Fire Stack Timeout

[Richard LeMoon]

Give each stack of fire a limited life, so it will burn out on its own after a time.

[Wundsalz]

why?

[Sprayer]

It's called component destroy. Every fire goes out once it's eaten all it's fuel~

[sparklerfish]

I actually really like this idea.  A simple way to slightly nerf fire without breaking it.

[HamsterIV]

I like this too. I don't think it is the guns and engines that burn but the uncooked gasoline from the flamethrower that burns. It should be able to burn out without the ship item being destroyed. Pouring gasoline on a gun and setting it on fire does not make the gun inoperable after the gasoline burns off in the same way that shooting the gun's loading mechanism with a bullet makes the gun inoperable.

[DrTentacles]

Not sure why we need a fire nerf, considering that Chem Spray already pretty much removes the danger of fire stakes, leaving only it's direct damage to contend with. This just seems like it pretty much removes any possibility of hit and run tactics with fire.

[Sprayer]

So how do you explain fires caused by weapons other than the flamethrower hamster? I agree with anyone saying fire does not need to be nerfed any more. Only about half (or less?) of the ships can not effectively be kept chemsprayed.

[HamsterIV]

So how do you explain fires caused by weapons other than the flamethrower hamster? I agree with anyone saying fire does not need to be nerfed any more. Only about half (or less?) of the ships can not effectively be kept chemsprayed.

Incendiary rounds have some fuel component that can be long burning.

Explosive ammo weapons can also carry some slow burning fuels that get spread about after the charge is set off.

GOI isn't know for its slavish adherence to the laws of physics so it doesn't really matter what the real life equivalent of the game mechanic is.

From a game play perspective I find this interesting because flame locking a ship becomes more difficult if the fire stacks go out after time. For a crew to pull off a flame thrower kill the pilot must keep the enemy ship in range of the flamethrower for the duration.

This system would also open up new options for the engineers. Right now if you are a chem engie and a component gets 17 stack of fire on it the best action is to leave it alone until it is fully destroyed, then rebuild it. If the stack timeout mechanic were implemented it would become viable to mallet the component to keep it up at partial health until the the timeout occurs. Thus the engineer has to choose between a component at partial health vs the component being down for a bit then coming back at full health. This consequences of this decision could be different if the attacking ship gets into flame range again.

There is no way to tell if this is a good idea or not until it has been subjected to play testing, but color me intrigued.

[Battle Toads]

If the burn out rate was no shorter than a minute, I can see this working as most engagements will be finished by then, so it means it is easier for a ship to repair after winning/surviving a fight. If it is really short then it serves as a huge nerf to fire, as now doing nothing becomes a possible counter measure to flames

[Richard LeMoon]

Now that some people have discussed this a bit, I shall give my original reason:

Gunner buff. If fires will put themselves out eventually, gunners become more desirable.

As for the length of burn out, that would have to be tested and balanced.

[Dutch Vanya]

Is fire/ chem spray in it's current state, a FUN game mechanic?

[GeoRmr]

Is fire/ chem spray in it's current state, a FUN game mechanic?

Yes?

823 fires extinguished as a gunner.

[sparklerfish]

Is fire/ chem spray in it's current state, a FUN game mechanic?

chem cycling is probably the most boring thing ever.

[ramjamslam]

Now that some people have discussed this a bit, I shall give my original reason:

Gunner buff. If fires will put themselves out eventually, gunners become more desirable.

As for the length of burn out, that would have to be tested and balanced.

+1.  Currently gunners have to sit around and do nothing until an engineer extinguishes the fire, or the component is destroyed.  This would give the gunner more of a reason to keep the gun repaired while there are fire stacks on it.

chem cycling is probably the most boring thing ever.

I agree.

[HamsterIV]

Is fire/ chem spray in it's current state, a FUN game mechanic?

It is a mechanic to separates novices from vets, but I would not say it is fun. I would much rather be looking out for enemy ships during the down time between encounters than keeping the chem cycle up.