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IDProjectCategoryLast Update
0002487AI War 1 / ClassicSuggestion - Unit Abilities And BehaviorsJan 16, 2011 11:05 pm
ReporterPrezombie Assigned ToChris_McElligottPark  
Status closedResolutionwon't fix 
Product Version4.068 
Summary0002487: Split cloaking into two distinct ship features.
DescriptionInstead of having a single "enemy can't tell where in the system you are, and can't shoot you" cloaking, along with making perma-cloaking by the roundabout way of making the unit immune to tachyon beams, it would make more sense to split cloaking into a "Strong" cloaking and a "weak" cloaking.

Strong cloaking would encompass most "designated" cloaking, Such as stealth guard posts and other units which cloak others. It would also be applied to any unit currently permanently cloaked, such as scout IV and any multiplayer loadouts.

Behaviour-wise, Strong cloaking is as cloaking is now, completely invisible to the AI, invisible to the player but the knowledge cloaked ships are somewhere. tachyon beams are useless on it, but the player might need them to remove the "weak" cloaking on whatever is granting the Strong cloaking.

"Weak" cloaking is what space planes, scouts, stealth guard posts, and all the other units have. Only difference is they're only untargetable when cloaked, but still locatable, so players who missed the chance to cover the entrance with eye bots or a scout starship can actually hunt them down (Or more likely, get them to actually retreat off the planet rather than get in range). being able to see them could be a defensive perk for both sides rather than always visible, granted by a device similar to the advanced warp sensor and/or by the right command post type.

To minimize the confusion, leave strong cloaking with the current name of cloaking, and call weak cloaking being out of phase! It's the perfect piece of sci-fi jargon, it explains why a ship needs to become visible to fire (its shots would phase through otherwise!), and it explains the need for another bit of sci-fi jargon to counter it. Using tachyon beams to disrupt the phase shields seems like a much more "logical" reason you'd need such exotic particles, those faster than light particles are the only known thing that can interact with a phased unit, and it just rolls out as a perfect piece of technobabble.
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Chris_McElligottPark

Jan 16, 2011 11:05 pm

administrator   ~0008800

I don't think there's a need for this. Sure, we could change things, but I don't think it would materially improve the situation.

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
Jan 16, 2011 11:04 pm Prezombie New Issue
Jan 16, 2011 11:05 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0008800
Jan 16, 2011 11:05 pm Chris_McElligottPark Status new => closed
Jan 16, 2011 11:05 pm Chris_McElligottPark Assigned To => Chris_McElligottPark
Jan 16, 2011 11:05 pm Chris_McElligottPark Resolution open => won't fix