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1

Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Fighters Query.

« on: June 08, 2019, 06:10:27 AM »

You have mentioned that making ships more different to each other is a goal for future versions of the mod. One small thought I had regarded fighters and carriers. Might it be possible to make carriers launch fighters faster than non-carriers (or make the latter slower to launch them?). Thus an escort carrier launches them faster than an MC 80b for example. Star Destroyers that are half carrier, half battleship might be somewhere in-between, especially with ties loaded.

Furthermore, might it be possible to make certain fighters launch faster than others? For example, a compact TIE launching faster than a slightly larger X-Wing?

Thus, an MC 80b with X-Wings launches them slower than an escort carrier with ties. An MC 80b with ties deploys them a bit faster than with X-Wings, but still slower than a dedicated carrier with ties

Of course, that could be a programming nightmare. YMMV.

 **

Regarding independent non-carrier fighters, might it be possible to have reserves hyper in once the original squadron is destroyed? Might that make them more useful? Either that, or have larger squadrons/numbers jump in (thus independent fighters deploy more firepower more quickly), but can be destroyed straight away, compared to slow-but steady carrier reserves. Just trying to think of a way to allow the NR and EotH to have a difference over other carrier-heavy factions through their independent fighters.

**

The other, probably silly idea I had regarded carrier fighters and charging players a small sum for every carrier fighter lost. They aren't free, and shouldn't just be tossed away in an exploit whilst leaving their carrier intact. Just wondered if that would be useful.

**

That's probably an impossible amount of work, but just thought I'd ask if bits of that might be useful.

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2

Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Truces.

« on: April 14, 2019, 06:33:56 PM »

Peace is the absence of war.

The PA and EotH can build up their forces, and then their aggression level rises by the later eras.

I know this is utterly impractical from a gameplay standpoint for many reasons, but, is it possible from a programming standpoint to have a relatively bug-free gameplay mechanic where a truce is suggested and the opposing faction's aggression level drops? (if you attack any of their territory their aggression level rises, and it would be wise to suggest a truce when an attacking force isn't transiting between systems. Withdraw your forces from their territory before suggesting the truce).

I'm sure such a system doesn't work, but I am intrigued as to how. Apologies if this has been suggested before.

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3

Discussion, Suggestions and Feedback / FotR Screenshots.

« on: March 22, 2019, 04:45:49 PM »

Just some screen-captures from Corey Loses. Really shows what the battle-cam can do when it actually focuses on something properly.

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4

Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Re: Diplomacy for ICW

« on: March 14, 2019, 04:12:33 PM »

To be honest, it seems the team is developing a much more sophisticated "diplomacy" system, by showing different kinds of war. You have the quasi-war of the PA sending small fleets to attack (which I'm really fond of as a concept, it just tests you while you're fending off the larger forces of other factions), and then the more violent actions of other factions.

On a related note, maybe faction aggression could die down if you don't fight them for a period of time? Would it be possible to have the enemy faction notice when you have fleets on the border, and thus force you to keep large fleets away from border systems? 

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5

News & Updates / Re: Vision of the Future II: The Hapes Consortium

« on: February 19, 2019, 05:03:02 PM »

With Valerie's permission, might it be possible to message her? I've been thrashing out some Vagaari design concepts, and I wondered if she might be interested in discussing them. Her designs are so professional looking, I'd be extremely eager to hear her ideas on such things.

6

Discussion, Suggestions and Feedback / CIS Voiceovers.

« on: February 04, 2019, 01:16:30 PM »

Just a small thought, but are we going to have the tinny battle-droids of TCW voicing all the CIS units, or might we get some Nemoidian*/Muun*/human voices for at least the space units? (possibly super-tactical droid also?)

Also: I noticed that the B1 battle droids of TPM sounded much more menacing than the TCW ones (IMHO)... would it be possible to have/ imitate the TPM voices for the B1 battledroid units?


*However one does an impression of such voices of course.

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7

Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Air strike thoughts.

« on: January 24, 2019, 05:33:12 AM »

I heard a reference in one of Corey’s videos to changing bombing runs. I might have heard something about a “cost” to using them. Last night I had a brainwave and wondered if there was anything useful in the system that popped into my head:

Ground battles have an income to buy sensor nodes and turrets. That is already in, but what if bombing runs could be linked to this money? What if orbital bombardment cost something?. You could use it all at once, or sparingly, but once the money is used then it is all gone.

