We are just finalizing the last parts of the Interface redo to finish the next, large patch. If you read the forums closely, you might have noticed, that we are up to changing a large portion of the balancing system. We are also adding many new gameplay aspects. Some features however have been delayed to a following patch, in order to speed development up and give you a new update as soon as possible. We don't want to get another wait period like the one you had before the 3.0 release.
But lets get to the balancing now. If you play online from time to time, you might have noticed that the weapon range is a major factor in most strategies. That’s because long range vessels with large attack arcs may assault opponents while disengaging from battle, that’s called "kiting".
In order to reduce the "kiting-factor" in Fleet Operations, we redid all vessels. Each race features some very fast and agile vessels, that may act as interceptors to engage the long-range assault ships.
And that's it? Nope! Of course not! You might already have spotted the new subsystem display in one of the last screenshots. That's not only a feature to improve the interface, its also an element of another balancing addition. Many vessels got new, passive systems to add new vessel profiles. Most of them are related to weapon ranges. That adds an additional spectrum of balancing and vessel roles to the game, giving you complete new dimensions for strategies. The Monsoon for example is more effective if used against long range vessels now, while a Vorcha features ablative armor to reduce the damage from short range vessels. You will find many technologies seen in the shows as subsystems.
Another important point of the rebalancing was to strengthen up the Klingons, as they had some serious flaws when used in multiplayer and to make them more fun to play. We played a lot of Klingon games and redid their balancing completely. Most vessels have been adjusted by changing or adding passive abilities. In addition, we redid the Supply system for the Klingons. Their main source of gaining new supplies is now... Through fighting! What else would you expect from a true Klingon! Klingons may still purchase supplies, but at more expensive rates. Watch your vessels and lead them to victory in battles in order to gain new Supplies. Qapla!
