Radar op?

Discussion in 'Balance Discussions' started by daddydbrain, September 13, 2014.

  1. daddydbrain

    daddydbrain New Member

    Messages:
    14
    Likes Received:
    8
    Radar buildings (normal, advanced...) are atm buildings which you can see in every single game you play. It is a must build building at the start of the game to prevent suprise attacks from any direction and atm there isn't anything that makes radar unviable in any situation.

    And thats the problem i want to discuss with you guys, I think that radar structures need some new mechanics or have to be more expensive in order to be unviable in at least some situations. There should be a tactical decision whenether you want to build a radar or not.

    One idea I came up with is that your opponents can see a radar if you build one, or at least if some of his units come into the radius of your radar he should be able to see it.

    That could make the early game much more interesting, when players are trying to snipe the enemy radar to get some surprise attacks on the enemy base etc...

    Do you guys have any other thoughts or ideas about the radar, or am I the only one who thinks that radar atm is a little bit uncounterable?
    elodea likes this.
  2. mjshorty

    mjshorty Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    871
    Likes Received:
    470
    well there where some ideas on units that hide from radar

    However, radar is kinda a good thing, it has actual vision to see the enemies, and then radar where you are not sure what is coming exactly.
    It also draws on power, which has most veterans to only use radar for about a second to check to see if anyone has started near them.
    If you take out power, you can disable power, making power an even better reason to take out power
  3. rivii

    rivii Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    534
    Likes Received:
    474
    Radar is the most powerful building in this game right now as it gives intel, and with intel you can stop harassment and attack weak points. Radar also allows you to quickly get full planet vision of enemy movement. Just build a few throughoout the planet. Intel is key. As for the energy of a t1 radar, I dont know how much it costs but it can't be a lot as it never hinders my energy flow.
  4. daddydbrain

    daddydbrain New Member

    Messages:
    14
    Likes Received:
    8
    Yeah sure radar is a good thing and it has to be in the game to prevent an unseen army simply snipe your commander or your production.
    The problem that I have with it is that it is kinda op considering its cost is extremely low. Its great that it drains power while active, it adds a bit more strategy whenether you want to use it or not.

    What I want to say is that the function of the building is extrelmely powerful, so it should have, in my opinion, some more disadvantages.
  5. ssolitude

    ssolitude New Member

    Messages:
    17
    Likes Received:
    6
    Personally I find radar too expensive in the start to build, and once past the start it is very rare for a single radar to cover my base.

    I just don't think occupying a fabricator early on with building it along with the metal and energy it takes is worthwhile to slow down your expanding.

    Someone mentioned turning it off to preserve energy which is a nice idea, but then the metal and fabtime investment gives even less in return when your metal still gets raided when its off and you have to spend extra attention dealing with the on/off for the radar.

    Don't get me wrong it is a good building, I just think there are strong downsides to it in the start, and a reasonable investment after that to have radars covering all sides of your base(s).

    I also think later on what it does is kinda necessary unless we are going to play the dice game.
  6. thetrophysystem

    thetrophysystem Post Master General

    Messages:
    7,050
    Likes Received:
    2,874
    T1 radar should cost as much as doublebarrel turret, and should give 50% more radar than a pelter.

    Currently, it gives multiples more radar range than a pelter's firing range. Naturally, I believe it should never have given more than double.
  7. Tripod27

    Tripod27 Active Member

    Messages:
    185
    Likes Received:
    118
    I already suggested making bots invisible to radar, since they were supposed to be base harassment units in the first place
  8. squishypon3

    squishypon3 Post Master General

    Messages:
    7,971
    Likes Received:
    4,356
    Radar is MUCH to affective, it's range should be half what it is now.
  9. ssolitude

    ssolitude New Member

    Messages:
    17
    Likes Received:
    6
    Half sounds a bit extreme... if it was half range of current I would have no need to build it as units will be giving me vision then.
  10. squishypon3

    squishypon3 Post Master General

    Messages:
    7,971
    Likes Received:
    4,356
    Hm.. at least a third smaller. Right now radar range is much longer than the range of its artillery counterpart within the same tech.

