Balance Changes notes

[Egon Bigmemes]

Enough about fighters, I'm hijacking this thread.

For now it's just capital missile quality of life changes. Part buffs, part nerfs, part removal of some jank.

First off, as I go along, motor delay is being removed from missiles, in trade for them starting off slower. In singleplayer, motor delay lets missiles drift with inertia and muzzle velocity, but in multiplayer, they just sit in place for the duration, and then will suddenly accelerate from 0 to whatever speed they should be. Not only does it look extremely laggy when that's simply not the case, it's just disorientating, and janky to experience.

And now for the first real changes, beginning with Battlecruisers. I will not apologize for my formatting I am not sorry.

Javelin Cruise Missile

Motor lifetime: 12 >> 7
Acceleration: 15 >> 50
Motor delay: 2 >> 0
Muzzle velocity: 60 >> 10
Theoretical top speed: 479m/s

Hull damage: 425.000 >> 385.000

Seeker lock-on angle: 220 >> 260 degrees
Max angular velocity: 0.15 >> 0.12

Power usage: 2.000.000 >> 1.900.000

---

Isn't this a nerf Saronsen?
Well, not really. Sure, it doesn't deal quite as much damage as before, and its tracking isn't the same as the Nova torpedo, but it makes up for it with being able to get that damage out to its target. And fast.

Application is the name of the game for the Javelin missile. Something that has a better chance of reaching its target before flak or, heaven forbid, the supports cruise disruptor catches it. In testing, its fairly low turnrate and high speed means that short range, spammable countermeasures just don't lead it off target in time, most often when the missile is coming in from the side. It's lost some viability against cruisers, who can steer out of the way of the missile with ease, but a distracted target is still a good target.

---

Predator Missile

Acceleration: 20 >> 25
Motor delay: 2 >> 0
Muzzle velocity: 80 >> 30
Theoretical top speed: 349m/s

Bugfix: dsy_marauder_missile_explosion >> dsy_predator_missile_explosion
Hull Damage: 150.000 >> 185.000

Missile lifetime: 15 >> 25
Seeker lock-on angle: 240 >> 300
Max angular velocity: 0.55 >> 0.45
Ammo limit: 50 >> 70

---

Firstly; Yes, the Predator was using the explosion meant for the cruisers Marauder missile, meaning it was dealing 35.000 less damage than it was supposed to for.. Years? A bugfix that's also a buff.
Secondly; Cruisers beware. The Predator missiles likes ya, and it wants ya. There's no easy way to do this, so we're doing it the hard way. It will come around after missing to chase you down again, but with its low agility, it will continue missing as long as you keep evading. Or have a countermeasure. It still has its blindspot from behind, so if it overshoots, it loses track of you entirely. I'm still not set on the tracking speed, but I didn't want to render it useless by hitting it too hard. I'll be watching and waiting for the @'s on discord if this gets out of hand.

---

That's the two changed battlecruiser missiles out of the way. Now for the cruiser launchers.

Devastator Torpedo

Acceleration: 18 >> 20
Delay: 2 >> 0
Theoretical top speed: 364m/s

Lock-on range: 3000 >> 2750
Mass: 100 >> 85
Lifetime: 30 >> 25

---

I'll be honest, it's just a straight nerf. Outranging Light Mortars (which it still does, just not so badly), being very difficult for battleships to flak, and often doing two full loops to try and hit someone as a very powerful deshielding tool, all on a light and quick capital ship like the cruiser. I would still like for the missile to remain a good long-range option, but forcing a battleship to tunnel vision for ten or so seconds trying to flak a single missile was excessive. It goes a little faster though, as a consolation. This might need further down-tuning, but I'm hopeful it's in a better spot.

---

Suicide Surprise Trinity Torpedo

Motor delay: 2 >> 0
Theoretical top speed: 349m/s

Lifetime: 20 >> 30
Mass: 10,000 (!!) >> 65
Max angular velocity: 0.11 >> 0.10
Seeker range: 2000 >> 2400
Seeker lock-on angle: 35 >> 180
Ammo limit: 51 >> 60

Dispersion angle: 6 >> 30
Power usage: 1.200.000 >> 1.299.000

---

Straight buffs, or rather, usability here. With a lock on FOV of 35 degrees, you could often defeat the trinity by strafing as they got closer, even if they were on a path to smash right into you. They'd simply lose track of you a couple hundred meters away. Not so anymore. They just turn that much slower now. They're a power move from cruisers, and I'm also watching these to see if they're useful, not INCREDIBLY STRONG.

And for your reference, the LABC has 800 mass. Have you tried deflecting one of those with flak? Trinities are now fairly lightweight, and flak should be very useful against them.

---

That's all for now. You know where to find me if you have a problem.

Happy missile spamming folks.