Eaxaw starting ships

Creation, discussion, and balancing of game content such as techs, buildings, ship parts.

Moderators: Oberlus, Committer

Post Reply
Message
Author
gvdm
Space Floater
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2011 11:04 am

Eaxaw starting ships

#1 Post by gvdm »

For the love of god, laser 3? And extra ships? I get that they're aggresive but this makes it nearly impossible to play a game where you start next to them. Maybe they should get subterreanen hab and constr as they are burrowers. But this class of firepower is uncalled for.

My two cents.

I've just started play testing again after pretty much a year away and the progress rocks! Playable AI! (props Dilvish)

User avatar
eleazar
Design & Graphics Lead Emeritus
Posts: 3858
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:09 pm
Location: USA — midwest

Re: Eaxaw starting ships

#2 Post by eleazar »

I haven't tested it extensively, but when not positioned for a quick kill, the EAXAW bonus seems rather mild. There's a lot of luck in the quality of your starting position -- aggressive neighbors are just part of that.

User avatar
Cluesen
Space Floater
Posts: 42
Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 4:40 pm

Re: Eaxaw starting ships

#3 Post by Cluesen »

hmmm...

I just started a game and had an Eaxaw in the neighbourhood, I stood no chance.
The Laser4 is worth 390RP/14 turns of research and the ships app. 91PP/2turns of production each.
In the early game this is an unbeatable advantage.
They simply move into your homeworld system to blockade you and by the time one researched/built something to break the blockade one becomes invaded.
Basically they got exactly the same modifiers than humans and the ULTIMATE_WEAPONS on top.
Therefore I second the call for a revision, how about:

Code: Select all

Species
    name = "SP_EAXAW"
    description = "SP_EAXAW_DESC"
    gameplay_description = "SP_EAXAW_GAMEPLAY_DESC"
    Playable
    CanProduceShips
    CanColonize

    tags = "ORGANIC"
    
    foci = [
        [[HAS_INDUSTRY_FOCUS]]
        [[HAS_RESEARCH_FOCUS]]
        [[HAS_GROWTH_FOCUS]]
        [[HAS_MINING_FOCUS]]
        [[HAS_ADVANCED_FOCI]]
    ]
    
    effectsgroups = [
        [[BAD_INDUSTRY]]
        [[BAD_RESEARCH]]
        
        [[BAD_POPULATION]]
        [[ULTIMATE_GROUND_TROOPS]]
        
        [[ULTIMATE_WEAPONS]]
        [[BAD_STEALTH]]
        
        // not for description
        [[AVERAGE_PLANETARY_SHIELDS]]
        [[AVERAGE_PLANETARY_DEFENSE]]
        [[MEDIUM_PLANET]]
    ]
    
    [[TERRAN_STANDARD_EP]]
    
    graphic = "icons/species/eaxaw.png"
This is just an untested idea.
The lowered Industry and research could match their description of having uncovered the tech from a derelict ship and bigger species tend to have a lower reproduction rate.
The boosted ground troops better reflect their size and strength in combat and a strong warmongering species could not be concerned about stealth at all.
The smaller homeworld is an additional hindrance in the early game.

My testing ground was seed 61045, 100planets, typical aggression, 4AIs.
This always puts me on Anarres with an Eaxaw at Elased, 4 Starlanejumps southeast.

Btw. how and when are monster nests deployed?
If i only switch to supertesters there is a Kraken Nest at Farlight II 3 starlanejumps west, but if i do not switch and send ships in this direction without previous sighting there is no nest.
The nests appear to be redistributed or deleted if one gets to close, what could be the reason for the very few monster nests i encountered in my games so far.
The beauty of travel is visiting foreign countries and meeting new people.
G.Khan
_______________________________________________________________________
All code provided is released under the CC-BY-SA 3.0 and GPL 2.0 or later licenses

User avatar
Geoff the Medio
Programming, Design, Admin
Posts: 13587
Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2003 1:33 am
Location: Munich

Re: Eaxaw starting ships

#4 Post by Geoff the Medio »

Cluesen wrote:If i only switch to supertesters there is a Kraken Nest at Farlight II 3 starlanejumps west, but if i do not switch and send ships in this direction without previous sighting there is no nest.
I can't reproduce that. With elliptical galaxy, high monsters, and high or medium specials, I see a kraken nest at Farlight whether I fly a scout there or build a super-tester takeover.

Most specials are added during universe creation. The kraken nest specifically I think is added on the first turn by a kraken monster

It's somewhat odd that the Kraken Nest is spawning there, though, as its location condition should prevent it: not within 3 starlane jumps of a player owned planet. It might be miscounting by 1? Or possibly the spawn rate for the special itself isn't working, as its own location condition - which determines where it can spawn, would permit it if not within 2 jumps of a player owned planet.

unjashfan
Creative Contributor
Posts: 175
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2011 8:08 am

Re: Eaxaw starting ships

#5 Post by unjashfan »

The Laser4 is worth 390RP/14 turns of research and the ships app. 91PP/2turns of production each.
In the early game this is an unbeatable advantage.
They simply move into your homeworld system to blockade you and by the time one researched/built something to break the blockade one becomes invaded.
Agreed. There are a lot of implied advantages that the Eaxaw has over other species. If I were to sum it up with just one word, it would be "accessibility". A lot of goodies such as caretaker's fruit, computronium moons, rich minerals, and other specials are usually defended with a single sentry, which the Mark IVs have no trouble getting rid of. In contrast, said sentries tend to be permanent roadblocks to other species. This means the Eaxaw would be able to access and control special resources other species wouldn't be able to get many turns later. This in itself, IMHO, is a substantial advantage, not taking into account their ability to destroy any empire unfortunate enough to spawn about 4 starlanes away. On top of all this, since laser 4 is already unlocked, there would be no need to improve weapons early game (when they are practically invincible). RPs that would normally be spent to research weapon techs can be used elsewhere; this is a development advantage. Their accessibility advantage I discussed earlier also fits into this category.
but when not positioned for a quick kill, the EAXAW bonus seems rather mild.
Also agreed. Once other empires have caught up, especially weapons-wise, the Eaxaw's advantage is pretty much gone. However, I think that this isn't really much of a drawback, since the negative effects, if any, are minimal. All in all, I think the Eaxaw's advantages significantly outweighs the cons to the point where adjustment is required.

User avatar
Geoff the Medio
Programming, Design, Admin
Posts: 13587
Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2003 1:33 am
Location: Munich

Re: Eaxaw starting ships

#6 Post by Geoff the Medio »

Perhaps give them a few ships with some advanced (but maybe not quite so advanced) weapons to start with but which can't be replaced by production, and which also has a penalty to fuel to limit the range of those ships?

unjashfan
Creative Contributor
Posts: 175
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2011 8:08 am

Re: Eaxaw starting ships

#7 Post by unjashfan »

Maybe removing the extra Mark IV's would work, slowing down their development. The Eaxaw would now have to ask themselves, "Do I want firepower or visibility?" Also, for the Eaxaw's unfortunate neighbors, they would have more time to defend themselves.

Post Reply