Superterminal Hacking

[ZaneWolfe]

I think I mentioned this before, but I can't recall if I got a reply or not. Given the new hacking mechanics, and the Hacking Progress resource that came with it, does the Super Terminal really need to raise the AIP floor as well as give AIP reduction now? Before the raising of the floor was part of the limiting mechanic, to prevent abuse. (I don't think it was really that effective in that.) Now, given that every single tick takes Hacking Progress that alone becomes enough of a limiting faction, at least IMO. Because if your HP ever becomes negative, it will quickly become a matter of life or death to destroy the Super Terminal and stop the hack. I've seen that thing death spiral, where the hacking response was so destructive that it just cost me the game.

As always, opinions can vary. So what are everyone else's thoughts?

[Toranth]

I think I mentioned this before, but I can't recall if I got a reply or not. Given the new hacking mechanics, and the Hacking Progress resource that came with it, does the Super Terminal really need to raise the AIP floor as well as give AIP reduction now? Before the raising of the floor was part of the limiting mechanic, to prevent abuse. (I don't think it was really that effective in that.) Now, given that every single tick takes Hacking Progress that alone becomes enough of a limiting faction, at least IMO. Because if your HP ever becomes negative, it will quickly become a matter of life or death to destroy the Super Terminal and stop the hack. I've seen that thing death spiral, where the hacking response was so destructive that it just cost me the game.

As always, opinions can vary. So what are everyone else's thoughts?

I think this would end up being a nerf to the SuperTerminal, actually.  Remember that right now, it doesn't raise the AIP Floor directly, it raises it by doing a -2, +1 AIP pairing.  That +1 AIP also gives you +1 HaP.  During a ST run to reduce AIP by 60 (3 price-increases worth), net HaP change is -35, rather than the -95 it would otherwise be.  And the AIP Floor rise during that period is 15-20, pretty minor if you're already 60+ points above the floor.
That -95 HaP is actually larger than what it currently takes to go down 80 AIP (-82.5 HaP), meaning that for a given HaP expenditure, this change would basically be reducing the AIP that can be reduced by 20.

[ZaneWolfe]

I think this would end up being a nerf to the SuperTerminal, actually.  Remember that right now, it doesn't raise the AIP Floor directly, it raises it by doing a -2, +1 AIP pairing.  That +1 AIP also gives you +1 HaP.  During a ST run to reduce AIP by 60 (3 price-increases worth), net HaP change is -35, rather than the -95 it would otherwise be.  And the AIP Floor rise during that period is 15-20, pretty minor if you're already 60+ points above the floor.
That -95 HaP is actually larger than what it currently takes to go down 80 AIP (-82.5 HaP), meaning that for a given HaP expenditure, this change would basically be reducing the AIP that can be reduced by 20.

~facedesk~ How did I forget that? I rescind my suggestion entirely. I can't believe I forgot something so obvious... ~facedesk~