Space Combat Overhaul
A rework to how space combat works
We're excited to release an overhaul of space combat for this timeline! There were a few problems we set out to address that made the gameplay intimidating, formulaic, or stale:
- Squadrons did intense damage and were too decisive while creating enormous amounts of spam, reducing accessibility of space combat.
- Corvettes and frigates were far too survivable when dodging, making them more durable than even battleships.
- Weapon recharge rate and damage output felt out of sync: It was typical to spend more fuel firing weapons than your target was using to recharge.
- The number of weapons a ship had didn't matter much because all ships replenished weapon charges at the same fixed rate.
- Fleet composition became stale, with all battleships except the occasional dodging frigate, and this made losing a fleet incredibly expensive due to the cost of battleships.
We have a pretty large set of changes meant to address all of these issues. Primarily, we hope to create a sort of rock-paper-scissors effect that should feel familiar to the X-Wing and TIE Fighter games of yore: Battleships are best against capital ships, but worthless against fighters. Frigates aren't going to take down a battleship, but will be able to protect them from squadrons. Squadrons can do serious damage to capital ships if left ignored, but can be countered by frigates and especially other fighters. The best fleets and strategies will rely on a variety of ships and player roles.
For all the specifics, see the following five change posts.
- Squadrons did intense damage and were too decisive while creating enormous amounts of spam, reducing accessibility of space combat.
- Corvettes and frigates were far too survivable when dodging, making them more durable than even battleships.
- Weapon recharge rate and damage output felt out of sync: It was typical to spend more fuel firing weapons than your target was using to recharge.
- The number of weapons a ship had didn't matter much because all ships replenished weapon charges at the same fixed rate.
- Fleet composition became stale, with all battleships except the occasional dodging frigate, and this made losing a fleet incredibly expensive due to the cost of battleships.
We have a pretty large set of changes meant to address all of these issues. Primarily, we hope to create a sort of rock-paper-scissors effect that should feel familiar to the X-Wing and TIE Fighter games of yore: Battleships are best against capital ships, but worthless against fighters. Frigates aren't going to take down a battleship, but will be able to protect them from squadrons. Squadrons can do serious damage to capital ships if left ignored, but can be countered by frigates and especially other fighters. The best fleets and strategies will rely on a variety of ships and player roles.
For all the specifics, see the following five change posts.
