Post by blackflag on Mar 12, 2010 13:44:27 GMT -5
My objective ideas on a modification to Total Annihilation.
The PRIMARY OBJECTIVE of this suggested mod would be to correct disporportional strength vs weakness advantages that arm has over the core in general. This will create a new game through a better game, not a better game through a new game. Nothing is better than OTA dynamically speaking; TA doesnt need new, stronger units, or less contrast and distinction between the 2 sides, it simply needs some minor tweeking to better highlight core's strong points, not redifine them. To stive to find reasonable compromise in some of the more sensitive areas of TA to change to appeal. so the mod will appeal to the expert TA community at large. Alot of feedback will need to be gathered, especially in these controversial areas, from the community. I strongly believe Switech's bug fix should be a foundation for any further modification, however, BUT this must be achieved WITHOUT sacrificing the distinction between arm and core.
My Secondary Objective would be to correct many obvious flaws in advanced units. Ground units (L2 Vehicles & L2 Kbots) in particulary need adjustment. The desired result is fulfillment of these units intended tactical roles, which have been made obsolete by evolution of better techniques with level 1 units.
--==LEVEL ONE==-- (ALL UNITS)
COMMANDER = core commander's max velocity increased to same as arm
COMMENTS= self explanatory...
SONAR = ARM- NO CHANGE
= CORE- should produce the same amount of energy as ARM's SONAR when turned off.
LIGHT LASER TOWER = 15% increased range and 5% less damage
COMMENTS= #1 reason people dont make LLTs is NOT
their relatively high BT, it is NOT their relatively high cost, it IS because there is little chance it will get to even fire one shot. why? because of its limited range. SOLUTION = 10-20% increase in range. i would start with 10% and beta test it from there against dynamics and variables of the game.
STUMPY & RAIDER = STUMPY- 15% increased weapon (projectile) velocity, 4% increased range
= RAIDER- 11% increased weapon (projectile) velocity, 7% increased range
COMMENTS= both need a reasonably small increases to highlight the units' intended, all-purpose role. core has 4% more range than arm equiv (defensive/hording advantage) & arm has 5% more weapon (projectile) velocity than core equiv (offensive/ accuracy vs mobile units.)
FLASH & INSTIGATOR = FLASH- NO CHANGE
= INSTIGATOR- 3-4% increased range (Defensive)
COMMENTS= goal to balance out flash's higher damaging EMG.
LEVELER (CORE ONLY) = 6% increased max velocity (speed), 7% increased range
COMMENTS= the original role of riot tank was useless. even tho the tank's weapon has great damage and area of effect, its armor and speed are so weak that the unit is inept in combat within it's current range. the tank's new role will be light siege. if the unit seems too strong after increases try a slightly slow weapon (projectile) velocity before decreasing range. this will make it weaker against mobile units. it should already be weak vs mobile because its armor remains the same and its still relatively slow despite 6% increase.
JETHRO & CRASHER = JETHRO- equal weapon (projectile) velocity (not the damage) to samson, 5% increased armor
= CRASHER- equal weapon (projectile) velocity (not damage) to slasher, 5% increased armor
COMMENTS= most sensible solution to this unit's uselessness vs air & vs ground.
HAMMER & THUD = HAMMER- 5% increased weapon (projectile) velocity, 5% increased weapon range
= THUD- 7% increased armor, 3% increased weapon range
COMMENTS= THUD has more survivability with 7% armor increase, while increased range enhances the unit's role as artillery.
HAMMER is more suited for siege with a 5% increased weapon velocity & 5% increased range... more effective vs mobile units than thud.
FLEA (ARM ONLY) = 15% increased weapon attack
COMMENTS= most people would say "yeah, flea's weapon is weak, so attack in groups of 2 or 3". well, the BT on 2 fleas to one jeffy is higher yet they are still weaker than jeffy in 2v1. yes they have range so you can stay out of los but that doesnt matter with radar. it simply takes them too long to kill metal extractors, winds, and solars, which is what scouts were meant to raid. once missiles come into play the unit is completely useless so it should have a window of time for some useage.
WARRIOR (ARM ONLY) = weapon changed from light emg and light plasma to FLASH's EMG, speed adjusted to 5% less than peewee (i believe that would still be an increase from what it currently is).
