Decloaking

posted on June 8th, 2010, 10:02 pm

From this topic: Star Trek Armada II: Fleet Operations - Clock

true that is annoying. i think ships should wait til decloak is finished before firing.

That would completely kill Klingons I have to say 

good, romulan and klingon styles are too similar. the only difference is it takes longer to cloak and run as klingons. i think romulans should keep their cloaking prowess, but klingon cloak should make it far more obvious that there aren't many klingons scientists and that their cloak is basic.

Klingons pride themselves on being able to decloak in battle and strike quickly - why would they do so if it left them at a severe disadvantage? I really don't like this from several perspectives really - one, it will dramatically weaken early game Klingon vessels (both cloaking and decloaking would be made incredibly vulnerable as it would be 4 seconds...), two it doesn't make sense in whatever canon we've seen, three, it would be problematic when we consider other factions that have cloaking vessels.

Likewise, there are Klingon scientists, and we've seen them several times (and we know they must exist in plentiful numbers given how much weapon and ship tech the Klingons have) - we know nothing about their cloaking capabilities, other than we assume they are less advanced, but why would just the Klingons get such a nasty disadvantage? Klingon science must be fairly advanced at least in the realm of physics and weapon technology given they have such powerful vessels . I don't see why cloak can't fall under a weapon technology 

[Tyler]

posted on June 8th, 2010, 10:10 pm

Last edited by Tyler on June 8th, 2010, 10:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Any tech can be a weapon if used right (even engines, if the Known Space series is to be believed), which would be easier for a Klingon than a Romulan to pull off. Especially considering they're the kind to ignore the 'safety' concept.

I can understand why people ignore Klingon science, considering we almost always see little other than the warrior caste.

posted on June 8th, 2010, 11:08 pm

I'd like to see the Klingon ships taking very little time to decloak, but the 4 seconds to resume cloak.

That seems much more Klingon to me.  Take your time setting the ambush, but be ready to strike like an enraged Targ!

[Anonymous]

posted on June 8th, 2010, 11:19 pm

Last edited by Anonymous on June 8th, 2010, 11:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Hey!  you left off my quote! [sub]just joking[/sub]

Maybe Klingons shouldn't be able to fire instantly, but rommies should?  dunno...

//Edit: Ambush is a dis-honorable tactic.  IMO Klingons should prefer forward assaults and cloak only to avoid detection of moving fleets.

posted on June 8th, 2010, 11:26 pm

Honor is relative, and many don't use the same methods.

The 'Cavalry Raids' Martok did would also count as dishonorable, then there's the 'cloak-and-switch' they used when Defiant was escorting Cardassians, and the 'ambush with Defiant as a decoy' often used on Jem'Hadar destroyers.

Ambush is fine for Klingons; victory is honorable, method is unimportant unless sabotage is included.

posted on June 8th, 2010, 11:36 pm

good point. but maybe their cloak is less advanced than the romulans?

posted on June 8th, 2010, 11:40 pm

Personally, I think the Cloak for Klingons should be less than 4 seconds...  For balance, a better cloak could potentially be researched.
- Clintsat

posted on June 8th, 2010, 11:48 pm

I like that idea... I think the cloaking function is fine the way it is now, myself, but yes, an "advanced cloak" might not be a bad thing for late game.

posted on June 8th, 2010, 11:55 pm

There is already an advanced cloak late game . .... and that's why I think cloak is juuuust right 

posted on June 9th, 2010, 12:01 am

Is not the research-able cloak for the Klingons merely a standard cloak for large warships?  Nothing too special about that... 

I would prefer the Klingon cloak be at least as effective as the Breen cloak.
-Clintsat

[Tyler]

posted on June 9th, 2010, 12:03 am

Last edited by Tyler on June 9th, 2010, 12:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

You mean the Breen cloak with 5x the energy cost and not compatible with large ships?

The Klingons have to research the large Cloak to show that they're not as good as the Romulans (the resident cloak-masters), and as a compromise to removing cloak from the Negh'Var entirely.

posted on June 9th, 2010, 12:11 am

That really sums up what I was thinking, Tyler.  Stop reading my mind!

posted on June 9th, 2010, 1:30 am

I was referring to the timing not the energy costs  .

From a cannon perspective, other than the Scimitar, the Klingon cloak did not appear appreciably different from the Romulan cloak...

I concede the point for balance but four seconds feels like forever...

- Clintsat

posted on June 9th, 2010, 2:13 am

Canon, the big difference is that Klingon cloaks are based on outdated Romulan cloaks.  Which means that if you realize Klingon ships are cloaked in the area, (and you're used to dealing with Klingons and Romulans) you can probably detect them unless your sensors suck.  Romulan cloaks, on the other hand, without a sensor network as powerful as a starbase or a sensor array, you're gonna be lucky to know that there's a cloaked ship somewhere in the sector, much less where it is.

posted on June 9th, 2010, 2:16 am

The Klingons actually upgrade the cloaks, just like the Romulans do. Other races still need to try and keep up.