Having such a positive result from our Energy thread, and with the announcement of the new expansion (yes!), I thought it would be a good time to brainstorm some ideas for how to deal with the, at this point, pretty much Universally agreed upon armor problem.
First let's look at problems with the current system:
1. Armor doesn't make a noticeable difference. It could make a difference, it just doesn't seem like it to the player, except perhaps in extreme circumstances.
2. Ships whose main role it is to counter armor (such as anti-armor, armor rotter, autocannons, etc.) suffer as a result.
2. The system is unintuitive. Armor only blocks, at maximum, 80% of any damage. What's the point of armor, if not to completely block weaker attacks? Also, shouldn't armor decrease over time?
4. We've tried multiple iterations of the same system with similar problems, meaning perhaps it's time to try something new.
As in the last discussion, I'd like to hear everybody's ideas for what we should do, so I'll start the discussion with mine:
I suggest a
Diminishing, Value-Based Armor System.
The idea is simple: Using normal attacks, the target's armor rating must first be destroyed before you can start attacking its hull.
For example, say a cargo ship has 1,000 armor and 1,000 health. To kill this ship you must first destroy its armor rating, then you can start working on its hull. So if your ship does 500 damage per shot, it will take 4 shots to kill it: 2 shots to get through the armor, and 2 shots to get through the hull. Simple.
What makes it interesting is how some of the attacking armor modifiers work.
1. Armor Piercing. This is already in the game, so players will already be used to it. In my system, armor piercing allows the attacking ship to penetrate the armor and damage the hull directly.
Let's take the 1,000 armor and 1,000 health cargo ship example again. If a Fighter has does 500 damage per shot, and has 1,000 armor piercing, that means that the armor piercing completely ignores the target's armor, and deals damage directly to the target's hull. So the cargo ship will die in 2 shots. If the Fighter only had 750 armor piercing, and 500 damage per shot, it would deal 250 armor damage and 250 hull damage per shot, since it's armor piercing isn't high enough to completely penetrate the target's armor.
Ships with high armor piercing in my system would be ones that were close range brawlers, who, while weak, were made for raiding and assassinations. Three examples include Fighters, Raiders, and Cutlasses.
2. Heavy Impact (times x). This is a new mechanic which would give certain ships a multiplicative bonus against armor. This mechanic is also fairly simple, and would make certain ships extremely powerful against a target's armor rating. Heavy Impact is always followed by a multiplier bonus which increases the attacker's damage vs. armor.
For example, if Anti-Armor ships did 500 damage per shot, and had a x2 Heavy Impact bonus, they would do 1,000 damage vs. armor. If they did 500 damage per shot, and had a x3 Heavy Impact bonus, they would do 1,500 damage vs. armor. Basically, all the Heavy Impact bonus does is multiply the ships base damage vs. armor. Once the armor is gone, the ship does normal damage to the hull. For example, the cargo ship has 1,000 armor and 1,000 health. Anti-Armor ships do 500 damage and have a x2 Heavy Impact bonus, which means in one shot, they would destroy the armor rating of the target. Then, because they get no bonus towards the hull, it would take 2 more shots to kill it.
Ships with Heavy Impact would be those specifically designed to take out high-armored targets. Examples include Bombers, Spire Armor Rotters, and Autocannon Minipods.
3. Explosive Rounds (times x). The Explosive Rounds mechanic is almost exactly the same as the Heavy Impact mechanic, except that the multiplier bonus applies to hulls instead of armor. As such, the bonus can't be applied until the target's armor has been removed. Using the 1,000 armor and 1,000 health cargo ship example again, let's say your frigate does 500 damage and has a x2 Explosive Rounds bonus. This means that it will take 2 shots for the frigate to destroy the target's armor, then on its third shot the Explosive Rounds mechanic will kick in, killing it instantly.
Ships with Explosive Rounds would be specifically designed to take out weaker, less armored targets. Examples include Frigates, MLRS ships, and Raptors.
Armor would effectively be treated like a new healthbar. Like hull damage, it could be repaired with engineers, but would not repair itself.
I think what makes this system so much better than the one we have is that it opens up so many more options for the variety of bonus ship types. Where before, we were struggling to define so many of the ships' roles, with these new mechanics, the possibilities are nearly endless. Ships can do high amounts of damage, but have no armor modifier bonuses and be decent against everything. They can have a high armor piercing, and though they don't help the fleet that much, they are adept at taking targets out on their own. They can have a high Heavy Impact bonus, making them great for making a target vulnerable for your fleet. They can have Explosive Rounds which makes them weaker initially, but powerful once an enemy's defense has been lowered. They can have a combination of any of the above.
On the contrary, how much armor a ship has will have a direct effect on its survivability in battle, and what ships you need to counter it. Light ships without much armor (such as Fighters and Melee Ships) will become much more useful because armor piercing and heavy impact barely affects them, meaning they will need their own specific counters as well. Ships can also have low amounts of armor and high amounts of health as well, opening up some interesting new ship classes.
Of course using this new armor system will mean a massive overhaul of the balance system, but it already needed to be done anyway.
http://www.arcengames.com/mantisbt/view.php?id=7867So that's my idea. I'd like to hear some more ideas as well. Let's get brainstorming!