COMMENTS= instead of having an ambiguous role in battle, warriors should be more like heavier peewees so kbots first will have more survivability and longevity (should be 5% slower than peewee) in battle.
ALTERNATIVE= to make it more comparable to stumpy than flash (giving vehicles advantage of fast attack with much heavier armor) you could give warrior dual light plasma, 7% increased weapon (projectile) velocity. possibly a 1-3% range increase (however dual light plasma might be strong enough without range increase)
FREEDOM FIGHTER & AVENGER = FREEDOM FIGHTER- NO CHANGE
= AVENGER- turn rate and acceleration increased to competitive standards vs FF
COMMENTS= FF owns AVENGER...
SKEETER & SEARCHER = SKEETER- NO CHANGE (check all stats vs SEARCHER)
= SEARCHER- turret needs to turn the same as skeeter.
COMMENTS= i think this is a scripting issue.
LURKER & SNAKE = LURKER- NO CHANGE
= SNAKE- needs same stats as LURKER [max velocity (speed), turn rate, acceleration, and armor]
COMMENTS= these units should be near identical in max velocity (speed), turn rate, acceleration, and armor. subs are very similiar to L1 fighters in that the role they play is both so vital and fundamental that equality is paramount to distinction in these designated tactical roles. they need to be equal for the sake of balance between arm and core. this is one area where arm and core should have no distinction. the sub, like the fighter, is too fundamental to vary statistically between cooresponding unit type.
--==LEVEL TWO==-- (DEFENSIVE STRUCTURES)
GUARDIAN & PUNISHER = GUARDIAN- NO CHANGE
= PUNISHER- more similiar stats as GUARDIAN (less area of effect + more range)
COMMENTS= another fundamental unit that should have little to no distinction between arm and core.
SENTINEL & GAAT GUN = SENTINEL- 10%-15% less BT
= GAAT GUN- 10%-15% less BT
COMMENTS= con ships have relatively fast build speed (either that or floating HLT has less BT), but on land HLT takes too long to construct with L1 con vehicles.
--==LEVEL TWO==-- (ADV UNITS)
BULLDOG & REAPER = BULLDOG-
= REAPER-
COMMENTS=
The PRIMARY OBJECTIVE of this suggested mod would be to correct disporportional strength vs weakness advantages that arm has over the core in general. This will create a new game through a better game, not a better game through a new game. Nothing is better than OTA dynamically speaking; TA doesnt need new, stronger units, or less contrast and distinction between the 2 sides, it simply needs some minor tweeking to better highlight core's strong points, not redifine them. To stive to find reasonable compromise in some of the more sensitive areas of TA to change to appeal. so the mod will appeal to the expert TA community at large. Alot of feedback will need to be gathered, especially in these controversial areas, from the community. I strongly believe Switech's bug fix should be a foundation for any further modification, however, BUT this must be achieved WITHOUT sacrificing the distinction between arm and core.
My Secondary Objective would be to correct many obvious flaws in advanced units. Ground units (L2 Vehicles & L2 Kbots) in particulary need adjustment. The desired result is fulfillment of these units intended tactical roles, which have been made obsolete by evolution of better techniques with level 1 units.
--==LEVEL ONE==-- (ALL UNITS)
COMMANDER = core commander's max velocity increased to same as arm
COMMENTS= self explanatory...
SONAR = ARM- NO CHANGE
= CORE- should produce the same amount of energy as ARM's SONAR when turned off.
LIGHT LASER TOWER = 15% increased range and 5% less damage
COMMENTS= #1 reason people dont make LLTs is NOT
their relatively high BT, it is NOT their relatively high cost, it IS because there is little chance it will get to even fire one shot. why? because of its limited range. SOLUTION = 10-20% increase in range. i would start with 10% and beta test it from there against dynamics and variables of the game.
STUMPY & RAIDER = STUMPY- 15% increased weapon (projectile) velocity, 4% increased range
= RAIDER- 11% increased weapon (projectile) velocity, 7% increased range
COMMENTS= both need a reasonably small increases to highlight the units' intended, all-purpose role. core has 4% more range than arm equiv (defensive/hording advantage) & arm has 5% more weapon (projectile) velocity than core equiv (offensive/ accuracy vs mobile units.)
