Jul 13 2012 10:42 pm
Ok currently units cost a multiplier of the basic unit (now the crucibles) and they are stronger for the same multiplier. This seems pretty dull, at least to me, as it offers no real tactic.<br />So how about this - different units have different bonuses.<br /><br />Crucibles, for instance, are cannon fodders as they are cheapest and least strong. So due to this - if you are in greater numbers - more crucibles die and less Jaffas die. As they are the cheapest this is their only bonus, and their only disadvantage (they are more prone to dying than Jaffas).<br /><br />Jaffas, in my opinion, even if their cost is 20x bigger than the crucibles one, shouldn't be 20x as strong. Instead, perhaps, 10 or 15 max, however seeing how much they believe in their God and how hard they are willing to fought for that God - each Jaffa "adds" 20% of life to 3 other crucibles in battle - as they will fight harder under the leadership of Jaffas and will fight till they all die - while they would, if it weren't for Jaffas, run away when they saw they are defeated or will be defeated. So seeing how staff cannon has some sort of damage limiter and it's destroyed if it gets 50% damaged (from what I understood you, Shadowing), I suspect crucibles have the same limiter. The destruction of 100 crucibles alone would be at 50% or more, whereas if they were supported by 20 Jaffas, that would then give 60 crucibles 20% more "life". The limit where an army is destroyed would be then based on average of these limits (so 60*1,2*50 + 40*1*50 = 5600 / 100 (as there's 100 crucibles) = 56%, instead of 50 which, I suspect, is the limiter now). Basically the formula to calculate the limiter of deaths of an army with Jaffas increasing the life, if you will, of crucibles is ((number of jaffas)*3 [i][or total number of crucibles, if number of jaffas*3 exceeds the number of crucibles sent][/i]*1,2 [i](if they added 20%)[/i] * 50 [i](if the limiter is currently 50)[/i] + ((number of all the crucibles sent) - (number of crucibles that are affected by Jaffas))*50)/(number of all crucibles sent)<br />Alternatively the Jaffas could also influence higher mortality rate on enemy's side, but the principle is the same. Or perhaps a jaffa could persuade 0,5 crucibles to join his side (meaning 10 jaffas would be able to persuade 5 crucibles to join their side in the battle).<br /><br /><br />Staff cannons - they, again, shouldn't be 1000x more expensive than crucibles and do 1000x more damage. What I recommend is that they are 500x as expensive and do 400x as much damage. However, they also add a 50% damage bonus to the Jaffas that use the staff cannon (presumably crucibles are dumb and can't use it, for whatever reason, and only Jaffas are permitted to use it). That would mean, say, 50 Jaffas that are required to use 1 cannon (to move it around, to help target, to replace the dead gunner in front of them) would do, while "defending" the cannon, the damage of 75 Jaffas. They also have a 30% damage bonus against death gliders.<br /><br />Agents - not really sure of their role, or power, in the game yet, so I can't say what could their bonus be. <br /><br />Death Gliders - they should be used for attacking as well. If someone has a mother ship - a MS could carry, for instance, 200 Death Gliders. While attacking with a MS, they could also attack with Death Glider. They are currently 3000x as expensive as crucibles and do 4000x more damage (only in defense at the moment). What I suggest is that the price multiplier would be bigger than the damage (perhaps 3000x bigger price for 2500x more damage), however they would have a bigger chance of destroying staff cannons (50% bigger chance of DG destroying a SC than a SC destroying SC), a 20% chance of destroying enemy building if a death glider is destroyed (suicide run, if you will, once it starts to go down) and 50% chance of killing up to 50 enemy ground troops (crucibles or jaffas) - a random factor determining the exact number, and have a 20% bonus power when fighting against Mid range bombers as it's more maneuverable.<br /><br />Mid range bombers cost 50 000 as much as crucibles and do 50 000 as much damage currently. I think they should cost as they do, however I believe their damage should be reduced - not by much, perhaps to 48 000. <br />There's a twist though - bombers can't distinguish foes from friends in a close ground combat, therefore it's a 25% chance that, if you use them when your ground troops are fighting as well, they will target your own units only, 25% chance that they will target enemy units only and 40 % chance that they will target both enemy and your own units with losses ranging from 70% of enemy units and 30% of your own units to 30% of enemy units and 70% of your own units. You're probably asking yourselves what is the other 10% chance - it's that they will destroy enemy buildings only.<br />However if you do decide you won't risk it and send the bombers in before you send any ground troops - there's a 50% chance that they will destroy buildings.<br />The mid range bombers have a 10% bonus power to attacking a mothership (similar reasons as those of death glider vs mid range bomber).<br /><br />The final unit, of course, the mothership, 600 000 times as expensive and 600 000 times as powerful as crucible.<br />I believe they should stay the same, as far as cost/power ratio goes.<br />However seeing how they are mostly used to target a planet from space they also have a negative side to all that power - they can't see units. Therefore they will always kill both enemy and your own troops, if there are any on the planet, and damage the infrastructure, destroy a building or two. How many losses are suffered on each side is based on a random factor, however one thing is for certain - if enemy loses a lot of units, so will you if you have many ground troops on the planet.. Due to their immense power I think they should be able to kill some slaves as well - but not many (remember - most of the slaves are in mines anyway). Perhaps a max of 10% of slaves could be killed by mothership, but ranging from 0 to 10% - a random factor.<br /><br />If your enemy has no air units and you do - your ground units gain a 5% damage bonus as their morale is increased by having air support on their disposal.<br /><br />Phew a long post.<br /><br />Anyway, I know this could completely change the attack system currently in place and that it would be a lot of work, but that way no single unit is overpowered as each unit has it's advantages and disadvantages - one is good for one thing, the other one is good for another thing. This would also ensure that, even later on, people would still use all types of military - not just Motherships, for instance (if they wanted to take a good planet they wouldn't want to destroy some of the buildings, they could risk sending in mid range bombers but without sending ground troops as well - they would again risk destroying buildings).<br /><br />Sorry for a long post, but I really think that this revised attack system could offer a HUGE strategic span and would be great when the game goes live :)<br /><br />~N
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