Attention Aeon Commanders!
This memorandum summarizes the newest addition to our quantum compatible unit database:
The Shaman mk 1

The shaman is a bot that amplifies the power of shields in it's radius. Utilizing mass vapor recombination, regeneration of shields in proximity is increased 1.5x, and advanced pulse ignition removes the delay in regeneration. Though they are expensive, they are a true force multiplier.

Shaman are right at home in any advanced unit composition, enhancing sortie durability.

With widespread deployment of our superior shield technology, the Shaman can also extend the operational life of more primitive forces already fielded, immediately boosting combat effectiveness with a single deployment.

GLORY TO THE PRINCESS
LONG MAY SHE REIGN
~END OF MEMO~

Unit is available on the vault in the mod "KtQ Unit Shaman"
I had wanted to do more, but it was just not in the cards... or allotted time. Apparently there wasn't a shield regen buff built in, so that took a lot of my umph. I had also wanted to give it a chrono-damper suicide option (that costs power), since we so rarely see that ability.

Suggestion:
Reduce all air unit HP and anti air damage by a significant, uniform factor. A third or a tenth or something.

Why:
To make them more vulnerable to ground units while landed, without effecting other components of air.

In a recent game a swarm of ASF were landed and overrun with mantis. They didn't take off for some time and despite this not a single ASF was destroyed. T3 v T1 units should be quite a disparity, but I feel that getting caught with your air down should be punished significantly, and is a reasonable vulnerability. At a quick glance I don't see how this would effect much else.

What are your thoughts?

A mantis can kill an ASF in a bit over a minute.

@Deribus @FtXCommando
I am aware of the rule, and It was a joke in regards to that rule. I am indeed a chronic 800. However I would still 1v1 him. I would also not throw the game. From what I understand that would not be a problem, if we genuinely battled.

I love navy, and have always thought it was a bit underdeveloped in this game. I have been studying naval history for game development reasons for another project, but as for games I don't see a lot out there similar enough to FAF to really get a good metric for what people find fun. I really like the macro aspect of SC, that's what brought me to it, and others above have mentioned not just random micro but micro that's actually fun and has a use. One quote I like for game dev is "A game is a series of meaningful decisions" from Sid Meier. So how do we add options to the t3 navy that let the player make meaningful decisions, and if they have the APM, boost their fleet effectiveness?

We could add toggle-able abilities. I'm unsure what would be viable, but toggling your big ships from direct fire to plunging fire, or a tight vs wide spread, seems like it would be useful. Something like an overcharge could be done too. A hard hitting shot that costs energy or mass, with a cooldown, etc. And the right click 'auto use' feature. Perhaps it can do HP damage to the ship per use or something?

I think every ship should start with HP regen. Ships have damage control and I think for big ships this could be expanded upon. A fast repair mode, (or an ACU style upgrade that only repairs HP damage), that disables the ships guns and movement, and makes it extra vulnerable to torpedoes (IE, adding late game raiding targets for subs). Could be interesting. I think this would pair well with expanding on battleship veterancy. Adding other benefits through the ranks to incentivize keeping your capital ships alive, and tending to them.

If I can find time I will try to mod this in to test it.

I have always loved sacrifice. It fits into the lore ya know? Its interesting. And up until I read this thread I thought it was 100% efficient and that was it's only saving grace.

The pathfinding thing is the death of it, and I think range would help it. But there is still the component that its your build power and getting rid of it is pretty much always a setback not worth it. I think there are a few ways it could be improved or changed.

~ Boosting efficiency. Easy
~ Adding effects. AOE Heal, AOE auto reclaim
~ Changing effects. Remove build, have it do something else entirely that kills the unit. A last stand thingy? AOE Convert of enemy units of same tier. Regen field in build radius and health drain to death for unit. Satic shield of certain value (uncontrollable unit like ion storm, but a shield).
~ Putting on more units. Would labs be combat viable if they had a 100% sacrifice? Multiplied by veterancy
~ Unit simply detonates, every one the power of an ACU explosion. Can chain react. This is the Way.

Also, since we are talking useless economic bonuses, lets make a "recycling center" for the cybran. Like a land staging center you just hit a button and the unit goes to the nearest suicide booth and is turned back into mass at a high rate. GENIUS.

@bigbadgaz How do you know they are smurfing? Like, what's the due process here?

I prefer full share. It just makes sense to me, everything self destructing when you leave seems kinda weird. Yeah in team games it makes sniping a bit less important but sniping all the coms is still the goal. It's more like they have a number of lives, and can be given APM disadvantages as they lose them. Though I usually try to stick around if I die in a team game and mark important structures on the map (nuke, anti, com).

