Exploitative Tactics: The Space Snake

[Revenantus]

The Munitions Booster allows for the formation of the most fearsome of beasts - The Space Snake.

Born of the tendency for ships to form a line when traveling large distances, the Space Snake provides optimum attack boosting for its comprising ships.

The Space Snake's components may appear few, but be not fooled by the Snake's deception, its power is greater than it seems.

Kept in shape by skillful maneuvering, the Space Snake can spiral around its prey, inflicting terrible damage.

But let the Space Snake stop, and its power fades. Its components disperse into cluster, and the Space Snake is no more.

[x4000]

Wow, that's crazy.

In general, I think the clumping of the munitions boosters while in transit might be problematic.  Perhaps they should only work when immobile or something.  I don't know, you're the one who found this particular exploitative tactic:  ideas on what would prevent it without restricting the other things you like to do with them?

[Revenantus]

Despite the fact that I'll be desperately upset when this no longer works, I think requiring the Munitions Boosters to be static might be a prudent move.

EDIT: There are actually about 400 ships in that formation if you're interested.

[x4000]

That's a big snake.  Yeah, I've been thinking that perhaps munitions boosters might need a bit of nerfing for a while now.  I think this is an effective way to do it, while still keeping them generally quite powerful (just not while on the move).

[Revenantus]

I'm not sure I'll ever be able to build a Munitions Booster again - I feel like I've betrayed them.

Their main use, in my experience, is boosting squadrons of bombers that are attacking hardened targets, such as forcefields. They're also somewhat useful for wormhole defense.

They are destroyed fairly easily though, so I often feel that their caps are quite low. Perhaps if they only worked while static, but boosted ships within a larger radius? This might make it easier to keep them out of harm's way. For example, while attacking forcefields, I could park them behind the bombers, hopefully keeping them out of the range of the turrets that would otherwise destroy them.

[x4000]

Hmm.  Or maybe this doesn't need to be changed at all...  thoughts?

[Revenantus]

It's unfortunate that kept moving long enough fleets will condense into a hypothetical, 'Singularity Ship', in which the entire fleet occupies a single point in space, effectively functioning as a single unit with a huge array of weapons. Even though this is a necessary consequence of the game's movement system, it seems unreasonable that effective combat tactics should result from it.

As much as it pains me to admit it, it just doesn't seem right.

Forgive me, Munitions Boosters!!!

[x4000]

Ha, okay -- points taken.  Sorry munitions boosters, but your "friend" Revenantus sure makes a good case against you...

[Admiral]

The first time I saw the "space snake formation" appear, I thought that was very odd.

Then I recreated the movement algorithm in my head and realized it was a necessary consequence of most typical movement patterns on a quantized grid.

For any relativists out there, it can be analogized to the "spagettification" of an object in a heavy gravity gradient; it's squeezed and stretched tidally.

Cheers!

[x4000]

Wow, you always impress me with the science/math, Admiral...

[Admiral]

Wow, you always impress me with the science/math, Admiral...

*shakes the dirt off his hands* My job here's done...

[darke]

Another cheap trick I guess is when you've got a bunch of ships about to go through a wormhole, click a few times on the wormhole to let them continually move to the center of it until you've got a tight bunch, then ctrl-click to send them through. It seems they all hit the wormhole exit at almost simultaneously that way, rather then streaming through.

[PhilRoi]

hmmm.  cap on  number of ships going through a wormhole at one time?
force them to spread out some?

[Monilas]

thats a tricky one. perhaps instead allow mines to hit ships in a small area around it, so any uber dense formations take a serious hit?. After all, any competent commander would be sure to extend their minefield into the pseudo z-axis

That way you can still move ships through friendly sectors ok, but theres a deterrent to moving en masse into enemy territory through a small gap.

[x4000]

Another cheap trick I guess is when you've got a bunch of ships about to go through a wormhole, click a few times on the wormhole to let them continually move to the center of it until you've got a tight bunch, then ctrl-click to send them through. It seems they all hit the wormhole exit at almost simultaneously that way, rather then streaming through.

This one makes you extremely vulnerable to lightning turrets (you will take massive damage with this tactic, versus almost none), so I'm not too worried about it being unduly abused.