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1

Gameplay / Re: GUNS Balance Questions and Concerns v1.2

« on: May 24, 2013, 12:10:38 pm »

Thanks for posting your thoughts though. I try to offer my disagreement in the nicest way possible.

Thanks for your reply. As I said, I am reasonably new this game and therefore I join random groups rather than organised teams. I can see weapon selection being more diverse when you have a team strategy, but for random games it is very important to be self sufficient which often seems to translate as gat/flak. I can fully appreciate your point of view and admit that it is one I might share if I played in your meta.

Regardless if old players like it a lot (for the record I do a lot of things old players don't like), I don't think I will normalize the damage matrix.  It was rather normalized in previous versions but over many many iterations and live testing since the release of the game, we have arrived here.  In fact, drastically skewed damages is what I think the proper thing to do is in a first pass for damage matrices.  It makes balance easier and more clear, weapons don't tend to overlap in rolls, and potentially allows for more depth and build choices.

Thanks for your answer. As a newish player I don't have the benefit of having tried the earlier versions with more normalised damage and if those versions were not as good or diverse then I accept that. I still think there could be some benefit to a very very slight normalisation of the matrix, especially for newer players (that do not understand how the matrix works). I certainly would not like to see the matrix to be further skewed since many new captains will find themselves in situations where their guns are ineffective and this leads to frustration.

However it is normal for these games to change around and for balance to improve. This is in my opinion a very good game and further skewing the damage matrix is not going to ruin it for me at all!

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Gameplay / Re: GUNS Balance Questions and Concerns v1.2

« on: May 24, 2013, 09:09:44 am »

I have a suggestion for improving the balance of guns that may not be popular with veteran players. I have only been playing for a week though so I fully accept that I could be wrong or it is not the direction people want the game to go in.

I would slightly normalise the weapon damage against different components matrix. That is to say, taking flak for example, increase its effect against armour but reduce its ability against exposed hull. Currently, there are a lot of guns available, but it doesn't really feel like you have much choice if you want to be competitive. I am finding the gat/flak combo to be too effective to leave behind and try something more interesting.

It could be argued that this lowers the skill cap because at the moment it is vital that you chose the right gun for the job and the captain brings that gun to bare. Such a change would lessen the importance of this decision making process. Personally, I don't think it does reduce the skill cap; I don't think choosing the right gun to shoot at the right component is as an important skill has engaging in the correct manor and range for the type of guns being used by you and your opponent. Currently I feel the damage multipliers are just a little too large and too many guns are counter intuitively poor in too many situations, I am not advocating drastic changes.

The main benefit as I see it would be to improve diversity among the ship load outs. I know that there are very successful exceptions, but most successful ships seem to be using the same guns. The worst thing is new players getting grief for not running with the "correct" set up. New players are the lifeblood of any game and such elitism very off putting.

Anyway, these are my thoughts after limited play time. My aim with this post was not to insist that my ideas are the best and the game should be changed to cater for me, but rather spark some more debate on the issue.

Thanks for reading!