Furthermore, is it possible to tailor the type of bombing run to the money used? Say you could use a tie fighter to do a strafing run- much faster reaction time than a bomber and much cheaper, but less powerful. (I do not propose control of aircraft in the same way one controls airspeeders- it would be just that, a run over a target with minimal manouvering)

Thus:

Tie fighter- fast reaction time and cheap, but weak.
Y-wing/ Tie bomber- standard.
X-Wing/Claw craft- fast reaction time, tough, and powerful, combining the strafing of a fighter with the shock of a bomber. Less of an area effect than bombers. Both missiles and lasers- very expensive.
Assault shuttle- missiles only- like the X-Wing, but without lasers to add to the destruction- expensive, slower.

Orbital drop- drops vehicles and troops anywhere on the map other than the reinforcement points- expensive, and only for some types of units. A possible fix for jump troopers? 

[Also: a possible Fall of the Republic unit- deploying vulture and hyena droids, but locked in ground mode for balance reasons- they’d be in the flight mode for the bomber and fighter slots]. Powerful, but fragile and expensive. Non-buildable except as an alternative to bombing runs. Only usable when you have fighters of either type in a fleet in orbit.

Orbital bombardment- very expensive, very powerful. Concentrated in a small area, but can be reused to spread destruction over a wider areas at the cost of using up all credits.

World Devastator- a unit/building is sucked off the map by an off-map devastator and added to the credit tally. This is a horribly game-breaking idea, and I have no idea how to create a cost for a self-supplying war machine, even when it is off-screen. I'm absolutely open to ideas for this one.

Finally:

Command vehicles like the Floating Fortress, Juggernaut or Heavy Tracker would add a small increase to the ground combat income when deployed, but once only. After that, they’d provide the use they usually do, and spamming the map with command vehicles would not allow you to bombard your way to victory- only the Chariot would provide further [minor] credit increases multiple times, but even then only two or three times, as befitting their small, weak nature.

That is my idea, and I fully expect it to be impractical. However, if there are bit of it that are useful, then feel free to mine it for ideas.

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8

Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Re: Vagaari Lore Thoughts.

« on: January 17, 2019, 05:11:54 PM »

Thankyou. I have alot to improve on. I've added another bit. Hopefully I can update this when I can.

(apologies for the thread necro. I do this whenevr a gap in work appears.)

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9

Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Vagaari Lore Thoughts.

« on: December 23, 2018, 12:42:39 PM »

Most of the factions in TR have at least some significant backstory for the team to draw on. for example the warlords had some fleshing out in The Essential Guide To Warfare. I have thus wondered if the Vagaari might benefit from a fleshing out of their backstory.

Basically, I wondered if the team might like people to provide ideas about them, snippets that would never make it into the game, but provide food for thought as the team developed them.   

I know they'll probably only be a raid force, but I had some ideas if they became a normal playable faction.

Thus:

"The Vagaari’s origins can be traced to a small nondescript planet in the tiny nebula somewhere in the unknown regions. Partly city dwellers, partly nomads, the Vagaari possessed a moderate level of heavy industry and technology. Comprised of clans arranged in a hierarchy, they did not display much interest in the stars above them. For them, the security of the clan elders, and victory in the interminable wars between clans was much more important.

All this changed when the “sky stranger” arrived.  Captured and interrogated, he revealed that their sun would go super-nova within a century. This misguided act of charity forced them to build spacecraft to escape. Using the hyperdrive in the stranger’s craft, they concocted a fleet of ships to transport select clans away to another system. As the clans that escaped were allies, and their enemies were left to die, the Vagaari became a unified species practically overnight.

Ensconced in a system safe from the super-nova, they began to harvest resources to survive. Asteroids, comets, and solar energy were plentiful for the small fleet as it expanded. The Vagaari practical nature only hardened into an entitled view of the universe. They could take what they wanted from the resources around them. Survival was paramount. Somewhat scarred by the rushed evacuation, they resolved to stay on the move. If they were to survive, staying mobile would give them a chance to escape any threat.

What other species they encountered were of so little threat that they did not learn to treat other races with respect. They took what they wanted from the occasional ship that blundered into them. The lack of a stable interstellar community in the unknown regions, and large number of threats, only hardened their attitude to others. The few Chiss and Sycans they encountered were a nuisance to be used and disposed of.

Thus, as hyperdrives and navigation techniques slowly improved the stability of trade and communication routes, around 300bby, the Vagaari were perfectly positioned to prey on the increased traffic that came into their territory. Being nomadic, others were not generally aware that the Vagaari were there. What inhabited planets there were only had token occupation forces by the Vagaari, and they were loath to speak of their hated masters.

