DesConnor

Reply to Four Capital Ship Abilities that Need Help and the Problem of Balancing With Ultimates in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

Scramble Bombers would be far better balanced with Anima Tempest with a simple revert of the latest buff to take it back to the v1.18 version. I'm not sure what could be meant by it not being able to be balanced? There was a suggestion that the v1.19 Skirantra allows a Vasari player to play above his ability level in single player, so that it might be possible to defeat 2 locked AI without Scramble Bombers and 3 locked AI using Scramble Bombers. The Marza is a si

Reply to Four Military Technologies that Need Help and a Discourse on their Enhancement in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

I ran some Illuminators through two Vasari minefields at the end of a game, to see what would happen. The lead Illuminator survived three mine hits, though it was badly damaged, the following ships were far less affected. Four mines failed to go off, even with a fleet passing over them. If mines can't destroy long range frigate squadrons then they have no practical value- to deploy two minefields costs the enemy faction the equivalent of 2.5 long range&

Reply to Multiplayer GalaxyForge Compilation - Third Version Available in Sins Multiplayer Sins Forums

Yeah, part of the reason for preparing another .zip was to allow you to ignore any other links I had provided, they might not all have remained functional. You can just take all my stuff not tagged with [MGC] out, if you're building from the existing compilation. I'll have the download up soon. Have you got any input to offer on my dilemma over the first 1v1, whether to have the roid or the volcanic adjacent to the home planet? Having the roid two jump

Reply to Four Capital Ship Abilities that Need Help and the Problem of Balancing With Ultimates in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

Might it be possible for you to repeat your concept of Guidance, rather than just provide a link, to avoid any confusion? I intended the problem of balancing with ultimates as a reference to the balancing of the TEC faction in the late game by the Missile Barrage superpower and also to the dependence of the Kol on the Dunov's Flux Field because it has no passive ability. Capital ship abilities have to be balanced against other abilities including ultimates- any alteration to Gui

Reply to Old player wanting an update on this game... in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

As a current player, I would like an update on this game too.... even a hint of what problems the developers feel remain, or what direction they're working on? Before the last micro-expansion was released it was clear that they were working on that.. then the sync bug was a priority. Some kind of statement might help?

Reply to Four Capital Ship Abilities that Need Help and the Problem of Balancing With Ultimates in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

The Egg's ability seems to be more aimed at the fast construction of defences than financial expansion. Vasari have an advantage over neutral extractors anyway. I would find it very difficult to justify improvements to the Egg. As well as nano, the other two abilities are extremely good in the later game- what rank is the Egg in terms of sheer siege power? Not a priority. There's been some very dubious discussion of the Skirantra and Scramble Bombers on o

Reply to Four Game Mechanics that Need Help in order to Enhance Variety in Strategies in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

If an enemy had got to the last tier of research first, there should be a consequent advantage- its only a tiebreak method anyway, in the absence of ownership of artefacts. The concept is of a weapon that will win the entire war as soon as it is developed, like a time or dimensional device, so being first is the only consideration. It just seems to have a far better rationale than the existing form of the diplomatic victory, which would still exist together with other conditi

Reply to Multiplayer GalaxyForge Compilation - Third Version Available in Sins Multiplayer Sins Forums

I'm going to limit my contribution to the third version, as with fewer maps I might be able to develop them rather than constantly add to them. I've also tagged my maps [MGC] to differentiate them from the versions available for download on this site, though I suggest that the compilation also be offered for download from this site, with or without the automatic extractor. Of the maps I dropped, the multistar 'Odds and Ends' 2v1 1v2 map was the one I liked best, howeve

Reply to Four Military Technologies that Need Help and a Discourse on their Enhancement in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

Even the Advent mines seem to be considerably less powerful than I expected. Is it reasonable to assume that if you have a Drone Host next to a couple of enemy carriers and deploy three sets of mines almost on top of them, that they would be destroyed? The cost of the mines themselves is equivalent to losing more than a Drone Host, plus you then have another Drone Host without any strikecraft. I'm still hoping for tactical advice on mine deployment, or examples of successf

Reply to Skirantra Obligation in Strategy Sins Forums

My concept of test games is simply to play full 1v1 games, though on the same set map rather than the random map, to try to establish some basic similarity between the games. I hadn't played Advent because there were always difficulties with them, so its good to finally be able to play the other side and experience the diffiulties. I've avoided Vasari with this patch though, the faction doesn't feel right, mainly because of Scramble Bombers. Sometimes new pl

Reply to What folder do you extract maps too? in Sins Modding Sins Forums

The folder you need is hidden, in Documents and Settings/[user name]/... for XP, it might be [user]/[user name]/.. for Vista. You have to 'show hidden folders' to spot it, then locate the Sins directory. If you look in the multiplayer section for the multiplayer mappack, that extracts itself- also there are more precise instructions with a full path for manual installation of other custom maps in the multiplayer mappack thread.

