Recognized Weapons v. Shields

    Mered4

    Space Triangle Builder
    Joined
    Jan 12, 2014
    Messages
    662
    Reaction score
    190
    • Community Content - Bronze 2
    • Purchased!
    • Legacy Citizen 4
    So we all know that weapons currently take X seconds to kill an equivalent mass of shields.
    This number really doesn't matter, FYI - increasing or decreasing it will simply change the ratio of shields - weapons in combat vessels.

    What about actually balancing those 50k+ ships with the rest of the fleet? For example, missiles currently wipe the idea of block for block DPS by dealing it all instantly. Thus, those really big ships don't just have more DPS. Their one-shot kill max mass value just goes up the larger the ship gets.

    Here's some basic principles that need to be a priority for balancing combat:

    1. We need to devote larger ships to their turrets. Front firing cannons make zero sense on a ship that can be outmaneuvered in seconds. Especially considering the turret nerfs that have been mentioned (turret firing arc and speed) as well as the general weapon nerf (firing arc restrictions).

    2. With that in mind, let's limit weapons by the power they consume. Sure, you can use a massive MAC cannon - but you won't be able to fire it without massive power banks. Want to use that really powerful, 5M damage missile? You'll need 250M power storage for that! This change will also put a *soft cap* on turret size - you wouldn't want a massive barrage going off without your authorization, especially if it kills your power. Thus, it also encourages smaller turrets.

    3. Smaller vessels (smaller entities in general, actually) need a shielding buff. They need to at least survive long enough to hit something, instead of being killed upon entering the render range. This also ties in with the turret nerfs, but it's still an important facet of the direction shielding changes should take. Making docked entities share at least a part of the mothership's shields is also a huge section of this point.

    4. Combat range should not max out beyond render range. I hope Planetside 2 has taught everyone here the important lesson that toeing the render range line is a very dangerous game. It's also not super satisfying. I don't know about you, but I like seeing my enemies blow up. Especially if it's a well made ship. :D We should be careful that this doesn't invalidate long range weapons, however.

    5. There needs to be a repair system of some sort. Shields prevent damage to the hull, which saves on maintenance. No one likes maintenance. This is already in the works, but it is worth mentioning because it will drastically alter how players behave in and around combat.

    6. Building a viable and efficient combat vessel should not be limited in full Survival Universes. I'm specifically referencing the current rarity of the resource asteroids used to make shields, but future changes need to take this into account too.

    What do you guys think? What did I miss?
    Calbiri A detailed response from you guys would be great. Some of your ideas and vision I've heard from speaking with you on Teamspeak, however, you've yet to go into detail on how ya'll think shielding should interact with weapons. Armor, yes, but not the delicate weapons v shields discussion. :p
     

    Criss

    Social Media Director
    Joined
    Jun 25, 2013
    Messages
    2,187
    Reaction score
    1,772
    • Master Builder Bronze
    • Video Genius
    • Competition Winner - Stations
    I think you need to read up a lot on some recent related threads. The devs have made direct responses to lot's of stuff concerning turrets, armor, and weapon changes that are coming. As skeptical as I was before I am once again confident that the devs know our concerns based on these responses and that they have some plans for them. What they stated on the forums sounds great.
     

    Mered4

    Space Triangle Builder
    Joined
    Jan 12, 2014
    Messages
    662
    Reaction score
    190
    • Community Content - Bronze 2
    • Purchased!
    • Legacy Citizen 4
    I think you need to read up a lot on some recent related threads. The devs have made direct responses to lot's of stuff concerning turrets, armor, and weapon changes that are coming. As skeptical as I was before I am once again confident that the devs know our concerns based on these responses and that they have some plans for them. What they stated on the forums sounds great.
    I've been poking around and all I've come up with are vague hints and rumors. Are there any specific threads you could point me to?
     

    Criss

    Social Media Director
    Joined
    Jun 25, 2013
    Messages
    2,187
    Reaction score
    1,772
    • Master Builder Bronze
    • Video Genius
    • Competition Winner - Stations
    Anything that has armor in the title that was posted within the last week.
     

    Criss

    Social Media Director
    Joined
    Jun 25, 2013
    Messages
    2,187
    Reaction score
    1,772
    • Master Builder Bronze
    • Video Genius
    • Competition Winner - Stations
    That's armor, not shields and weapons.
    Like I said above, the posts cover lots of info about what the devs want to do with armor, shields and weapons. Shields aren't really being regarded as a problem right now.
     
    Joined
    Jan 1, 2013
    Messages
    772
    Reaction score
    452
    Theres some plans to add directional control to shielding, and there are various things that would affect weapon usage, from ship turn rates, thrust mechanics (theres a whole thread on that) reticle size adjustments/restrictions, improvements to the games graphics rendering (increasing effective sight range) and more. There's also limitations to what one can acheive, for example, the render distance on my PC is probably a bit further than for the average player who does not have the spare money to just throw into a top end computer.
    [DOUBLEPOST=1425248613,1425248545][/DOUBLEPOST]The generation of planets, asteroids, and other resource points is also not complete, so the rarity issue is not where we want it to be yet.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: Criss and Mered4