Slow down construction when under attack

posted on January 25th, 2012, 9:21 pm

Right now trying to expand against a rush can be a big issue. I think that the construction times as is are perfect, as I recently expanded as quikkly as possible for a second yard and it barely completed after my Fed cons ship had shields go down (with 80% of the health in shields, that is about five seconds from destruction). I sent out my Monsoon to help ahead of time, and was facing two Leahvals.
If attaks slowed construction, FedRom, KlingDom, etc. would be nothing but a rush by the faster race and then inevitable gg. We should be reducing rush effectiveness, some rushes are too strong vs. their risks right now.

posted on January 25th, 2012, 11:40 pm

Yeah, I don't like how powerful rushing is in this game.  Games are very frequently decided in the first 5 or 10 minutes.

posted on January 26th, 2012, 2:13 am

It's desirable to have different factions have different developmental speeds in a game like this; it creates dynamic matches and is a good driver for generating different and interesting strategies.

However, rush tactics, and mechanics that would be used with them, need to be balanced very carefully if a gameplay goal is to allow similarly skilled players to pick any two races and have a decently long and fun game. Adding new mechanics that favour rush tactics will make gaining such a balance even harder.

posted on January 31st, 2012, 11:53 pm

I don't know - if I was under attack, I'd be highly motivated to finish what I was doing faster...  "Forget about painting that turret and connect that last power relay!" 

If attacking can slow production, then how about the builder being able to choose a reduced capacity version of the structure to finish it sooner?  Turrets might have weaker weapons or no shields, yards could be missing a random part of the build options, etc.  It would only be an option while under attack and if the construction process is past a certain point.

posted on February 1st, 2012, 8:58 am

a special weapon with the ability to slow down (or speed up) ship construction is planned. how that weapon could be used is not yet thought through.

posted on February 1st, 2012, 9:44 am

a special weapon with the ability to slow down (or speed up) ship construction is planned. how that weapon could be used is not yet thought through.

Bubblegum torpedoes!!!