Help With Balance

BigBad · Medic **Joined**: 23 Feb 2014

The GLA does not have an air force. I agree with the decision to downplay the GLA's aerial attack ability, but something feels like it's missing. I have an idea.

They have the Scud truck. Set it to be able to fire anywhere on the map. The missile object will be set to function as an airplane, so it can be shot down like any other plane in the game. It would use speed (not invincibility like the Aurora, but requiring fast reaction time by defenses) and stealth to penetrate and attack. Depending on how this goes, I might have the missile separate into pieces before it impacts. These pieces would not have the stealth ability, making the interception a bit easier. Some of the pieces might be inert to simulate the fact that real ballistic missiles often separate into the warhead(s) plus decoys and countermeasures.

I have confidence that I can do all of that.

The problem is that this is too good of a weapon. Even though I will tweak it to make interception possible, you don't risk the truck when you fire. You can fire for the whole game or use it for defensive area denial.

What ideas do you have for allowing this to be a part of the game, but not as a superweapon? I want to maintain balance. I've got a few ideas.

1. The trucks have to build the missiles, and you have to pay for each shot. (I do not have a plan for coding this, nor do I have a plan for selecting the missiles, since those objects would be the ones attacking, not the trucks.)
2. Intercepting the missiles gives the opponent experience.

3. The trucks can shoot with impunity as I described, but that makes them targets. When they are destroyed, they should explode pretty violently, more than the explosion from the warhead, to damage nearby units and structures. You thus have to be careful with where you put the trucks. In this case, the trucks should be easy to destroy, and they should not be able to move very quickly. (The speed and strength would have to be tweaked to get the right balance, but the idea is that they could become a liability if they're sitting around in your base and get picked up by the USA Satellite and quickly attacked by a group of Auroras, for instance.)

4. I could just call this a second superweapon. (I want to treat it as a replacement for the air force, though, so I don't want the potential for restrictions, and if it's a superweapon, it just doesn't feel like it's effectively the GLA's air force.)

What do you think? How should I address the balance issues?

Thanks.

Dutchygamer · Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 9:17 pm Post subject:

Perhaps add a buildlimit to it? A cheesy way to balance a unit, but it works. Else just make it as you want to and try tweaking it.

Nolt · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 8:02 pm Post subject:

Get a support power that sends a hijacked passenger plane to crash to a certain location, less micro, coding, and it will still force the player to make defenses against air.

Your idea will work aswell of course, but I would preffer to have fragile missiles than fragile trucks, that way you can reward the player for striking undefended locations while denying the effectiveness of Scud spamming. If your trucks have too many weaknesess then they won't be usefull in the game, it's fine if they're weak and slow, but if they explode violently aswell then the only safe place for them is your base, you won't have room to have them somewhere else because you can't defend them with troops, and also because they're very easy to find, just follow the missile trail.

If you make the missiles fragile then I can't even consider your trucks op, I could even say they're underpowered, if you charge per missile then it get's worse.

my suggestion is not to charge per missile, make the missiles slower than a normal jet and very fragile, and you could also give the scuds an active ability that makes them stealthed until they do something, give it a high cooldown and you can have them everywhere, but not doing some mindless shooting.