Re introducing Warp

posted on January 30th, 2009, 9:06 pm

Though adding warp in the way it was in the base game would probably be a bad idea, I think it would be a good idea to find a new way of using warp in fleet ops.

In the standard Armada 2 warp simply reduces strategy by allow massive fleets to zip around the map with out having to worry about reacting to enemy suprise attacks.

I think in fleet ops warp could be used to promote a well planned attack. The way it could be done is you normally travel at impluse as it is now, but there would be a new abilty to pre plot warp routes from your star base (at a cost) and your ships would be able to travel along these at several times normal speed, it would also make sense if they disappeared after a certain amount of time.

An example of this in action would be if you where playing on a wide open map, and your enemy had resourcing operations in the north and south centre of the map, with their main base in the west. If you discovered that their fleet was concertrated at the northern resource base then you could set up a warp route to take your fleet to the southern base and then on ward to their main base while their main fleet is trying to catch up with you at impluse.
Alternatively, the enemy may have set a trap and in advance set up warp route from the northern base to the southern base allowing you to be intercepted and leading to a very different outcome

So what do you guys think of my idea? impossible? bad?

posted on January 30th, 2009, 10:04 pm

If that was included, you'd have to include ways to stop it, for balance's sake.  While there are numerous examples in TNG of ways that the Enterprise forced someone out of warp, or was forced out of it themselves, I have no clue how hard it would be to code.  Though I do think that a torpedo turret with a mode that cripples it's damage down to negligible but anything it hits is dropped out of Warp and is unable to re-enter it for 30 seconds would be a rude surprise for warp-happy people.

I say torpedo turret because I remember the Enterprise D using a torpedo to collapse a warp field once.  That's the only reason.

posted on January 30th, 2009, 10:20 pm

If that was included, you'd have to include ways to stop it, for balance's sake.  While there are numerous examples in TNG of ways that the Enterprise forced someone out of warp, or was forced out of it themselves, I have no clue how hard it would be to code.  Though I do think that a torpedo turret with a mode that cripples it's damage down to negligible but anything it hits is dropped out of Warp and is unable to re-enter it for 30 seconds would be a rude surprise for warp-happy people.

I say torpedo turret because I remember the Enterprise D using a torpedo to collapse a warp field once.  That's the only reason.

Fair point I guess the best way to deal with too much warping would be to make certain structures emit gravity wells or if thats impossible (and I'm willing to bet it is) something of similar effect.

posted on January 31st, 2009, 2:07 am

The stock game had enough Anti-Warp things, planets, nebula, black holes & Engine overload.

posted on January 31st, 2009, 2:10 am

Could possibly link this with the reintroduction of planets as strategic (as oppose to just cosmetic) objects. The planetary gravity well would act as a natural defense for an outpost against warp drive.

posted on January 31st, 2009, 4:03 am

warp left things open to warp-in warp-out tactics that were kinda pointless. Given the reduced capabilities of stations and defense turrets, hit and run will be too rampant and the fun of the game would be diminished.

posted on January 31st, 2009, 4:11 am

Warp rushes were very hard to do correctly because of planets, etc. All they ever did was give smart players (normally the would-be target) something to make fun off. Besides, any ship with Pulse phasers can fire at something warping.

I already know that Warp is gone for good, I just like this subject.

posted on January 31st, 2009, 4:17 am

Warp rushes were not that hard to accomplish at all IMO... remember the good 'ol move fleet to the deepest map-depth, then rush and destroy research and shipyards w/o getting touched by anything?

posted on January 31st, 2009, 4:26 am

That's where the gravity wells come into it, height doesn't effect them and no matter how low they go, they still have to come up to their firing range to do anything. Stations normally have longer range than most stock ships. People can also put turrets in sensitive places instead of a perimeter or put the turrets at different heights (that's what I do).

What makes the rushes difficult is that a little common sense can easily counter them.

posted on January 31st, 2009, 3:57 pm

warp left things open to warp-in warp-out tactics that were kinda pointless. Given the reduced capabilities of stations and defense turrets, hit and run will be too rampant and the fun of the game would be diminished.

Well I agree that with warp the way it was that situation was negative to strategy, but I came up with the idea at the start of this post to work differently than that:

Pre planned warp routes, built like structures. This would allow for devestating planned attacks whilst still allowing raiding at impluse.

I already know that Warp is gone for good, I just like this subject.

I don't know about that; the mods developers seem to indicate that it isn't out of the question that warp will be put back at some point in some way, though I cant find a specific example of this...maybe I imagined it.

posted on May 20th, 2009, 4:36 am

So... what if warp had the following restrictions? (one or more of them)

* Straight line only
* If you hit a stationary object while in warp, the ship is destroyed
** (sub idea: damage done to any structure hit based on the chasse size of the ship destroyed - balanced to be about 1:10 ratio for destroyed structure cost vs ship cost to destroy it)
* A cooldown of 1 min (or so) for warp.

Just thoughts...

posted on May 20th, 2009, 4:54 am

It would also be a good idea for warp to drain special energy for every second it's in use and have a set amount to activate it.

posted on September 2nd, 2009, 6:55 am

(more ideas for restrictions on warp to make it viable to put back in)

* Warping causes ships to drop shields while warping and shields remain down 1-3 seconds after coming out of warp. (similar to cloak)
* Warping while under Red Alert allows ships to keep shields at the cost of all special energy.
-- (or, 2x special energy cost per warp distance traveled)




* 'The Picard Maneuver' - A Veteran ability on Galaxy class ships that allow it to briefly 'warp' (move instantaneously) a short distance and fire. 


credit to cabal for warp/special energy relationship idea.

[Baleful]

posted on September 2nd, 2009, 7:14 am

Last edited by Baleful on September 2nd, 2009, 7:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

(more ideas for restrictions on warp to make it viable to put back in)

* Warping causes ships to drop shields while warping and shields remain down 1-3 seconds after coming out of warp. (similar to cloak)
* Warping while under Red Alert allows ships to keep shields at the cost of all special energy.
-- (or, 2x special energy cost per warp distance traveled)

I'm reminded of StarFleet Acadamy.  when you got the klingon super crusier, and you were at red alert, (shields up, weapons hot) you could NOT enter warp.  Some ships, you could go to yellow alert (shields up, weapons ofline) but with the klingon cruiser,  you had to switch back to green alert  (shields down, weapons offline)  it was the only way to leave the system.

i guess that COULD be a way to do it, but as mush as i miss it, i think it wouldnt "fit" in FO as we know it.

and not to be blasphimus, but...  Star Trek does Warp wrong.  I hate to say it but Battlestar Galactica (the newest one)  does it right.  Spin up the F.T.L.  type in the coordinates and poof, your there.  just like Nightcrawler

posted on September 2nd, 2009, 7:32 am

"blasphemous".

Besides that, there is no "right" concept of how FTL travel works. Every author chooses whatever style of travel that better suits the stories he's trying to tell.

The BSG style of travel is very similar to BattleTech/Mechwarrior Kearny-Fuchida drive: the insterstellar travel was instantaneous, but once done you had to recharge the drive and it was limited in distance. Star Wars and Star Trek use a tunnel/wormhole transit and it takes time to go from A to B. One difference was that in SW you cannot change destination once established (like in Asimov's Foundation universe), but I seem to recall that in ST you can.