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Medium Engine = Efficient Engine?
The medium engine now uses exactly the same amount of energy as the efficient engine used to. This means that the medium engine can go infinitely on a fast-charge battery. However, nothing else about it has changed. NEATO!
same for the heavy engine :)
Yep it's something new, unless the devs planned it that way, I have heavy engine/efficient bat. combo and I could turbo through the whole galaxy without any energy leak. Is that the way it's supposed to be? (Cool:)
The heavy/heavy combo still takes a while to recharge, so it's not exactly a replacement for the medium/fast charge combo. I think this has helped make the heavy engine useful again. The tradeoffs still exist (i.e. slow recharge rate, same energy weapon consumptoin, etc.), so I don't think balance will be affected negatively. If anything it has helped.
PS: This isn't a bug. a1k0n said this was done intentionally. Just so you know.
=)
PS: This isn't a bug. a1k0n said this was done intentionally. Just so you know.
=)
yeah ... but even with heavy/fast I can turbo now forever ... thats what I meant. Is it really supposed to be like that?
Yes, it is.
the med has absolutely no advantage over the hvy now. How is it not "useful" infact how is it not the engine you would take EVERY time you were given the choice?
Okay, I went back and tested the engines out. Here's how it is:
Obviously the Free and the Light is cheapest. The Medium is just one step above that. The heavy engine is the engine you'll use once you're a rich bastard. Think of it as buying ships. When you have a million credits you don't go back and keep buying EC-88 equipped with gauss cannons, do you? No, you move up in the food chain.
Think of it this way. Why would you buy a Warthog Mk III if you already have access to a Mk IV? One has a greater agility and hull over the other. In other words since you'll end up buying the Mk IV over the Mk III every single time, why not just slap the best engine on it and seal the deal?
The ability to customize your engine will be gone eventually. The ships you buy will have an engine included. I know right now you can sort of cheat your way by purchasing another ship and swapping engines, but it won't be that way later on. So arguing whether the medium engine has advantages or not is moot IMO.
The customizability of batteries is still there, so don't worry. Essentially the Heavy engine has merged with both the medium and efficient engines. A heavy/heavy combo works the same way as a medium/fast charge. A heavy/fast charge combo works the same way as an efficient/fast charge. It's just faster.
I haven't toyed around with the Medium much, but I think it should have (if it doesn't, let me make this suggestion) the same effect. A medium/medium combo could have very little drain, but at 180m/s instead of 200m/s. And the medium/fast charge combo could have infinite boost. Basically it's one step below the Heavy.
Getting back to the heavy engine, I feel the changes were for the best. Now most heavy ships won't take up 2/3 of the battery just to reach maximum speed. The ships that previously borderlined being a medium and a heavy (i.e. Hornet) now have that much needed agility, helping balance against the uber high agility fighters.
Also remember, before boost tapping was removed everyone used a heavy engine. Everything until that point was tweaked based on the heavy engine setup, not the medium/fast charge combo which later became popular. So essentially the old (intended?) properties of the ships are back. Well... most of 'em.
Obviously the Free and the Light is cheapest. The Medium is just one step above that. The heavy engine is the engine you'll use once you're a rich bastard. Think of it as buying ships. When you have a million credits you don't go back and keep buying EC-88 equipped with gauss cannons, do you? No, you move up in the food chain.
Think of it this way. Why would you buy a Warthog Mk III if you already have access to a Mk IV? One has a greater agility and hull over the other. In other words since you'll end up buying the Mk IV over the Mk III every single time, why not just slap the best engine on it and seal the deal?
The ability to customize your engine will be gone eventually. The ships you buy will have an engine included. I know right now you can sort of cheat your way by purchasing another ship and swapping engines, but it won't be that way later on. So arguing whether the medium engine has advantages or not is moot IMO.
The customizability of batteries is still there, so don't worry. Essentially the Heavy engine has merged with both the medium and efficient engines. A heavy/heavy combo works the same way as a medium/fast charge. A heavy/fast charge combo works the same way as an efficient/fast charge. It's just faster.
I haven't toyed around with the Medium much, but I think it should have (if it doesn't, let me make this suggestion) the same effect. A medium/medium combo could have very little drain, but at 180m/s instead of 200m/s. And the medium/fast charge combo could have infinite boost. Basically it's one step below the Heavy.
Getting back to the heavy engine, I feel the changes were for the best. Now most heavy ships won't take up 2/3 of the battery just to reach maximum speed. The ships that previously borderlined being a medium and a heavy (i.e. Hornet) now have that much needed agility, helping balance against the uber high agility fighters.
