OT: Killer weapons in games rant

[Taera]

Im playing that imperium galactica game... what is the fun in giving a part of the players weapons that kill anything in one shot? i dont get it - no matter how good you research, design, play and control your race, with one shot its all over. what frustrated me - i WAS eventually winning. yes i was! after month of hard trying i finally tipped the scales to my favor. What the enemy comes up with? a weapon that has long range, always hits, kills whatever it hits in one shot and does damage to all around it (three or four of these are enough to kill anything around the four targets they hit). brings me back to Talisman and AS, or even better - Talisman + AS in SE. what is the point of these weapons? they seem to be game-killers. Just build a destroyer - arm it with AS, put a talisman, and a warp gun probably if it misses. And your high-tech dreadnought is nothing. Yes i know, the master computer. but its EXPENSIVE! in a fast-paced PBW game where you're locked up in relatively small space you simply cannot afford it. but thats SE, in SE there are at least CHANCES and COUNTERS and whatnot.

Ive seen it in many other games too...
well im done, lol, just someone explain me - why publishers keep putting such things into games? whats the fun of it??

[Suicide Junkie]

Bwa Ha Ha!
Fear my Talisman-powered Core Mount Wave-Motion Gun!!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

It's probably that lure of incredible, seemingly unstoppable power ... they just forgot to code in the kryptonite.

[Taera]

ph34r da pow3r? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif hehe i see, but isnt it a game-killer? for me it sure was, i spent a month trying to become good at that particular game - now i see that on HARD, and with the race i was playing its nearly impossible to win - if not to go on complete xenocide, which i dont like TOO much. ohwell.

[Ed Kolis]

Hehe... reminds me of the Stellar Converter in MOO2... sure, you could get more raw power with Autofire Disruptors, but who could resist the temptation to take ONE doom star, with a stellar converter and a bunch of stasis fields, to the Antaran base, freeze all their ships, move out of the starbase's range (even their heavy beams), and pound away at the starbase with your stellar converter (the thing's so tough it takes 36 hits http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif ) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Makes you wonder why the Antaran starbase, of all starbases, was allowed to replace its infinite ranged missile weapons with another bank of Particle Beams http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

[Fyron]

but its EXPENSIVE! in a fast-paced PBW game where you're locked up in relatively small space you simply cannot afford it. <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The difference in cost for larger ships is minimal (small compared to total cost of the ship), and often does not even change the build time of the ships at all. I have never had problems affording MCs in any games where I have needed them (even in fast-paced PBW games where you're locked up in relatively small space).

who could resist the temptation to take ONE doom star, with a stellar converter and a bunch of stasis fields, to the Antaran base <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Nah... you need Phasing Cloak and that device that lets you take 2 turns instead of one each round. Decloak and fire. Use the extra move to cloak again before they get a chance to go. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[ June 29, 2003, 04:33: Message edited by: Imperator Fyron ]

[Taera]

organic races, which i favor, wouldnt like 4k increase in minerals because thats about all their ships cost - in minerals, that is.
argh, i just got realy frustrated - ive spent over a MONTH and more before, trying the game on hard (most people dont even try on hard - its like HIGH bonused AI in SE)... and now that im successful (beating the strongest enemy to dust, slowly taking his planets... one by one...) another one, long forgotten, comes out with the same replica of the weapon - but instead of 1-6 ships faced with my fleet of 18 (thats a lot, for heavy ships there) they have a fleet of 23, EACH with that kill-with-one-shot weapon. didnt even get to fire at 'em. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon8.gif

[Ed Kolis]

Hey, I got an idea... why don't you research one of those things???

[Fyron]

organic races, which i favor, wouldnt like 4k increase in minerals because thats about all their ships cost - in minerals, that is.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That is a (very) small exception to the general principle. Most players do not take Organic Race, so the change in minerals cost for their ships is minimal.

[Phoenix-D]

He probably can't research it, it being a special weapon for that race. But from the FAQ:

Question: Kra'hen forces always defeat me with their Destructor Ray. How can I defend?
Answer: Use the Computer Jammer invention.

Is that the weapon?

[Taera]

DUH i should be reading... thanks Phoenix, i never bother with the manuals http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/blush.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/blush.gif guess i should sometimes. Computer Jammer is a kind-of weapon, yes. It should only work in close range.

Right. i guess they cant hit me then.
thanks!

but the point remains http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
Fyron - 4k minerals is still a lot, it is one month of production for most races.

[Taera]

faq right, should read better but it was 3am http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif whats most annoying is that i actually pinned down the Kra'hen, and their destructor beam didnt help them - it doesnt matter how well you shoot if you CANT shoot http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif wonderful strategy.

[Fyron]

Fyron - 4k minerals is still a lot, it is one month of production for most races.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">On Cruiser to Battleship, it is only 1500 more minerals, not 4000. Normal C&C costs 2500 minerals or more for larger ships. Keep that in mind. That 1500 is often not a full turn more of construction.

[Taera]

forgot http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif