MRA; Second Gen on page 21

[Lord-General Thunder]

I've seen the Hade's beams lose their overlap before, along with when I was fooling with overlapping beams.

Well, that makes me feel a bit better about it...

[Arcalane]

1000 would be a minimum for a supposed heavy beam gun of that size, if you ask me. The Earthshaker runs at around 5000 if I remember correctly; not as punchy as Anna' beamcannon type ships, but still quite beefy and capable of searing through lighter shielded craft. I'll have to nerf it though as it tends to incinerate larger ships too, if it can catch them offguard.

Hmm... A Nonsense Codon is OP compared to IVL/MRA standards, but your Earthshaker gun cuts it down in seconds. I'd think a weapon that strong would make RPing tough because it'd become the answer to any threat that isn't walled up behind high-HP Aegised sections.

That's kind of why there are only two or three Earthshakers currently in service (their beams are highly experimental and partially derived from ancient technology that is infeasible to incorporate into every ship), and why they're relatively weak when un-escorted. I will be increasing the reload and reducing the damage on the main beam though.

Ed: So long as you're doing beam overlays properly they shouldn't split up except in extremely rare circumstances. Doublecheck that their range/turning/etc. stats are the same.

Very true.

I just don't really like them too much. Would using black ones be wrong?

Yes, because your sections would be magically absorbing damage with very little indication as to why. Same goes for other dark coloured deflectors. Just experiment 'til you find a pleasing colour.

[Droid]

Well, when a deflectored section takes a hit, it flares to about 2x its luminosity, so you COULD technically have dark-ish deflectors that flare up brightly when it (by something like the Hades' main beamer array).

[Arcalane]

Well, when a deflectored section takes a hit, it flares to about 2x its luminosity, so you COULD technically have dark-ish deflectors that flare up brightly when it (by something like the Hades' main beamer array).

But two times 1 is only 2, and two times 2 is only 4. With dark colours it'll still be barely noticeable.

[Lord-General Thunder]

Well, when a deflectored section takes a hit, it flares to about 2x its luminosity, so you COULD technically have dark-ish deflectors that flare up brightly when it (by something like the Hades' main beamer array).

But two times 1 is only 2, and two times 2 is only 4. With dark colours it'll still be barely noticeable.

Alternatively, I suppose I could just give my ships a hellish amount of HP.

Sound fair to you?

[Arcalane]

It would work, but how would you explain it in backstory terms? The OSEC ships have above average armour (not counting the superdense ablative plating) already. Nevermind IVL armour, which I imagine will be even stronger.

[Venator]

Well, when a deflectored section takes a hit, it flares to about 2x its luminosity, so you COULD technically have dark-ish deflectors that flare up brightly when it (by something like the Hades' main beamer array).

But two times 1 is only 2, and two times 2 is only 4. With dark colours it'll still be barely noticeable.

I think it's dependent on the damage the ship is taking; when one of my new ships was under light bombardment it just flickered, but when the Veneratio Deus opened up, the shields glared like the sun.

I could be wrong, though.

Alternatively, I suppose I could just give my ships a hellish amount of HP.

Sound fair to you?

Just a thought - you use vacuum-point energy and wormholes, if I recall. Perhaps make Rosarchs near-standard equipment on your vessels? That'd make for a pretty lightshow in addition to the practical benefit of staving off beamfire.

Also, ISN point defense sucks . That could be part of the problem.

[Droid]

It gradually reaches 2x luminosity (as the maximum).
And yes, its also dependent on the weight of firepower.

A powerful, sustained burst like those from the Deus will flare it up more than say, a light bombardment from a Hestia.

[Lord-General Thunder]

It would work, but how would you explain it in backstory terms? The OSEC ships have above average armour (not counting the superdense ablative plating) already. Nevermind IVL armour, which I imagine will be even stronger.

Good point.

I imagine that it would be a combination of slightly superior metallurgy and outright superior engineering (or, more accurately, superior research management which in turn affects metallurgy and engineering, but that's semantics.)

