Hey guys, I was just wondering what types of ammunition are planned. Right now, we have projectile weapons that launch kinetic weapons of some sort. But I'm wondering if there's going to be any variants of ammunition types, as well as the ammo variants: Projectile Beam or Continuous fire weapons (possibly that get stronger over time?) Pulse / short beam Additionally, will there be any variants such as sonic, concussive, et cetera?
I wouldn't expect any ammo variants from most units. If there was any sort of difference in firing type, I'd assume Uber would just make it a new unit. Of the ones you mentioned, I would not be surprised if Orbital units had some kind of beam attack. If orbital units attack ground units, it'd make more sense for them to have a method of inflicting damage that would work at long range (i.e. a laser). As for EMP blasts, I'd really be annoyed if they implemented them... As all units run off of electricity, having something that essentially insta-kills / disables everything in range would be ridiculously OP. Either that, or it'd have to be balanced really strangely, and IMO I don't like the way it would likely turn out. Just my two cents.
agreed, I just know that EMPs were used in Supcom so didn't know if there was any plans to do it here as well, to take turrets and AA guns guns offline or something, and they still haven't decided on a definite NO for shields either, they just want them to act different than in past games. EMPs usually were used to bring shields down.
I don't get the issue with EMP, it has plenty of 'balance levers' inherent not only to the weapon itself, but also on the unit carrying it so aside from bad design I don't see why it's be OP. Mike
I want projectiles that freeze water and lava, allowing units to cross previously impassable terrain. I also want projectiles that melt land and ice, causing enemy units to be ensnared by the liquid and take damage, or possibly even be destroyed if it is deep enough. I'll reiterate for the millionth time that this is still Alpha, and this is the kind of stuff we would be seeing mid-late beta, not before.
I actually love the sound of those idea's MushroomMars, the only problem with those is I think they would be physics based, and I dont think PA is going to have any such physics that stuff interacts with the surrounding environment like we see in things like COH for example. I think there should be a discussion about this actually to see how valid having destructible environments actually would be in the game, I think it would be awesome.
The answer is yes there will be more because a weapon plays very heavily into how a unit works and part of PA's goal is to provide a large amount of unit variety. We don't know exactly what is coming because it's not be created yet. Mike
Oh, sorry, I'm just being annoying old me. Hitscan (beam) weapons will most likely be in-game. There is already a placeholder beam in the game files, presumably for testing. The primary issue with beams is that they always have perfect accuracy, and as a result, 100% effective DPS (except for in a few corner-cases). Most RTS players perceive this as overpowered, which is the reason for the Cerberus's positively terrible DPS in Supreme Commander, and the Rhino's practically point-blank range in the same game. This bodes ill for balance, as you have to weigh the weapon's unerring accuracy against some other disadvantage. Personally, I'd like to see a Monkeylord-like beam mounted on an Annihilator-like weapon (or a Penetrator if we're lucky ). Except not as horrendously underpowered as the Annihilator, what with its tendency to drain all of your energy stores for several seconds so it can kill one PeeWee. Beams, I think, are good for Point Defenses, as a beam that always hits has a similar effect to an artillery piece or a Point Defense; when enemy units are moving towards you, they will always be hit because they can't turn without exposing themselves to prolonged suppressive fire. Players don't really notice the difference between an artillery piece or long range Point Defense and a beam ripping their army to shreds. Mobile beams have a tendency to be "Micro-Proof", meaning they cannot be defeated by microing a lesser or more specialized unit; it always becomes a battle of raw power as opposed to a battle of tactics, or dodging shots if you're being an ***.
Mush, I don't agree with pretty much any of that. Firstly, Beam based weaponry is not inherently OP at all, in fact they have most of the same 'balance levers' as most other weapons, in the end, just like anything else you can make something OP, but you can just as easily make them UP as well, it's all int eh execution. Second, While Beam based weapon can be 'micro-proof', it is not always the case, in fact if the balance levers are tuned properly Micro and overall tactics/strategy can be really effective. Don't forget that PA has the unique feature of Planet Curvature, this has effects alongside the usual changes in elevation and such as well. Don't right them off, they have plenty of potential. Mike
