of damage to them. If they hit hull, however, well, much pain would descend upon your enemies. If they hit armor, they'd explode similarly to the cannon suggestion above, dealing shock damage to the blocks hit in the AoE and even slightly behind them. If it hit hull or anything that wasn't armor, it would act like a railgun, with a limited penetration of course (4 or 5 blocks max, maybe?), but multiply the damage accordingly. These weapons would never have a shield penetration chance, and travel more similarly to a cannon projectile than a railgun projectile, so they could potentially be avoided to help balance their power.
[Particle Cannon]
The energy version of things tears through shields like a plasma weapon, has a chance to penetrate shields entirely, and deals surface-level damage in an AoE if it strikes the ship itself, with components below stone blocks being untouched. These aren't as useful against hull, though they would still hurt, but if they hit a ship's shields, they deal a large burst of damage. They'd deal bonus damage to shields, but not to hull, as these are specifically aimed at stripping a ship's defenses. These weapons would have a shield penetration chance of some kind, maybe 30%, and also travel more similarly to a cannon projectile than a lightning projectile, so they could potentially be avoided to help balance their power out and prevent too much abuse.
Uses of Capital Class Weapons
Basically, these things are designed to be used to siege stations, or attack huge targets. They'd have very little use against fast-moving ships, but would give people a reason to have a fleet instead of one big uber ship, aka one big target to shoot. I don't know how torpedoes are meant to be implemented, but in particular, having weapons like these would not only be a really cool addition to the game in general by adding a new type of fixed weapon for people who like to build big, but also create a counter to almost any playstyle one might face in a PvP scenario by making large ships more of an approachable target, and give people new tools to build their empire through might in the single-player sandbox experience.
IN CLOSING
I feel that these suggestions add a lot of new dynamic means to play the game, and makes almost any weapon choice a meaningful one if played well. All ships of all sizes, and equipped with any set of weapons, can be tailored to create the experience a person wants, and to fulfill their space fantasies as never before. Big ships are now a choice, rather than the norm. Small ships are still awesome and useful, even later on. Armor feels impactful, shields feel impactful, but not overpowering. Overpowered mechanics have been addressed to provide a multitude of weapon combinations that can fit any choice a person makes, and to make sure that any decision and playstyle has its pros and cons. And, most of all, the game feels dynamic, challenging, and different depending on how you decide to play, or what weapons you decide to use, with none tuned to just be "the best choice" at all times. Anyway, I apologize for the text wall, but I hope some people take the time to read it.
Till next time, see you all out there.
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