FLASH & INSTIGATOR = FLASH- NO CHANGE
= INSTIGATOR- 3-4% increased range (Defensive)
COMMENTS= goal to balance out flash's higher damaging EMG.
LEVELER (CORE ONLY) = 6% increased max velocity (speed), 7% increased range
COMMENTS= the original role of riot tank was useless. even tho the tank's weapon has great damage and area of effect, its armor and speed are so weak that the unit is inept in combat within it's current range. the tank's new role will be light siege. if the unit seems too strong after increases try a slightly slow weapon (projectile) velocity before decreasing range. this will make it weaker against mobile units. it should already be weak vs mobile because its armor remains the same and its still relatively slow despite 6% increase.
JETHRO & CRASHER = JETHRO- equal weapon (projectile) velocity (not the damage) to samson, 5% increased armor
= CRASHER- equal weapon (projectile) velocity (not damage) to slasher, 5% increased armor
COMMENTS= most sensible solution to this unit's uselessness vs air & vs ground.
HAMMER & THUD = HAMMER- 5% increased weapon (projectile) velocity, 5% increased weapon range
= THUD- 7% increased armor, 3% increased weapon range
COMMENTS= THUD has more survivability with 7% armor increase, while increased range enhances the unit's role as artillery.
HAMMER is more suited for siege with a 5% increased weapon velocity & 5% increased range... more effective vs mobile units than thud.
FLEA (ARM ONLY) = 15% increased weapon attack
COMMENTS= most people would say "yeah, flea's weapon is weak, so attack in groups of 2 or 3". well, the BT on 2 fleas to one jeffy is higher yet they are still weaker than jeffy in 2v1. yes they have range so you can stay out of los but that doesnt matter with radar. it simply takes them too long to kill metal extractors, winds, and solars, which is what scouts were meant to raid. once missiles come into play the unit is completely useless so it should have a window of time for some useage.
WARRIOR (ARM ONLY) = weapon changed from light emg and light plasma to FLASH's EMG, speed adjusted to 5% less than peewee (i believe that would still be an increase from what it currently is).
COMMENTS= instead of having an ambiguous role in battle, warriors should be more like heavier peewees so kbots first will have more survivability and longevity (should be 5% slower than peewee) in battle.
ALTERNATIVE= to make it more comparable to stumpy than flash (giving vehicles advantage of fast attack with much heavier armor) you could give warrior dual light plasma, 7% increased weapon (projectile) velocity. possibly a 1-3% range increase (however dual light plasma might be strong enough without range increase)
FREEDOM FIGHTER & AVENGER = FREEDOM FIGHTER- NO CHANGE
= AVENGER- turn rate and acceleration increased to competitive standards vs FF
COMMENTS= FF owns AVENGER...
SKEETER & SEARCHER = SKEETER- NO CHANGE (check all stats vs SEARCHER)
= SEARCHER- turret needs to turn the same as skeeter.
COMMENTS= i think this is a scripting issue.
LURKER & SNAKE = LURKER- NO CHANGE
= SNAKE- needs same stats as LURKER [max velocity (speed), turn rate, acceleration, and armor]
COMMENTS= these units should be near identical in max velocity (speed), turn rate, acceleration, and armor. subs are very similiar to L1 fighters in that the role they play is both so vital and fundamental that equality is paramount to distinction in these designated tactical roles. they need to be equal for the sake of balance between arm and core. this is one area where arm and core should have no distinction. the sub, like the fighter, is too fundamental to vary statistically between cooresponding unit type.
--==LEVEL TWO==-- (DEFENSIVE STRUCTURES)
GUARDIAN & PUNISHER = GUARDIAN- NO CHANGE
= PUNISHER- more similiar stats as GUARDIAN (less area of effect + more range)
COMMENTS= another fundamental unit that should have little to no distinction between arm and core.
SENTINEL & GAAT GUN = SENTINEL- 10%-15% less BT
= GAAT GUN- 10%-15% less BT
COMMENTS= con ships have relatively fast build speed (either that or floating HLT has less BT), but on land HLT takes too long to construct with L1 con vehicles.
--==LEVEL TWO==-- (ADV UNITS)
BULLDOG & REAPER = BULLDOG-
= REAPER-
COMMENTS=