Nevertheless, they achieved enough numbers that the Chiss began to notice them. Having carved their own empire into the region, with the Ssiruuvi Imperium on their doorstep, these red-eyed humanoids were not going to go down to these nomadic slavers. Unconcerned with the small outposts they first encountered, the Vagaari empire thus blundered into disaster."

***

The Vagaari do not fight fair. Possessing reasonable technology for the unknown regions, it is not uncommon for them to encounter higher-tech species. Living shields of sentients imprisoned on the hull, Jamming fields, Primitive interdictors, and “shield ships” are all part of their arsenal.

Tractor fields: Actually a vast array of tractor beams targeting any and all enemy ships within range. Slows all ships within range.

Living shields: Sentients imprisoned on the hull. Moderately lowers accuracy of some factions (NR, era 5 IR, PA, CSA).

Turbo-ion gun: Extremely effective ion weapon. Higher damage to shields than other factions.
Shield ship: Asteroids with engines. Extremely tough, but also very slow, with few weapons. Damage sponges.

Dismantlers: essentially the Vagaari version of a buzz-droid. These are generally deployed against capital ships. Often deployed via missile against slower ships.

Vagaari ships are generally tough with high speed. However…

Against this the Vagaari have extremely weak turbo-lasers, as well as a comparatively short weapons range. Few fighters, though one type is as manoeuvrable as X-Wings, with more firepower. Their ships are either carriers or battleships- few “star destroyer” type craft.

Another notable aspect about them is that they are almost entirely space-based, with “barracks” and “vehicle factories” contained within space stations just like their shipyards. While they can build ground forces to take planetary territory, it is through their crèche-cruisers and nomad factories that they do so. [Thus the nomadic caravan noted by Thrawn in Outbound Flight would be represented by their mobile space-based structures]

Furthermore, almost all of their structures are mobile in realspace and hyperspace. Structures can be moved near and far from the front as needed, allowing assets to be deployed quickly and flexibly. The Vagaari practise a nomad lifestyle far beyond what other space-caravan based species are capable. Not for nothing are they seen by their subject peoples as a “nomad empire”. 

While the Vagaari can immediately begin mining when they move into a system, this has disadvantages. A purely space-based industrial complex is smaller than that of a planet based economy, what with its favourable conditions of gravity and magnetic fields. Living space is extremely limited. Thus, their crèche-cruisers and civilian fleet house less warriors than they might do had they been cities on the ground.  Thus the Vagaari must concentrate force where it is needed and avoid excessive attrition.

Vagaari do not build trade stations. Trade is a minor concern to them. They take what they want, why barter?


Thoughts?

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10

Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Re: Legitamate galactic government

« on: December 15, 2018, 10:05:33 AM »

Interesting. Don't capitals fulfil that function? Maybe a slight bonus from being on Coruscant?

Nonetheless, I keep wondering if different bonuses might be applied. There are already alot of discounts, credit increases etc, why not make buildings build faster instead (better bureaucracy sorting out the paper work and allocating labour faster)? What do you think?




I did a post on governmental policies that did decreased building time and other bonuses, so I might try and update that if it interests anyone.

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11

Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Re: Warlord Nuso Esva

« on: December 03, 2018, 06:12:27 PM »

If I have time, I'll try and do some drawings of those ships as I imagined them. If I can get the Procurator Star Battlecruiser I was working on done at some point.

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12

Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Re: Black Fleet Crisis Query.

« on: December 02, 2018, 08:17:59 AM »

Oh. Now I am confused. Maybe I haven't kept up to date on announcements. Hmm.

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13

Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Black Fleet Crisis Query.

« on: December 01, 2018, 04:56:20 PM »

First off, I want to say that your decision to expunge the Yevetha as a playable faction is completely understandable. There are many imperial factions already in the mod, and going for more unique stuff like the Si Ruuvi or the Vagaari makes much more sense.

That said, I did want to give some praise for the BFC GC, simply because it has some features that seem different to the other GCs. It is small, fast paced, but also feels quite... personal. The majority of major Yevethan units are helmed by heroes, which means you will always be fighting the same major ships each time. Furthermore, the Thrustships are very difficult to deal with, making any attempt to take down the Yevethan SSD very difficult, almost like a puzzle boss.

