Schod Schod

Mobile Factories

Mobile Factories

you know you want them... motherships :P

I know one of the key issues with the game currently is that it
moves
too
slow.

to remedy this, and to increase the viability of blitzkreig and divisionary strike forces, I propose a certain class of ship beyond the capital ship and the frigate, a mothership by no doubt.

one of the mothership's most important roles should be as a mobile frigate factory. frigate factories would help sustain any incursions into enemy territory that might otherwise be easily bogged down and unrealistically halted by a few turrets and a few inhibitors on a few planets. currently most games are tip-toeing matches where the opponents dont really throw a hard jab at one another, rather just kind of poking with big forces, and then either capping one planet at a time or retreating. a mothership would catalyze the creation of more large-scale battles and increase the importance of any military-strategic manuver. this would be a mothership's central role. perhaps even a super-class mothership that is capable of producing capital ships instead of frigates.

additionally a mothership should function as any one group's flagship, the inclusion of the mothership near any allied planet should automatically increase that planet's culture by 5% even if that brings it beyond its limit. additionally ships in proximity to the mothership should have certain bonuses (preferably bonuses that diminish with increased damage to the mothership, actually hurting nearby units if it is severely damaged or destroyed) take for instance the japanese yamato, big-ass ship. moral booster, but of course people wont appreciate it when its so easily sunken.

finally the mothership should have a certain embargo effect on enemy planets and should be LADDEN with anti-air guns to protect it from bombers.

the super-mothership, on the other hand, would have none of these embargo/moral bonuses or exceptional ammounts of anti-fighter weaponry, it should simply be wholly dedicated to constructing capital ships.

obviously these ships should be rediculously expensive, and require the utmost in technology to construct, but I personally think their inclusion would speed games up far more, as military maneuvers would no longer be so simply halted.
7,474 views 39 replies
Reply #26 Top
all to do about the defender having an excessive advantage that becomes almost impossible for the offense to break.


And there in lies the satisfaction of breaking one...
Reply #27 Top
Hehe, so some people love almost unbreakable stalemates that will drag on for 1/2 hour or longer.

Yes, for a hard core die hard stalemate breaking loving fan like you, that is all good.

For Ironclad to actually make more than 20 game sales, that is all bad.
Reply #28 Top

all to do about the defender having an excessive advantage that becomes almost impossible for the offense to break.


And there in lies the satisfaction of breaking one...


Can I get an Amen brothers & sisters!!!
Reply #29 Top
Spartans are well known for going up against impossible odds, together Mongooses and SPAR-TANS will fight to the death.
Reply #30 Top
Semper Gumby!
Reply #31 Top
And there in lies the satisfaction of breaking one...

that should develop through playing a good player, not playing some 1-time noob who has an excessive advantage.
Spartans are well known for going up against impossible odds

thats all nice and well when you are on your final planet with no possible way of winning, not so well when its just a couple of meat-grinders trading blows.
Reply #32 Top
There's a lot better mechanics to deal with stalemates than a mobile shipyard. For example, population cap. I believe thats being implemented.

Besides, any attack worth its salt ought to be able to capture at least one planet and fortify it.
Reply #33 Top

I suspect that Beta 2 will make things easier to deal with.


I agree!
Reply #34 Top

It should be difficult to successfully invade another solar system. Consider the logistics of such a feat!  It's staggering - death on a systemwide scale.


By the time a player looks to invade another solar system, they should have dominion over their own and be able to churn out a massive advance force to clear out any opposition at the new star. Then have a backup fleet in reserve to secure their forward position while the main fleet captures a planet to establish a base of operations.



that's exactly how i work...i first conquer my own system....then make sure i have 2 fully develloped fleets (all caps @ lvl 10) and jump them to the other solar system...1 fleet (the smaller 1) stays defending while the other one starts conquering...during this process i devellop a huge construction site at the first conquered planet and boom! there comes fleet #3 and #4

Reply #35 Top
There's a lot better mechanics to deal with stalemates than a mobile shipyard. For example, population cap. I believe thats being implemented.

population caps create stalemates, not break them
and what possesses you to think that a fake element like a population cap is "a lot better" than a new type of ship? sounds idiotic to me.
Besides, any attack worth its salt ought to be able to capture at least one planet and fortify it.

and any defense worth half its salt should stop it, and then reverse it and attack the planet from which the attack originiated.

fortunately for us, thats all moot as the attacks are already stopped by sheer circumstance.
that's exactly how i work...i first conquer my own system....then make sure i have 2 fully develloped fleets (all caps @ lvl 10) and jump them to the other solar system...1 fleet (the smaller 1) stays defending while the other one starts conquering...during this process i devellop a huge construction site at the first conquered planet and boom! there comes fleet #3 and #4

because of course, your opponent will not be doing the same fleet-churning.
Reply #36 Top
I agree, the Beta 1 AI is as smart as a spider monkey smoking peyote -up against an experienced player or an upgraded AI, these tired old turtling strategies will leave you defeated and wondering why the devs cheated and listened to our complaints about poor AI strategizing...

I'm all for dynamic mechanisms and scaling up to prolong game longevity and prevent staleness & stalemates, rather than restricting gameplay... real empires will dedicate resources for a conquest, not be held back by an artificial limit -that is for bureaucrats to squabble over, cleaning up after the empire is victorious.

I'm anxious to start beta 2 to see what new curve balls are going to be thrown in!

  
Reply #37 Top
-up against an experienced player or an upgraded AI, these tired old turtling strategies will leave you defeated and wondering why the devs cheated and listened to our complaints about poor AI strategizing...

its not turtling. they just create a bunch of siege frigs and scouts and have them fly back and forth between two hardly important planets.
Reply #38 Top
i think that what this game needs is a frigate phase inhibiter ie a frigate with a phase inhibiter/or a cruiser
Reply #39 Top
that should at least be a capital ship, not a frigate.