I can see the posts now about the time spent refleeting Wolves and
Interceptors... Ah, good times.
In seriousness, though, I think TLF has a benefit over AIW in that time is a
bit more of a forefront primary resource (albeit it more at the strategic
view-level), because you explicitly choose how much time you spend and where.
In the tactical view, you generally aren't having to wait on things to
replenish before you can continue towards your objective (vs. waiting for a
refleet in AIW) --- you can always be taking action towards your objective. So
I can understand wanting to keep it this way.
However, I think you already have the tool to satisfy both "recharging
ammo" and "OMG REFLEET TIEMZ TO LONGS" --- the power distro bar: * Keep the current "reload" timer (and ammo) for the current ammo store to
curtail ability spamming.
* On a per-ability basis, have a secondary "recharge" timer that is some
multiplier (e.g., 5x - 10x) of the reload timer. As long as
`current_ammo < max_ammo`, this timer ticks down till another "round" is
added to the ability.
* Here's where the power distro comes into play:
add a new column for
"ability recharger." Putting power to this system lets your abilities
recharge faster (e.g., by increasing how quickly it ticks down). This
should generally avoid the "OMG TO LONGS"s by
putting that choice in the
player's hands. * To avoid throwing off the balance, maybe only add one or two power
bars to what the player can assign.
* Because abilities no longer run out, either leave them as "all you have is
what you take with you" (like weapons), or permit switching out abilities;
the switched-in ability must cycle through a reload (not recharge) timer
before it can be used.
* I'm of both minds on whether abilities recharge while unequipped, but
I think letting them recharge is probably better to minimize the
"maximizing results" tedium, and it shouldn't break balance too badly.
I think this will help make the one-shot items (especially the little ships)
much cooler, because there's less of a "do I use it now or later...
geez I only get one, so I'd better make it REALLY count" decision to make
without turning it into a "SPAM SPAM SPAM"-fest.
Thoughts?