[Nevermind!] Forcefields need to die, help me kill them.

[Wingflier]

You make some good points. Still, I think the ability to be cheesed through forcefields is something that needs to go.

It's troublesome that the human defense relies so heavily on forcefields for numerous reasons. There needs to be viable alternatives or a major overhaul of current forcefield mechanics.

Yes, FFs in their current form work, but work rather badly.

[Pumpkin]

There needs to be viable alternatives

Like tractor, gravity turrets, mines, fortresses, sniper/spider?

Yes, FFs in their current form work, but work rather badly.

I disagree.

[PokerChen]

My thing is, if AI War 2 is just AI War Classic with better graphics, then why not just play the original?

This is worth emphasizing particularly for the kickstarter - streamlining is all well and good (including that armor/hull/ammo overhaul), but I'm still looking for a revolutionary spark to sell. Although having said that, removing FFs doesn't sound like a seller. I would put it in the "high priority but not triage" column.
 Hmmm... FFS remove FFs?

[Wingflier]

There needs to be viable alternatives

Like tractor, gravity turrets, mines, fortresses, sniper/spider?

Yes, FFs in their current form work, but work rather badly.

I disagree.

Chris specifically mentioned in the AI War II design document that (paraphrasing) the game should be about grand strategy, not about looking away from your base for 10 seconds, coming back and your most important structures (under a forcefield) are gone.

To me, that was one of the main reasons forcefields were being examined in the first place, but also because of the technical and engine trouble they caused.

So yes, I think it's safe to say that if Forcefields were working well, we wouldn't be having this discussion in the first place.

Which isn't to be hostile, because each person is entitled to their own opinion. But if we want this game to reach a wider audience than it does, I think "instagib" mechanics like that need to go. The first time a reviewer spends 12 hours painstakingly creating a space empire and then loses to a few Raid Starships in about 30 seconds, it's probably going to crush their high opinion of the game. I wouldn't blame them for that either.

[Draco18s]

Hypothetical thought:

What if force fields couldn't overlap (but had a fixed size)?  You could still drop "one" on top of important structures for the extra defense, but there'd be no silly micro about moving them around to provide the best coverage, move them away for repairs, and avoid the arms race that "MOAR forcefields!" caused.

Combine that with three variants that had their own strengths and weaknessess.  Your standard FF is weak to bombers, the armor force field is strong against bombers, weak to [something else], then a third to round out a triangle.  I'm a little vague on what it might be, but if you had 3 options and could only build one over any given command station/capturable.