I completely understand if the BFC cannot be used as a GC now, but am just checking if it is possible, in the same what that the Ciutric Hegemony is not a faction at all, but is represented by the empire for one GC.

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14

News & Updates / Re: [ICW] Playable Faction Profile: Corporate Sector Authority

« on: September 29, 2018, 06:29:06 AM »

Is there any particular theme/ combat style for the CSA (for both ground and space)? From the video of the ground combat it looked like fast aerial units with slug-throwers, though I can only presume.

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Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Faction Politics.

« on: August 31, 2018, 04:06:46 PM »

I wondered if some of the effects of Sins' policies for factions (I do not know the right terminology for Sins) might be duplicated by making your capitols give you the ability to "build" policies that affect your factions. Such policies can be removed the way structures are removed, but with a high price due to the beaurocracy and paperwork required.

All except NR: Endorse Slavery: Buildings are built faster with a mild price decrease, but the "policy" has a high upkeep (slavery requires infrastructure and is expensive). Holding Kashyykk makes building times even faster.

All except NR, DL, and EotH: HuManocentrism: High non-stacking defensive values due to unit cohesion, but the "policy" has a high population point rating (as you've basically excluded much of your empire from participating in your armed forces).

All factions : De-nationalise defensive forces: garrisons increase in size, but the "policy" has a high population point rating (as you've just diverted planetary defence forces from your primary force). (NR and EotH get a very modest price reduction for this policy)

All factions: high tax policy: income instantly increases significantly, but then drops to a modestly lower level.

All factions: low tax policy: income slowly increases to a point modestly higher than its original level.

Non-expansionist state: all units not led by someone with a high defensive bonus get a mild defensive bonus.

Thoughts? I don't want to give any unfair price reductions or defensive/ offensive stacks, but I wondered if this is useful. I haven't seen anything that reduces building prices, though I'll have another look at the manual again.

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16

Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Re: Faction Review 2.25

« on: August 26, 2018, 06:31:22 PM »

They do its just not enough of an incentive to build them over the Tectors. Tectors, Praetors and SSDs re your era 5 work horses with maybe some Venators. I like Preybirds but if you want a lot of them you need to build them manually.I just don't build that many ISD IIs as the Empire. mostly because of the Tector.

Oh absolutely, I was merely pointing out a discrepancy. I played Orinda this evening, and ended up with mostly tectors... but the NR didn't really attack me, so they weren't really tested. I think that by era 5 the IR is simply too outclassed to do anything but outnumber the NR if it wants to win. Their one good capital has no fighters, which means you have to spend precious fleet points on independent fighters.

I must admit I'm wondering if the ISD II could get a slight buff. Just to make it a better support capital in later eras. Squadrons are canonically fixed... maybe armour ? Maybe a point reduction to 5 (more automation)? Even that doesn't seem like much, and it would be overpowered for earlier eras.

Hmmmm. It should probably be left as it is. Too many professional AAA game companies obsess with everything being "balanced" to the detriment of lore and flavour.

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17

Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Re: Faction Review 2.25

« on: August 26, 2018, 01:56:17 PM »

You can build I-7 Howlrunners (junk) and Preybirds (excellent), your ISD IIs also upgrade to carrying a single Howlrunner although ISD IIs are well obsolete.

Apologies, but I think the ISD II gets the Preybird in era 5. At least mine do.

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18

Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Re: Top 10 Star Ships in the Game

« on: August 26, 2018, 05:39:12 AM »

The Strike Cruiser gives the IR something it generally lacks- the ability to place firepower wherever you want. Even the tector, being a triangle, finds it difficult to manouvre, and IR bombers can at times be inferior to other bombers, for various reasons.

With the strike cruiser, you can direct fire almost anywhere. While a wall of ISDSs/Tectors stays put, slowly nibbling away at enemy shields, SCs bring support to whatever part of the battle-line needs help. It can focus fire, knock down shields/ main weapons, and leave the rest to the capitals.

It is also an excellent counter to the long-ranged Majestic!

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19

Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Re: Maldrood ships advice

« on: August 25, 2018, 05:36:34 PM »

How might Maldrood be compared to EotH?

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20

Discussion, Suggestions & Feedback / Re: Cheap and Not So Nasty Fleets

« on: August 25, 2018, 05:35:44 PM »

I'd throw in some Howlrunners for the first fleet. Hyperspace capable, and held in reserve, they can quickly react to furballs where your side is losing.

IR era 5 has some pretty good depth and breadth for fighters and bombers.

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