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IDProjectCategoryLast Update
0021610AI War 2SuggestionNov 4, 2021 4:50 pm
ReporterAsteroid Assigned ToChris_McElligottPark  
Severityminor 
Status resolvedResolutionfixed 
Product Version0.887 Ending Scenes 
Summary0021610: Should crippled flagships "emergency warp"?
DescriptionMajor difference between AI War 1 and 2: in the first one, if you lose your fleet, it's already rebuilding at home. In the second one, if you lose your fleet, you first have to crawl back your flagship at a snail's pace to a factory to even start rebuilding. It's extra downtime, and a potential loss if something big is headed for your homeworld. It could be a valid design choice, but is it really what's intended for the game, and why?

Speaking of crawling, I often send my Combat Factory to far away systems where the rest of my fleets have taken losses. It's slow and somewhat fragile, but since it's invulnerable it eventually gets there despite being crippled 2 or 3 systems into its path. Kind of cheesy, you can see the crippled flagship passing by the hordes of the Warden fleet going in the opposite direction, which don't seem fazed.

Would Flagships (and perhaps surviving ships) engaging an emergency warp (Stellaris-style) back to your homeworld when crippled for more than X seconds make sense? The fleet would be MIA for a little while before the flagship reappears over there.
TagsNo tags attached.

Relationships

related to 0021023 consideringChris_McElligottPark Add "hyperspace" as a concept. 
related to 0021315 consideringChris_McElligottPark New Fleet Feature: Hyperspace Spawn Leader. 

Activities

BadgerBadger

Sep 11, 2019 1:54 am

manager   ~0052991

This was considered as an option during the original pivot to fleets. I'm not sure how it improves gameplay, and it would take a decent amount of coding/bugfixing to get it right.

RocketAssistedPuffin

Sep 11, 2019 7:15 am

reporter   ~0052992

Last edited: Sep 11, 2019 7:18 am

https://bugtracker.arcengames.com/view.php?id=21023
https://bugtracker.arcengames.com/view.php?id=21315

Unlikely I think. While it makes some sense thematically, I don't think it adds much gameplay wise and isn't worth the time right now.

And yea, it came up in the original Design Document long ago.

wm46

Sep 11, 2019 11:33 am

reporter   ~0052997

It could serve the purpose of acting as a "respawn timer" should people feel that flag ships getting crippled is not punishing enough.

It could function automatically once the ship hits 1 hp, and the time to respawn would be a function of hops away from your home world.

wm46

Sep 11, 2019 11:36 am

reporter   ~0052998

Derp, didn't read and thought this was the same "hyperspace" concept from before. But I think the only time it'd be needed is if engineers and metal get so plentiful that repair costs aren't enough to discourage suiciding your fleets against a wall over and over again.

NRSirLimbo

Sep 11, 2019 7:01 pm

developer   ~0053005

I also think that ships shouldn't be invulnerable or simply not shot at any more.

Any enemy, especially the AI wouldn't be stupid enough to think "oh well, the enemy flagship is disabled. Let's just let it escape so we'll have to worry about it again in 5 minutes when it's been reinforced."
Emergency teleport or something like the Shadow Vessels from AIWC would be a lot more plausible, where Flagships have a "core component" which can be teleported back and the Flagship itself can be reconstructed around.

Thematically, why not make this core component the crew of the Flagship which can be teleported back to staff the flagship again, keeping their combat experience and fleet level? I don't know if the fleet ships are actually being manned by people, but I imagine at least the flagships are. Give a timer for hyperspace recovery based on how far they were away from the nearest player planet (on which they are being rebuilt afterwards) or some other thing to punish the player for losing his flagships and I think it'd be thematically and gameplay-wise sound.

also, @wm46, I can't really have my ships suicide against a wall because AI reprisal waves will crush me if I do. But yes, the cost of having your flagships die is negligible.

Of cause there would be the radical way of having flagships return to being derelicts which need to be captured again if they are to be used, thought that would be something of a "hard mode" or "permadeath" for the game... Potentially, if we assume the crew dying too, they would be recovered at level 0 with ships being the Mk of the research alone... Actually, not such an uninteresting thought as I first imagined, for the people looking for the ultimate challenge.

wm46

Sep 11, 2019 11:28 pm

reporter   ~0053011

That's actually how Arks and Golems worked before the fleets update: they'd revert to neutral and you'd have to capture the planet and then pay the AIP cost to repair it again.

It was exceptionally punishing, and with the extra targeting priority that Arks get, it meant either gaining a whole lot of unwanted AIP, or retreating your Ark once it reached 0% shield.

tom.prince

Nov 4, 2021 4:50 pm

developer   ~0063193

There is now an option to for this.

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
Sep 11, 2019 12:47 am Asteroid New Issue
Sep 11, 2019 1:54 am BadgerBadger Note Added: 0052991
Sep 11, 2019 7:15 am RocketAssistedPuffin Note Added: 0052992
Sep 11, 2019 7:18 am RocketAssistedPuffin Note Edited: 0052992
Sep 11, 2019 10:20 am Chris_McElligottPark Relationship added related to 0021023
Sep 11, 2019 10:20 am Chris_McElligottPark Relationship added related to 0021315
Sep 11, 2019 10:20 am Chris_McElligottPark Assigned To => Chris_McElligottPark
Sep 11, 2019 10:20 am Chris_McElligottPark Status new => considering
Sep 11, 2019 11:33 am wm46 Note Added: 0052997
Sep 11, 2019 11:36 am wm46 Note Added: 0052998
Sep 11, 2019 7:01 pm NRSirLimbo Note Added: 0053005
Sep 11, 2019 11:28 pm wm46 Note Added: 0053011
Nov 4, 2021 4:50 pm tom.prince Status considering => resolved
Nov 4, 2021 4:50 pm tom.prince Resolution open => fixed
Nov 4, 2021 4:50 pm tom.prince Note Added: 0063193