Thu May 06, 2004 1:23 pm by NukeIt
Legal, yes.
Fair, no.
Since multiplay is supposed to be a level, fair playing field, having any weapon or set of weapons that is superior to everything else in the game throws off game balance- everyone then HAS to use those weapons if they want to be the equal of other players in the game.
Follow?
If one person jumps into, say, an eagle with four nomads and whatever other weapons, they are instantly at an advantage over any player who isn't using them- they will never have the problem of running out of evergy, whereas the other player must wait to recharge when their energy gets low. The two nomad weapon types are the only two weapons in the game that do that.
Since only three ships are capable of using them, that not only forces a weapon configuration, but a ship type as well, further throwing off game balance. Now the opponent must have a significant skill advantage in order to beat said player with nomads, unless they are using a similar rig on another c10 ship. Gee, so much for...i dunno, about 95% of the equipment in FL?
Nomad weapons have no weakness. None. Other c10 weapons are limited by a huge energy drain, slow projectile speed, and slow refire rate(with the exception of a few which have 3.03 instead of 2.00). Because of those limitations, a player using...say, a four pack of Jades(since they are the closest to the Nomad Cannon in stats, except for energy) must pick and choose their shots, because they know that if they miss they will have wasted valuable energy and time. The same player, using Nomads, could stick a paperweight on the fire trigger and only worry about the flight aspect of combat. See the difference there? Both weapon types are powerful, both have the same refire- but one does not have to worry about an aspect of operating their ship that the other pilot must have in the front of their mind- putting the player with the Nomad weapons at an unfair advantage.
This is even more problematic against lower class ships and their smaller power supplies, as you could probably imagine.
Nomad guns do not belong in a multiplayer game. Take them away, and you'll find that half the balance problems in this game are solved without a single further alteration.
----------------------------------------
Proud owner and operator of a Patriot!
Proud owner and operator of a Stiletto!
Proud ally of the Bounty Hunters' Guild!
Proud hater of Nomad weapons!
Proud user of all things underestimated!
----------------------------------------
For the last time...there is no "N" in "TURRET"!