Current Game, and Balancing Ship Modules

General discussion about the game.
angelocire
Posts: 47
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:09 am

Current Game, and Balancing Ship Modules

Postby angelocire » Sun Jul 22, 2012 4:52 am

So, it seems like there are currently only a few ship mods (drone recovery module, scrap recovery, etc) which are widely used. This is of course because the current "rushed" nature of the game makes spending money on a system that lets you jump backwards a fairly unwise choice, as where in an "open" exploration system it becomes useful for getting back to a store, for example.

There's such a great emphasis on maximizing scrap and weapons that I think a lot of great potential is being lost, even in terms of existing modules.

Now, the "Continue Playing" option may very well help resolve this, allowing players much more freedom in how they play, but perhaps an eye to balancing some modules would help make them relevant in the time being.

Thoughts about modules?
Ideas for specific balancing of a module?

I'll go first-

I think the Advanced FTL Navigation should not only allow you to jump back to a previously-visited location, but should also make you enter new systems at the end node. So if you want to get scrap and weapons, you will have to move backwards, towards the rebel fleet, but you can always jump back.
Make it cost 150 scrap, and you'd have a fine module that would shake-up play a fair bit; new strategies, encouraging exploration, and encouraging playing with distances from the fleet more.
Gorlom
Posts: 519
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 2:06 am

Re: Current Game, and Balancing Ship Modules

Postby Gorlom » Sun Jul 22, 2012 12:16 pm

The advanced FTL nav has 2 uses. 1 where you back yourself into a corner or dead end because you didnt realize that node you went of exploring didn't have any jumps forward connected to it. (or when you reached the exit node and have some time left to explore nodes further away from the exit.)
It is also useful in the last sector after fighting the mother ship and having to race it to a repair node or shop.

Granted it is a very situational augmentation, but I don't think it needs any balancing. It fits it's niche quite nicely.


Is the advanced FTL nav the only augmentation that you consider underpowered? Maybe it simply doesn't fit your playstyle?
angelocire
Posts: 47
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:09 am

Re: Current Game, and Balancing Ship Modules

Postby angelocire » Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:51 pm

I wouldn't say it's the only one.
The ion cancellers, hull shielding, etc. all take a back seat to scrap collection arms and drone recovery arms.

Simply saying something fills a niche doesn't refute (if anything, it confirms)the fact that it is UNBALACED. In higher-level play, there is no room for mistakes, and when it comes to playing normal mode, the scrap and drone recovery mods are by far the most viable options.

That is the definition of unbalanced- having certain options that are more viable across the board than others.

If I'm wanting to RP my way through the game on Easy, sure, I can make use of it. If, however, I'm wanting to beat the game on normal it becomes a very different story.

The problem is two-fold; if you have the modules be unbalanced, but there's no limit on the number, it doesn't unbalance the game. If you have the modules all be balanced and viable based on a certain playstyle (as you're erroneously trying to suggest they are), then limiting the number doesn't unbalance the game.

However, when you have unbalanced modules, in a set, VERY limited number of equippable slots, it becomes a matter of getting the best ones- a niche use isn't justifiable when you're scraping by with resources, so the vast majority of players and player guides (look at all the guides to winning on normal) recommend the non-niche ones.

Now, if the devs are fine with this, great. If, however, they would like to offer more variety in terms of truly viable strategies for winning, then modules need to be looked at for balancing.

Now, back to the point of this thread-
Post your suggestions for balancing ship modules!
angelocire
Posts: 47
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:09 am

Re: Current Game, and Balancing Ship Modules

Postby angelocire » Mon Jul 23, 2012 6:04 pm

Here's another suggestion-

Revisit the percentage bonuses on the hull shielding augmentation.

+10% scrap recovery is a constant bonus; for the same reward scrap value, it always gives you the same bonus scrap.

15% CHANCE is not constant. In fact, it's infrequent to the point of lacking any reliability whatsoever.

Either increase the percentage chance- say, up to 20-25%,
or redesign the way it works, making it a constant bonus.

Take this for example- have the augmentation grant 2 blocked damage points to the hull every 120 seconds, with a visible timer on Easy, and no timer on Normal.

That makes it something that you can rely on and plan around once you're used to the timing.