Reply to Skirantra Obligation in Strategy Sins Forums

Why is it useful to balance Scramble Bombers against Anima Tempest and Rapid Manufacturing, when they are ultimate abilities? Even if you did compare Scramble Bombers against Anima Tempest its 50 AM 35 cooldown 3 squads 120s lifetime versus 150AM 180 cooldown 7-8 squads 75s lifetime.. this makes the top level of Scramble in the current version slightly less than twice as good as the Halcyon's ultimate ? To alter this would be insulting ? The Vasar

Reply to Four Economic Technologies that Need (major) Help and What to Do About Them! in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

I'm more and more convinced that there should be an adjustment to trade ports and refineries so that the ships are slowed to half their current speed and that they rebuild at the constructor rate of 300s- whether it is at the quicker rate of 30s in an uncontested well or not, I'd leave up to how easy it is to implement. There is just no reason to have trade ships rebuild far faster than constructors, and it makes the implementation of sensible pirates very difficult

Reply to Multiplayer GalaxyForge Compilation - Third Version Available in Sins Multiplayer Sins Forums

If you're still going to update this in the near future, can you allow us a few days warning before you put the final compilation together? I was going to use a special [2.1] tag (or whatever) for my maps in the mappack, it should avoid any problems with conflicting versions. There's also a few revisions I might implement, plus I might like to concentrate on a few maps rather than have all of them in the pack. One of the styles of map I'm considering

Reply to Four Game Mechanics that Need Help in order to Enhance Variety in Strategies in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

There'd be no expansion of the tech tree required, once researched the top techs mentioned would accrue victory points, in the same manner as relations points are accrued in the current version. I would have a small amount of points for them and a larger one for artefects. The interface would display the rate at which points were being gained and the number of total points for each faction, as presently. As soon as one of those techs were discovered or an artefact found

Reply to Questions in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

Envoys increase your relations with enemy factions, though you'll need a ceasefire first. They also have a few other researchable abilities which mostly help the ally, the TEC envoy can make you fairly hefty sums though. If you research the first three levels of relations bonus you should get offers for ceasefires soon enough, either from destroying enemies during the course of normal play, or from completing missions that ask for resources or cash. If you're playing

Reply to Four Game Mechanics that Need Help in order to Enhance Variety in Strategies in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

The next time that I test a game style- possibly tonight if anyone's up for it- I'd like to have another go at the multiplayer relations victory. The impression I have of it is that there is a huge advantage if you have several factions of your type in the game. This would just be wrong, if it was indeed like that. Also, it seems odd that the relations victory should be intended to shorten singleplayer games.. which often don't need shortening, its the multiplayer bat

Reply to Anti-Rush? in Strategy Sins Forums

Could more players provide a replay when they comment on games they've played? Replays are really easy to upload somewhere and then link. Its a shame that this site isn't really being maintained well enough to function as a replay site itself, but its easy enough to upload a replay elsewhere. It can be quite difficult to work out what's happened in a game from comments alone. Also, replays are good to have and help to introduce players to how online plays out.</

Reply to Four Game Mechanics that Need Help in order to Enhance Variety in Strategies in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

No, it was indeed a multiplayer game. Players trying to overthrow planets with culture does happen with some frequency online in my experience, though its more generally the one versus none scenario- thats why I wondered whether the game would be more diverse if it was extended on to two versus one. Advent especially seems to have been originally intended to fight in that manner, advancing with their culture. Of course in theory this might be unpr

Reply to Priority of the Fixing of Underpowered Capital Abilities in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

There was a time I logged in and one of my friends was playing an inexperienced player, so I messaged him 'Your cap ship can attack roids on its own you know.' Thats simple theory as well. But he didn't appreciate it. I dunno, I've played many games online, I've met very few players that might have put me off, and none that I wouldn't play 1v1. I've always wondered whether the pick-up 'balanced' games weren't very poor introductions to online.&n

Reply to Priority of the Fixing of Underpowered Capital Abilities in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

Out of interest, how many online games have you played?

Reply to Four Capital Ship Abilities that Need Help and the Problem of Balancing With Ultimates in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

I suspect that Warlord Mike's concept is more likely. You can't be sued for repeating someone else's suggestion if its adopted in a game, can you? The problem with the Egg is as much about the initial Vasari advantage with neutral extractors as about sheer combat power, though buffing the 4th/5th best combat ship would be worrying by itself.... If there's a flak buff it'll affect the dominance of the carrier capitals- as will the longed for revert of S

Reply to Priority of the Fixing of Underpowered Capital Abilities in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

None of what has been said implies that making Subversion relevant to the game will somehow make the Marauder too powerful a ship. Also, the Kortul is a powerful ship. If you abuse Scramble Bombers before what I very much hope will be a full revert, it does make the Marauder very much more powerful because of the kiting and phase jump inhibitor immunity, but that might not continue to be the case after any readjustment. That's one of the problems with theorycraf

Reply to Four Capital Ship Abilities that Need Help and the Problem of Balancing With Ultimates in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

Of course, what would be ideal would be if the Egg's colonisation bonus could vary depending on the number of neutral extractors on the map. Does the build rate increase apply to starbases? Even with the sort of level of build rate increase suggested, won't the economic advantages be almost nil, so that the only real effect is if you want defences where you've just colonised? It still won't provide a real boost in the early game, should Vasari need one because of an a

Reply to Four Game Mechanics that Need Help in order to Enhance Variety in Strategies in Sins of a Solar Empire Sins Forums

Thanks for the explanation of culture Annatar- but why does it work like that, it seems counter-intuitive? So placing a culture centre in a gravwell that has many phase lanes won't lead to an enhanced effect..? I've had a game before where I defended one planet with a single culture centre, but the planet behind it, further from enemy culture but with no culture centre of its own, had its loyalty fall. There were no capital ships at the planet with the culture ce