Superweapons

Death Cultist

Haha, me again. Sorry to bug ya. I'm just curious if you are boosting the super weapons of the other factions in light of the Ion Storm super weapon? I mean that thing causes mass devastation and is a TRUE super weapon when you look at the ion cannon (Shitty ones strike cant kill shit) and the multi-missile (slightly bigger) and the chem bomb (not bad if used correctly but still...) are you planning on enchancing these super weapons? An AOE for the ion cannon would be quite cool and we all know you have the ability....

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OmegaBolt · Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 11:28 am Post subject:

Well I've seen Ion Cannons use attached particle systems to cause continued damage for a while after detonation, whilst also adding a nice visual effect.

Remember though that there is no "super weapon" checkbox in TS multiplayer, so I really don't think they should be uber powerful. Plus IMO it's just more fun to have special weapons that help boost the effectiveness of your other forces, rather than cause the destruction of entire bases single-handedly.

Death Cultist · Posted: Thu May 12, 2011 11:52 pm Post subject:

But, by re-organizing the Tech Level, it is possible to emulate this. Simply making super weapons tech lvl 10 weapons is easy. Bringing the tech down and removing the tech lvl one game (lets face it, a game featuring only light infantry isn't exactly something people want to play often) solves this. I dont mena making them base enders, but something a little more on par with the Ion Storm weapon.

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Orac · Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 3:13 am Post subject:

I agree with OmegaBolt. Superweapons tend to fall into one of two categories - the big ones which do massive damage to a large area, or the small ones which to massive damage to a small area. The former is very useful as an anti-turtling measure, but equally can make a player feel that they lost because of something they had no hope of controlling. This is the same argument as the one I've seen put forward about snipers in FPS games (by the TF2 dev team).

Smaller superweapons which can be used to create a breach for a player to exploit still gives both players a challenge, but makes them interact and actually play against one another instead of just teching up to the SWs asap.

So, I'd prefer the Ion Cannon as it is (maybe improved slightly) over a much more devastating weapon, such as might be present in RA2.

SuperJoe · Commander **Joined**: 03 Sep 2009

The main thing with the superweapons currently is their diversity. GDI can do instant pinpoint damage. If you use it in a tactical sense it can be very powerful. Eg. you can take out an enemy commando that is about to blow your base to pieces, or if the enemy made it through to your base with a single disruptor or mammoth mk2, the ion cannon can mean the difference between winning and losing. As for base destruction, it can still take out a helipad + aircraft (with orca bomber thats 500 + 1900), or an obelisk. The other superweapons are easier to predict and avoid, GDI can even stop the Nod missiles with firestorm generator. Personally I like the ion cannon more than the Nod missiles...

The Forgotten have the superweapon best geared towards massive destruction + the EMP effect, but it has many downsides compared to other superweapons. For one it costs 4500 and you only get one of them for that price. Also the missile launcher unit can be destroyed before it can come close enough to fire. The unit could easily win or lose the match for you, so when someone buys it the match centers on it, which should create interesting gameplay.

Finally the Nod missiles... think if any superweapon should be changed it should be the cluster missile. The damage it does seems bit random, you place it on the same spot on warfactory, sometimes it destroys it, sometimes only scratches it. Then again, Nod missiles are the only superweapon capable of taking out important structures (con. yard, warfactory, refinery) with one shot. Ion storms only take out lighter buildings, not the big ones.

To sum it up:
GDI = Tactical precision high damage. Instant effect so impossible to stop.
Nod = Pinpoint base destruction, including heavy structures. Delay after being fired, and enemy hears a warning "missile launch detected", so you can scatter your forces or sell a structure.
Forgotten = Mass base destruction + EMP, but only lighter buildings. Easiest of the superweapons to stop, and doesn't even work in the hands of a turtler.

If the ion cannon was to be changed, I'd cut down the reload time so you can use it more often, rather than make it more powerful. Nod cluster missile is bit bugged, not sure if and how to balance it... should it always be able to destroy a warfactory? Or never? If the randomness was removed from it, it would have to be one way or the other. Nod chemical missile is fine the way it is I think. If you go through the trouble of harvesting veins and gaining the chem missile, you can use that and cluster together to blow up a con.yard.

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OmegaBolt · Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 11:19 am Post subject:

Death Cultist wrote:

But, by re-organizing the Tech Level, it is possible to emulate this. Simply making super weapons tech lvl 10 weapons is easy.

Yeah but that's not quite the same. Most people just go with the highest settings (most money, most tech level etc) without thinking, whereas a nice little box labelled "Super Weapons" makes them actually think. While it's possible its not quite as intuitive.

Death Cultist · Posted: Fri May 13, 2011 11:24 pm Post subject:

regarding the ion cannon, I hope you boosted it's power slightly, because I think in Vanilla it was incapable to destroying the MMK. II in single shot. Ypu could regulate the multi-missile by changing into the Nuke from RA1? The centre has a powerful strike, the area around it has weakish splash damage like the Twisted Insurrection Apocalypse missile, only weaker?

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Beta Tester for Mental Omega 3.0