Also remember, before boost tapping was removed everyone used a heavy engine. Everything until that point was tweaked based on the heavy engine setup, not the medium/fast charge combo which later became popular. So essentially the old (intended?) properties of the ships are back. Well... most of 'em.
>>the med has absolutely no advantage over the hvy now. How is it not "useful" infact how is it not the engine you would take EVERY time you were given the choice?<<
I think the key words here is "were you given the choice".
If the ships that have the Heavy engine were only sold in particular sectors, you would not have *always* have the choice. I used to make a habit of homing near whatever sector I was in, so that if I died I didn't have to travel far to finish off whatever I was doing; then again, the station I happen to home in might not have my favorite ship config. Travel is more time consuming in this universe (not too much so, thanks to the engine tweaks)--would everyone want to go extra distances to get their favorite config every time?
I would most likely make do with the best I had in the vicinity, and if that happened to be medium engine/ heavy batt, sure.
I think the key words here is "were you given the choice".
If the ships that have the Heavy engine were only sold in particular sectors, you would not have *always* have the choice. I used to make a habit of homing near whatever sector I was in, so that if I died I didn't have to travel far to finish off whatever I was doing; then again, the station I happen to home in might not have my favorite ship config. Travel is more time consuming in this universe (not too much so, thanks to the engine tweaks)--would everyone want to go extra distances to get their favorite config every time?
I would most likely make do with the best I had in the vicinity, and if that happened to be medium engine/ heavy batt, sure.
ok, I thought about this some more. aside from balance issues between the different engines/batts, I'm concerned with the fact that you could zoom past anyone at 200m/s indefinitely. 200m/s is faster than any energy weapon... only rails could deal with this efficiently.
If a pirate sees a trader from 1500 meters off, he'd never be able to close in. there's also no warphole to give a slight indication in where the trader is heading. as soon as the trader reaches 3000 m from all large objects, wee, he's off!
(however, after the 15second wait is implemented, I doubt this will be an issue. it's a smart idea that you're not allowed to move at all when logging off or warping... before, I could /logoff and dodge for simply 10 seconds if I ever wanted)
Even if the trader WERE headed to a system warphole, there's no waiting time for battery to charge up! when the pirate warps into the system after the trader, the trader is probably kms away with that nifty heavy/fc combo, turboing indefinitely once more!
in previous versions, it was already hard to take down people who didn't want to be killed. in this version, anyone who wanted to run for their life would most definitely succeed.
since most people don't like dying... pvp is a little hard.
If a pirate sees a trader from 1500 meters off, he'd never be able to close in. there's also no warphole to give a slight indication in where the trader is heading. as soon as the trader reaches 3000 m from all large objects, wee, he's off!
(however, after the 15second wait is implemented, I doubt this will be an issue. it's a smart idea that you're not allowed to move at all when logging off or warping... before, I could /logoff and dodge for simply 10 seconds if I ever wanted)
Even if the trader WERE headed to a system warphole, there's no waiting time for battery to charge up! when the pirate warps into the system after the trader, the trader is probably kms away with that nifty heavy/fc combo, turboing indefinitely once more!
in previous versions, it was already hard to take down people who didn't want to be killed. in this version, anyone who wanted to run for their life would most definitely succeed.
since most people don't like dying... pvp is a little hard.
How 'bout this then:
Medium/Medium = old Efficient/Fast Charge (180m/s)
Heavy/Heavy = old Medium/Fast Charge (200m/s)
Essentially it's the same as before, except with a 20m/s speed bump.
Well whatever. I do agree that player versus player battles are hard to come by now. Heck, you're lucky if you even find a player while you're logged on over an hour. Still, I don't want to see the Heavy engine be nerfed again. The torque is badly needed for medium and heavy ships. With a Medium engine they don't stand a chance against ships like the Valk and Vulture.
Medium/Medium = old Efficient/Fast Charge (180m/s)
Heavy/Heavy = old Medium/Fast Charge (200m/s)
Essentially it's the same as before, except with a 20m/s speed bump.
Well whatever. I do agree that player versus player battles are hard to come by now. Heck, you're lucky if you even find a player while you're logged on over an hour. Still, I don't want to see the Heavy engine be nerfed again. The torque is badly needed for medium and heavy ships. With a Medium engine they don't stand a chance against ships like the Valk and Vulture.
Suggestions forum?
These are observations, not suggestions.