A few ideas for new features in the game : - Sensors are the "least" important of systems, to make them a bit more useful, each power used in sensors could improve accuracy of weapons by 1% - Genari AI could use marines, I feel like they are the weakest of AI and need a bit of help - New order to AI "Go to" to better manage AI to send them scout specific location/park for tenders - Some weapons could do bonus damages specific to shields or to hull (like a laser designed by Genari to quickly shut down shields...) - I like the use of support ships in the game but today it is very limited to tenders. Create new kinds of support ships : Support ships that reduce enemy accuracy in 1-2 hexes around him (like the dampening field) Support ship that give position of enemy on all map (not reveal but perhaps put the final position of enemy ships on previous turn by a red hex?) Support ship that increase accuracy in 1-2 hexes around him Support ship that cloak around him (like reducing sensor from Sol officer) Support ship that takes damages first (like a drone intercepting enemy shots at your ship)
Sensors are very important. They are as important as weapons. running scanner on something illusive, like a t3 is the difference between having 0 accuracy cause you can't see them vs they are out right dead. It also play an essential role when defending, as all ships, including the AI, share lock ons. having lock ons on an enemy means you have reliable allies that will contribute to the battle. Sensor also allow you to coordinate your own AI instead of letting them free roam. Sensor boost on an AI ship let them detect and lock on enemy at longer distance, saving them movement and allowing to bring more guns about. I agree Genari AI should be able to pod people, but i feel that should be limited to player control AI. AI command is something that definitely needs work, but you are not the first one to want more precise control. but there are some things you should know about AIs. they knows where all the enemies are and will always go in the direction of the enemy. so its not that you need a scout function if the goal is to find the next target to shoot at. There are some "techniques" to AI control too that let you manipulate initiative, movement and retreat. an increase in weapon variety sounds fun. I can only hope we get new toys to play with. your ideas on support ship can be summed up in one point, you need to build an AI combat vessel. the kinda that runs evasion and runs into the enemy head first without a care. it will evade most of the fire from enemy AI, soak up the rest. Thus, its is intercepting enemy fire. with evasion on the AI, you are also reducing accuracy of the enemy, no matter the range. when it runs head first in the enemy, its scanner will pick up all the enemy, lets you see all the enemies, final postion or not. with you knowing where the enemies are, you can now shoot from a further distance, fall back to safer distance, no need for sensor shroud if their scanner can't detect you to begin with. the feature you want in a support ship is there all along! Thou, if any race should get new support ships, it would be Ma'aleketh, since they can't have fleet commander. with the particle beam nerf, they will have a hard time delivering their full damage since there is less power for them to power scanners. thus, something like a scanner drone with omni-directional scanner would reduce their burden, allowing something like the whitelight to function as a long range vessel again.
"Sensors are very important. They are as important as weapons. running scanner on something illusive, like a t3 is the difference between having 0 accuracy cause you can't see them vs they are out right dead. It also play an essential role when defending, as all ships, including the AI, share lock ons. having lock ons on an enemy means you have reliable allies that will contribute to the battle. Sensor also allow you to coordinate your own AI instead of letting them free roam. Sensor boost on an AI ship let them detect and lock on enemy at longer distance, saving them movement and allowing to bring more guns about." Sure but after you get lock on the enemy, sensors become useless, especially on t6+ were your mobility is too low to easily break vision (except in asteroid fields map). By giving some accuracy bonus, it can give some options for players who wants more risky plays by not powering up shields but using accurate shots (for example) "they knows where all the enemies are and will always go in the direction of the enemy. so its not that you need a scout function if the goal is to find the next target to shoot at. There are some "techniques" to AI control too that let you manipulate initiative, movement and retreat." Perhaps but sometimes they still ignore enemies even in attack command or go the opposite of AI when it is not detected yet. Im fine with it, if AI always goes on non detected ships it would removethe need of sensors but now the only way to position AI is to go to the location, use follow me then hold position "your ideas on support ship can be summed up in one point, you need to build an AI combat vessel. the kinda that runs evasion and runs into the enemy head first without a care. it will evade most of the fire from enemy AI, soak up the rest. Thus, its is intercepting enemy fire. with evasion on the AI, you are also reducing accuracy of the enemy, no matter the range. when it runs head first in the enemy, its scanner will pick up all the enemy, lets you see all the enemies, final postion or not. with you knowing where the enemies are, you can now shoot from a further distance, fall back to safer distance, no need for sensor shroud if their scanner can't detect you to begin with. the feature you want in a support ship is there all along!" It is different support ships not the same one that can detect, soak up or reduce accuracy. The aim is to have different kind of supports than repairs. Also some more "dynamic" support than the actual "park in corner with tenders"
