I'm going to go off the current topic a bit but still stay true to the thread's topic, the bonus ships.
Is it just me, or do the new ships seem rather OP?
I haven't tried the siege engine or the tackle drone launcher yet, but I have experianced the Spire railcluster and the Zenith medical frigate:
Having now played against an AI that was using using each of the bonus ships except Tackle Launchers, I'm not too concerned.
Yes, the ships are powerful. But not too powerful. I still find that AI Blade Spawners and SSBs are far nastier than any of the new ships.
Railclusters are just high-DPS, high-HP ships. The caps are low, so even the AI doesn't get very many - 1 per post-ish levels. That limits them from being a super pain to merely being nasty. A slight nerf might be in order, but they're still just towards the high end of the fleetship DPS, not the top. The multiplier against their counter thing should be changed, however - I agree with you there. I don't know why these were ever Polycrystal hulls to begin with. Seems... odd.
The Medic is a mid-high HP ship with good DPS. However, the Medic's healing ability goes to waste in AI hands. In human hands, the Medics are very useful for extended expiditions - neutering AI worlds, clearing highways, raiding, etc. I suspect they need a DPS nerf to go with their support role, because right now they are just awesome.
The Siege Engine is actually pretty weak in AI hands, since the AI is easy to manipulate if you pay attention to it's targeting practices. Perform hit & run style attacks against them and you can kill 100 or more without taking much damage. Only if the Sieges get all threat-like and decide to visit your planets do they become a real danger. Kill them quick, then, or lose all your defenses.
Humans have some of the same problems - I found these wonderful for taking out fortresses (Especially those under force fields). I found them of moderate use on defense. They were of NO use anywhere else. I acquired ZBombards from an ARS that same game, and got way more use of those.
Reprocessors are med-high-HP but don't do much damage. The special ability is, again, wasted in AI hands. In human hands, I'm sure they're giving me resources, but I can't say I've been able to tell how much they help. Usually, when they kill things, I'm too busy to pay that close attention to my resource levels.
Scapegoats are odd. They preserve an AI ship from death, but at the same time they take up a slot on the AI's system-cap. I attacked a homeworld that had 300 Mk V Scapegoats on it, and was distinctly unimpressed. I suspect this is another case of "Wasted in the AI hands" because it will require careful use to preserve special ships, rather than low-hp cannon fodder.
Tackle drones. I've not played against an AI using them, so I cna only speak to human usage. I think this is going to be a love-it-or-hate-it ship. I can't stand the things. They ruin my formations, put the enemy ships in places I don't want, and in general don't kill things. Also, there are a LOT of ships immune to tractors out there. As part of a heavy defense, they are terrible. As part of an offensive fleet, they are awkward and dramatically increase the level of micro required. Finally, they are very expensive, very low cap, and very slow to build.
On the other hand, there's nothing better for dealing with light border agression or stray threat in your otherwise un/lightly defended systems. Plant a few of these on top of a FacIV or fabricator, and stop worrying about casual attacks.
Looking forward to the last two bonus ships yet to be revealed. What wonders await us?
