Zarel wrote:3drts wrote:So can a Mortar, that does not make it an AA weapon.
FWIW some howitzers can be makeshift flak cannons if loaded with the right shells, and mounted in such a way that they can fire at an acceptable upward angle.
Well, sure, in real life, anything made to attack ground targets isn't going to be very good against air, and anything made to attack air targets isn't going to be very good against ground, but this is a video game. If there is one weapon candidate for "looks like it could attack either ground or air", the minipod would be it.
And I question the necessity of having a 'V" weapon for every weapon lineage.
If the weapon lineage is going to have a dedicated AA weapon available fairly early, then that reduces the need for the rest of the lineage to have AA capabilities.
3drts wrote:#1) it wasn't about the money, it was about production speed to get as much firepower out as I could when he had no AA defenses.
Well, then, same idea: You bet on production speed instead of durability, and you lost your bet.
I wouldn't say I lost, I lost some Bugs on the way to my intended target, which was annoying and lead me to take out those mini pod towers with the next wave, but still with the Bug production rate, and him seemingly not having Hurricane tech yet, his fate was sealed.
3drts wrote:Based on his layout of bunkers, minipods, and later lancer towers/hardpoints, I don't think his intent was for the mini pods to be AA.
I'm sure many photon cannons aren't intended to be AA, either.
3drts wrote:Well, that's not something that changing minipod will fix, considering how marginal of a weapon minipod is.
Mini-pod was just an example, I'm talking more generally about the effectiveness of "V" Weapons.
I'll elaborate on why this is a high vs low oil thing in my mind, and what VTOL Balance problems are.
VTOLs cannot be blocked, only destroyed, there are no choke points, no walls that must first be destroyed to gain access to the base structures, no areas they cannot reach. The only option is to destroy them quickly.
On top of that, they are fast.
If you get a tech lead on all but the smallest maps, it will take time to bring that advantage to combat....
So you come out with tracked heavy /medium bodies with hmg/AG while your opponent still has light wheels/hftx with mg/twin Mg, etc, your tanks still need to move forward, and get into battle, and cannot go in alone until they are massed.
A vtol can be hitting the enemy base in a matter of seconds after it is built (though it may be wise to hide your advantage until you can do more with it).
On low oil, varied terrain maps (where it is hard to pack in as many vtol pads), one cannot mass them to the large numbers we see in high oil fast at all.
Our of necessity, both side will reasonable sized have tanks/cyborg forces, and VTOL production (due to power requirements) must result in decreased tank production.
Due to lower production rates, ones forces for quite a while will still be mostly ground forces.
If the enemy gets 50 vtol bombers on low oil, you deserve to lose.
A few vtols at a time aren't going wipe out a base in one strike.
On high oil, you'll have 5 heavy factories pumping out VTOLs continuously, giving you plenty of firepower to take out an entire base.
Such VTOL numbers, and the binary result of: No VTOL defense when enemy gets VTOLs= death or enemy has row upon row of AA defense= VTOLs ineffecitve, do not occur on low oil.
On low oil, the enemy has time to prepare AA defenses if enemy vtols start attacking.
While at the same time, the enemy can't just cover everything they have with tons of AA (as oil is more dispersed, and they have less power)
NTW and squared type maps really screw with balance, and I don't think VTOLs need a "V" semi-counter on low oil maps.
I just think the V weapons in general are too effective, to the point that vtol groups need to be similar sized to the tank groups they are attacking, until a certain tech level where effective bombs are available, and even then, at other tech levels with pulse, twin AG, etc, and tracked units (bombs do artillery damage, which doesn't do much vs tracked), this isn't so clear any more
)
Sorry, guys.
I make a change. "Oh, that's bad because of X." I ask, "Okay, what do you suggest, then?" And then silence. 