SUGGESTION: AEON T2 Shield Generator Fix
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As Deribus mentioned, I think reducing the size without changing the stats would make it too powerful in firebases, since you can basically stack 4+ instead of 3 shields to defend a T2 PD and they are high HP and low cost compared to UEF/Cybran.
Shield HP Mass HP/Mass Cybran ED2 7000 460 15.22 Cybran T2 ED1 4000 160 25.00 Sera T2 13000 700 18.57 UEF T2 9000 600 15.00 Aeon T2 11000 480 22.92 Here's the overlap possible for a PD with the current shields:
I don't think being unable to upgrade the shield is a huge drawback, it just requires you to ctrl-k the shield and reclaim the small wreck before building the very cheap T3 shield. It requires some APM but definitely isn't impossible if you're defending something important that requires your attention with shields.
For the size complaint, I'm not sure what you want to shield. It can shield adjacent structures pretty well. Not entirely but almost everything:
For this pgen specific case I'd rather opt for a tiny increase in shield size instead of making the structure smaller.I've been testing your size idea with the "Create entities" dialog (its in the hotkeys, you use the hotkey while a unit is selected and you can change its blueprint values. Spawn a new copy of the unit to make sure you get all the changes. Requires cheats):
4x4 size is just way too OP, since you get ~8 overlapping shields instead of 3:
5x5 size is enough to cover a pgen but its still a small shield so its not reaching towards diagonals:
It also still increases the coverage from 3 to 4-6 shields:
Decreasing the size even by 1 seems to bring more problems than solutions.All in all, I understand why you dislike the shield but I think its strengths in HP and cost make it above average for firebases and protecting most directly adjacent things like T3 shields, pgens, factories, or engineers. The T3 shield is also very strong because it's super cheap and the 2nd most powerful, while giving sufficient radius imo: I've seen Aeon T3 shields easily protect air grids, artillery, or game enders from artillery barrages when a sufficient number are built (and number of shields is the most mass-efficient way of defending, so having a cheap shield helps a huge amount - natural regen is nearly worthless while recharge from 0 is extremely strong).
Shield Shield HP Mass BT HP/Mass Sera T3 21000 3600 5841 5.83 UEF T3 17000 3300 4988 5.15 Aeon T3 18000 2400 4097 7.50 Cybran ED5 16500 4260 7100 3.87 Cybran T3 ED4 13000 2460 3515 5.28 -
I'd go for a smaller footprint & weaker shield. Seems like it'd be fun to play with.
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@Nomander covered my thoughts on the subject better than I could have myself. Stats wise Aeon has a very good shield, especially once you factor in its build time. I could see a buff for another 0.1-0.5 radius, but moreso as a consistency fix than because it's underpowered.
Reworking it to a 2x2 structure with ED1 (or worse) stats would be interesting, but the balance implications of such a huge change are so massive that I don't feel confident theorizing whether it'd be a good idea without testing.
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Aeon T2 shields are great as they are. They're small but they have great HP and they're cheap to run only made better my adjacency bonuses.
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@Nomander said in SUGGESTION: AEON T2 Shield Generator Fix:
I don't think being unable to upgrade the shield is a huge drawback
The inability to upgrade the shield is a huge disadvantage in the late game, because it requires a lot of micromanagement and there is not always time to manually destroy the T2 shield and build a T3 shield instead, since this takes time, which gives the opponent a significant advantage.
Also, rebuilding can be hindered by other units that can take the empty space when the shield is destroyed, which also affects the effectiveness of the game.I do not see any excuses why the shield cannot be upgraded, maybe the developers did not have enough time to add this functionality or forgot.
In the late stages of the game, the T2 shield does not provide any advantages, the radius is too small and the HP of the T2 shield does not play such a big role anymore.
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@ZetRoy said in SUGGESTION: AEON T2 Shield Generator Fix:
I do not see any excuses why the shield cannot be upgraded, maybe the developers did not have enough time to add this functionality or forgot.
As far as I remember the current state is "we agree to add it as long as someone makes the upgrade animation."
Nobody has made the upgrade animation.
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@Deribus said in SUGGESTION: AEON T2 Shield Generator Fix:
@ZetRoy said in SUGGESTION: AEON T2 Shield Generator Fix:
I do not see any excuses why the shield cannot be upgraded, maybe the developers did not have enough time to add this functionality or forgot.
As far as I remember the current state is "we agree to add it as long as someone makes the upgrade animation."
Nobody has made the upgrade animation.
While this is not what Hyperiox is suggesting, I will comment on this specific point people have mentioned: I have made this observation in another post almost 2 years ago; in that the BrewLan Mod by Balthazar has the option to upgrade the Aeon T2 shield to the T3, including the animation for the upgrade.
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Hello, I could also create the animation if desired.
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I just checked using the FAF version and BrewLAN's animation is the same as the build animation. Basically the shield just builds the upgrade under itself, it doesn't transition into the upgraded form like other upgrade animations.
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The T2 shield deviates too much from its basic form compared to the T3 shield. I'll create a mod for this function, but the T2 shield needs to visually incorporate the T3 elements to provide a suitable assembly animation. When it's finished, I'll post pictures of the assembly here and possibly upload a mod just for this function so everyone can test it out and see how it works. Regards, Saver
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When I last looked at it the panels at the top just needed to be duplicated in the T2 shield to become the T3 shield, and some panels needed to somehow appear at the bottom of the T2 shield to create the base of the T3 shield. Anyway, I look forward to it.
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@Nomander
Hello, here's my first attempt. I have to admit, the two additional wings take some getting used to, but unfortunately, given the shape for the later T3, I couldn't think of a better way. Here are some pictures for comparison. first normal
mod version 
Unfortunately, I still have a small bug in the animation. This is triggered by the rotation movement script. How does it manifest itself? Quite simply, the ball in the center starts rotating incorrectly at a certain angle. I'm still looking for an update for the script. So far, that's the status. PS: For those interested in testing, the mod is on FAF
# AEON T2 to T3 Shield -
a small update for AI support ^^
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One more small point: I moved the wings a bit further apart in T2 mode. I think it looks a bit better that way.
I'm still tinkering with the script, but if anyone wants to help me, I'd be happy to hear it. The current problem is that the script, when moving in T2 mode, affects the movement to T3. I need an add-on that stops the orb's rotation in the middle. As a precaution, I've already integrated this movement into the new animation. -
--- UpgradingState = State(AShieldStructureUnit.UpgradingState) {
--- Main = function(self)
--- AShieldStructureUnit.UpgradingState.Main(self)
--- self.OrbManip1:SetTargetSpeed(0)
--- self.OrbManip2:SetTargetSpeed(0)
--- self.OrbManip1:SetSpinDown(true)
--- self.OrbManip2:SetSpinDown(true)
--- end,
--- }, -
Hello everyone, I have now uploaded the latest update of the mod # AEON T2 to T3 Shield. I had to solve the problem with the orb egging in a different way, as I thought. But I am satisfied with the result. The animation and the structure now correspond to other T3 shields. But who am I. If you like this function, you are welcome to test it and give a little feedback here. I wish you a lot of fun with it and hope to have come close to the purpose. Greetings SAVER
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Here's a (very compressed) video of @Saver's modded animation, just for visibility. -
That's better, thanks
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Personally I don't like the 4 "petal" T2 shield generator model. Would it be possible to have an additional set of petals come out of the first?