    I'd suggest making it either a bit longer range than the artillery's range of its respective tech or a bit less, either would work.
  11. Regabond

    Regabond Member

    Messages:
    84
    Likes Received:
    5
    Or how about drastically reduced HP? That way it can always and easily be sniped out at the beginning of attacks, masking the remaining forces.

    Radar has always been long range and powerful in these games (TA, SupCom, FA, SupCom 2, PA). I'm not really seeing a problem with it currently. In fact it seems harder (not by much though) to use early game than any of the other games, due to increased costs and upkeep.
  12. thetrophysystem

    thetrophysystem Post Master General

    Messages:
    7,050
    Likes Received:
    2,874
    Durastically reduced HP would at least make quick air snipes work, assuming the bombers were able to suicide run one.
  13. squishypon3

    squishypon3 Post Master General

    Messages:
    7,971
    Likes Received:
    4,356
    Because the long range makes scouts useless.
  14. ssolitude

    ssolitude New Member

    Messages:
    17
    Likes Received:
    6
    On a 500r planet a radar in the middle of my base mostly fail to locate my opponents base, scouts are very much essential early for that, and later on scouting with units is still highly necessary to find where the opponent is expanding his metal.

    Radar feels essential to protect your base without building a highly excessive amount of static defense after 5-10minutes into the game.
  15. squishypon3

    squishypon3 Post Master General

    Messages:
    7,971
    Likes Received:
    4,356
    Implying you should only build on radar? I would hope it doesn't let you see your enemy base, that's terribly boring. You should need to build multiple radar towers across the planet, set up at proxy bases.

    (Radar isn't essential if you have an air factory build a couple scouts, 80 metal each, and put them on an area move.)
  16. ssolitude

    ssolitude New Member

    Messages:
    17
    Likes Received:
    6
    Yes my point was that it takes several radars to cover different places you need it, and that with a smaller radius that amount would increase as well as making the radars more exposed just further adding on risk, and since it is alleready hard to justify several radars early game it shouldn't be made weaker.

    And the problem with making scouts is that they are one time solutions to scouting most of the time, as once something does come it is highly likely the scout is shot down since it has to be much closer than a radar, and the more scouts you need the more that task will take up an airfactory and the more expensive the metal costs get.

    A radar has a constant energy cost which of course is one of its bad attributes early, but having to repeatedly cash out 80 metal can quickly surpass that.
    elodea likes this.
  17. squishypon3

    squishypon3 Post Master General

    Messages:
    7,971
    Likes Received:
    4,356
    Actually I don't think radar literally costs energy.. I believe it's actually one of the things with "If you have energy below a certain percent, it's off" it doesn't physically use energy. I'll have to go look at their .jsons again.
  18. ef32

    ef32 Well-Known Member

    Messages:
    446
    Likes Received:
    454
    I find deep space radar to be OP. It shows you every single orbital on every single planet. I'm fine with all orbitals on planet it is built on, and all travels, but damn, every orbital on every planet? You see a lone astreus on lone planet, and you know commander or fabber landed there, even tho it was 5 minutes ago. You see fabbers and avengers popping up in one place, and you know there's their main base. Way too much intel for one single structure. I'd prefer orbital radar to only see orbitals on it's planet and interplanetary movement, but once something enters orbit where you don't have radar, it's lost for you.


    squishypon3, radars use like 150 energy. And deep space 300.
    elodea and Tripod27 like this.
  19. squishypon3

    squishypon3 Post Master General

    Messages:
    7,971
    Likes Received:
    4,356
    Hm.. then they changed it, like I said, I'll need to check it's .json.
  20. elodea

    elodea Post Master General

    Messages:
    1,694
    Likes Received:
    3,040
    Radar needs to reveal to opponents the range they are covering and also to cost more energy than 150 to run.

    I think radar range is generally ok as is. Maybe slightly too big, but that's just splitting hairs.
    thelordofthenoobs likes this.

Share This Page