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IDProjectCategoryLast Update
0022274AI War 2SuggestionNov 26, 2019 11:57 am
ReporterPeter Ebbesen Assigned To 
Status newResolutionopen 
Product Version1.010 Extracting Those Archives 
Summary0022274: Add long-range archetype starter fleet
DescriptionI understand the desire to keep the number of starting fleets low so as not to induce paralysis in new players.

However, one important archetype is missing. The long range fleet. All existing fleets are dominated by ships that fight at knife-range to medium range with at most one long-range ship-line thrown in.

Given how many players found it fun to select a long-range starter ship in AI War and building the strategy around that, up to and including the amusing Sentinel Frigate fleet, I am sure that this is a lack felt by other players and that the inclusion in the official game would be widely appreciated.

I have tested out a few variations by modding and given that archetypes work best when there's something truly memorable about them, I settled on the Ramifier - the upgraded Sentinel Frigate - and gave it the Mugger treatment.

I have builds two that work out very well, the all-frigate GLASS CANNON FLEET and the all-infinite-range SNIPER FLEET. I found the GLASS CANNON the most interesting and fun to play, though the SNIPER is the easiest and - before tech investments dominate - the most powerful.

Name: "GLASS CANNON FLEET" (or "SIEGE FLEET")
Flavour: "With great power comes great fragility. Ideal for laying siege to planets, these frigates pack a punch at long range. They are very fragile so you will want to either protect them with sturdier ships or deploy them near the edge of the gravity well where they outrange defenders."

2 Devastators (concussion, light)
2 Siege Frigates (concussion, light)
4 Ramifiers (generalist, light)

With only three different techs used, the player can afford to upgrade these across the board should he so desire, which likely means focusing on adding other light ships to the mix and retaining the glass cannon focus, just like the parasite/mugger fleet pretty much guarantees a focus on err mugging.


Name: "SNIPER FLEET"
Flavour: "Boom. Headshot. Ruin your enemy's day from extreme range."
40 Snipers (ambush, light)
25 Sentinel gunboats (technologist, heavy) -- alternatively, Rangers
4 Ramifiers (generalist, light)

With three different weapons techs and two armour techs, the player is unlikely to upgrade all of these. Upgrading generalist and light is nearly guaranteed, but apart from that anything goes and the choice will likely be based on what bits-and-pieces are otherwise available.
TagsNo tags attached.

Activities

Peter Ebbesen

Nov 23, 2019 11:27 am

reporter  

PEB_StartingFleetDesigns.xml (2,651 bytes)   
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<root>
  <!--These "InitialPlayerFleet" are completely hand-designed fleets that are very inflexible by design.
      They are intended to be basic starting points that you can choose at the start of the game,
      which you can then use to further supplement yourself later on.  Each one is a major archetype,
      focused on a different style of play, and they use both their display name and description in the lobby.
      
      Creating too many of these would be a Bad Thing, because it creates paralysis for players.
      
      Note that ONLY the description and the name are shown, so the description had better be 
      clear enough to let players choose things.  THAT said, the description for each ship will automatically
      be appended if you use append_each_ship_description_to_main_description="true", so that will help.-->

  <fleet_design name="GlassCannonStartingFleet"
        display_name="Glass Cannon Fleet"
        description="With great power comes great fragility. Ideal for laying siege to planets, these frigates pack a punch at long range. They are very fragile so you will want to either protect them with sturdier ships or deploy them near the edge of the gravity well where they outrange defenders."
        design_logic="InitialPlayerFleet" weight="100" include_full_cap_of_each_type="true"
        append_each_ship_description_to_main_description="true"
        >
    <ship_membership name="TransportFlagship_Starter" ship_cap_group="Centerpiece" weight="100" min="1" max="1"/>
    <ship_membership name="Devestator" ship_cap_group="Frigate" weight="100" min="2" max="2"/>
    <ship_membership name="SiegeFrigate" ship_cap_group="Frigate" weight="100" min="2" max="2"/>
    <ship_membership name="Ramifier" ship_cap_group="Frigate" weight="100" min="4" max="4"/>
  </fleet_design>

  <fleet_design name="SniperStartingFleet"
        display_name="Sniper Fleet"
        description="Boom. Headshot. Ruin your enemy's day from extreme range."
        design_logic="InitialPlayerFleet" weight="100" include_full_cap_of_each_type="true"
        append_each_ship_description_to_main_description="true"
        >
    <ship_membership name="TransportFlagship_Starter" ship_cap_group="Centerpiece" weight="100" min="1" max="1"/>
    <ship_membership name="Sniper" ship_cap_group="Strike" weight="100" min="40" max="40"/>
    <ship_membership name="SentinelGunboat" ship_cap_group="Strike" weight="100" min="25" max="25"/>
    <ship_membership name="Ramifier" ship_cap_group="Frigate" weight="100" min="4" max="4"/>
  </fleet_design>
</root>
PEB_StartingFleetDesigns.xml (2,651 bytes)   

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
Nov 23, 2019 11:27 am Peter Ebbesen New Issue
Nov 23, 2019 11:27 am Peter Ebbesen File Added: PEB_StartingFleetDesigns.xml
Nov 23, 2019 11:32 am Peter Ebbesen Summary Add longe-range archetype starter fleet => Add long-range archetype starter fleet
Nov 23, 2019 1:51 pm Peter Ebbesen Description Updated
Nov 26, 2019 11:56 am Peter Ebbesen Description Updated
Nov 26, 2019 11:57 am Peter Ebbesen Description Updated