Ixranin

I tested the Supernova's Vacuum artillery (1000 dpf) on a few MRA ships, it seemed to be alright, provided an appropriately long reload time and restricted field of fire. It doesn't fire for very long, either, about 15 frames, then needs 15 seconds to cool down (I don't have it here in front of me, so I may be remembering wrong.)

Ships like the Insania either get destroyed outright (depending on whether they have shields or not), or shrug it off, flank her, and rip her apart. I find the disparity bothersome, personally, but that's what it is.

Venator
Well, you might expect gravity to be on the Union's list of enslaved physical concepts, what with the whole glass-planet-on-demand thing, wormhole interstellar travel, vacuum discharge weapons and what have you, but it's not. XD

Although, I guess I could just say it's magnetic... I'll fool around with it when I get back from work.

[Venator]

Just a note to everyone that I will be contributing to the RP thread sometime; I'm stripping, recolouring, and rebalancing the Illuminating Ascendancy first.

[Lizzie]

Need I remind you that the Hades, which is of the faction you said these were to be balanced with, has 100-damage megabeamers. This is the equivalent of six of them. I believe the Hades mounts that many, as well as numerous other, similarly powerful weapons.

Silence you, those beamers have been beefed since the Hades' first debut.

[Lord-General Thunder]

Need I remind you that the Hades, which is of the faction you said these were to be balanced with, has 100-damage megabeamers. This is the equivalent of six of them. I believe the Hades mounts that many, as well as numerous other, similarly powerful weapons.

Silence you, those beamers have been beefed since the Hades' first debut.

In the name of all that's right and reasonable, why?

Of course, I am only using your ship for comparison because ArcaneDude said the MRA was supposed to be IVL balanced. I assume he meant balanced with the most recent release, in which the Hades had 100-damage beamers.

[ArcaneDude]

FYI, I have a few old beta's of the IVL, that I used for initial balancing. The MRA ships are mostly more powerful than those Beta's now, though. The Hades is an exception, but it think it's quite well on par with a Michael Goede. And that's how it's supposed to be.

In the name of all that's right and reasonable, why?

I dunno. Maybe because she wants to? The Hades has more powerful beams, yes, but they're not that much more powerful that they can rip off shielded sections of other Dreadnoughts. And, in comparison to the Michael Goede, it's secondary weaponry (the missiles) fire less often and there's a lot less of 'em. They're balanced quite well, even more so with the increase of firepower.

EDIT; in fact, the MG still kills it in a one-on-one fight, due to better weapons arcs and more missiles. Both ships operated perfectly, as both were broadsiding. The MG did lose it's sidepod, though.

EDIT2; It is, however, far more powerful than an E.A.B.

[Lizzie]

Need I remind you that the Hades, which is of the faction you said these were to be balanced with, has 100-damage megabeamers. This is the equivalent of six of them. I believe the Hades mounts that many, as well as numerous other, similarly powerful weapons.

Silence you, those beamers have been beefed since the Hades' first debut.

Of course, I am only using your ship for comparison because ArcaneDude said the MRA was supposed to be IVL balanced. I assume he meant balanced with the most recent release, in which the Hades had 100-damage beamers.

Actually as far as I know he was suggesting that you'd ask me to give you the fleet as a whole as it is now for balancing. Though whether or not I give it to you is up to me.

In the name of all that's right and reasonable, why?

Because I can? Because it's my god damn fleet? Because one of the more senior shipmakers here tried the fleet beta and told me they needed a total weapon's overhaul? Because I don't have to make my ships how you want them made?

I have a lot of reasons. And stop bitching about it. I never said nor suggested that anyone had to balance to my fleet and AD only suggested it himself. If you don't like it then use his damn fleet.

[Venator]

She's fii-nished!


See here for a performance test:
http://www.wyrdysm.com/phpBB2/viewtopic ... 9633#69633

Running steadily at 2-3 FPS, the battle did indeed take almost two hours before I called it quits.

Disclaimer:
Had my ship been under AI control, things would have been over much faster, and in favour of the MRA.

I hope that this ship's not too overpowered as it stands; it is the single most massive vessel in the MRA, and it is, in fact, a single ship. No reserves or surrounding fleets.

Download Link:
http://www.wyrdysm.com/battleshipsforev ... ndancy.shp