The level of uncertainty and chance that the game relies on is relatively high, but that shouldn't extend to the player's ship- your ship is your bastion of control. Every variable has to be a known value that you can plan around, or you're not actually in control of it.
timaeus
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 1:38 pm

Re: Current Game, and Balancing Ship Modules

Postby timaeus » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:12 pm

Yeah, it's the limited number of augments you can have which makes it important to have the critical ones. This is only exacerbated by the fact that if you get an augment from an encounter but have no empty slots, the one you find immediately gets reduced to scrap. That means even if I get a so-so augment for free, I'm going to sell it the first chance I get to leave that last slot for something good. Frustrating that I have to play that way, I really hope they fix it soon so you can actually *choose* which one gets destroyed. It always sucks when you see that augment you've been waiting the whole game for get destroyed.

Thoughts on specific modules:
Scrap recovery arm is always useful, for every ship. I'll gladly buy multiple of them.
Drone recovery arm is useful for a drone heavy ship, like the Torus. In general I avoid basing strategies around drones though, because if you don't get the recovery arm, you're constantly going to be spending waaaay too much scrap on drones. Playing the Torus without the recover arm is tough.
Advanced FTL Navigation is useful for specific situations, mostly Sector 8, though it is also useful if you get trapped. For the most part though it's usually not worth the slot, due to the rebel fleet eating up your previous jump points. Might be more useful for free play. It is a huge boon for Sector 8 though, makes it feasible to get repaired between boss fights.
Protective modules (Ion canceller/hull strength) are useful if you're stuck with them, but they're not reliable enough to base a strategy around, and thus not worth the slot. The solution angelocire is a pretty good one, I feel; it's still limited protection, but knowing *when* it will protect you allows you to actually base a strategy around it.
Weapon Preloader is an awesome augment, I nearly always grab it when I find it. Always having first strike is a huge boon.
Rechargers (weapon/shield) are pretty good augments. I'll generally pick them up if I have room.
Stealth weapons is useful for a strategy based around Cloaking, though the augment is rare enough that I will otherwise avoid relying on stealth for more than avoiding missile barrages. If I have the stealth ship though, or have the scrap to upgrade Cloaking, then I'll pick up this augment.
Long Range sensors is one of my favorite augments. In general, hit the exclamation marks to ensure there will be some kind of profit from the jump. If you're desperate for repair, avoid the exclamation marks and you'll usually have good odds of avoiding combat. I almost always pick this one up.
Engi/Mantis/Slug augments are neat, but not as useful as the other augments, so I'll usually sell them when I start running out of slots.
timaeus
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 1:38 pm

Re: Current Game, and Balancing Ship Modules

Postby timaeus » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:19 pm

Oh, right, forgot the repair arm. Repairs outside of shops would be helpful, but that permanent penalty to scrap rewards is just painful. I'm not sure if the penalty goes away if your ship is at full strength or not (since I never buy this one and immediately sell it if I get it from an encounter) but the description implies it's a permanent penalty, so I avoid this one like the plague. Having an on/off toggle for it, or changing it so it only reduces scrap rewards when your ship is actually damaged, would make it more balanced.
Gomisan
Posts: 33
Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2012 1:29 pm

Re: Current Game, and Balancing Ship Modules

Postby Gomisan » Tue Jul 24, 2012 2:50 am

Actually I felt the same way about teh repair arm, until I started using it to test out the balance.

It seemed to me that I was actually gaining more scrap because I never had to worry about repairs. Perhaps soem maths needs to be done next time I play, a spreadsheet with incoem and outgoings and see what the effect would be.
Jintor
Posts: 9
Joined: Mon Jul 23, 2012 4:07 am

Re: Current Game, and Balancing Ship Modules

Postby Jintor » Wed Jul 25, 2012 5:54 am

Does anybody know if modules stack? If I get two scrap recovery arms, how does that operate?
angelocire
Posts: 47
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2012 8:09 am

Re: Current Game, and Balancing Ship Modules

Postby angelocire » Wed Jul 25, 2012 3:30 pm

The augments do indeed stack, or rather, they each apply individually, so for instance, 2 scrap recovery arms will both give you the bonus scrap, equaling double the bonus scrap. But % chance effects don't combine. So for instance, (2x 15% chance to block 1 hull damage) is very different than (30% chance to block 1 hull damage). To be specific, the 30% chance is much better.

For anyone having a hard time conceptualizing this:

A 6-sided die has a 1/6 chance to get any given number. A coin has a 1/2 chance to get a given result. Rolling a die 3 times, however, hoping to get the same number, or even to get within a range of them which doesn't already equal 1/2 of the total range of possible outcomes, is statistically very unlikely.
abe
Posts: 4
Joined: Sat Apr 21, 2012 3:32 am

Re: Current Game, and Balancing Ship Modules

Postby abe » Wed Jul 25, 2012 3:45 pm

The two 15% modules to block hull damages result in a 27.75% block chance. I wouldn't say 30% is much better.