Buffs to not so useful unlocks

[Kahuna]

Heh, I always unlock AWS at the start of every game, and put one on every planet.  I just assumed that's what everyone did.

Yep that's what I did before too. Then I started trying new tactics and realized it doesn't matter which Wormhole the wave is coming from. I'm just going park my fleet next to my turrets and let the AI ships come at me.

250 knowledge seems like a trivial cost to me.  It's 1/10th the cost of mark II fleetships.

Sure it's just 250 Knowledge but if I have 2000 Knowledge left and I need Mark II Hardened Force Fields.. 2000-250=1750 so I'm not going to get those Mark II HFFs.

In my current game I've made a plan which Techs I need to unlock:
Mark II, III and IV Bombers because I'm going to attack the AI home worlds soon (6500 Knowledge)
Mark III Metal Harvesters. Bombers cost a lot of metal. (2500 Knowledge)
Mark II Tractor Beam Turrets to stop attacks and stuff (1250 Knowledge)
Mark II HFFs to protect the Tractors (2000 Knowledge)
Mark II Missile Turrets to destroy Polycrystal and Guardians (1250 Knowledge)
=13500 Knowledge in total

At the moment I have 3500 Knowledge left so I need to gather Knowledge from 4 more planets.. so I would have 15500 Knowledge. After unlocking those I would have 15500-13500=2000 Knowledge left. With that 2000 Knowledge I could unlock EMP Minefields which cost 1000 Knowledge.. so if I gathered Knowledge from 1 more planet.. I would have 4000 Knowledge so I could get Mark III Hardened Force Fields. After all of this I'm left with 0 Knowledge.

If I ever at any point unlocked Advanced Warp Sensor I would not get one of those Tech^^ and I actually need all of them. All of my Tech unlocks are linked to each other.. Bombers/MetalHarvesters.. Tractors/ForceFields.. Turrets/EMPMinefields..

So that's my reasoning.

[Bognor]

I understand what you're saying, but couldn't you just do a short, incomplete knowledge hack on another planet, stopping when you get 250 knowledge?  Especially now that knowledge hacking no longer requires supply.

[zoutzakje]

hmm I find AWS useful for early game but not so much as to waste hacking points on it. rather save those for ARS or superterminal or whatever.

[TechSY730]

AWS are great in games where you need to defend mostly using your fleet (due to many planets being possible "in-points" for waves), or games where your resources are somewhat constrained (esp early game)

Not so great otherwise, but that's fine IMO.

If anything, the knowledge cost may need to be adjusted downwards some (which in my mind, is preferable, but that is just me) to reflect its somewhat niche use. (Was it 1250 or 250? If 250, that seems about right, or maybe 500. 1250, as it is now, is a bit high)

[Kahuna]

AWS are great in games where you need to defend mostly using your fleet

I would still build my defenses the same way.. I'd just have less turrets and more Ships so nothing would change. I'd still park my fleet next to the turrets and let them come.