I do feel like it is how FtX said, sniping one guy with a bit of coordination seems to too easily turn into just a roll of the enemy team.

@jip said in Nomads?:

It is hard enough to balance four factions, let alone five.

Well one of these is going to have to go then...
Eyeballs Sera

@blackjaguar the invisible without movement thing is a neat idea. Perhaps the code for the Selen could be reused. Maybe t1 could have sonar stealth while still, and T2 a cloak too? Could be cool.

You all heard him, I won! I made the cutest one!

This is all amazing! It was great fun, even if I did hop in at the last second. I hope to maybe polish it up now that the competition is done.

@biass
You are correct, it is a kitbash of the harbinger. The petals on the legs are just the harbinger shield generator head texture on a new shape and rebound to the feet. And the turret head was replaced with a bacteriophage stem.

The petals were meant to look a bit like the petals on Aeon shields, but more so that it can hide when it's scared
(Or in a transport)

The radar range is the aura range. The buff is refreshed/checked every 5 seconds, just like the regen aura on the Sera com, so things just leaving it will be buffed for a moment.

@Krapougnak
Sorry it didn't work, thank you for checking it out though

@ftxcommando said in Rating sigma should increase over time:

This whole game is a psychological trick to get you to release dopamine and serotonin, you should instead be campaigning to make opioids over the counter.

Your take amuses me on a scientific level.

~
People seem to be focused on the arbitrary 1/day rate, and should not be. We could dial in some equation later.
~
How would sigma go back down? If I recall that is handled by normal trueskill, but could you highlight the process and if any changes would be needed for this alteration?

@olezha1 what make you say that?

@veteranashe So it's potentially viable?

The only way to get them to budge on that one is if we all stop playing and casting. We keep generating sales and until their sheets read 0¥ for awhile they probably won't shift position.

And heck this source code. If I had enough money to pull this off Square I'd have enough to hire devs and make something more modern to read in the blueprints and map files.

Otherwise look at obscure leftover laws that allows the seizure of assets held by foreign corporations.

@brutus5000 Arent all the replays and their chat histories searchable by username? Like, publicly?

Ban the mavor too. It's unlimited range makes it too good in my opinion.

@arma473 oh look, i found a link:
https://www.beyondallreason.info/

@thomashiatt said in Mercy simple suggestion: reduce damage vs ACU:

Not acceptable to have a unit that does different damage to ACU than it does to other things. Too messy and unintuitive. Special cases should be kept to a minimum.

Yeah, what? You see that Age of Empires 2 is still getting expansions, right? And a new sequel in the pipe?

I agree that it should be kept to a minimum, but moreso that it should be up front in unit description text.

I think giving it a big aoe and low damage would be good. Maybe put it in a special spot and give it low damage, large area, and an EMP/chrono effect on strike, with extra damage to shields. Then it has an effect, a unique use, and dosen't need to be snuck behind enemy lines. Or maybe it can do that too, idk.

Also it should be able to refuel, but get like 10-20 seconds of fuel at a great speed, then is just slow like everything else.

T4 changes:

• The galactic colossus can now hug other t4 units to death.
• New experimental "The dominator". Static building that can convert enemy ACUs. Gets an adjacency bonus with itself, forming a domination matrix, a donimatrix.

T3 changes:

• Loyalist will now collect tactical missiles, once it has enough it will ride them back to the enemy.
• Percival has had it's legs replaced with treads because it's ground pressure was too high, and it's a tank so now it looks like one.

T2 changes:

• Pillars no longer have land colission, allowing them to stack. This "Pillar pillar" is fast as it bypasses the navmesh, but it also now does friendly fire and an AOE, to other pillars only.
• Obsidian now has a knife. It is not made of obsidian.

T1 changes:

• Flare no longer takes damage

What is BAR? I cannot google "BAR Game" and get anything relevant.

I remember being blown away by how good the command and control features of FAF were, though before this I played Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, so having air transports assist factories and moving patrol routes already placed was mind blowing... in 2007.

@TheWheelie
He probably sees it as an issue because he misses those features from other similar games and thinks he would have more fun if they were implemented here. Seems reasonable.

@Jip
Would it be possible to implement some sort of "order limit" of like 50 per tick or something? Then all the mods that reshuffle orders would have to dole them out over time, not slowing the sim horrifically.

@maudlin27
It seems like what you would ideally want is some kind of "Area of Operations" command system. Where you designate an area and then things follow out orders within that area without leaving it. Like you plop down a few points and give an order of "Clear the reclaim in here" or "Move around and fight stuff but don't leave the area" (Fixing air patrol issues, lol)