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IDProjectCategoryLast Update
0003006AI War 1 / ClassicSuggestion - Balance TweaksSep 2, 2011 7:28 pm
ReporterTechSY730 Assigned To 
Status newResolutionopen 
Product Version5.002 
Summary0003006: Spirecraft Scouts OP
DescriptionI know that being spirecraft and all, they are supposed to be good, but right now they are a little absurd.
A single Mk. I spirecraft scout was able to get through 15 or so planets with ease in my game. They did get attrition, but they are so fast and the attrition so slow it doesn't matter that much.
This seems at odds with their tool-tip, which flat out states that they were not really supposed to replace scouts for wide spread scouting of new planets, but as they currently are, they could easily do so, even with just Mk. I versions.
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soMe_RandoM

Mar 6, 2011 8:06 pm

reporter   ~0010928

cheap effective scout MUST NERF! ROFL

TechSY730

Mar 6, 2011 8:09 pm

reporter   ~0010929

Last edited: Mar 6, 2011 10:14 pm

Not so much that they are effective, but rather more that even the most basic form is able to take over a duty that the their very description states they are supposedly not able to take over.
With Mk. III and up versions, I could see them taking over scouting duties pretty well. But Mk. I, they should not be able to, but right now they can pretty well.

EDIT: Just as a clarification, I mean that Spirecraft scouts Mk. I and II should not take over general purpose scouting duties. Stationary scouting duties (that is, parking it on a planet for continuous scout intel) is fine, and in fact what the description recommends you do with them.

BobTheJanitor

Mar 7, 2011 10:24 am

reporter   ~0010931

The description never really made sense on these. If they're going to attrition themselves to death, why would you use them as stationary sentries? It seems like their intended behavior would be to get as many planets deep as possible until they explode, instead of just sitting on a world. That said, I've never really used one so I don't know how far they can get before exploding.

Draco18s

Mar 7, 2011 1:17 pm

developer   ~0010936

They can get pretty far. I used a Mk1 to scout some 15 planets [i]out and back[/i] including an AI homeworld. Don't recall mark levels of other planets, but it made it almost all the way back (avoiding Mk3/4 systems and scouting additional planets, although in retrospect that was pointless, as all planets are Mk2 at a minimum, except unmarked planets adjacent to player homeworlds).

TechSY730

Mar 7, 2011 5:15 pm

reporter   ~0010948

Last edited: Mar 7, 2011 5:15 pm

Just as a reminder, they take self attrition only on enemy planets with a Mk level greater than their Mk level. This is why Mk. II and up can make good "scout sentries".

Draco18s

Mar 7, 2011 6:10 pm

developer   ~0010949

Which for Mk1 SC scouts is everything. ;)

RogueThunder

Mar 7, 2011 7:03 pm

reporter   ~0010951

Yeaaa... MkI SC scouts should probably be removed or made to attrition much faster. MkII just need to attrition faster. MkIII you just paid one hell of a rare asteroid for, and deserve to see most of the galaxy XD...

realcoolguy

Aug 31, 2011 6:59 pm

reporter   ~0013055

Spire scouts should move MUCH MUCH slower, that would fix everything.

Draco18s

Aug 31, 2011 7:13 pm

developer   ~0013056

Last edited: Aug 31, 2011 7:14 pm

Atually, no. I'd rather have them have half as much total health than I would want them to move slower.

(Half move speed + same attrition and life = same lifespan as half health + same move and attrition, but the scouting gets done twice as fast)

realcoolguy

Aug 31, 2011 7:17 pm

reporter   ~0013057

Lowered health works too ! however if you want to 'peek' at a higher level mark planet, and come back, you shouldn't be penalized too badly. I still think they move far too fast. I explored a 100 planet map with the pair of mark 4's as almost fast as I could click. I think it may be slightly overpowered in terms of speed as well.

Draco18s

Aug 31, 2011 7:20 pm

developer   ~0013058

Mark 4 spire scouts are cheating for [i]other[/i] reasons.

You did, however, pay out the nose for them (most players don't ever bother with anything above mark 1 or 2).

TechSY730

Aug 31, 2011 10:32 pm

reporter   ~0013064

Lower speed or lower heath (which means lower lifetime on planets it takes damage on) is more or less equivalent to each other to how far out you can scout with the Spirecraft scouts. For sanities sake, a small to moderate nerf would probably be less likely to overcompensate and make them useless than a major nerf to one of them.

Draco18s

Aug 31, 2011 10:34 pm

developer   ~0013065

Seeing as a Mark 1 can scout [i]twelve systems out[/i] including several M4 and M5 worlds (plus a homeworld) and made it 80% of the way back (two? more jumps and it'd have been friendly space again)....

TechSY730

Aug 31, 2011 10:48 pm

reporter   ~0013067

@Draco18s
Dang, I knew they were OP, but I never realized they were that hideously broken. o_O

Draco18s

Aug 31, 2011 10:51 pm

developer   ~0013068

I don't know if they got patched since then, though.
But like I said, there's NO reason to use anything other than a Mk1 or possibly an Mk2, as the asteroids are FAR more valuable for other (military) units.

TechSY730

Aug 31, 2011 10:58 pm

reporter   ~0013070

Now that I think about it, I think that they did get a very slight nerf since you ran that test, though I could be wrong about that. But it they are still quite overpowered though.
(I don't have spirecraft turned on in my current campaign. Could someone rerun the test in this version?)

mindloss

Sep 2, 2011 7:28 pm

reporter   ~0013112

Not only that, but they have another super-powerful use (or drawback, used incorrectly). They cause their system and adjacent systems to go on alert. Super easy way to tweak the galaxy's alert level to your exact specifications.

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
Mar 6, 2011 8:01 pm TechSY730 New Issue
Mar 6, 2011 8:06 pm soMe_RandoM Note Added: 0010928
Mar 6, 2011 8:09 pm TechSY730 Note Added: 0010929
Mar 6, 2011 10:14 pm TechSY730 Note Edited: 0010929
Mar 6, 2011 10:14 pm TechSY730 Note Edited: 0010929
Mar 7, 2011 10:24 am BobTheJanitor Note Added: 0010931
Mar 7, 2011 1:17 pm Draco18s Note Added: 0010936
Mar 7, 2011 5:15 pm TechSY730 Note Added: 0010948
Mar 7, 2011 5:15 pm TechSY730 Note Edited: 0010948
Mar 7, 2011 6:10 pm Draco18s Note Added: 0010949
Mar 7, 2011 7:03 pm RogueThunder Note Added: 0010951
Aug 31, 2011 6:59 pm realcoolguy Note Added: 0013055
Aug 31, 2011 7:13 pm Draco18s Note Added: 0013056
Aug 31, 2011 7:14 pm Draco18s Note Edited: 0013056
Aug 31, 2011 7:17 pm realcoolguy Note Added: 0013057
Aug 31, 2011 7:20 pm Draco18s Note Added: 0013058
Aug 31, 2011 10:32 pm TechSY730 Note Added: 0013064
Aug 31, 2011 10:34 pm Draco18s Note Added: 0013065
Aug 31, 2011 10:48 pm TechSY730 Note Added: 0013067
Aug 31, 2011 10:51 pm Draco18s Note Added: 0013068
Aug 31, 2011 10:58 pm TechSY730 Note Added: 0013070
Sep 2, 2011 7:28 pm mindloss Note Added: 0013112