Re: [MAIN] XPiratez - N9.7.7 12-Sep-2024 Second Coming

[Ethereal_Medic]

I certainly start to miss the idea behind this feature and why it has to be implemented into this mod.

Aren't merc's OP enough?

The mod slowly turns into a complete 'impossible challenge' thing where only 1 strategy will become viable and even this one plan can be foiled by RNG all over the place. The room for "other strategies" gets cut further and further.

Codex-Ships shouldn't be locked behind the lock'nar/ninja-gal topic since the research topic is RNG itself. Can the first captured ninja-gal maybe give this topic for free on the first try? Would be neat since the grey codex offers 0 benefits in taking it for this horrible early game where all other codexes give stuff for free to use.

Much fun using airbus/airvan and aircar for the first 6months, no room for error with 6/5/4 hands and sickbay days sporting 30-60days because a stray revolver managed to roll a 52 (yay...).

[Zharkov]

I certainly start to miss the idea behind this feature and why it has to be implemented into this mod.

Aren't merc's OP enough?

The mod slowly turns into a complete 'impossible challenge' thing where only 1 strategy will become viable and even this one plan can be foiled by RNG all over the place. The room for "other strategies" gets cut further and further.

Codex-Ships shouldn't be locked behind the lock'nar/ninja-gal topic since the research topic is RNG itself. Can the first captured ninja-gal maybe give this topic for free on the first try? Would be neat since the grey codex offers 0 benefits in taking it for this horrible early game where all other codexes give stuff for free to use.

Much fun using airbus/airvan and aircar for the first 6months, no room for error with 6/5/4 hands and sickbay days sporting 30-60days because a stray revolver managed to roll a 52 (yay...).

While I welcome every change that makes the AI a little bit smarter, I must concede, that I think Ethereal_Medic has a point about the tech tree. There are too many bottlenecks and often they don't make sense to me. The game is clearly schizo tech and most techs are reverse engineered and tinkered alien or ancient stuff. So why the dependencies?
Btw, dependencies, an AI update is of course independent from the tech tree thingy.

[BBHood217]

What does a mining ship need with an implosion bomb launcher?

[Ethereal_Medic]

What does a mining ship need with an implosion bomb launcher?

Don't even consider building the mining ship.
Once you got lucky with the implosion-bomb-launcher you managed to unlock every other "better" dropship and vessel for the lategame.
The mining ship is an unlucky victim of a bottle-neck and RNG-dependant research topic.
The moment you got the tech for mining ship, you might consider building a leviathan and other fighting craft instead of a ship that is "slow" for the time you got it and it's only purpose to exist is the garanteed 4 metalore each time you deploy it. Not worth the slaves or the hellerium to build one of these.

[BBHood217]

Sounds like a "Coelacanth/Gauss" situation.  Is there any other tech that are similarly suffering from it?

[Ethereal_Medic]

Sounds like a "Coelacanth/Gauss" situation.  Is there any other tech that are similarly suffering from it?

Maybe the HWP with the flak-cannon but the gauss-tank in TFTD was a whole own level of 'not needed' due to the game been badly balanced around lobsterman.
I don't know any other tech deep in the tree similiar to the mining-ship situation.

The tech"'tree" keeps shifting around anyway and with each new bottleneck the game progresses either fast or extraordanary slow.

[legionof1]

Marsec i would be okay with, maybe, but mercs dont need anymore advantages.

Given that the vast majority of mercs have superior spotting stats to the player sniper/spotter mercs could become exceptionally oppressive. It would potentially lead to situations with gauss snipers killing most of your gals before you ever spot anything.

[Ethereal_Medic]

Maybe merc's don't get the flags or in worst case they become utterly broken.
Not like the mod becomes any easier anyway.

[Dioxine]

What the fock man, I said nothing about mercs getting any boost, but it seems you can't think about anything else. If mercs are given this flag, them or any other high end enemies, I believe I said it before, there would be no more need for their vision to be superior to player's. But nooo, no amount of fixes counts, but non-existing problems apparently do.

I couldn't care less about the mining ship (one of 50 craft) or Flak tank (one of 20 hwps) either, I have more important shit to take care of. Like actually progressing with making the game.

The mod actually became a lot easier in the last months. Slaving for 6 months on airbus? Really man? With such an abundance of missions that can get you heaps of cash? With all the new, extra possibilities? With infamy cash bonuses? With all the shortcuts? With the beginning made so easy you practically cannot help but grab a big score in each of the first months? What, is the game supposed to play completely by itself? Sorry but I'm really getting tired of this shit.

If you have concerns, be direct and grown-up about it, not nebulous and slandering. Don't insinuate ill-will on my part, don't you dare, I am working on this project like a dog, and basically for free. However when I hear whining I really stop caring about the subject of the whine.

[khade]

Since apparently it doesn't get said enough, I love this mod and am very happy you're working on it.  I'm really bad at the game, so the early game is where I've seen things the most, and it's very well done.  I enjoy noticing the areas that you're obviously going to expand on as well. 

Logically, the Mercs would have the squad sight stuff, they're an organized army, not a bunch of overly burly fighters who just happen to be in the same area, but we'll deal with that when/if we have to.  Spartans would have it, as already stated, I'm not so sure about Humanists, they strike me as more of a mob than a military.

[Zharkov]

 

[legionof1]

If i sounded offensive, or i upset you dioxine that was not my intention and i apologize.

Mercs becoming any stronger then present, is from my point a legitimate concern, as they presently express the pinnacle of difficulty within the mod. I feel it to be a problem, if the possibility exists that a "spotter" unit could pinpoint for multiple gauss snipers without himself being seen, and thereby punish the player for something he had no opportunity to interact with.

Something increasing in difficulty is not my concern, it's about something removing player interaction with the tactical challenge. Mercs already remove/negate most of the players tools in regards to vision manipulation. The discussed "spotter/sniper" mechanics would feed on the already present features in a multiplicative manner.

Many months ago, we discussed how bad it would be to have to handle large numbers of the old hacked version of the stagods. This is a similar issue. To much firepower that player cannot see/interact with ends up being a punitive tax in dead bodies on the player.

If you feel that after a certain point in gameplay that a such a tax is justified for some reason, fine, that is your prerogative and right to include. I might even agree with such reasoning. But i will point out what is i feel is potentially harmful change to something i care about.

[Dioxine]

I am sorry, I should have made a citation but I was not in my right mind. I wasn't talking to you, Legion, I was talking to Ethereal Medic. Your input is always valued because you're making clear-cut cases for things.

At the current, Mercs have cheaty vision ranges because else they'd be too easy to destroy. Giving them the squadsight, when it is available, will also mean that I will remove any undue advantage in vision/stealth.

Regarding Spartans and Humanists I will elaborate:
- Spartans will have a system where Scouts are Scouts, Riflemen and Heavies are Snipers, while the captain is a Scout and a Sniper at the same time.
- Humanists will have a worse system: Officers are Scouts, while Instructors and Soldiers are Snipers
- Mercenaries will have a different system yet, probably Commanders and Commandos being Scouts, while Engineers and Commandos being Snipers

[legionof1]

I would make the commanders and engineers the scouts because they are the one's presently equipped with Sense. It would flow more logically that way imo. Engies also have a tendency to not maneuver much due aggression rating of 1, making them unlikely to be in a position to capitalize on being sniper flagged.

[khade]

I agree strongly with the way the Spartans are set up in that example, and the twisted logic of the Humanists amuses me.

Any logic in Raiders or Bandits getting any of this?  Ratlings in general probably don't have the communications to pull it off.

Government should be pretty good at this one, I think