Cruisers

I think its weird you have to research them individually , while on the other hand you have access to all the capital ships as soon as you build the capital ship factory...

That will probably change in the future.

Should be reserved, research cap ship and give cruisers when you build a capital ship yard. I like that cap ship at start feature, it will help stop rushes early MP games and nice to clear early pirates.

On another note I love the long battles, they are not extremely fast pace like most RTS. This brings back memories of Homeworld. The economy and planet management are not too deep and let you focus on battles and fleet operations.

The problem with making the cap ships researched individually and the cruisers available at the same time is that all the cap ships are weighted equally, while the cruisers are all of varying strengths, shown by the different tech tiers.

What exactally does the command one do?

I really wanna see the little robots that come out of the UFO thing, but I have yet to see them.

The carrier cruiser could be very usefull if you wanted to SPAM when you get them. Please note that I do not promote spamming, and I never do it

I think its good that they made the old heavy frig into a cruiser.

I think the command cruiser is nifty.. It's pretty tough, though armed with a popgun. I think the idea is that the shield regeneration can have disproportionate impact if it can manage to keep Shield Mitigation levels high - shield mitigation typically drops like a rock once shields drop since theres few hits actually htting the shields. I think the effect could stand to be more dramatic though, they seem to be outshined by the robotics cruisers.

The carrier cruisers are useful, but they will be more useful once they fix the fighter bug. If you blitz up the tech tree, you can get them earlier and pound fleets with no fighter defense to death. Once they do fix fighters, they seem to be the best answer to hangar spam; they cost around the same as hangars and can soak a lot more hits than the Sova can per cost. 'Course, they are worse at fleet to fleet given that they can't drop missile sats etc.

Cruisers need some "upgrades", I find it a little disconcerting that cruisers can have a tough time dealing with frigates. A cruiser is a notable step up from a frigate, this should be paramount.

The Cruisers firepower should be increased. The Carrier, should be given another squad but make it a bit more expensive. The Repair Cruiser just needs a bit of a boost in shields and firepower. The Kodiak is good, but could use a bump up in firepower. And the Command Cruiser desperately needs an increase in firepower. Perhaps add a few Auto Kinetic Turrets to it.

Because right now cruisers feel more like a tacked on ability enabled frigates with crap firepower. Make them worth their namesake. Right now the money spent in cruiser research is better spent in missile frigates or battleships.

I definetly agree that cruisers need a bit of loving.
Command could use extra firepower; Carrier - either 2nd squadron or weapons/flak guns; Kodiak and Drone cruisers seem to be ok, but could stand some minor boosts as well.

it be nice to have the cruiser: carrier with flak guns

Right on lordkosc, The Cruiser Carrier could use the extra squadron and a flak ability.

That would be a bit too much and will make Sovas obsolete. IMHO it's either the extra squadron or flack guns.

Well the general opinion is that the Carrier and Command Cruiser need an increase in firepower.

So yeah, either extra squadron or flack guns for the Carrier.

And either a massive boost in firepower and better cool-down for the Command Cruiser, or pop a few Auto Kinetic Turrets on it.

Look very closely - the tiny little droids come out in a weaving group. They are fully modelled and textured. There are two different droid types - depending on the ability you are using

Craig will the cruisers get a boost in firepower specifically the Carrier and Command Cruiser?

They might - the tactical counter plan is that each ship has very specific role(s) and giving those 2 units more firepower might throw that off. For example one of the roles of the Command Cruiser was designed to make it easier for weapon based units (Light Frigate, LRM, Kodiak) to be more effective - not himself overly effective at combat. Otherwise, we run the risk of making other units obsolete by giving him too much functionality and diminishing the unique role of each ship. This isn't too say he might not need a little bit of a boost

I understand the units are supposed to fit certain roles Blair, the only problem is that one would think Cruiser's are supposed to be a little more effective in combat than a frigate.

I don't know if this makes sense but here is my take on the issue.

Frigates - Very specialized roles: Such as combat, fighter defense, colonization etc...
Cruisers - More powerful specialized ships: Good at combat but also have a few abilities.
Battleships - A truly multi-role specialized combat ship: Dish it out and take it too, as well as having many varied abilities that make them the heart and sole of a fleet.

It just seams, And I don't mean to be offensive, that cruisers as they are now are a waste of resources. Better spent on Cobalt or Missile Frigates. Tho the Kodiak is good to go with a little boost in its intercept speed.

I have yet to see the little droids that come out of the Hoshiko Robotics Cruiser

Zoom in on a damaged ship, and tell a hoshiko to repair it.

In the Sins Universe, which is probably different than those many are used to, Cruisers are more like middle level commanders that perform higher level tasks and let the grunts (frigates) do the majority of the dirty work (fighting). They were intended to be escorted around and in combat to sit a bit behind the main lines supporting and enhancing their troops. The Kodiak is the only one oriented around combat and even still, his role is more of a meat shield than damage output per supply cost. e.g he can take a beating while suffering attrition from long range LRM's

Given the correct fleet layout, a fleet of frigates properly supported by cruisers will decimate a much larger frigate only force. Obviously, the system still needs balance but the philosophy is that cruisers are not, in and of themselves, oriented towards the dirty work of combat.

Edit: Naturally, if this is not working we'll have to reevaluate as per usual

Thats cool, tho I still think they need a little boost in weapons. On a side note what is the special ability of the Carrier Cruiser? It has antimatter?

I think the Perchirien Carrier Cruiser is currently suffering from "short end of the stick" syndrome though I've been trashed thoroughly by a carrier rush supported by a few lighter frigates more than once.

LMAO!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh! the no gun light carrier rush, something to make fun off when you rush a good oponent with carriers. haha umm... sry to say blair but i believe someone did a n00b rush on you with carriers LoL!

hmm, seems ok, as more than one really combat oriented cruiser is not absolutely necessary, if it not reflects your intended purpose or that ship class. although it also wouldn't hurt. however, your explanation just begs the question: why should enemies even target a kodiak if it does relatively little damage compared to the amount of firepower it takes to destroy? it could integrate a "provoke" ability as the montain giant in wc III had, but that would seem somewhat unnatural.

I over simplified - Kodiaks are a counter to specific types of units/situations but I don't want to elaborate on the full details of the counter network just yet.