Boarding vs Destroying?

[itg]

Kenshkrix - First and formost. Do not bring real world logic into a game. Real world logic is ALWAYS second to game balance.

While this is technically true, getting both is ALWAYS second to just balancing the game without considering real-world logistics at all.

Hehe, I think you got that backwards.

Does anyone have a realistic number for the value of the rewards you might get from boarding in a typical game? Obviously that would have to include some estimate of the value of the weapons and crew. I'm sure the extra scrap is a flat percentage boost, but the free stuff is generally going to be worth less than its nominal value. For example, any crewman beyond the maximum is nearly worthless (there's a chance to upgrade, but that's about it), and for that matter, the 7th and 8th aren't worth near as much as the first six. Plus, since you normally get a few crewmen from random events, boarding may only net you 1 more crewman over the course of the game.

[Captain_obvious]

I think the risks of boarding are often understated, but I do have to agree that it's generally a more profitable approach. My highest score playthroughs all usually involve boarding because more scrap = more score. It feels annoying to have a playthrough where you take very little damage and glass the enemy in a few hits and receive a lower score for your troubles (hello, Stealth and Engi).

Personally, I think the best way to balance it would be this: capturing a ship intact gives you more reward, but it also leaves a floating hull that the rebel fleet can come across. Imagine that these remain on the map and when the rebel fleet comes within range of them, they scan the ship's computers and find some records of your presence, which allows them to track you quicker. Effectively, they function as the opposite of nebulas.

Not only is it congruous with other in-game lore (like Rebel ships jumping away to warn the fleet), it balances out the extra rewards for capturing intact by allowing a non-boarder more time to explore and thus collect more scrap. It would turn boarding from something you do without thinking into a calculated risk every time you do it, without actually making the actual boarding any more difficult.

[Azurie]

I tend to not use boarders simply because it's very unsatisfying, however I like the extra rewards. My favorite builds are ones to take out the crew via asphyxiation.

For the boarder imbalance problem, what if there was another resource, like drone parts, required to teleport? Good rng MIGHT get you a steady flow of the new resource from other ships. However, you may also have to spend all that extra scrap you got at the store to replenish the new resource. Not to mention that boarding techniques would need to be much more strategic, because you'd want to greatly reduce the number of teleportations made. And wouldn't it be the worst (in the great ftl way) if your boarders took the enemy ship, but you didn't have any resources to teleport them back?