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Agent of Kharma
Agent of Kharma
Join Date 02/2008
+31

Idea for minesweeping

January 12, 2009 10:47:15 PM from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums

This may have already been suggested, or perhaps something similar.  But either way, here goes.

Take a "minesweeper" unit - let's call it the scout for argument's sake.  It has an automatic minesweeping mode which you right click to activate.  In this mode it will automatically go around detecting and sweeping mines.  Perhaps it can even be coupled with the other button which tells it to operate either in the local area, or the entire gravity well.

But here's the kicker - THE MINESWEEPING ABILITY TAKES ANTIMATTER OR MANNA OR WHATEVER IT'S CALLED TO USE.  Why?  Two reasons at least:

1) The person who laid the mines had to spend mana to do it.  You should spend mana to undo it.

2) The person who laid the mines had to spend time to do it.  You should spend time to undo it.  This time will be in the form of the minesweeper having to recharge its ability every so often.  A starting balance would be for the minesweeper to use the same amount of time sweeping as the layer used to lay.  Another balance would make the minesweeper take longer, DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE LAYER WAS MICRO'D TO LAY THE MINES.

It's just an idea, but an idea like this not only keeps mines, along with their effectiveness, but it eliminates micro and tedium as well.  A win/win?

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Agent of Kharma
Cykur
Join Date 03/2003
+48
Reply #1 January 13, 2009 12:48:43 AM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums

My plan is to use Percheron based fighters to launch unsold copies of Daikatana at the mines, thereby setting them off.  This is just a temporary measure, of course.  Ironclad has acknowledged people are unhappy with how mines work and hinted they are adding some kind of automated mine clearing.  Not that we would run out of unsold copies of Daikatana.

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Agent of Kharma
Agent of Kharma
Join Date 02/2008
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Reply #2 January 13, 2009 1:03:01 PM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums

I am actually not unhappy with how mines work per se, but I noticed other people made a lot of comments on them, and the tendency I've seen over the years is to overcorrect and do something BAD when an adjustment is made to a unit (mega-nerf it, remove it altogether, etc).  I figured an idea like this keeps the mines, keeps their effectiveness (it slows you down as the attacker if you want to spend time clearing the minefield), but removes the tedium and micromanagement.  On the surface, at least, seems like a win/win.

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Agent of Kharma
Cykur
Join Date 03/2003
+48
Reply #3 January 13, 2009 4:56:46 PM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums

I am actually not unhappy with how mines work per se, but I noticed other people made a lot of comments on them, and the tendency I've seen over the years is to overcorrect and do something BAD when an adjustment is made to a unit (mega-nerf it, remove it altogether, etc). I figured an idea like this keeps the mines, keeps their effectiveness (it slows you down as the attacker if you want to spend time clearing the minefield), but removes the tedium and micromanagement. On the surface, at least, seems like a win/win.

Have you fought a Vasari that fills up every gravwell they can get access to with mines?  On top of that, when you try to clear the mines, you have to remember that the Vasari player is probably shooting at you....or trying to lay more mines directly on top of your ships.

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Agent of Kharma
spiralblitz
Join Date 03/2008
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Reply #4 January 13, 2009 5:26:22 PM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums

I lol'd

sorry had to say it

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Agent of Kharma
XaviorsFist
Join Date 12/2008
+11
Reply #5 January 13, 2009 5:56:32 PM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums

I played a game against the computer to see what the new units in entrenchment could do. I have to say that starbases really dind't do much. I spent too muchon upgrades and once upgraded it did crap. Even as vasari. All you need are bombers and boom boom boom dead. Another thing is that mines do need an nerf. I agree with the damage but the range needs to be increased to maybe 1000 or 1250 but make it take 50 antimater and 10 second cooldown. Keep the damage too. I think we need homing mines too. Make the explosion radius 650 and the homing range 1300 increasing the effectiveness per low area. I also think it needs to be easier to sweep mines than lay them and it needs to take significant support to get min layer ships maybe 14 and a 50% cost increase. The mine sweepers should take jsut as much time to take them out as it took to lay them but minus the support issues. 10 support and the current cost of mine layers. Now what they need to do is make it so you need to have an even or close to even amount to sweep as fast as they lay. Maybe 4/5 ratio. GIVE MINE SHIPS TO EVERYONE SAME WITH TORP SHIPS. Well even then taht game with the computer all i had to do is build 20 mine ships phase in. Lay like crazy right on top of their ships and retreat. I lost about 5 ships and they lost all of theirs. 2 caps and about 20 extra ships alone with some structures. Immediatly resigned. (home planet) It should take longer to lay mines, be harder to lay as many and have a limit per gravity well to maybe 200-400, 400 with no range increase 200 with range increase.

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Agent of Kharma
Agent of Kharma
Join Date 02/2008
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Reply #6 January 14, 2009 12:32:41 AM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums

Quoting Cykur,
reply 3

Have you fought a Vasari that fills up every gravwell they can get access to with mines?

Yes, but more than that I've fought TEC turtlers who do nothing but turtle up inside a couple of planets spending all of their time ringing the entire well with layer upon layer of mines.  I counted one TEC player who was holed up on a planet that had over 400 mines.  Did this bother me?  Not in the slightest.  If a dude wants to turtle up on a few planets and ring them with mines, why should I care?  I just went out and claimed all the other planets I could get.

It was amusing sending a few pirate waves into his planet of doom just to see what would happen.  Actually, as many mines as he had (and he had PLENTY), I was surprised that often the pirate ships would still miss them, just due to the spaces between mines.  But on the off chance they hit a dense cluster - BOOM!

Beyond that I've run into Advent mine spam that was pretty nasty - those critters HOME!

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Agent of Kharma
nicman07
Join Date 05/2008
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Reply #7 January 15, 2009 3:22:48 AM
from Sins of a Solar Empire ForumsSins of a Solar Empire Forums

I agree a minesweeper ship or something to counter mines like a cap ship ability is definetely needed but maybe instead of nerfing the mines why dont we nerf the launchers so a lot less mines are sent out or there is a limit to the amount per mine layer. It would also be good i reckon if mines slowly lost health like the mines only survived for half an hour or something b4 say a random asteroid hit them.

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